More than half (57%) of drivers who appealed a ticket won their case, according to research by campaign group Which?.

Its survey of 1,000 car owners who received at least one parking ticket in the past year revealed that less than half (41%) appealed and almost one in four (22%) didn’t know they could challenge a parking ticket.

There are different rules regarding what type of ticket you receive, such as a penalty charge notice (PCN) issued by a local council and one by a private company. While councils are legally obliged to give information on how to appeal a PCN, private companies must belong to an accredited trade association, such as The British Parking Association or the International Parking Community, to legally issue a parking ticket.

The research showed people are more likely to appeal against a ticket issued by a private company, with half of tickets appealed (50%), compared with just over a third (37%) for local councils.

The success rates for appeals are similar, with 60% for council tickets compared to a 54% success rate for private companies.

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Of those who didn’t appeal a ticket, they said it was because they felt the fine was fair and that they were in the wrong. The research showed one person decided not to appeal because it was “cheaper and easier to pay the fine, rather than wrangle and lose”.

See YourMoney.com’s How to fight parking charges for more information, otherwise Which? has a free appeal letter tool to help drivers contest a parking ticket where they feel it has been issued unfairly.

Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said: “If you think you have been issued a parking ticket unfairly, our advice is to challenge it.

“Our research shows it pays to appeal, with hundreds of consumers successfully overturning parking fines and saving themselves money in the process.”