Victim of an MOT scam?

[mrzwei]

I broadly agree with the thrust of this debate but why should you expect something for nothing?
If you use a garage regularly for your servicing and repairs then I would expect some sympathy towards a light bulb failure.
If you just drop it in for an MOT and it fails then you pay the cost of the repair.
What repeat business are you likely to give the garage you took it into for the MOT, other than the MOT? If you want it serviced, then get it done with the MOT.
What most motorists actually want is the certificate and maybe the stamp in the book. (I guess what most forum members want is understandably different).

[alexm9]

Some differing opinions I see.

I can't see how a consumer caring about his rights and his outgoings is a negative thing?  Positive action in my mind is to get to the bottom of the situation.

My issue is that they found a fault that I dispute, and completed work without my authorisation, which I should have actually refused to pay for.  I'd have been perfectly happy to replace my own bulb had they failed the car for this, and happy to take it back in for a partial retest.  Not all customers are the same, some like convenience and the costs that go with this, others prefer to do as much themselves as possible.

Furthermore, being that the lights were on during the drive to the garage itself, and I could see the reflection in the cars in front,  I'm leaning towards believing this was a con, and something they do to all customers to get in extra revenue.  Sure, only £24 from me, but if they do this twice a day they'll bring in an extra grand a month.  The garage owner couldn't even clarify what bulb it was, just a 'headlight'.

Big or small, I don't let people take the mick.  Putting it down to experience / forgetting about it is not how I operate.

[AmeR]

Big or small, I don't let people take the mick.  Putting it down to experience / forgetting about it is not how I operate.

I have to ask then - Why pay for it without querying it / refusing to accept the replacement bulb? You could have stated that you were not contacted about the work, gave no permission for it to be undertaken and therefore refused to pay for it, but you handed over the cash. I think "putting it down to experience / forgetting about it" is really the only option you have left yourself!?

Last time my car was in (daily driver at Kwik-Fit), they said when I gave them the keys "if there's anything minor like wiperblades, bulbs etc, do you want us to just sort them?" and I said yes, fully expecting a set of wipers or a bulb to be on the bill. Nothing of the sort, and I was only coughing up £25 for the actual MOT.

[AckersMR2]

I can see both sides of the argument, Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't, I guess?

There's probably a thread on another forum somewhere where someone's moaning that the garage failed their car for the sake of a blown bulb and why didn't they just replace it and charge them?

[alexm9]

I have to ask then - Why pay for it without querying it / refusing to accept the replacement bulb? You could have stated that you were not contacted about the work, gave no permission for it to be undertaken and therefore refused to pay for it, but you handed over the cash. I think "putting it down to experience / forgetting about it" is really the only option you have left yourself!?

It's a fair point.  I did query it, and had I been given a minute to think, I'd have argued and refused.  Very off form for me to be honest, but that shouldn't be the end of the matter IMO.  My tired brain shouldn't bear the brunt of their unfair tactics!

I've e-mailed VOSA stating my concerns, and have asked of any record they have of a failure item being inputted into their database.  According to my research, each item that fails is recorded on the system, and minor fails (such as bulbs) are allowed to be repaired on the fly without issuing an MoT failure notice.  Perhaps this will prove fruitful.

I can see both sides of the argument, Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't, I guess?

There's probably a thread on another forum somewhere where someone's moaning that the garage failed their car for the sake of a blown bulb and why didn't they just replace it and charge them?

Yes, quite.  But contacting the customer before carrying out the work is what one expects.  The choice wasn't there in this case, and this is my main gripe.

[AndrewMason]

I'm sure there is a sort of cut off point in terms of cost and contacting customer i.e. if less than £xx then just do it. Yes, that can open the doors to abuse and is based on trust (which what is lacking here) but I think people would be pleased the garage had the sense to just do it.

Maybe if you had the old bulb you would feel happier but they do fail without warning, you will never know and I would be dead chuffed if that is all that was wrong on an MOT. Even if is a scam it is cheap and you can get back on the road and enjoy.

