In August my wife and I took a motorcycle tour of Europe which passed off uneventfully until last month when we received two letters demanding £137 from a firm called Euro Parking Collection. They claim to be on behalf of the Nemzeti Útdíjfizetési Szolgáltató Zrt, the motorway organisation in Hungary, and were for being on motorways without buying an e-vignette. We did use the motorways on the dates mentioned, and would have happily bought the e-vignette, as we did in Switzerland. There were no toll booths or signs in English and so we missed this. The demand of £137 seems excessive, given that I now know that it would cost about £4.20 for 10 days. Do I need to pay this or can I ignore it? RB, Solihull

We asked Euro Parking Collection on what basis it was levying this charge. Had a court in Hungary issued court proceedings and there was a judgment against you for non payment? That fact there was no reply suggests these claims are being sent in the hope that some people will pay up for a quiet life.

Vignettes are required for all motorway users. In Hungary physical toll stickers were replaced with electronic e-vignettes registered online. Motorway use is verified by roadside cameras based on licence plates, and drivers without a valid vignette incur the cash fines.

The parking ticket expert and founder of the AppealNow website, Barrie Segal, says demanding payment before any appeal is heard is probably a breach of article 6 of the Human Rights Act. In your shoes, if you’re not planning to go back to Hungary, we would bin it. You may want to pay £4.20 – what is due to the Hungarian authorities, and ignore the rest. Others heading to Hungary note these vignettes are required.

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