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Rachel has been investigating the ins and outs of tickets issued whilst parked on private land, discovering that for once the law may be on your side.

X-Ray has been contacted by a number of viewers complaining about tickets issued at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. These include hospital staff, patients and their relatives. The site's 23 car-parks are operated by Vinci Park Services UK Ltd.

Dr Ellie Russell has worked at the hospital for five years and pays for a parking permit. After disputing three tickets issued in quick succession she decided to take a stand, putting up posters around the car-park to judge the scale of the problem.

"I had emails from patients who had been visiting the hospital after what had been a traumatic day to find out they had been ticketed, I think I had over one hundred emails within a few months and got a bit overwhelmed."

One such person was Lindsey Durbessich-Reed. She works at the University Hospital as a dental hygienist. One day last March she bought a ticket and left it on the dashboard but somehow it slipped out of view. When she returned she found a parking ticket attached to her windscreen and a £25 fine.

Lindsey tells Rachel how she felt she could easily explain to Vinci Park what had happened:

"I wrote a letter that evening explained I had purchased a ticket and sent the proof of the ticket that I had obviously bought it and didn't hear anything from them at all so presumed my appeal had been accepted."

But four months after the ticket was issued Lindsey began getting letters from debt collectors and solicitors. By now the fine had increased to £80 and she was threatened with court proceedings and bailiffs if she didn't pay.

After a drawn out correspondence with the company and debt collectors, Rachel asks how it has made Lindsey feel.

"It's been six months of letter writing, phone calls and I'm just very, very tired now and fed up with it all. So I have actually paid the £80 so I hope it's all finished now, but for a £2 ticket it just isn't fair."

Vinci Park told us: "The majority of the 1.1m visitors to the car park each year park sensibly and responsibly. Non-payment of a notice following a failed appeal will result in customers being pursued through courts by our debt collection agency as a last resort."

Parking in private car-parks is a civil matter; you enter a contract with the land owner or private company employed by that owner. It's a two way process with both sides having to honour the contract as solicitor Wayne Beynon explains to Rachel.

"The owner of the car-park should bring the terms and conditions of that car-park to your attention. So when you're going in and parking in a space you are agreeing to be bound by those terms and conditions as long as they have been brought to your attention sufficiently."

But if you believe you have complied with all the terms and conditions of the contract and receive a ticket which you feel is unfair is there anything you can do?

Well the good news is yes - but it involves a little bit of detective work by gathering as much evidence as possible at the time of the alleged offence.

• Take photos of your car's position and how your ticket was displayed if you had to buy one.
• Check the quality of lines to see if bays or restricted areas are clearly marked.
• Look round for signs stating the terms and conditions of the car-park. Make a note if they're missing or covered up.
• Check you are actually on private land, if you're on the public highway the ticket could be invalid.

Once you have collected your entire evidence write to the company issuing the ticket as soon as possible. They have no power to force you to pay unless they are successful in bringing a court action against you. Therefore if you dispute the ticket do not pay as getting your money back once you have is very hard indeed, as Wayne explains to Rachel.

"Once you've paid the ticket it's almost akin to acknowledging the amount was due. There are steps you can take to recover that money but you are going to have severe difficulty in retrieving it from the car-park company."

The commercial disputes expert answers a number of myths when it comes to private parking tickets. The first is the effect on your credit rating if you do not pay the fine, which is often quoted in letters from debt collectors chasing payment.

"Letters from debt collectors and solicitors will not affect your credit rating. Only if the company takes legal proceedings and is successful will your rating be affected."

As the private parking companies have no power to force you to pay because it's a civil debt, is it an OK tactic just to ignore any correspondence they send you? Wayne thinks this is a risky tactic.

"They may decide to drop it and not pursue further but on the other hand they may decide to issue proceedings against you, in which case you could end up with a court order against you and have your credit rating affected."

But realistically how likely is it that you will actually end up in court in front of a judge?

"It depends on the policies the company has in place. If they decide it's not cost effective to do so for may what be a £40 or £50 fine then they may walk away from it."

Here are X-Ray's top-tips for challenging a private parking ticket:

• Gather evidence, as soon as you get the ticket
• Refuse to pay and clearly state your reasons why
• Don't be intimidated by letters and threats
• Don't give up! If you believe you have a strong case keep on fighting.