Lifes too short to worry about the little things. As said elsewhere, fight the big battles.

 :-) :-) :-)

[alexm9]

I'm sure there is a sort of cut off point in terms of cost and contacting customer i.e. if less than £xx then just do it. Yes, that can open the doors to abuse and is based on trust (which what is lacking here) but I think people would be pleased the garage had the sense to just do it.

Maybe if you had the old bulb you would feel happier but they do fail without warning, you will never know and I would be dead chuffed if that is all that was wrong on an MOT. Even if is a scam it is cheap and you can get back on the road and enjoy.

Lifes too short to worry about the little things. As said elsewhere, fight the big battles.

 :-) :-) :-)

Yes, I suppose most people would consider their actions beneficial.  I just find it all quite frustrating as I'm making an effort to do everything myself on the car that I'm capable of doing.  Perhaps next time I'll be quite specific on the matter of authorisation before carrying out work.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure there is a sort of cut off point in terms of cost and contacting customer i.e. if less than £xx then just do it. Yes, that can open the doors to abuse and is based on trust (which what is lacking here) but I think people would be pleased the garage had the sense to just do it.

Maybe if you had the old bulb you would feel happier but they do fail without warning, you will never know and I would be dead chuffed if that is all that was wrong on an MOT. Even if is a scam it is cheap and you can get back on the road and enjoy.

Lifes too short to worry about the little things. As said elsewhere, fight the big battles.

 :-) :-) :-)

Yes, I suppose most people would consider their actions beneficial.  I just find it all quite frustrating as I'm making an effort to do everything myself on the car that I'm capable of doing.  Perhaps next time I'll be quite specific on the matter of authorisation before carrying out work.

Having had a similar incident in the past myself, I can understand your frustration.  I think if they had changed a really cheap bulb, in an accessible place (if they exist in modern cars  s:) s:)  ), and tried billing for the cost of the bulb, rather than a labour charge for an inaccessible one, without notifying you, then they would be seen in a positive light (no pun intended). I think what is frustrating is this lack of choice.

[AckersMR2]

Different garages, different policies I guess? I know my small local garage won't do either, if its just in for an mot then it's a pass or a fail, end of.
If I take it in for a service and mot then that's different.

I try to be there for the mot if possible. I took my Peugeot in once, checked all the basic stuff first, obviously being a Peugeot there's always something electrical not working and in this case one of the two rear light bulbs on both sides had failed, so I changed them, checked it, took it for the mot and during the test no rear brake lights were working. As I was there he told me and I disputed it as I had just checked them. He tried it again and they worked so he passed it. Turns out there was a spring switch under the dash that needed a clean on the brake bar in the passenger foot well (the one that allows the passenger to apply the brakes!!!!) Had I not been there he would have failed the car.

[Anonymous]

Different garages, different policies I guess? I know my small local garage won't do either, if its just in for an mot then it's a pass or a fail, end of.
If I take it in for a service and mot then that's different.

Exactly - most garages I have used wouldn't bother charging for a common, inexpensive, and accessible bulb. Its called customer service. Unfortunately the Roadster's headlights are a bit of a PITA - having learn't this when upgrading bulbs recently  s;) s;)

[Mightyquin]

This is a good example of how perceptions can differ so much.

Garage - we did the MOT and replaced a bulb that would otherwise have resulted in a fail. We exceeded our customers expectations and used our initiative to save the customer time, hassle and extra cost.

Customer - I've been ripped off.

The moral here is to satisfy yourself with the vendors terms and conditions before commencing a contract, and to query and refute anything you deem unfair at the time.

You're convinced you've been ripped off to the tune of £24. OK, take it on the chin and use another garage next time, also give the car a full check over immediately before the test, and watch whist it's being done to ensure that you can witness any fail items.

[alexm9]

This is a good example of how perceptions can differ so much.

