Where do I find MOT LAW please?

[Darfyddi]

Hi all, I have been quoted loads of interpretations of the MOT laws for the UK but I need to read the actually law.

 

I had a car fail an MOT at a garage and they told me that due to the new omputer MOT (instead of just paper) that I could no longer take my car back home as it had no mot and implied I would not be insured if I did.

 

Some people say that the car CAN be taken straight home, some say NOT.

 

I need to know as this cost me an extra £335 of which almost £250 was labour that I could have done myself.

 

Many thanks.

[bristolmary]

Here we go https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/after-the-test

 

It says

If your vehicle fails the test

 

If your vehicle fails the test you’ll get a ‘notification of failure’ from the test centre. The failure will be recorded in the secure central MOT database.

Until it passes a retest, you can only drive your vehicle:

• to a pre-arranged appointment at a garage to have the repairs done
  
• to a pre-arranged MOT test appointment
  

Your vehicle should be retested at the same test centre which did the original test.

 

You may want to check this out too https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests

 

And here is an article on main changes to MOT law in 2012

 

http://cars.aol.co.uk/2012/01/04/changes-to-mot-rules-in-2012-are-you-ready/

 

Sounds to me like garage possibly extended the truth slightly to make you have the repairs done by them where you stand on that someone else will have to help you

[Darfyddi]

Cheers for the quick response but I believe this is an abridged version of the actual law and therefore an interpretation - please correct me if I am wrong though.

[bristolmary]

it is the shortened version but basically yi is illegal to drive a non-exempt vehicle that requires a test on public roads without a current MOT,[except when driving to or from (subject to insurance terms and conditions) a booked MOT Test. So you could have driven it home, made the necessary repairs then taken it back to be tested but not driven it around to pick up parts. You may find more help here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOT_test I can't scroll through it properly now. Or try contacting VOSA direct for help, they'll know for certain! http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/

[Kiki1]

What exactly did the vehicle fail on ?

[marmaris30]

(Empty post)

[Kiki1]

Of course, if it failed and you have been advised that it is dangerous to drive away, then you would need to consider your own safety and that of other road users.

 

From memory (though this is in the days when there was some common sense on vehicle testing, and there was a mechanic in every person owning a car/motorcycle) if the MOT could not be completed, the vehicle was classed as NOT having undergone a test and therefore driving it away from a test station did not form part of the exemptions (currently VT30 ?) .

[crem]

my understanding is you can drive it TO or FROM an MOT test centre. I do not believe it needs to pass the test first time and you can drive it home having failed the test, (otherwise there would be no need to include the "and from" bit in the exemption would there!). I think the garage have pulled a fast one on you to get the work.

[Kiki1]

my understanding is you can drive it TO or FROM an MOT test centre. I do not believe it needs to pass the test first time and you can drive it home having failed the test, (otherwise there would be no need to include the "and from" bit in the exemption would there!). I think the garage have pulled a fast one on you to get the work.

 

The 'from' part used to have restrictions on it, a vehicle that is classed as 'dangerous condition' would not be given the right to travel on the road if the MOT station identified such a fault. Whether this is still the case I am not sure.

 

Knowing what the vehicle failed on would help

[afcwben]

my understanding is you can drive it TO or FROM an MOT test centre. I do not believe it needs to pass the test first time and you can drive it home having failed the test, (otherwise there would be no need to include the "and from" bit in the exemption would there!). I think the garage have pulled a fast one on you to get the work.

 

Also some people book an MOT before the previous one has expired, what would they do then? prevent you from taking your car home,

[dw190]

Also some people book an MOT before the previous one has expired, what would they do then? prevent you from taking your car home,

 

Why should they when the car has a valid MOT.

[afcwben]

Why should they when the car has a valid MOT.

If they have less than a month on MOT I used to book mine in two weeks before just in case

[crem]

I generally do mine a week or 2 early as well so you have the peace of mind that it is never going to be off the road waiting for repair. You don't "lose" any of your MOT year either as within a month of the test due date the garage can predate it to it's "official" MOT due date so you still have the full year (plus the extra week or 2) before your next MOT.

[theratboy]

If my mot runs out in march and i take it to be mot'd in feb and it fails is my mot until march still valid or does the mot failure cancel it? Am i mot'd or not?

[dw190]

If my mot runs out in march and i take it to be mot'd in feb and it fails is my mot until march still valid or does the mot failure cancel it? Am i mot'd or not?

 

Its still valid but if you are advised that the car is considered dangerous to drive you could still be prosecuted for knowingly driving an unroadworthy vehicle.

[Darfyddi]

Hi, it just failed on a split in one of the CV boots and one track rod end starting to wear needed replacing. I shall email VOSA later this morning - thank you for that tip.

[Conniff]

You were ripped off, they wanted the work. Name and shame the MoT center on here.

[oddjobbob]

Its still valid but if you are advised that the car is considered dangerous to drive you could still be prosecuted for knowingly driving an unroadworthy vehicle.

