Tyne Tunnel toll dodgers face property being confiscated under legal crackdown

Operator TT2 was issued a warning to drivers in debt over tolls that its amnesty period is now over and, with county court judgement (CCJ) rulings in place to enforce payment among repeat offenders, a High Court Writ has now been obtained against those still to pay. 

Those individuals have already been sent a notice of enforcement letter informing them that a High Court Enforcement Officer will be visiting their property to seek payment of the debt in full or take control of goods until the debt is paid. 

Adrian Wallace, CEO at TT2, said: “Around 98% of our customers do pay their tolls on time, and it is unfair on those customers that a minority of people do not. We cannot allow our paying customers to bear the burden of the potential detriment created by those who do not pay.” 

TT2 said the Tyne Tunnels are funded solely by tolls and do not receive any Government funding.

The toll is used by the North East Combined Authority to pay back the debts incurred in the build of the second tunnel and the refurbishment of the first, as well as pay for the extensive 24/7 operation, maintenance and management of both vehicular tunnels, provided by TT2. 

The contract for TT2 to operate the Tyne Tunnels is in place until 2037 and is now just over its half-way point. 

Mr Wallace said: “The purpose of the tunnels is to provide significant value to our region, by providing increased social mobility and economic opportunities across the North East.

“However, the provision and operation of this infrastructure to the public relies entirely upon the people who use them to pay their toll.

“We have made multiple attempts to contact these individuals to settle their debt before this stage, therefore these people are very aware of the unacceptable behaviour that they continue to display.

“They will already have received multiple letters and have failed to engage or ignored those letters and it is TT2’s right to take action as a point of last resort.”

Since the Tyne Tunnels’ transition to open road tolling in November 2021 the percentage of people not paying their toll has fallen by around 60%, with unpaid journeys equating to 5.39% in the first month of open road tolling, dropping to 2.10% in March 2024.

For more information about how to pay for Tyne Tunnel tolls, visit: www.tt2.co.uk