MOT tester fined £1,300

An MOT tester who issued false MOT certificates at a Surrey garage was hit with a £1,300 fine and 200 hours of community service. On January 4, Benjamin Aaron Sinclair pleaded guilty in Guildford Magistrates Court to seven offences of fraud by false representation. I must confess that it must be a nightmare when this sort of thing happens in your garage and MOT centre.

Many years ago, I had to advertise for an MOT tester, because the one I had left to go work in a larger main dealer garage. The grass is always greener! The applicants were not what i was looking for. However I manged to select one and crack on with the Testing.

At first I thought he was trustworthy. However, we heard a couple of rumours from people in the trade and discovered otherwise. he was as crafty as a fox. However we managed to catch him fiddling a non MOT item and was dismissed immediately.

Since then I have always trained my MOT testers and promoted within. Ryan Linton and Dale Linton are my long term testers. Alternating the testing with other management skills.

While employed by Godalming Garage Ltd in Godalming, Surrey,

The tester was accused of granting MOT certificates to seven vehicles without executing a test in order to profit financially. The offences happened last year between February 18 and April 6. I am amazed at these people thinking that they can get away with these things. MOT testers are very well monitored at all times. Both by the ministry and also in house as in this case at Godalming garage.

Magistrates also ordered Sinclair to pay £1,300 in costs and a £95 surcharge for victim services, along with 200 hours of unpaid labour to be completed within the next 12 months. GW Podcast: Appreciating the influence of data from the garage workshop
The DVSA registered 1,324 incidents of MOT Fraud between 2021 and 2022. Out of these, 351 cases in 2017 and 710 in 2018 were the most serious cases including dishonesty and negligence, representing a considerable increase.

The DVSA has the authority to prevent anyone from taking tests.

This to me is the worse part. This type of thing brings shame to your garage, just for a few extra pounds in your pocket. MOT testers are hard to find these days. So, there is no need to try a fiddle your employee’s out of a few pounds. However some people are like that and are never satisfied with whatever pay they get at the end of the week.

288 authorised examiners were barred from the MOT programme in 2021, and a total of 127 authorised examiners were prohibited from operating Vehicle Testing Stations.

This includes suspensions for 185 tester cases and 85 authorised examiner cases involving the most serious offences, like dishonesty and gross carelessness.

An MOT tester has been slapped with a £1,300 fine and 200 hours’ community service for issuing fraudulent MOT certificates at a Surrey garage. Benjamin Aaron Sinclair admitted seven counts of fraud by false representation at

Source: MOT tester fined £1,300 for issuing fraudulent certificates