DVSA says it will “consider” calls from testing stations to raise maximum fee they can charge for an MOT
The MOT slot fee is to be increased from £2.05 to £2.08 later this year, the DVSA has confirmed.
It follows a consultation on proposals to increase most DVSA statutory fees by 1.5 per cent.
It received 2,573 responses, of which 30 per cent were from those who run or work at an MOT test centre.
Some 68 per cent of all respondents said that the proposed fee increases were fair while 21 per cent said they strongly disagreed with the increase.
Ministers have now agreed for the increase to be made later this year but a firm date is yet to be announced.
The DVSA says the increase will allow it to continue making essential improvements.
In its response to the consultation, which closed in September, the Independent Garage Association said: “We feel that ongoing development of DVSA services to keep pace with changes in testing and vehicle technology is important.
“Inevitably, there must be at some stage a consideration made of increased costs to test stations and how they are able to invest in improvements to the benefit of the MOT scheme both capital and with personnel.
“This is important to ensure provision of service and choice to consumers and to ensure the industry can fund their own improvements in quality and consistency.”
Many of the respondents connected to an MOT testing centre made reference in their consultation response about a rise in the maximum fee they are allowed to charge for an MOT – a total of 533 comments were made on this.
The DVSA has said that it “will take on board these comments for further consideration”.
At the launch of the consultation, a DVSA spokesperson said: “Most of our fees haven’t increased since 2010, and we’ve worked hard to make savings through efficiency measures in the last few years.
“In the next year we’ll be focusing on improving the driving test booking service, the way the theory test service is delivered, how we carry out heavy vehicle enforcement and the MOT testing service.”
