With prices rising everywhere we look, it's no great surprise that there are wranglings afoot to raise the cap on MOT test costs - currently contained at a ceiling of £54.85 for cars. With the cost of living creating pressure to increase prices across the board, smaller garages in particular have been left struggling to justify carrying out the tests.
On behalf of the garages, The IGA (Independent Garage Association) has intervened, calling for a higher cap. The IGA's intervention has resulted in the scheduling of a meeting in which the matter will be discussed with the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and the Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood.
It appears that the IGA's argument is going to be hard to deflect under the current economic circumstances, so motorists might expect to see an increase in the MOT charge at some point in the foreseaable future. In tandem with that, the MOT frequency requirements for some vehicle types will be under discussion, with selected lighter vehicles and motorbikes potentially up for a relaxation of the current requirement of every year, to a new term of every two. This proposal, however, has been rejected before, and there may be a similar outcome this time unless some new debating points enter the mix.
SAY CHEESE
Another concern that may soon begin to affect the MOT process relates to the prevention of fraud. More specifically, so-called "Ghost MOTs", which involve the certification of a vehicle without any actual test taking place. This is only a part of the overall realm of MOT fraud, but it's a big part. The DVSA cites the prevalence as a hefty 80%, hence the imperative to take action.
One of the actions under consideration would entail a requirement to actually photograph the vehicles up for MOT. Although this would make fraud more difficult, it's likely that there would still remain ways to pass a technically compromised vehicle in some instances. This could pehaps lead to multiple processes being run in conjunction with each other.
We'll have to wait and see what the outcomeof all this will be, but it seems inevitable that change lies ahead.
