DVSA cracking down on MOT fraud in the UK

People will now be able to report a garage or tester if they believe MOT certificates are being given to vehicles which should have failed.

It will also include vehicles which have not been tested, or certificates which have been issued for bribes or vehicles which have been failed unnecessarily to generate work.

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

People will be able to report a garage or tester under new guidance. Picture: Getty

The DVSA said within the last year it has 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 is committed to protecting everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

“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.

• SEE ALSO: ​Tips to avoid your car failing an MOT test

“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.”

Reports can be made anonymously.

The new guidance is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/report-an-mot-tester.

Drivers are being asked for their views on change to driving licence rules

The DVSA recently launched a consultation on changes which it says will simplify the process of upgrading a driving licence or gaining a certain grades of motorcycle licence.

Currently anyone who has passed a car and trailer test in an automatic car must sit another test in a manual car to upgrade their licence.

So the first part of the consultation applies to upgrading from an automatic licence to a manual licence when towing a trailer, caravan or horsebox.

Under the proposals drivers who passed their driving test in an automatic vehicle in one of three specific categories would be allowed to drive a manual vehicle as long as they can already drive a manual vehicle in another category.

The three categories are: car and trailer (B+E) medium-sized lorry (C1) and its trailer towing equivalent (C1+E) minibus (D1) and its trailer towing equivalent (D1+E) A similar change was made for drivers of lorries, buses and coaches in 2014.

The DVSA says that the changes reflect the fact that most drivers will have already have a manual licence, even if they passed the trailer segment of their test in an automatic.