Very sensible. Whilst unfortunate for the individuals - that's life. As the adverts say, people turn up at British Consulates all over the world saying "I've had my wallet stolen - can I have some money?"
If the OP was not due to leave the benighted country for another week but got to the airport and found that they could pay £300 and get out NOW? Fair deal, wait a week to see what happens or pay now.
No issue to discuss here.