I have to pay tolls even when on hols

A WIDNES man will still have to pay £45 for Mersey Gateway Bridge tolls – even though he is on holiday in Tenerife.

Graham Cain pays £90 for a monthly unlimited travel pass with Merseyflow.

The pass allows Graham, who is a driving instructor, to pass as many times as possible over the bridge, instead of paying the £2 toll crossing fee each time.

He claims that Merseyflow assured him, when he took out the pass – which is set up via a direct debit – that when he went on holiday for two weeks, he would not be charged.

However, Mr Cain now faces having to pay £45 while he is on holiday in Tenerife, after claiming Merseyflow has refused to offer him a refund.

The 61-year-old said: “It’s a travesty, it’s going to cost me £45 for nothing.

“They offered me no explanation when I rang as to why they couldn’t just suspend the account or refund me.

“They just told me that’s not what they do and it’s not their fault.”

Mr Cain said he has already had to increase the price of his driving lessons because of the toll charges.

He added: “It’s a lot for small business owners to pay £90 a month. I am outraged and will be emailing my local MP, Derek Twigg, about it.”

Mr Cain said his only option was to cancel his direct debit with Merseyflow but says he is in a ‘no win’ situation because to cancel it would cost ultimately cost him more than £45 in toll charges.

He said: “I feel that I would be failing in my responsibility to teach people to drive safely, if I didn’t take them over the bridge, so I do cross it well over 100 times a month.

“They could check and see that I didn’t use the bridge for two weeks and give a refund.”

The Mersey Gateway Bridge, which opened in October, cost £600m to build and spans the River Mersey between Widnes and Runcorn.

In just seven days of the bridge opening, motorists were collectively fined almost £50,000, with more than 2,000 drivers issued with penalty notices.

Mr Cain added: “If local businesses were only charged £10 or £20 a month, I’m sure the amount of ill-feeling would be less. But there is a lot of resentment over the bridge.”

Merseyflow has been approached for comment.