A man has vowed never to return to Cornwall after receiving a 'false' parking fine.
Michael Davies insists Initial Parking wrongly accused him of not paying on a visit to the area.
Mr Davies parked in Marazion while he visited tourist destination St Michael's Mount.
He stayed for around four hours and returned to his car and paid £5 in cash at the machine.
It accepted' his cash at the pay on exit car park, and he continued his journey.
But CornwallLive reports he later received a letter from Initial Parking, which runs the parking site, informing him he had failed to pay for his stay.
The letter said he had paid £1 using a contactless card entitling him to an hour's stay and remained at the site for an additional two hours and 28 minutes.
Mr Davies of Crediton, Devon, was given a fine, which he says is not valid as he paid for cash.
Initial Parking has since shown that a card payment for one hour's parking was made for a car matching his registration number.
But he insists he paid the £5 in cash and that there must have been a mistake prompting an appeal about the fine.
Mr Davies, who maintains the fine is in error, said. "It's extortionate. I went to Marazion with my neighbour as part of a break to Cornwall after my father died.
"We parked up, went to the castle, and when we got back my neighbour put the money in the machine. He got the ticket and the machine said it was approved.
"When I got back to Crediton, I had a letter saying I'd been fined. There's no form of redress, I feel.
"They make a decision, you can't speak to anyone, you feel as though you're being harassed and you feel like you have no redress.
"There's no one to negotiate with. I don't want to pay this because it's extortionate and they're not being fair."
Initial Parking rejected his appeal and he sent a £10 payment without prejudice, on legal advice.
This was then rejected and his fine passed to collection company i-Debt.
The total fine has now escalated to £170, and will be £235 if it goes to court.
Mr Davies, who is over 70, went on to say that the fine was "ridiculous" and the stress of being threatened with court is making his health worse.
He added: "I had a brain injury and a stroke recently.
"It's all just getting to me and making me unwell. I'll never come to Cornwall ever again. I've worked all my life, I can't afford to give money away like this to people lining their pockets.
"It's daylight robbery."
An Initial Parking spokesperson said: "Having checked our payment system we can confirm that Mr Davies made payment of £1.00, which as per the advertised tariff purchases 1 hour parking time but stayed an additional 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 28 seconds without payment.
"As stated on our, very large, BPA approved signs, you can pay for parking time via pay and display machine, via phone or via app.
"It remains the motorist’s responsibility to ensure that sufficient parking time is paid.
"To assist you with payment there is a very large sign next to machines detailing how to pay.
"It is down to you as the motorist to make payment for your appropriate parking time - i.e. time you have been on site.
"As Mr. Davies paid via contactless/card payment, he should be able to provide the payment transaction from the date in question that would demonstrate the amount paid, which in this instance was £1.00."
