Bad MoT testing centres to be called out

Date posted: April 9, 2014

From this month, garages which have been removed from the MoT scheme because of formal disciplinary action will be named publicly.

As part of an ongoing process to improve regulations in the garage sector, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has agreed with government ministers to make the information publicly available.

Members of the public can access the records by signing up to an email alert, which is sent out monthly with details of the garages that have been removed from the list as well as the reasons why they have been removed. It’s hoped it will prevent consumers from going to unqualified testing centres.

The details of the removed garages will only be made public once the appeal period has lapsed or a final decision has been made of an appeal.

This news comes after there was an overhaul of the MoT site assessment tests in February 2014. Changes included approved codes of practice, discounted test fees, and making it easier for consumers to access information on local garages. This happened as a result of pressure from the Motorists Forum to provide a best practice across the industry to help improve the level of service for customers.

Each year approximately 35 million MoTs are carried out in 21,000 authorised centres, with the total annual bill costing motorists £1.5 billion. The test ensures that a vehicle is roadworthy with consistent tests carried out across all vehicles on the road and costs £54.85 for a car and £29.65 for motorcycles.