Letter before Action
Your Tyne Tunnel is a grassroots campaign group providing an independent voice for customers using any of the tunnels under the Tyne.
This information is based on either published sources available in the public domain or gathered from other users, our opinion is our own, you should make your own decisions as to whether you should appeal or pay your UTCN.
IF you receive a "Letter Before Action" from TT2 ltd you should NOT ignore it:
If you have an outstanding account for tolls and late payment charge(s) and you have not been able to successfully appeal these, or have refused to make a payment, then the Debt Collection Agents contracted by TT2 (eg: Marstons or CDER) will hand the case back to TT2 after a specified length of time.
Depending on various factors, such as you having multiple and frequent UTCNs or have stated that you refuse to pay, then TT2 are able to take legal action against you.
For simplicity reasons we are not attempting to explain the legal process to you here on this website, however be assured that TT2 are authorised under the various legislation that the tunnels operate within, are indeed allowed to collect a toll and impose a late payment charge (Unpaid Toll Charge Notice) for motorists who do not pay by the deadline of "Midnight the day after travel" which is displayed on signage in the tunnel area.
It should be noted that TT2 themselves merely operate the tunnel, the legislation and the operating rules they must follow are set by the local authorities who own the tunnel.
The Letter Before Action must be sent out by the organisation prior to commencing any legal action and is really the "last chance" to resolve any misunderstandings or make an appeal where previously the motorist has ignored all correspondence.
The form which accompanies the letter should be completed and returned following the instructions printed on it and returned within the deadline shown.
Remember to be as accurate as you are able to in terms of stating your case, stick to the facts regarding your circumstances and stay away from making statements such as ""The tunnel should be free to use" - you may well indeed think that, however in this context the law says that you must pay to use the tunnel, and therefore your appeal is unlikely to gain any sympathy!
Also, worth reviewing the rest of the advice on this site especially with regards to preventing you getting a UTCN in the first place.