Drivers may very well be travelling utterly uninsured with out even realising, as a consequence of a surge in an MOT check phenomenon.
Motorists may very well be travelling with out legitimate insurance coverage with out realising (Picture: Getty)
Motorists may very well be driving round with no automotive insurance coverage with out even realising, as a consequence of a little-known MOT situation. In line with consultants at Halfords, the variety of ‘ghost’ MOTs has elevated, with the variety of incidents doubling.
‘Ghost’ MOTs are principally faux MOTs. It means a cross certificates has been issued to a car, regardless of no inspection happening. The issue will be devastating, with automotive insurance coverage claims more likely to be rejected if a car is concerned in a collision however is discovered to have a faux MOT.
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There was an increase within the variety of faux MOT check certificates (Picture: Getty)
New figures present the variety of instances has doubled from 976 to 1,809 in simply 12 months. Nonetheless, motoring consultants at Halfords have advised that the figures solely ‘scratch the floor’ with extra instances possible in a significant blow.
Andy Turbefield, MOT professional and Head of High quality at Halfords, defined: “Ghost MOTs are a transparent instance of rogue garages and MOT Testers benefiting from the system. The one method to be 100% positive an MOT has been performed is to do one other one, through the DVSA Enchantment course of. This problem in recognizing if a automotive has had a ‘ghost’ MOT means the official figures possible solely scratch the floor.
“Nonetheless, the impression on motorists will be large by way of security – MOTs examine key security elements like tyres and brakes. It’s a matter of time till somebody is killed. The truth is that we might have already had accidents and deaths on account of ‘ghost’ MOTs and we merely don’t know.”
Automotive insurance coverage insurance policies normally requires a legitimate MOT check for the settlement to be absolutely legitimate. Driving with out an MOT sometimes invalidates the coverage, that means highway customers should not coated for if they’re concerned in any accidents.
Andy careworn that highway customers can bear a collection of suggestions for lowering the chance or recognizing when they might have been a sufferer of ‘ghost’ MOT. He urged highway customers to do checks themselves after the MOT – for instance, measuring tyre tread to see if the storage has flagged any points.
Andy instructed motorists to at all times be cautious of the MOT historical past on a second-hand automotive, with an unusually clear MOT historical past on an older car more likely to elevate purple flags.
He additionally urged highway customers to be cautious of a fast turnaround on the MOT evaluation. He defined {that a} correct MOT ought to take 40-50 minutes. It means garages that inform drivers to come back again in half an hour to gather their automotive is a transparent warning.
He additionally urged highway customers to make use of established, trusted garages because it was extremely unlikely {that a} respected storage or chain of garages would danger their complete enterprise for the sake of constructing a fast buck.
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