News release
10th May 2021

Halton residents with expired plans must update their merseyflow accounts by 14 May 2021 or pay for crossings

Almost 4,500 eligible Halton residents and Blue Badge holders are being asked to bring their merseyflow accounts up to date before the payment extension window ends on 14th May 2021, or they will need to pay for all journeys made since the date their plans expired.

To continue to benefit from discounted crossings, the 6,000 merseyflow customers whose plans have expired will need to:

• make their £10 annual payment, and
• supply a copy of
  • their current valid driving licence,
  • the V5C form for the vehicle they want to register, and
  • their current Halton council tax bill

The quickest and easiest way to do this is online at www.merseyflow.co.uk before 14th May.

In January, merseyflow automatically extended payment deadlines for eligible Halton residents and Blue Badge holders whose discount plans were due to expire during lockdown.

This meant customers with either of these plans could continue using the Mersey Gateway Bridge and Silver Jubilee Bridge without making their annual payment, or paying for one-off journeys.

Now that the country is continuing on the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, merseyflow is contacting around 6,000 customers whose plans have expired to remind them to bring their accounts up to date and advise of the approaching deadline.

The vast majority of eligible Halton residents and Blue Badge holders are not affected by this and can continue to benefit from heavily discounted journeys if they have a valid pass.

If customers with either of these expired plans don’t take action, they will need to pay for each crossing they have made since their plans expired and risk receiving a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for any unpaid or late paid journeys made after 14th May.

Neil Conway, Chief Executive of merseyflow, said: "We’re contacting all of our Halton resident and Blue Badge holder customers who received an automatic payment extension on their discounted plans and haven’t yet paid to ask them bring their accounts up to date as soon as possible. This is not only to continue benefiting from their fantastic discount on Mersey Gateway and Silver Jubilee Bridge crossings, but to ensure that they do not have to pay for any journeys made since the date their plan expired, or get issued with a PCN for crossings made after 14th May with an expired plan.

“The quickest and easiest way to pay for your discount plan and upload your documents is on the merseyflow website, however, our contact centre and Walk-in centres are both available for our customers who prefer to use these services. Please make sure you have current, valid documents as that means we can make the renewal process as quick and easy as possible.”

Eligible Halton residents must renew their plan every 12 months to continue qualifying for discounted crossings. Blue Badge holders have to renew their plans if they change their vehicle or when their badge expires.

How to update your discount plan

The quickest and simplest way to update your plan is to go online to the merseyflow website.

Halton residents can follow merseyflow’s simple five-step guide:

• Step 1 – scan or take photographs of your valid driving licence, current council tax bill and V5C vehicle registration certificate ready to upload
• Step 2 – log into your merseyflow account at www.merseyflow.co.uk and click ‘renew my plan’
• Step 3 – upload your documents
• Step 4 – pay your £10 annual fee
• Step 5 – you will receive an email confirming your payment has been received

Blue Badge holders need to follow a similar process and upload photos or copies of both sides of their Blue Badge. Customers with Blue Badge plans are also encouraged to contact the merseyflow team for a further extension if they are waiting for a local authority to process their Blue Badge applications.