New guidance on how to report an MOT tester or garage suspected of fraud has been published today (23 April 2021) by the DVSA to help protect the public against unsafe vehicles.

Members of the public can report a garage or tester if they believe MOT certificates are being given to vehicles which should have failed or have not been tested, or certificates are being issued for bribes or for failing vehicles unnecessarily to generate work.

The new guidance is available online and reports can be made anonymously.

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Garages or testers could be banned from carrying out MOTs, fined or given a prison sentence, depending on how serious the offence is.

Within the last year DVSA investigated 2,057 fraud reports which resulted in stopping 156 garages and 335 testers from testing.

The agency also undertakes other activities to check garages are operating within the law, including site visits, vehicle inspections, mystery shopper exercises and covert surveillance by specialist teams.

DVSA director of enforcement, Marian Kitson said: “DVSA’s is committed to protecting everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

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“Although most garage owners and MOT testers follow the rules and work within legitimately run businesses, there are still those who try to cheat the system.

“MOT fraud effectively allows unsafe vehicles on the road, so we’ll come down hard on the perpetrators to protect the public and integrity of the MOT.”

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