Warning after toll bridge driver racks up £20k debt

A motorist found himself facing a £20,000 bill for missed toll payments after an apparent paperwork error.

The company that controls the Runcorn-Widnes crossing, Merseyflow, said people needed to be sure they had informed them if they changed the vehicle they had registered with its discount scheme.

People who live in the area are entitled to free crossings under the Local User Discount Scheme (LUDS), but have to make sure they keep their details up to date.

The warning came after one local motorist apparently failed to provide proof that he was eligible for the scheme after changing his car.

The motorist received penalty charges from December 2023 – when his pass expired – until November 2024.

Merseyflow said he had changed his vehicle in June 2024, but did not provide evidence that he was eligible.

The motorist provided them nine months later, and the free pass was reinstated, the company said.

But the fines – which were passed on to a debt collection agency – are understood be for both the vehicle he currently drives and one he claims he sold in 2021.

The driver told the BBC he had "done all the right things" but was "very stressed out".

A spokesman for Merseyflow said: "It is the owner's responsibility to inform the DVLA immediately if they sell, transfer, or part-exchange a vehicle to ensure they are no longer liable for tax or fines.

"Failure to notify the DVLA can result in a fine of up to £1,000."

The spokesman added: "The use of an enforcement agent is always a last resort for penalty charge notices that remain unpaid.

"Cases that reach the advanced enforcement stage, where an enforcement agent makes a visit to recover a debt, will have had numerous opportunities to pay, and at least five written notifications that they have an outstanding debt.

"Our message to anyone who gets a PCN is, please don't ignore it. You should take action as soon as possible because if the debt is passed on to an enforcement agent, then it will increase significantly."

More than 27m crossings were made on the Mersey Gateway the nearby Silver Jubilee Bridge in 2025, with about 84,000 vehicles using them every day.

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