Debt collectors threaten firm over already-paid Tyne Tunnel fine

Drivers say the signs among roadworks are confusing

A vehicle rental firm says it has been threatened by debt collectors over toll fines that have already been paid.

In The Future Ltd said debt recovery letters demanded £166 for Tyne Tunnel unpaid toll charge notices (UTCNs).

Director Alastair Ross said it was "crazy" because the Tyne Tunnel website "is saying there's nothing to pay".

Tunnel operator TT2 claims Mr Ross paid one fine after the debt had been passed to the recovery company and "didn't advise either party".

Chief executive Philip Smith said Mr Ross should have paid Marston Debt Recovery, not TT2, once the debt was transferred.

"By the time we had reconciled received payments, Marston had issued further letters as they were unaware that Mr Ross had paid [the incorrect recipient]," he said.

But Mr Ross said he passed on all paperwork to his customer who had paid the UTCN to TT2 online, which would not be possible after a fine had been transferred to a debt recovery company.

He also said, for some tunnel UTCNs, the first notification he received had been the debt recovery letter itself.

"The whole situation's crazy," he said.

A debt recovery letter arrived after the fine had been paid

The white commercial van was logged as having gone through the tunnel on 7 January without paying.

On 5 February, Marston sent the hire firm a letter threatening "potential criminal or enforcement action" and a fine of up to £1,000 if the resulting UTCN was not paid.

Another letter was received from Marston regarding the same, paid, UTCN on 19 April.

Mr Ross said the debt recovery company sent another letter regarding the non-payment of a separate UTCN, incurred on 2 January, which had also been paid.

The TT2 website shows the UTCN for the 7 January toll has been paid

The rental firm, which is based in Peterborough, has already called on TT2 to routinely reissue UTCNs to drivers.

Hire companies' contracts usually allow penalty notices to be passed to customers but TT2 requires the company to pay and recoup the cost.

Mr Ross said his firm received 10 to 15 fines for customers' unpaid tolls or parking tickets each day and was able to transfer liability for "every single one" apart from the Tyne Tunnel's.

TT2 said the van in question had incurred a number of UTCNs but, since 15 December when it stopped rerouting fines to customers, these had all been sent to In The Future.

TT2 had paused five that were currently outstanding pending a conversation with the company, it said.

Mr Smith said it was "administratively simpler for everyone if we deal directly with the vehicle owner, who is in the best position to recover the costs from whoever was the driver".