VIRUS TESTER HIT WITH £1.4K BRIDGE BILL
AN NHS coronavirus swabber has expressed shock after racking up massive fines crossing the Mersey Gateway bridge to test vulnerable Runcorn residents for the disease.
Liam Fisher, 26, of St Helens, said he has now faced demands for £1,409 after receiving a series of penalty charge notices (PCNs) from tolls operator merseyflow in the post.
Merseyflow is pursuing payments over 21 crossings in total, and a spokeswoman for the company said they date back to September – therefore predating the pandemic and when no testing was taking place.
But a list of the PCNs seen by the Weekly News showed that 14 occurred after lockdown had come into force. Mr Fisher said he uses his own car for work and had thought his work would be exempt from having to pay the £2 charge for a single crossing and he had passed his registration to his employer.
He said the response from the merseyflow call centre when he rang to question the PCNs was ‘the pandemic wasn’t caused by them’.
Mr Fisher said: “I’m on the community Covid testing team and I’ve been crossing the bridge to test patients too unwell to leave their homes, and I received a letter saying I have a fine for £1,409.
“I was aware there was a toll – I gave my reg to my employer so I thought I was covered, and crossing the bridge we wouldn’t be charged for it. We were doing multiple trips a day.
“So when I contacted them they said ‘the pandemic wasn’t caused by them – it’s not their issue’.
“They asked me if I wanted to pay by card or cheque.”
Mr Fisher, who said he left his old job with the ambulance service to help out with the pandemic, said: “I feel a little bit deflated.
“I’ve left my full time role to come and help out with the test and I feel like a little bit of support would be good to see.
“If I wasn’t going to test patients, no-one would have done it and they probably would have died.”
A merseyflow spokeswoman said: “Mr Fisher has 21 outstanding PCNs dating back to September 2019 from crossings, all made in his own vehicle.
“We have not received payment for any of these journeys, and five of the older journeys, which predate the Covid-19 pandemic, have passed to the enforcement stage.
“As a result there is a significant debt to pay.
“We have been in contact with Mr Fisher on numerous occasions by sending him PCNs to make him aware of these unpaid crossings.
“Mr Fisher has now raised a complaint which we will fully investigate, and we will be in touch with him directly as we deal with that complaint.”
A spokeswoman for the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, which was set up by Halton Borough Council to manage the project, said: “Throughout the pandemic, Halton Borough Council has actively sought to remove tolls on Mersey Gateway for NHS workers, key workers, volunteers and others involved in responding to the Covid19 crisis.
“Unfortunately, despite repeated approaches, the Government has not been minded to approve the council’s requests.”