The Mersey Gateway Bridge payment operator has reduced the initial deposit for new registered pre-pay customers after listening to customer feedback.
New registered pre-pay customers will now initially pay merseyflow a lower deposit of £20 per vehicle (it was previously £30) when setting up a pre-pay account, plus the initial £5 registration fee.
The £20 is then used to pay for journeys across the bridge. If a customer closes their account at any point and hasn’t used the credit, the unspent balance is automatically refunded.
Registered customers save 10% on every journey they make across the Mersey Gateway Bridge. Registering with merseyflow is the only way to get discounts on journeys across the Mersey Gateway Bridge, which links Runcorn and Widnes.
Anyone registering for a merseyflow pre-pay account also gets the choice to set up the account so it is automatically topped up by direct debit or credit card if it drops below a specified amount. The default top-up trigger point is a minimum of £10 but customers have the option to set a different amount if they wish to do so. This is a key advantage of having a registered account with merseyflow, because as long as the account is in credit, no PCNs will be issued.
Mike Bennett, Managing Director of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said: “By registering with merseyflow, customers can save up to 10% on their crossing and automatically top-up their account. We hope that the new lower deposit amount will encourage more people to register – and I’d encourage everyone to select the ‘auto top-up’ option when they do to make sure that their account stays in credit.”
Anyone planning to use the bridge can create an account today at www.merseyflow.co.uk and pay the new lower credit top-up.
It is also possible for people to register in person at merseyflow’s walk-in centre in Runcorn if they don’t have access to the internet. It is open 9am – 7pm weekdays and 9am – 6pm weekends and bank holidays.
Neil Conway, Managing Director of merseyflow said: “We’re always listening to feedback from customers and looking at ways we can improve the service we offer. Having reviewed this area, we felt that by reducing this initial deposit amount to £20 it would encourage more people to register for discounts and minimise their chances of getting a PCN.”
He added: “We will continue to respond to customer feedback to help ensure payments are quick and easy to make and I hope that this change will help increase the number of registered customers getting discounts during 2020. Our auto top-up system will mean that you always have money in your merseyflow account while you have available credit and that you won’t risk getting a penalty charge.”