If you park in a private parking lot when you are not authorized to do so, you may receive a private parking "ticket", or notice of a fine owed to the private company that owns the parking lot. Even worse, the private company may have your vehicle by using a "clamp" or "boot" mechanism, or tow and impound your car altogether, which results in even more money out of pocket for you. You might have one of these unpleasant experiences if, for example, you parking in a private lot without paying, if you leave your vehicle in the lot beyond a specified period of time, or if you park in a reserved spot. Private parking tickets, however, are not tickets such as those issued by law enforcement, no matter how "official" they might look. In fact, private parking tickets are simply "bills" for unlawfully using the private parking lot. Under contract law, you have contracted with the private company in order to park in its lot, and then violated that contract. If you feel you have fined unfairly, you will need to contact the private company and dispute the ticket, which is often successful.