30th June 2013 My Car Registration was due for payment, however…

30th June 2013 My Car Registration was due for payment, however we have all our insurance with APIA. When making payment I asked that we pay 6mths that was agreed and duly paid with the next 6 mths falling due on the 31st December 2013.
The 29th November I phoned APIA to pay the next 6months on receiving the renewal notice for my CTP Green Slip, the reason for paying early was that we (my husband and i has some health issues)

When the assistant took my particulars and cleared my credit card payment for $209.00 for 6months she advised me that the computer wouldn't accept 6mths it would only allow 12 mths. I had asked her did she want to cancell the transaction and start afresh her reply was "no you are lucky today you have 12mths insurance for six months payment it will now be due 31st December 2014" she completed the conversation by saying that this payment would be at the RTA in two hours.

The assistant never phoned me to tell me that my receipt had failed at the RTA, otherwise I would have followed this through. I am 74 years old and I am certain that if I had been told it failed I would have done something about it.

Our health problems during this time we had a great concern as my husband had a cancer removed, we had to wait for results as to whether it was carsanoma or
Melonoma, in the meantime I had fallen downstairs and was taken to hospital, and 10th January had surgery for a hip replacement.

I was in hospital and on the 12th January my husband was driving home and was pulled over by the police and fined $607 for driving an unregistered vehicle.

We applied for a review of the penalty notice, this was rejected on the grounds that my husband should have asked me if the car was registered before he drove it, and it was still my responsibility to contact the RTA to register.

We are pensioners and will have great difficulty making this payment of $607.00

Please advise me what we can do.