Beware Green Flag. They leave old ladies in the street.

photome

they didn’t come out because the MOT had expired, her age is irrelevant

Should they have gone out to a teenager with a flat tyre and no MOT?

She /you could have called a mobile tyre fitter , no idea if they would have had the same rules though

photome

Where do you get the discretion rule from?

it is illegal to drive a car without an MOT, as far as I know , the only discretion is if it is being driven to a test centre

oldagetraveller1

"it is illegal to drive a car without an MOT, as far as I know"

Unless it is exempt, e.g. 40+ years old. Which, of course, is not relevant to this thread.

Sea_Shell

Maybe green flag would have invalidated their own liability insurance by assisting.

What if they repaired a car that had an expired MOT, and the driver then had an accident on the way home, or was stopped by police.

They would, in effect, have facilitated your mum driving illegally.

gwynlas

Rather than slagging off Green Flag you could have arranged for a grocery delivery given she was just coming out of hospital.

Perhaps you do not drive but if you do you could have taken the car to be tested so that it would be lawful for her on hospital discharge.

Brie

Frankly I'm with the OP on this. Not saying that mom should have been driving with no MOT and possibly no insurance and the rest. But a human with some sense of responsibility could have taken control of the situation and got the car to somewhere (Halfords? Joes Garage?) so that an tire repair and MOT could be done. And ensured that mom and her groceries were able to get home safely.

Any service like this has always, on the rare occasions I've needed them, asked if I was vulnerable, did I feel safe with my car? Ok they might still take an hour or more to get to me but they'd check in occasionally. Has that human ability been priced out of everything?

silverwhistle

Not an issue I've had to deal with directly as my mum never learned to drive, but I used to hear worrying stories of her being driven by friends at that sort of age, and the random observance of traffic rules and other traffic. It might be worth paying more attention to that aspect too at that sort of age. Does she check tyres before she goes out and is she at all mechanically aware?

I lived near mum in her final years which made it easier to keep an eye on her, but I'd certainly have taken extra care if she had been in hospital, and it might also be a good idea to have neighbours to keep an eye on things if you are not near enough to help.

Green Flag would have been worried about liability but they could certainly suggested she contact someone, or Brie's suggestion to take the car to her normal garage for the MOT. As I believe Green Flag sub-contract their service to local garages that might have affected the taking of responsibility, but ultimately the responsibility for tax, MOT and insurance is a personal one.

Exodi

Brie

Has that human ability been priced out of everything?

I'd imagine if you were to poll all of Green Flag's customers asking them if they'd be willing to pay X% more to allow Green Flag to recover vehicles for customers with expired MOT's, you wouldn't have a majority for it. So unfortunately as you ask, I guess it has been priced out. Perhaps I'm biased as the OP's mother is 87, and from my personal experience with getting in the car with my 80-something stepfather, where he was an absolute liability on the road, constantly pulling out in front of people and blaming them for almost hitting him, I was glad when he finally stopped driving (or more accurately, when he was effectively forced on medial grounds).

The OP's mother is extremely lucky that the problem was 'just' a flat tyre while parked outside a co-op, and not a high speed blowout or an accident with another vehicle.

FWIW, despite what the OP has concluded, I strongly suspect all of the other breakdown cover providers would have acted in the same way based on their comments about roadworthiness (which I think is a technical term specifically qualified by MOT status, as opposed to a subjective judgement based on the driver).

This could be the pivot to think about the longer term plan. Is it worth helping the mother with online shopping? Could you drop round a bag of groceries every week (that's what we do)? etc.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664970/beware-green-flag-they-leave-old-ladies-in-the-street

A car with a flat tyre is not roadworthy. It Woukd not oas an MOT.

While other organisations say they look at the circumstances that is no guarantee that they would have come out in this instance.

Andy_L

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81970751#Comment_81970751

The police/CPS have the discretion whether to prosecute or not in any particular case so could decide to not prosecute for not having an MOT

ETA "being driven to an MOT" is not an exercise of discretion, it is a specific exemption to needing an MOT that the law provides