Broken down car fined after it was carried over bridge ON A TRAILER!
● A WOMAN whose empty car was carried across the Mersey Gateway bridge on a trailer is fuming after discovering she was charged for the journey.
Lisa Vagianos, 48, from Winsford, was shocked to find she’d been stung with a £20 fine for a journey in August that she had no recollection of going on.
But after enquiring with Merseyflow it emerged that the charge applied to her broken vehicle that was transported across the bridge on the back of her husband’s trailer.
However, despite a customer service agent admitting to Lisa that she’d been wrongfully charged, she was told she would have to make an online representation for the fine to be formally dropped.
A spokesperson from Merseyflow has now confirmed that the notice Lisa received has been cancelled and has apologised to the customer.
But the mum-of-three said the ordeal exposed a huge flaw in the system.
Lisa, a business manager, said: “My husband owns a classic car restoration business in Widnes and he was carrying (my car) on his trailer over the bridge in August.
“We’ve never even driven it once, but it’s registered in my name.
“A few days ago I received a fine for that journey. The person on the phone told me it was a mistake, but there was no way for them to cancel it and that I would have to make a representa- tion against the fine.
“It’s ridiculous. Why should the onus be on me to make a representation for their incompetence?
“It’s frustrating because I already lead a very busy life and my husband pays a fortune to cross that bridge every day.
“But it’s also the principle that they make a mistake and it’s on you to fix it.”
Toll operator Merseyflow has repeatedly come under fire for poor customer service since the Mersey Gateway opened last October.
Last week, a recording of a customer service agent snoring on the other end of the phone while a man tried to pay his toll emerged online.
Lisa, who works as a business management analyst, said she feels the whole Merseyflow business model needs changing.
She said: “It’s unbelievable that there’s no way for them to withdraw a fine. They need to look at their whole process and realise they are not working for people and make changes to it.
“It’s crazy that people who spend so much money to cross that bridge should have to take time out of their busy lives to remedy their (Merseyflow’s) incompetence.”
A Merseyflow spokesperson said: “After investigating, Merseyflow can confirm the PCN the customer received has now been cancelled. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”