A campaigner has voiced his concerns at the Tyne Tunnel's bid to extend payment deadlines to a select number of motorists who would have otherwise been handed hefty fines.
Gary Spedding has been campaigning against TT2 Limited - the company that oversees the River Tyne transport link - since the start of the year, due to their costly penalties for those who use the tunnel without proper payment.
And his latest reaction comes after executives at the tunnels announced a 'one off gesture of goodwill', allowing road users extra time to pay their missed-tolls before being handed an Unpaid Toll Notice Charge (UTCN).
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Email extensions were sent to a select number of motorists during December 2021. These people have pre-paid accounts and they were given a rare extension of seven days of receipt of the email.
Usually drivers who fail to pay before midnight the day after travel will receive a UTCN in the post, at a standard cost of £60 plus the initial toll fee - however this is halved to £30 plus the fee if paid within fourteen days.
Those who still refuse to pay up within 28 days will see their UTCN rise to £100 plus the toll charge and debt collection agencies becoming involved if they don't co-operate.
Gary welcomed the news of extensions for those who received them but in the same breath demanded much more from executives at the tunnel.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, he said: "We welcome the extension that has been given to a limited number of Tyne Tunnel users for the month of December.
"This move from TT2 Limited has alleviated the fears and concerns for a number of motorists who have used the tunnel."
"However, the fact this extension has only been given to a limited number of tunnel users is of grave concern and raises a number of issues.
"Firstly, it is completely unacceptable that TT2 Limited still refuses to acknowledge the flaws in its mobile app and the pre-paid accounts system.
"Secondly, this extension shouldn't be a one-off, but rather implemented as standard policy for all pre-paid account holders.
"It would be cost-effective for TT2 Limited to simply e-mail those who have an online account to provide everyone a fair opportunity to pay for their journey if there has been a payment issue rather than automatically turning to the use of UTCNs and hefty penalties.
"This would also give tunnel users fair notice and piece of mind. It would further ensure that only those who are truly non-compliant are being hit with penalties.
"Thirdly, it is of concern that the pre-paid system wasn't previously already set up to send low-balance notifications to account holders.
"All those impacted by this issue should have their UTCNs cancelled automatically."
Gary vowed that his work campaigning against TT2 Limited's policies is far from over. He plans to continue to work closely with other motorists to attempt to make a change.
He still has 'significant concerns' with how the tunnel handles unpaid tolls, and strives to campaign until his demands are met.
Gary added: "As campaigners, we continue to have significant concerns in relation to how TT2 Limited handles unpaid tolls.
"We reiterate the request that TT2 Limited and NECA engage positively with our campaign and outline what steps they will take in response to the reasonable demands that Tunnel users are requesting through our campaign and online petition.
"We remain committed to the demand for a complete overhaul and fundamental change to the operation of the Tyne Tunnel with the full implementation of an ethical system, lower UTCN penalties and a longer period for users to pay their initial toll fee.
"The online system is littered with flaws and errors which are reported to us daily.
"We demand a transparent and independent appeals process that is fit for purpose with a full explainer published on the TT2 website.
"We further call for protections for vulnerable Tunnel users, the elderly and those who are facing ridiculously high UTCN penalties."
He continued: "At the end of the day, every Tunnel user deserves a fair opportunity to resolve their toll charges without facing hefty penalties and the threat of legal action.
"We shall continue to monitor the situation and how TT2 Limited operates the Tyne Tunnel, making relevant criticisms and providing feedback with the hope that the changes being requested are implemented.
"Tunnel users deserve a fair and equitable system for using one of the main transport gateways across the River Tyne."
Chief Executive at TT2, Philip Smith recently spoke publicly about the decision to allow extensions to a small number of motorists, and what will be done in future to hopefully prevent similar occurrences in terms of UTCNs.
In a statement earlier this month, he said: “We noticed an anomaly in December, where a much higher than usual percentage of drivers who had not paid their toll, were customers with pre-paid accounts.
“Around 6,700 drivers either had insufficient funds in their account or did not have their vehicle registration number registered on their account – or both.
“Because many of these customers are new to having a pre-paid account and are still getting used to open-road-tolling - rather than issue UTCNs, we decided to put a one-off measure in place to help them pay their unpaid toll, and subsequently avoid a charge.
“To try and prevent this from happening in the future, we now automatically send low-balance-notification emails to all customers who have pre-paid accounts.”
