{"id":1087350,"date":"2026-07-13T21:37:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1087350\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:37:27","slug":"they-went-over-a-bridge-five-months-ago-then-a-letter-arrived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1087350\/","title":{"rendered":"They went over a bridge five months ago, then a letter arrived"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I’m going to have to pay it at some point. I’ve got no choice have I really?” Said James.\"Estelle<\/p>\n

Estelle Flanagan and James Flanagan<\/p>\n

A couple have expressed their shock after being issued with a \u00a3176 fine for driving across a toll bridge – five months ago.<\/p>\n

Under new rules drafted in last year, motorists must pay a \u00a31 toll online by midnight the following day after using Warburton Toll Bridge, which straddles the border of Cheshire and Greater Manchester.<\/p>\n

Failure to pay results in an Unpaid Toll Charge letter, and can lead to up to \u00a3100 fines. But James Flanagan and Estelle Flanagan have told the Manchester Evening News they received no letters regarding the fine before being contacted by a debt-recovery agency demanding nearly \u00a3200.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

The letter was issued by Direct Debt Collection Bailiffs on behalf of Excel Parking Services Limited, the company that manages the Warburton Toll Bridge, in Trafford<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We get parking tickets, or you’ve gone in a bus lanes in Manchester with all the roadworks,” James, 47, explained. “We get all those, because these things happen in life.<\/p>\n

“They happen and you just pay it, but we’ve never had something like this, it’s just a complete and utter shock.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Warburton Toll Bridge(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Excel Parking say a notice was sent to Mrs Flanagan on 24 April 2026. The company told the MENthat it is not responsible for the ‘transmission of post’ and directed matters to Royal Mail.<\/p>\n

But when approached by the MEN, Royal Mail requested for more information. Mainly whether the letter was sent via first or second class postage and if it was tracked. Excel Parking is yet to respond.<\/p>\n

The Flanagans claim they received no initial emails or letters regarding the fine in the past five months, with the debt recovery letter demanding almost \u00a3200 with no option to appeal. This, they say, was the first time they have been made aware of the issue.<\/p>\n

In October 2025, the pair moved from Glazebrook to Macclesfield<\/a>, but Estelle, 43, regularly uses the route to visit friends and family.<\/p>\n

Prior to moving, the couple ensured a postal diversion system was in place to cover ‘every eventuality’, however, they said no letters regarding the unpaid toll were sent to their old or new address.<\/p>\n

James said: “I’ve lived in the village on the side of that bridge for ten years. Never, ever had a problem. We moved house and my wife went over and clearly forgot to sort it. Which is fine, these things happen.<\/p>\n

“She’s not had a reminder bill, she’s not had a penalty and now we’ve been summoned for \u00a3176. We had a postal divert for both our names, we covered every eventuality. We’ve used that bridge for ten years, so we knew about it.<\/p>\n

“\u00a3176 for that one trip from five months ago? They’ve never once contacted me.”<\/p>\n

The Flanagans are among hundreds of motorists who have been issued with huge fines since the bridge toll increase and introduction of a new ANPR system on the road.<\/p>\n

Residents say they are being issued fines up to five months after using the bridge,<\/a> which crosses the Manchester Ship Canal.<\/p>\n

Previously, tolls were collected in person before an online payment system was introduced in December 2025. The change saw the fee rise from 12p to \u00a31 – an increase of more than 700%.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Local residents protest on the bridge over the fee increase(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras are now used to monitor the crossing. Regular users can set up a pre-paid account for the tolls to be taken automatically, with discounts for local residents or Blue Badge holders.<\/p>\n

Sections of the road across the bridge have also been made subject to double red lines, also known as ‘red routes’, prohibiting stopping, loading or parking.<\/p>\n

James and Estelle now have around two weeks left to pay the bill or potentially face legal action.<\/p>\n

“I’m going to have to pay it at some point. I’ve got no choice have I really?” Said James.<\/p>\n

“I’m happy to pay a toll penalty, I’m not that bothered about it. But nearly \u00a3200?<\/p>\n

“It’s a threat if you don’t pay, it’s just bullying tactics from that company.”<\/p>\n

Jon Hassett is the deputy port director for Peel Ports Group, which runs the Manchester Ship Canal Company.<\/p>\n

He told the MEN : “We recognise the variety of concerns road users have raised about the operation of the toll enforcement system, including the appeals process, payment methods and customer experience.<\/p>\n

“We take all feedback seriously and are reviewing the examples that have been provided, in conjunction with Excel Parking who are responsible for the number plate recognition system and the toll charges.<\/p>\n

“We and Excel will continue to investigate any specific examples provided and it will be for Excel to implement changes from any lessons learned. Our focus remains on delivering a fair, proportionate and transparent service for all users.\u201d<\/p>\n

A representative from Excel Parking Services said: “We have evidence that a UTC (Unpaid Toll Charge) Notice was posted to Mrs Flanagan on 24 April 2026.<\/p>\n

“We are not responsible for any issues associated with the transmission of post; such issues, including the postal re-direct service, should be directed to the Royal Mail.”<\/p>\n

Royal Mail and Direct Debt Collection Bailiffs have been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“I’m going to have to pay it at some point. I’ve got no choice have I really?” Said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1087351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,2508,393,4884,17448,2465,179409,1289,16,15],"class_list":["post-1087350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-cheshire","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-macclesfield","tag-manchester","tag-partington","tag-trafford","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116914832822294744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1087350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1087350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1087351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1087350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1087350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1087350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}