A single mum to an autistic boy says she is “outraged” with Bromley Council, after receiving a parking fine for going over the maximum payment time by one minute.

On Friday, February 2, Carla Serra parked in Bromley South, and paid for her parking via the RingGo app.

She claims she was having issues with the app, and as her and her nine-year-old son got out of the car to make the payment, her son started to get restless, and he ran away.

“I had to go after him but since there is a 10 minute tolerance, I knew I could get back to the app and pay”, Carla told the News Shopper.

Carla claims she was “one minute” late to pay the parking charge, which ultimately led to her receiving a fine.

She says she submitted an appeal the day after, and again 15 days after the offence but received “no answer”.

Out of fear of losing her driving license, Carla paid the penalty – which doubled to £80 as it went over the 14 days limit.

She then submitted a complaint to the council.

Carla added: “I got a fine which I then appealed by explaining the situation and showing proof of payment.

“The claim was rejected as the bill had been settled.

“The council needs to reimburse either the penalty or the parking, otherwise they are keeping money that is not theirs.”

A spokesperson for Bromley Council said that when someone pays a penalty charge notice, as in this case, they have “effectively accepted the contravention”, which brings the “matter to an end”.

The spokesperson added: “We would always encourage a motorist to appeal or challenge a penalty charge notice where they are circumstances that merit further attention.

“We will endeavour to respond as promptly as we can.

“We acknowledge that sometimes unfortunately responses can be delayed for some weeks and in these circumstances, motorists are advised to wait for our decision.

“The 50 per cent discounted charge remains in place, providing the challenge was lodged within 14 days, until the Council has replied with a notice of rejection.

“This advice is contained on the penalty charge notice.”

Carla says she was not aware that the appeals were on hold and was not notified on the status of the appeal.

She added: “I am a single parent, and I haven’t worked since August, but I have savings.

“Imagine if this happens to a mother that is really in a pickle.

“Give me back the money, and I’ll give it to charity.

“These things need to be spoken about – we’re all struggling – it’s not normal.”

A spokesperson for Bromley Council added: “If a motorists believes they have made a mistake by paying, then theoretically, they could apply for a refund.

“Given the amount of time that has elapsed, including the discount period, the Council would then need to seek the details of the vehicle owner from the DVLA and send a Notice to Owner to the keeper of the vehicle, who could submit a formal representation if they chose, which would be considered.

“We do need to carefully follow the correct procedures, but our strong advice is always to appeal where there is a reason and if appealing, only pay after the outcome of the appeal.

“We are not sure why there was a concern about receiving penalty points on a driving licence for reassurance, for parking contraventions, then penalty points do not apply.”