MOT

lisyloo

nelson00 said:

I can completely understand David’s point of view, which is worrying. I am David’s wife Jen.

The question is simple: If one has Corona19 and must self-isolate for ten days and consequently cannot take a vehicle for the MOT, or have the vehicle taken for the MOT, will the vehicle owner be fined if the MOT runs out? As mentioned by David, we all do not have a garage or other place to park the vehicle with a SORN. I think the DVLA will issue fines, irrespective of a vehicle owner’s reason for failing to have a vehicle MOT on time.

No.
A penalty notice is a theoretical possibility but there are very few coppers on the beat these days and it would probably be successfully appealed if isolating.

As mentioned you would be wise to start planning to get your car MOT'd BEFORE it runs out.
You can get your car MOT'd at ANY time, but if you want to keep the same date you get it done in the month beforehand, this does NOT move the expiry date earlier.
I do this because I don't want to be stuck waiting for parts, so it's a sensible precaution at any time.

Jeremy535897

Norman_Castle said:

Fines for no mot aren't automatically issued. Most likely penalty is a fixed penalty notice which would only be issued if the car is spotted on the road. You have a good argument for failing to mot the car and if its insured and taxed only a very awkward pc would issue a notice.

My mot has lapsed for a few weeks without penalty and a friends has been a few months overdue without penalty. Its not clever to let it lapse but its not the crime of the century therefore pursuing owners isn't a high priority.

A more important issue than a fine is the likelihood that your insurance is invalidated if the MOT has expired:

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/insurance-without-mot/

lisyloo

Jeremy535897 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Fines for no mot aren't automatically issued. Most likely penalty is a fixed penalty notice which would only be issued if the car is spotted on the road. You have a good argument for failing to mot the car and if its insured and taxed only a very awkward pc would issue a notice.

My mot has lapsed for a few weeks without penalty and a friends has been a few months overdue without penalty. Its not clever to let it lapse but its not the crime of the century therefore pursuing owners isn't a high priority.

A more important issue than a fine is the likelihood that your insurance is invalidated if the MOT has expired:

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/insurance-without-mot/

but remember they won't be driving anwhere (apart from a pre-booked MOT).
I doubt an insurer could refuse a claim for fire or theft.
We have an ombudsman who would stand up for fairness if an insurer refused a claim.
The only grounds for refusing a claim would be if a fire or theft that happened because of an issue directly related to the car not having an MOT. That is very unlikely to happen but a theoretical possibility.

As an aside, I'm sure if I was keen enough to get it done I could find a garage who would pick it up.

Jeremy535897

lisyloo said:

Jeremy535897 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Fines for no mot aren't automatically issued. Most likely penalty is a fixed penalty notice which would only be issued if the car is spotted on the road. You have a good argument for failing to mot the car and if its insured and taxed only a very awkward pc would issue a notice.

My mot has lapsed for a few weeks without penalty and a friends has been a few months overdue without penalty. Its not clever to let it lapse but its not the crime of the century therefore pursuing owners isn't a high priority.

A more important issue than a fine is the likelihood that your insurance is invalidated if the MOT has expired:

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/insurance-without-mot/

but remember they won't be driving anwhere (apart from a pre-booked MOT).
I doubt an insurer could refuse a claim for fire or theft.
We have an ombudsman who would stand up for fairness if an insurer refused a claim.
The only grounds for refusing a claim would be if a fire or theft that happened because of an issue directly related to the car not having an MOT. That is very unlikely to happen but a theoretical possibility.

As an aside, I'm sure if I was keen enough to get it done I could find a garage who would pick it up.

My response was also designed to caveat the comments about not getting an MOT for a few months after expiry in an earlier post.

lisyloo

Jeremy535897 said:

lisyloo said:

Jeremy535897 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Fines for no mot aren't automatically issued. Most likely penalty is a fixed penalty notice which would only be issued if the car is spotted on the road. You have a good argument for failing to mot the car and if its insured and taxed only a very awkward pc would issue a notice.

My mot has lapsed for a few weeks without penalty and a friends has been a few months overdue without penalty. Its not clever to let it lapse but its not the crime of the century therefore pursuing owners isn't a high priority.

A more important issue than a fine is the likelihood that your insurance is invalidated if the MOT has expired:

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/insurance-without-mot/

but remember they won't be driving anwhere (apart from a pre-booked MOT).
I doubt an insurer could refuse a claim for fire or theft.
We have an ombudsman who would stand up for fairness if an insurer refused a claim.
The only grounds for refusing a claim would be if a fire or theft that happened because of an issue directly related to the car not having an MOT. That is very unlikely to happen but a theoretical possibility.

