Mistakes happen every day, that is human nature. Eliminating those incidents can ultimately save you valuable time and money.
MOT Fraud a thing of the past with MOT Connection?
Many respectable garages that abide by the rules and regulations continue to provide excellent MOT services for their customers. It may not come as too much of a surprise thought that there are those who provide MOT test certificates without the car even being present!
Automating MOT processes will help massively in the fight against fraudulent test. Connectivity means proof the vehicle is at the garage where it is being tested. This could even be done in the future by cameras in the bay, making for even more efficiencies.
The result? More accurate testing
Modern testing equipment now captures lots of information about a vehicle in real time. But we still ask you to manually key that information into the MOT computer.
This is prone to errors and adds time to the test. Connecting equipment directly to the MOT system will reduce errors and save time. In the long term, this will help to reduce or eliminate the number of incorrectly entered results, as well as stopping incorrectly entered vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and mileage.
Headlight alignment is also still a major source of errors in the test. The modern connected headlight aligner will assess the headlamp aim for the tester and send the result straight to the MOT system.
Using this technology will not only make testing more accurate, it will also help reduce fraud. This is because an actual roller brake test will have to have taken place for a result to be recorded.
At the moment, a roller brake test result can theoretically be entered without any evidence of a roller brake test having taken place. Connected equipment will make it more difficult for dishonest testers.
A more reliable MOT testing facility with more accurate equipment and data analysis.
Last year we investigated 511 garages and 483 testers. As a result of this, we stopped 45 garages and 111 testers from testing. For the most severe cases, we took them to court as well.
We’ve also seen an increase in authorised examiners reporting staff that they suspect of committing fraud. By following good management controls and conducting audit checks you can help us put a stop to MOT fraud. We encourage managers who find these problems to come to us.
The case below shows just an example of the successful work we’ve done bringing MOT fraudsters to justice.
Testers guilty of issuing fraudulent MOTs
Last year, we received reports that a garage in Brockley, London, was issuing MOT certificates without testing vehicles.
So, to investigate, we carried out 3 days of covert surveillance at the garage.
Over those 3 days, we found that 2 testers at the garage had been issuing MOT test certificates to vehicles that hadn’t ever been to the garage. Of the 45 vehicles they had registered for test, 27 hadn’t been to the garage.
Later they both admitted to issuing MOTs without checking vehicles and that they had no knowledge of the condition of any of them.
When taken to court, both men pleaded guilty. The garage owner was given an 8 month suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £2,500 and an £80 victim surcharge.
The other tester was given a 4 month suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £500 and an £80 victim surcharge.
We also banned them both from testing for 5 years.
Reporting suspicious activity
As you can see, anyone who puts the public at risk will be dealt with accordingly. Our enforcement work is vital for protecting the integrity of the MOT and the safety of the general public.
Later this year, we'll be launching a service on GOV.UK where you can report suspected MOT fraud. We'll blog about this closer to the time of its launch.
In the meantime, if you suspect someone of committing MOT fraud you can report this by calling the confidential line 0800 030 4103
.DVSA NEW REGULATIONS ABOUT CONNECTED MOT EQUIPMENT
30-04-2022
News From 1st May 2021, any MOT centres will now require connected emissions units. DVSA Introduces Connected Emissions : exhaust gas analysers and diesel smoke meters will be able to connect directly to the MOT testing service to record MOT test results. Test results will be automatically transferred without intervention from the tester. MOT testing become faster and the operator avoid human entry errors.
Comments