One ticket is official and the other ISN’T – how you can avoid paying an unfair parking ticket

THAT moment of dread when you return to your car to see the yellow parking fine stuck to your windscreen mirror.

But drivers are able to challenge unfair parking tickets and in some cases completely avoid paying those issued by private firms.

Tickets from private firms and official bodies may look very similar - but one of them is much easier to fight than the other.

Private companies try to trick drivers into thinking the penalty notices are the same in a bid to force people to cough up the cash.

What’s the difference between a penalty charge notice and private parking ticket?

The ticket on the left is an official one, issued by the council or the police, it will be called Penalty Charge Notice, Excess Charge Notice or Fixed Penalty Notice.

It will include the name of the issuing authority and will have been issued on public land, such as a high street or council car park.

The ticket on the right is a parking fine from a private company. It is just an invoice and they have no official right to fine you.

All they are doing is sending you a notice for what they deem to be a breach of contract.

It is not an accident that the design and wording are very similar.

Steve Nowottny, from MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "If your car has been slapped with a parking ticket, then the first thing to do is check what kind of ticket it is.