DVSA MOT Guidance: How to report MOT fraud & keeping your services fraud-free

• Have you ever thought that your vehicle should have passed its MOT test?
• Did you know that the DVSA investigated over 2,057 fraud reports in 2020?
• Did you know that as a result, 156 garages and 335 employees were stopped from testing?

Fraud within the MOT sector is more common than originally thought, and the numbers seem to be rising each year. People 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 DVSA has released new guidance to anyone who suspects that MOT fraud is being committed, outlining how to report a garage and the consequences that lie ahead for the registered user.

Full guidance is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/report-an-mot-tester and reports can be made anonymously.

To make a report, you need to give as much information as possible about:

• Who’s involved
• What the MOT tester or centre has been doing
• Where it happened
• When it happened
• The vehicles involved, including the registration numbers (number plates) if you know them

What can you do to prevent fraud within your garage?

We understand that no matter who is performing MOTs, fraud can be committed by anyone and can’t be 100% eradicated. That doesn’t mean we can’t try though, right?

Here are two easy steps in our case to preventing MOT fraud:

• Limit the number of users performing MOT tests – this limits the chances of fraud being committed by more than one or two individuals.
• Invest in the right MOT equipment – for example, state of the art connected brake testers or purchasing dual revenue lifts, so wheel alignment can be performed whilst MOTs are slow.

Simple steps to make sure your garage doesn’t end up being struck off the testing register!