A woman is warning other motorists not to get caught out by Castlepoint car parking fines after having issues paying her penalty charge. 

Lynn Ting, 70, parked at Castlepoint shopping centre on September 20 when she lost track of time and ended up running over the allotted four-hour limit.

Shortly after this, Lynn received her parking fine from GroupNexus, which she had no problem with having to pay.

However, when trying to pay the fine, Lynn said she spent four hours trying to get the payment sorted online and over the phone as none of the options were working. 

Lynn said due to the online and over-the-phone options not working, sending the money by cheque was her only option.

However, to Lynn’s shock, she received another letter telling her she needed to pay £100 or face legal action.

Lynn said she attempted to reach out to the company, but was not able to resolve it, leaving her in a state of panic.

She said: “For older people especially, this could be quite worrying.”

She has taken full responsibility for the original fine, saying: “I’m wrong I paid the fine, but I do not want to be charged again and more when I’ve already paid within the due date.”

A spokesperson for GroupNexus said: “We can confirm that we received the cheque from the motorist on 15/10/2024.

“However, the reminder letter was issued the day before creating a cross over of communications, which can often be the case when relying on the national postal service.

“In addition, it is not company procedure to send letters to confirm receipt of cheques unless requested.

“However, in this instance, we have now written to the motorist to confirm that this has been received and settled.”

However, there is dispute surrounding the date the cheque was received, as Lynn claims her registered post arrived on October 7.

Lynn says it is “scaremongering and harassment” and “extremely unnecessary”.

She said: “I just want people to be aware that even when they pay they could be getting another letter.”