Garage - we did the MOT and replaced a bulb that would otherwise have resulted in a fail. We exceeded our customers expectations and used our initiative to save the customer time, hassle and extra cost.

Customer - I've been ripped off.

The moral here is to satisfy yourself with the vendors terms and conditions before commencing a contract, and to query and refute anything you deem unfair at the time.

You're convinced you've been ripped off to the tune of £24. OK, take it on the chin and use another garage next time, also give the car a full check over immediately before the test, and watch whist it's being done to ensure that you can witness any fail items.

I understand how it seems, but they weren't busy (they were sitting around eating crisps when I dropped the car off) and could have easily contacted me (I live one road away, and they have my home and mobile numbers) before going ahead with chargeable work.  I believe my statutory rights actually insist authorisation is sought before commencing.  If they'd given me the choice, I'd rather replace the apparently faulty item myself so that A) I can learn how to change headlight bulbs on the MR2 myself and B) to save me expense.  The car had a month before the MOT was due to expire, and I had a couple of days off work anyway.

[dj2k21]

As I've said before. I would of let them fail it. Got a bulb for 99p from a petrol station  changed it then took it back for its 're test and got my certificate

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[AckersMR2]

As I've said before. I would of let them fail it. Got a bulb for 99p from a petrol station  changed it then took it back for its 're test and got my certificate

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Wow your petrol stations cheap!

[Jon_G]

As I've said before. I would of let them fail it. Got a bulb for 99p from a petrol station  changed it then took it back for its 're test and got my certificate

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Wow your petrol stations cheap!

+1

[alfajerry]

You have no proof it was working at the time of the test.

You have the right to watch the test if you wish.

The price is fair for the part/labour involved.

I have to say I think you've got your knickers in a twist about nothing.

[dj2k21]

Lol ok ok it's 99p for side lights and tail lights  h1, h4 and h7 are £2.50.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[Anonymous]

You have no proof it was working at the time of the test.

You have the right to watch the test if you wish.

The price is fair for the part/labour involved.

I have to say I think you've got your knickers in a twist about nothing.

+1

[Mightyquin]

Do they offer free retests, or do they charge again for a fail like some?

Whatever, you'll have to put this one down to experience and do the full pre-check and watch the MOT next time.

[mrzwei]

My reading is that you have to take it back before the end of the next working day, but if it was a realignment issue then there can be a charge. If you leave it with them to fix then it is a lot longer.
I have been known to be very wrong on this stuff though   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[alfajerry]

It's all here:

 m https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests m

[MattPerformance]

So let me just get this straight, you've complained to VOSA because someone has charged you £24.99 to rectify a fault in order for you to get an MOT on a 8+ year old car?

MOT stations have massively varying overheads and £54.85 is the maximum permissible charge so they're perfectly within their rights to charge that amount (as are others entitled to charge less).  By the time they've gained access to the lamp, fetched a bulb, fitted it and rechecked it (and avoided you having the hassle of a fail) I can easily see this adding up to 10 or so minutes, plus the cost of the bulb.  It might be argued that their sin is lack of communication in the first instance but if you expect the MOT centre to hold up the MOT in order to get get your approval (speaking as someone who has operated a commercial workshop operation) then they would be better off failing the MOT which would have done you no favours at all.  The expression "you can't have your cake and eat it" (as odd as it often sounds) seems to make sense here...

[Anonymous]

So let me just get this straight, you've complained to VOSA because someone has charged you £24.99 to rectify a fault in order for you to get an MOT on a 8+ year old car?

VOSA take such complaints seriously and will have recorded it in their system under "miscellaneous drivel."

[Wabbitkilla]

I can't believe we have 5 pages of this, chalk it up to experience and never go there again. Recommend against the place if anyone asks you about it, and double check your lights when you arrive at the next place for your next mot.

It's obviously your right to complain, and your right to report them to whoever you like, for me, life is too short.

Sent from a planet somewhere nearby

[petej]

LOL

Pistonheads response would be MTFU