A few weeks ago my 17 year old daughter borrowed my wife's car to attend a Sunday evening church service. She parked in a public car park opposite the church without realising that she needed to pay. When she came out there was a parking penalty notice, demanding a £60 penalty charge.

My wife wrote to the parking firm, explaining what had happened but they refuse to withdrew the penalty notice and are now pursuing my daughter for an even larger payment. My daughter is still at school, has no income or assets and is not in any position to pay £60, or anything like it.

It seems wholly unreasonable to pursue a child for an amount like this, which is out of all proportion to the amount that she should have paid originally (probably about £2).

Please could you tell me who is liable for this charge and what will happen if it is not paid? What should we do?