Tester handed suspended prison sentence, £1,500 fine and testing ban
The DVSA has issued a warning to MOT testers on Facebook as it continues its crackdown on MOT fraud.
The post outlined a recent case in Aldershot after an MOT tester pleaded guilty to issuing 11 fraudulent MOT certificates to vehicles in May 2021 to vehicles which had not attended the vehicle test station.
The fraud came to light after one vehicle was caught on ANPR cameras 50 miles away during the test.
At Guildford magistrates’ court in September, the tester was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for 24 months.
He was also given 28 days to pay a fine of £1,500 plus a victim surcharge of £128 and was banned from testing by DVSA.
In its Facebook post, the DVSA said: “We actively investigate reports of fraudulent MOT issuing and will prosecute those involved.
“The vehicles involved were unroadworthy.
“Acting in this manner undermines public confidence in the MOT testing regime and road safety.”
The warning follows the DVSA’s 2020-21 annual report, in which the number of MOT cases where it acted upon the most serious fraud, dishonesty and negligence increased by 5.3 per cent.
During the last year the DVSA investigated 1,362 suspected cases of MOT fraud, which led to 143 garages having their MOT accreditation withdrawn and 20 prosecutions.
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