As an aside, I'm sure if I was keen enough to get it done I could find a garage who would pick it up.

My response was also designed to caveat the comments about not getting an MOT for a few months after expiry in an earlier post.

Yes I agree. People should not just leave it for a few months without SORN (and if you haven't got a garage then that means making arrangements for storage).

Norman_Castle

Jeremy535897 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Fines for no mot aren't automatically issued. Most likely penalty is a fixed penalty notice which would only be issued if the car is spotted on the road. You have a good argument for failing to mot the car and if its insured and taxed only a very awkward pc would issue a notice.

My mot has lapsed for a few weeks without penalty and a friends has been a few months overdue without penalty. Its not clever to let it lapse but its not the crime of the century therefore pursuing owners isn't a high priority.

A more important issue than a fine is the likelihood that your insurance is invalidated if the MOT has expired:

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/insurance-without-mot/

Insurance ombudsman has ruled no mot equals no insurance is unfair and invalid regardless of the policy wording.

Jeremy535897

Norman_Castle said:

Jeremy535897 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Fines for no mot aren't automatically issued. Most likely penalty is a fixed penalty notice which would only be issued if the car is spotted on the road. You have a good argument for failing to mot the car and if its insured and taxed only a very awkward pc would issue a notice.

My mot has lapsed for a few weeks without penalty and a friends has been a few months overdue without penalty. Its not clever to let it lapse but its not the crime of the century therefore pursuing owners isn't a high priority.

A more important issue than a fine is the likelihood that your insurance is invalidated if the MOT has expired:

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/insurance-without-mot/

Insurance ombudsman has ruled no mot equals no insurance is unfair and invalid regardless of the policy wording.

With caveats, though, and thank you for drawing my attention to this:

"One Insurance says that Mrs K’s car was illegally on the road, as it required an MOT, and I would stress that I do not condone any failure to comply with relevant legal requirements.

However, with respect to the operation of the motor insurance policy, I have seen nothing to show that the condition of Mrs K’s car made it unroadworthy or contributed in any way to the accident (or that it would not have passed an MOT had it been tested).
It is acknowledged that Mrs K was not at fault for the accident, given that the third party car hit her vehicle in the rear. I am therefore satisfied that the fact the vehicle had no MOT is not material to the circumstances of the accident. That means I do not consider it fair or reasonable for One Insurance to rely on this strict breach of the policy condition in order to decline the claim.

It is also worth noting that the lack of a valid MOT may have an impact on the vehicle’s market value, since without an MOT a vehicle is unlikely to achieve the same selling price as one that can be legally driven on a road at the point of sale. I understand that Mrs K has acknowledged this point."

From: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/121011/DRN4756234.pdf

jimi_man

To the OP's wife, I echo the previous comments - you are extremely unlikely to get prosecuted for no MOT and you won't get a notification like you do with the RFL. The DVLA does not issue fines - the police do but only when they come across your vehicle and 99% of the time this is when you're driving it as they are generally not concerned with parked cars outside people's houses.  They don't routinely target vehicles for no MOT as it's such a low level offence with only a small fine and no points.  It's usually no insurance or no RFL. 

The part about MOT invalidating your insurance is an urban myth that's been circulating for years and it's no more true today than it was 30 years ago. As has been shown it can affect a payout but what it cannot do is affect the policy such that you no longer have insurance for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act. 

JJ_Egan

is MOT not logged via ANPR cameras nowadays ??

MalMonroe

Many garages will collect and return at no charge. I know this because I've recently done quite a bit of online research since my car needed an MOT and I am in a similar position to you, OP. 

Last month I paid £39 for an MOT with collection and delivery included which I thought was fair. And it was a main car dealer, who usually like to charge more.

I've now arranged a full service for my vehicle with a different garage who will collect and return free of charge and who have a deal whereby if you book any service - mini, full or interim - you pay just £1 for an MOT. Too late for me! 

But OP, just use google - you can find garages who will collect and return for nothing. I didn't even speak to the person who collected (although apologised for being so rude on the phone beforehand when making the appointment). Left the keys in a safe place just before they collected and they posted them through the letterbox on return. No problems at all. (Fortunately it passed!)

Now everyone's car details are online so anyone who wants to can find out if your car is taxed, insured and MOT'd. All they need is your reg no. 

BUT as others have said, the only time the fact that you don't have an MOT will be noticed is if you're driving around. So your next journey, following isolation, needs to be  to the MOT centre to your booked appointment. That is allowed.