Council forces MOT

[Andy77799]

Can Reigate and Banstead Borough Council insist that Private Hire & Hackney Carriage are ONLY tested at their centre?

Claiming it is not for profit yet they charge £54 for a test and drivers can get it elsewhere for £25.

 

Is this legal?

 

To quote out of the Gatwick & Horley Mirror:-

 

"ARROGANT" decisions by R&BBC are costing taxi drivers money and business.

The condemnation comes from cabbies after the authority ruled that MOT`s for private hire vehicles and hackney carriages must only take place at the council`s own centre in Earlswood. The decision was made last year by members of the council`s Regulatory Committee, who said it would ensure safety standards are maintained.

 

According to some drivers who spoke to the Mirror, they have heard on occasions that drivers have been unable to work for a week while waiting for the council to book a new test.

 

"According to confused.com, if a car fails an MOT test it should not be driven irrespective of the certificate status because you`de be guilty of driving a car that has known faults.

 

The council also quote:- By carrying out MOT`s on our licenced taxis we can ensure that they are all done at a consistantly high level. Our main priority is for the safety of our residents - we need to ensure that when a resident in the borough uses a taxi it is safe to do so.

 

My main question is really can they force us to use their depot at a higher cost & what is it saying about the QUALITY of all the other testers in the area that would be more local and convenient for everyone.???

 

Hope you can help.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I seem to remember something about dodgy MOTs on some taxis and private hire vehicles, maybe 'independent' providers were up to no good???

[Andy77799]

Not ALL mot stations are dodgy! much harder now they are computerised.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Not ALL mot stations are dodgy! much harder now they are computerised.

 

May not even be an MOT station forged certificates have been around for years.

 

I did NOT say all MOT stations either.

[MaisyMouse]

Is it possibly an enhanced MOT, taking into account other aspects of a vehicle for hire / reward such as the rear door locks, fire extinguisher, bale of hay, etc.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Very likely our LA inspects all licenced PH and Hackneys before plated are issued/renewed.

Nothing to do with VOSA at all ??

[citizenkain]

well,most taxis are licensed by the council,is there something in the contract that says that?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

well,most taxis are licensed by the council,is there something in the contract that says that?

 

ALL Hacks and PH vehicles must be licenced or not trade.

[heliosuk]

The test is not an MOT as such but a suitability test for use as a taxi so they take into account whether it has two, four or five doors, whether it is clean, does it have no smoking signs etc etc. The council are quite within their rights to do this and frankly if Reigate and Banstead Borough Council have only just introduced this then they are way behind the times. Many other local authorities had this sort of test years ago.

 

It's a very good thing for the consumer so if you want the taxi licence then you got to have it.

 

Many private hire drivers complained in Essex when it was introduced there but soon came to realise that it actually worked in their favour as it got rid of the cowboys.

[dx100uk]

most councils insist all private hire or hackney carriage cars are mot'd by their station only.

 

I think you'll find its the law

came in around mid 1990's I think.

 

remember it happening

 

a very good friend was both private them latter hackney badged

 

dx

[dx100uk]

yes Essex heli

 

dx

[Andy77799]

Its a normal MOT, but they are inspected every 6 months as well by the LA clean, fire Ext etc.

Wondering if they are doing something like restricting other businesses (MOT)? Something along those lines.

Or the higher price they are charging?

 

From the way they put it in the paper, its like saying all the other garages in council area have slack mot`s.

[heliosuk]

£54 is pretty good value believe me for what they do and it's very impartial as they have nothing to gain. They don't do any repairs themselves. It also sets an impartial bench mark so no one can moan that garage A failed this and Garage B passed it.

 

It's good news for the consumer the owner/drivers in that area.

 

The press will always put a different slant on it primarily because they don't know what they are talking about.

[Andy77799]

It`s certainly not good value at twice the price for the same service. Also 900 drivers NOT happy with being forced to use a test centre miles from their homes and/or repair place.

But I guess I am sadly just getting views on this rather than any laws they may be breaking.

 

I did read a "law" on here in another post that I can`t for the life of me , remember what it was, about affecting other businesses.

The taxi part doesn`t directly affect me personally apart from listening to others moan about it in the office! But I still don`t agree it is right they can get away with it.

I guess they can just monopolise the situation as usual and charge double and get away with it. No more shopping around for the best deal.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

This is not about the items covered by an MOT, it is to confirm compliance with local/national requirements for safety of hire vehicles, e.g. Fire Extinguisher being in place, correctly placed passenger safety and licence notices as required in the vehicle Etc.

[MaisyMouse]

It`s certainly not good value at twice the price for the same service. Also 900 drivers NOT happy with being forced to use a test centre miles from their homes and/or repair place.

 

I guess they can just monopolise the situation as usual and charge double and get away with it. No more shopping around for the best deal.

 

Is there something in the rules preventing the drivers from taking the vehicles to another local authority test centre, and one that might be closer ?

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

This is to ensure ALL private hire vehicles licenced by a local authority comply with the licencing requirements NOT the MOT, take a look at all the LA websites dealing with this matter.

[Annie71]

It seems that there is a best practice document issued by the dept for transport. It seems the law says the councils can dictate the frequency of MOTs for taxis as well as other checks. All I did was Google taxi mot

[Andy77799]

Missed the point, it is ALL about having to go to THEIR depot for the MOT, Nothing else has changed, we have always gone to the council to visually inspect the vehicle and check the first air and fire extinguisher etc and taken the new test certificate along and get the new plate. It is a decision THEY made forcing all drivers to go to their depot and pay twice the optional price & they don`t have the resources to put things right if it fails. An MOT is an MOT where ever it is done. But the question was not about the MOT itself.

 

MM: The something in the rules is that THEY made the decision that we have to go there for twice the price without any facilities to fix things.

 

So the question really is can they legally force drivers to go to THEM for an MOT.

[dacouc]

As a passenger I think it's a good thing, it brings a set level to the vehicles being licenced and avoids the chances of dodgy MOT stations letting unsafe cars through.

 

Taxi drivers have a certain reputation due to a a minority of the drivers however the perception of the public is tarring them all with being dodgy, in the long run it can only help improve standards and the public's perception of the trade

[Andy77799]

I am all for safe, and on time! Sadly it seems a certain type of driver always seem to be in the paper! Only last week a driver hit some well known road block and wanted to charge a young girl more for going round it, had no more money so he dumped her in the middle of no-where at 2am!

 

The mentality and greed makes me sick, I will say no more but thanks for your input folks, will just have to accept the greedy council decision and live with it.

[sameagle]

I am happy with the state of the vehicles that I use, in North Staffordshire, but the standards of taxi driving in Stoke on Trent is atrocious!

 

Sam

[Annie71]

MOTs are much harder to fix these days however I have always found that cut price mot centres always seem to find something wrong with the car , in a few instances failing mine on some things that weren't failable. As far as I can see the councildo have the right to stipulate where the mots are done. See the guidance I mentioned above

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

These 'test' it seems are to check compliance with the LAs licencing regulations rather than the VOSA test.

[Andy77799]

Ditto post 19