Man hit with £20k toll bridge penalty charges for car sold five years ago

Craig Pedder, 38, returned home to find 138 envelopes in his hallway - each demanding a payment of £147 for crossings of the Mersey Gateway toll bridge by a car he sold in 2021 A driver has been slapped with 138 fines amounting to £20,000 - all from a car he parted ways with five years ago.

Craig Pedder, 38, came home to discover a mountain of envelopes in his hallway, each one demanding a payment of £147. The fines are linked to crossings of the Mersey Gateway toll bridge by a white Ford Focus that Craig sold off in April 2021. Craig, from Runcorn in Cheshire, maintains that he completed the DVLA transfer at the time and should have no further ties to the vehicle.

READ MORE: Secret to getting the best of BirminghamLive's stories The letters were all delivered on January 26 this year, but the notices themselves span between December 2023 and November 2024, totalling a staggering £20,286. Craig shared: "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.

"I thought it was odd 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 revealed that the letters originated from a debt collection agency, not directly from Merseyflow. He added: "As a registered resident, I should not have been charged for these crossings." Halton residents can sign up for the Local User Discount Scheme (LUDS), run by Merseyflow, which permits locals to cross the toll bridge free of charge after paying a £12 annual administration fee.

Merseyflow explained that the fines were issued after Mr Pedder's LUDS plan expired in December 2023 and was not renewed. A spokesperson explained that when plans lapse without renewal, accounts automatically switch to pre-pay status, leaving motorists responsible for crossing charges.

They stated that Mr Pedder updated the vehicle details on his Merseyflow account in June 2024, but failed to submit documentation proving his eligibility for the LUDS scheme, resulting in the plan being cancelled in August 2024. Merseyflow confirmed the plan was reinstated in April 2025 following receipt of the required paperwork, but noted the outstanding PCNs persist because the necessary forms and proof of sale have yet to be furnished.

The firm also clarified that the reason 130 letters arrived in a single batch was due to Mr Pedder relocating without informing the DVLA, causing initial correspondence to be dispatched to a previous address before being reissued to his current residence. Merseyflow stated that cases only progress to enforcement after numerous written warnings have been dispatched.

Craig insists the vehicle should not be linked to him, claiming he transferred ownership in 2021 and the purchaser would have been required to tax and insure it under their own name. It remains unexplained why the vehicle continued to be associated with him when the penalties were issued.

He characterised the ordeal as "overwhelming", stating: "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 has encouraged motorists to keep their toll accounts and DVLA details current and accurate.