Nearly 700 MOT testers banned over last two years for improper conduct and issuing fraudulent certificates

In total, 687 MOT testers were disqualified in 2020 to 2022 financial years.

The RAC has said, “this is a shocking rise of 49% compared to the two years previous (2018 to 2020).”

During this time frame, the total number of disqualified technicians was 460.

“There is also another cause for concern for drivers across the UK as there has been a rise in the number of technicians and MOT testers that have been issued warnings over their conduct over the same time period.” The RAC has said.

Those who were disqualified were caught in a number of cases involving improper or careless practices during the test procedure, as well as issuing of fraudulent certificates.

The FOI request to the DVSA also revealed that the number of MOT technician disqualifications recorded in 2020/21 is 3.5-times higher than the financial year of 2015/16.

An RAC spokesperson said: “This is the latest controversial news relating to the MOT industry, as earlier this year the Government announced some changes in Parliament.”

“According to the new proposals, drivers could be about to save more than £55 a year – with the annual MOT set to be scrapped and replaced with a check every 2 years. However, this has yet to be confirmed.”

“In fact, the majority of drivers believe that changing the MOT to every two years is a dangerously bad idea.”

The motoring organisation says to “avoid being caught out by any rogue MOT testers, check the garage beforehand to remove any doubt over their credibility.”