I nominate Brighton and Hove City Council as the most uncaring, uncivil and discourteous council in view of the following.

On August 28 and 29, I stayed with friends in Brunswick Square, Hove. They purchased for my use two daily permits at the cost of £1 each, a price which is more than fair for a whole day's parking in the street.

I inadvertently placed the permits on the offside of the dashboard of my car and was amazed to find a warden had put a penalty notice under the windscreen wiper, by reason of not having permits shown. The permits were clearly visible underneath the wiper.

I took photos immediately and called the appropriate department in the Town Hall, only to be told I must "challenge" the issue of the penalty notice, which would take about three weeks. I returned home and immediately sent the actual permits and a letter explaining I had the necessary permits and quoted the name and address of the resident of Hove who had obtained them for me.

I also enclosed a cheque for the £30 (£60 if not paid within 14 days) and a stamped addressed envelope and asked the council to return my cheque when it had seen the necessary evidence of proper permits.

Both the person who obtained the permits for me and another friend wrote to the council to confirm the permits were on my car's dashboard. I received an acknowledgement of my letter with the comment that the matter had been passed to an official who would deal with it and advise me in due course.

On September 23, I wrote to Jenny Rowlands, Director of Environment at the council (her name was printed on the bottom of the acknowledgement letter), to ask that she take some action regarding the matter, to which I received an exact copy of the original acknowledgement without comments from her.

On October 6, I wrote to the chairman of the council and received neither acknowledgement nor response to my letter. The cheque, I subsequently found, had been cleared by my bank on September 6. It seems the comments that the issue was being dealt with by an official were untrue.

It is almost two months since the incident and I still have not had even the courtesy of a reply from the council. On October 19, I wrote to Paul Elgood, who I understand is the councillor for the Brunswick area, and asked if he would take action on my behalf but have heard nothing from this person either.

People visiting Brighton and Hove should be informed that, if they are not careful, parking on the street for a day can cost them £16 and, regardless of how incorrect this might be, they will not receive the courtesy of a reply from anyone connected with the council, no matter to whom they write. Such bad manners are not worthy of councillors.

-J Shepherd, Delamere Road, Denton, Manchester