MOT tester handed suspended prison sentence for false certificates

Appearing in court, Allen Garrett called himself an 'idiot'

MOT tester handed suspended prison sentence for false certificates
Photo: Bigstock

An MOT tester from Hampshire has been handed a suspended prison sentence after issuing false certificates for 28 vehicles.

Appearing at Winchester Crown Court to be sentenced, Allen Garrett admitted that he was “blinded by financial gain and greed”.

The court heard how Garrett was paid £100 for every fraudulent certificate he issued while working at MOT Supercentre in Andover. Garrett told the court that the business “had no idea or any involvement with issuing certificates of these vehicles”.

Garrett was a part of a network that provided MOT certificates for vehicles that were never examined. The fraud came to light when a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) examiner was checking records in February.

Among the findings, the DVSA found that a mobile phone was used to issue the certificate for a BMW, which had been issued with fraudulent certificates twice in the previous 18 months. A call to MOT Supercentre also revealed that there was no booking reference for the BMW in question.

The DVSA also discovered that a certificate had been issued by Garrett for another BMW in November, despite failing an MOT in Scotland just a day earlier.

In total, Garrett issued 28 certificates for a range of vehicles, 20 of which had their passes revoked.

Garrett told the court: “I know how wrong it is and how severe the consequences can be for what I have done.

“I was blinded by financial gain and greed. I’m embarrassed, ashamed and disappointed in myself. I have been an idiot and deserve what I got.”

Judge Taylor handed Garrett a 20-month prison sentence suspended for two years, telling him: “This undermines the integrity of the entire system. These vehicles are used on public highways without a certificate from a qualified and authorised nominated tester. It presented a really serious risk to road safety.

“There is an MOT database. Buyers of second-hand cars gain confidence from this database believing that the cars on the database are safe and roadworthy. It seems to me that the offences went on for a period of time and came to an end only because you were found out.

“You showed complete and utter disregard to the safety of anyone who might use these cars and also any other road users if these vehicles cause an accident.

“You abused your position of trust and accountability. It was sophisticated and involved quite a bit of planning because you were part of a network.”

Garrett must complete 20 hours of unpaid work and pay £3,219.64 to the DVSA.

Source: Andover Advertiser (subscription required)

2 Comments

  1. these people get the trade a bad name we need 1 off them to get a jail sentance too send out a message of this is what happens to you if you do the old telephone mots

    Reply
  2. Good on him ,I would pay £100 for a pass .hate the MOT hassle and the RIP off prices garages charge.

    Reply

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