How long do I have to appeal a Tyne Tunnel PCN?

You have 28 days from the date of issue to challenge informally to TT2, which keeps the £30 discount available while they consider it. If TT2 rejects the informal challenge they issue a Notice to Owner and you have 28 days for formal representations. If those are rejected you have 28 days to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Beyond those deadlines TT2 issues a charge certificate at £100 and registers the debt for enforcement at the Traffic Enforcement Centre in Northampton.

I tried to pay but the website was down, what now?

Document the outage. Take screenshots of any error pages, save the time-stamped emails of failed transactions, and note the time you tried to pay. Send these to TT2 with your representation, asking them to apply the principle that you should not be penalised for a failure of their own system. TT2 has discretion to cancel and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal regularly cancels PCNs where the keeper has clearly tried to pay within the window but the operator's payment infrastructure failed.

Will an unpaid Tyne Tunnel PCN affect my credit file?

Not directly. A civil PCN does not appear on your credit file. However, if the case escalates to a county court judgment after the Traffic Enforcement Centre registers the debt, that judgment will appear on your credit record and may be visible for six years. The way to avoid this is to either pay or to file a TE9 witness statement if you never received the PCN, or a TE7 application for more time, both available free from gov.uk.

What if I crossed on a foreign-registered vehicle?

TT2 uses Euro Parking Collection to trace foreign keepers in the EU and several non-EU countries and pursue unpaid charges. Foreign keepers have the same statutory rights as UK keepers. If you have evidence that the toll was paid, or that the vehicle was on hire, or that service is out of time, the same grounds apply. Send representations in English to TT2 with all supporting paperwork translated where reasonable. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal accepts appeals from non-UK keepers.

Can the Tyne Tunnel PCN be transferred to my employer?

If the vehicle is registered to a company and you were driving on company business, the PCN goes to the company as registered keeper. The company can either pay or pass it to you under the contract of employment. They cannot transfer formal civil liability to you, that stays with the registered keeper, but they can make you reimburse them. If your employer has incorrectly named you in the PCN process when the vehicle is registered to them, you can ask TT2 to reissue the PCN to the correct keeper.

Is the Tyne Tunnel toll a criminal fine?

No. The Tyne Tunnel toll PCN is a civil charge under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the Tyne Tunnels (Revision of Tolls) Order 2016. It does not create points, does not appear on a DBS check and does not need to be declared as a motoring conviction. Enforcement, if unpaid, is via the county court process rather than the magistrates' court. Take it seriously, because escalation can lead to bailiffs and CCJs, but you do not need to declare it on insurance or job applications.

Tyne Tunnel PCN Appeal: Statutory Grounds | AppealAFine

The Tyne Tunnels are two road tunnels under the River Tyne connecting North Tyneside and South Tyneside. Operator TT2 Limited took over in 2008 and moved to fully cashless tolling in November 2021. The toll is £2.10 for a car and £4.20 for goods vehicles, paid online, by phone or via the Tyne Pass account. Payment is due by midnight the day after the crossing. If you miss the deadline or the system fails to match your payment, TT2 issues a Penalty Charge Notice. The PCN is £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days, and rises to £100 once a charge certificate is issued. The legal basis is the Tyne Tunnels (Revision of Tolls) Order 2016 together with Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2022. You can challenge first informally to TT2, then formally, and finally at the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Grounds that work for Tyne Tunnel pcns

The toll was paid on time

If your Tyne Pass account auto-deducted, or your card statement shows the toll cleared by midnight the day after travel, the PCN cannot stand. TT2's system regularly misses payments when the registration entered online does not exactly match the V5C, when a vehicle is added to an account after the crossing, or when a previous keeper's account is still associated with the plate. Send TT2 a written representation with the transaction reference, the payment date and time, and the registration as it appears on the V5C. Ask them to reconcile against the ANPR record for that crossing. If they refuse, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal cancels on documentary evidence of payment.

Hire or lease vehicle transfer of liability

Under regulation 14 of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2022, a hire firm can transfer liability to the named hirer by serving the hire agreement and a statement of liability. The agreement must cover the date and time of the crossing. If you are the hirer and TT2 has billed you direct, request the transfer paperwork from the hire firm. If the keeper company has not properly transferred liability, the PCN against you fails. If you were the keeper but had sold the vehicle, supply the V5C/2 sale slip showing the date of transfer to DVLA, alongside any insurance cancellation confirmation, and ask TT2 to pursue the new keeper instead.

Out-of-time service

Schedule 1 of the 2022 Regulations requires the PCN to be served within six months of the contravention and the Notice to Owner to follow within six months of the PCN. Service is by post, so delays happen when DVLA records are out of date or when post is returned. If the PCN is dated more than six months after the date of crossing, the PCN is invalid and you should write to TT2 stating that service is out of time under the 2022 Regulations and request cancellation. If they refuse, the Traffic Penalty Tribunal will cancel because there is no discretion on the time limit.

Exempt vehicle under the Tolls Order

The Tyne Tunnels (Revision of Tolls) Order 2016 exempts two-wheeled motorcycles, mopeds and quads, vehicles in the disabled tax class, and certain emergency vehicles. If your V5C shows the vehicle in the disabled tax class on the date of crossing, the PCN should be cancelled. Send a DVLA copy of the V5C and request cancellation under the statutory exemption. Note that the Tyne Tunnel also runs a small number of contracts with local authorities for refuse and gritter vehicles which give limited exemptions; if you operate one of those vehicles, check the contract before paying.

Defective PCN content

Regulation 9 of the 2022 Regulations requires the PCN to state the date, time and location of the contravention, the amount of the penalty, the discount and full-penalty amounts, and how to make representations. Any missing or incorrect information makes the PCN defective. Look closely at the date and time stamps in the ANPR image, the registration mark character by character, and the description of the vehicle. Compare the photo to your vehicle's make, model and colour; mismatches happen when ANPR misreads a plate. If anything is wrong, raise it in your representation and ask the adjudicator to apply the principle that civil enforcement notices must comply strictly with the Regulations.

Got a Tyne Tunnel pcn?

Our tool checks your specific notice details and tells you in 60 seconds whether you have grounds to appeal.

Check my fine free

Local detail: Tyne Tunnel

The Tyne Tunnels comprise two parallel two-lane tunnels under the Tyne between Jarrow and Howdon.
The first tunnel opened in 1967 and the second in 2011 as part of the New Tyne Crossing project.
Cashless tolling launched on 24 November 2021, ending the manned and coin booths.
Standard car toll is £2.10, HGVs £4.20 (updated under the 2016 Order and subsequent amendments).
TT2 Limited operates the tunnels under a 30-year concession granted in 2008 by the North East Combined Authority.
Around 50,000 vehicles use the tunnels each day.
Local user discount of 50p per crossing is available via a Tyne Pass account.

Got a pcn in Tyne Tunnel?

How to appeal a Tyne Tunnel PCN

Quick facts