A BEACHLEY woman says she has been denied an appeal against a parking fine – because she has already paid it.

Jan Stead received a £60 ticket in September last year for parking at Chepstow Club in Moor Street.

She received a letter from Civil Enforcement Ltd which demanded immediate payment or face the fine being increased to £100.

Due to postal delays, Mrs Stead said she had to collect her post from the sorting office in Chepstow.

She said she paid immediately without making further inquiries because she felt “frightened” by the letter.

Mrs Stead, who was in Chepstow to take her brother to a furniture recycling charity, wanted to argue that she never left the vehicle and was in the car park for less than 15 minutes and so was not “parked”.

A letter from the company said Mrs Stead could not appeal as the fine had already been paid. This information is also published on the Civil Enforcement website.

Mrs Stead says she has been “treated harshly” for “trying to do a good deed for a family who were in need”

She urged people  “read the back, don’t do anything and look past their name’ as ‘Civil Enforcement’ written on letters can be daunting.”

Civil Enforcement Limited was contacted for comment.