 

I don't think it is TBQH... even if you have a current MOT the fact that it fails a new test means the MOT is out.

[dw190]

I don't think it is TBQH... even if you have a current MOT the fact that it fails a new test means the MOT is out.

 

MOT is a Certificate of roadworthyness at the time of testing. A car does not fail, it just is not given a certifictae of roadworthyness.

 

You cannot be done for no MOT when you have a valid cartificate but that does not remove your responsibility to drive a roadworthy vehicle.

 

A failure is actually a refusal to issue a certificate.

 

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/Plain%20Paper%20Refusal%20of%20an%20MOT%20Test%20Certificate%20-%20Issued%20in%20Conjunction%20with%20VT30W%20(for%20completion%20by%20hand).pdf

[oddjobbob]

Sorry, I still think you're wrong.

 

What you are saynig was the case previuosly but now that MOTs are held electronically if your car fails then the old MOT is invalid.

 

I will stand to be corrected but remember this precise conversation when I took my Merc for an MOT in error 4 mnoths early (using the MOT station I had used for years when I sold cars)

 

I asked what would happen if it failed and he said it would invalidate the old MOT.

 

In which case IF it failed he would put it down as 'MOT test not completed / abandoned' which would mean it hadn't actually failed and the current MOT would still be valid until expiry.

 

I'll confirm that next time I speak to him, but am pretty sure that's the case.

 

As always I may be wrong...

[Kiki1]

Sorry, I still think you're wrong.

 

What you are saynig was the case previuosly but now that MOTs are held electronically if your car fails then the old MOT is invalid.

 

I will stand to be corrected but remember this precise conversation when I took my Merc for an MOT in error 4 mnoths early (using the MOT station I had used for years when I sold cars)

 

I asked what would happen if it failed and he said it would invalidate the old MOT.

 

In which case IF it failed he would put it down as 'MOT test not completed / abandoned' which would mean it hadn't actually failed and the current MOT would still be valid until expiry.

 

I'll confirm that next time I speak to him, but am pretty sure that's the case.

 

As always I may be wrong...

 

I mentioned as such in post 7 http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?380617-Where-do-I-find-MOT-LAW-please&p=4124406&viewfull=1#post4124406

 

With the hand written MOT's any checking up of a driver using the earlier - and still operational - one would require looking back through paperwork at the garage in question, and would be almost impossible to confirm if the vehicle had failed at another garage second time round. These days with centralised records it's a couple of prods on the keyboard at 'information retrieval'.

 

Besides there really would't be any point. If the car is stopped for whatever reason, the MOT has absolutely no use in confirming the roadworthiness at the time of stopping (with maybe the exception of leveing the garage immediately after the test). Plod/VOSA will be looking at the real time status, and how the car ties in witht he rest of the documentation, in particular the insurance aspect of the nut behind the wheel as that is where the ability to collect the maximum amount of funds lies.

[j66]

I think that only the Police or VOSA can prohibit a vehicle from going on the road, a MOT testing station certainly can't. We had a car fail the other day and the customer drove it away against our recommendation. That had split a metal brake pipe on the test and lost alot of fluid.

[dw190]

If you take a car for test at the local council garage and it does not pass you have to drive it away as they dont do repairs.

[Darfyddi]

Ok, I spoke to vosa who directed me to trading standards which I believe is done through Citizens Advice (consumer service formerly Consumer Direct or something similar) and I would just like someone who advises on letters to look at this one for me please and advise me on how I should close it out and if I should make any changes...

 

 

To : effing ford garage

 

Ref: MOT #############

 

Dear Sirs,

 

I recently attended your garage on Someday the XXth of January 2013 for a pre-booked MOT on my car (AB12 CDE) – after waiting a couple of hours one of your staff told me that the car failed on 2 points – split CV boot and worn track rod end.

 

When I exclaimed "oh" and informed your staff that I would go home and get the work done then re-book he informed me that we were not allowed on the road without an MOT, I told him that I had over a week on my MOT but he then told me that I would not be insured if I took my car home for repairs and this was because the old paper system gave some discrepancy in timings but the new computer system meant that everything was instant and my current MOT became void because of it and we were not insured to drive home to arrange repairs at a suitable time.

 

Having since spoken to VOSA and Citizens Advice who are reporting this matter to Trading Standards on my behalf and I am now seeking to reclaim the monies you have defrauded me of.

 

1.) I believe that those items did need replacing however I do reserve some doubt as most garages will leave the car in the air if the customers are on the premises in order to show said customer the faulty parts – your staff told me that I could not be shown these parts as the car was already taken out the MOT workshop.

 

2.) Prior to this work being undertaken, I told your staff that I could and would do this work easily myself; for this reason I am pursuing a refund for the total costs of labour that you dishonestly charged me for.

 

The total cost of labour for this was £19#.## including VAT.

 

Yours,

 

################.

 

Many thanks in advance for serious advice - I am looking at getting this in the post as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Darf.