'I've been hit with £20,000 in fines from a car I sold five years ago'

Craig Pedder, 38, sold the vehicle in 2021 but then received a mountain of letters demanding payment for crossings of the Mersey Gateway toll bridge A motorist has been hit with 138 fines amounting to £20,000 - all linked to a car he sold five years ago. Craig Pedder, 38, was shocked to find a mountain of envelopes in his hallway, each demanding a payment of £147.

The fines are connected to crossings of the Mersey Gateway toll bridge by a white Ford Focus he sold in April 2021. Craig, from Runcorn, Cheshire, maintains that he completed the DVLA transfer at the time and should no longer be associated with the vehicle. The letters were delivered together on January 26 this year, but the notices themselves span between December 2023 and November 2024, totalling a staggering £20,286.

Craig said: "My four-year-old daughter opened the door and she was laughing her head off when she saw all of the envelopes - she thought it was hysterical. Click here to prioritise Manchester news in Google from the MEN "I thought it was strange because you don't get much post nowadays with everything being online.

But then I started opening them and I saw what they were." He said the letters came from a debt collection agency, rather than directly from Merseyflow. He added: "As a registered resident, I should not have been charged for these crossings." Residents in Halton can apply for the Local User Discount Scheme (LUDS), operated by Merseyflow, which allows locals to cross the toll bridge free of charge after paying a £12 annual administration fee.

Merseyflow said the fines were issued after Mr Pedder's LUDS plan expired in December 2023 and was not renewed. A spokesperson said that when plans are not renewed, accounts revert to pre-pay status and drivers are liable for crossings. They added that Mr Pedder changed the vehicle on his Merseyflow account in June 2024, but did not provide documents to prove eligibility for the LUDS scheme, meaning the plan was deactivated in August 2024.

Merseyflow confirmed the plan was reactivated in April 2025 after the required documents were provided, but said the outstanding PCNs remain because the necessary forms and evidence of sale have not yet been submitted. The company also said the reason 130 letters were received in one batch was because Mr Pedder had changed address and not updated the DVLA, meaning earlier correspondence was sent elsewhere and later reissued to his current address.

Merseyflow said cases only reach enforcement stage after multiple written notifications have been sent. Craig maintains the car should not be associated with him, saying he transferred ownership in 2021 and the buyer would have had to tax and insure it in their own name. It remains unclear why the vehicle was still being linked to him at the time the penalties were issued.

He described the experience as "overwhelming", adding: "I am now beyond stressed and constantly on edge whenever a car parks outside my house or there is a knock at the door. "I have received over 500 text messages and another 135 letters from a debt collection agency. "I felt very harassed with the constant texts.

I was busy working and they just wouldn't stop - one after another. "Even though I haven't done anything wrong, it makes you feel like you have. "It makes you feel guilty and on edge." Merseyflow urged drivers to ensure their toll accounts and DVLA records are kept up to date.