URGENT HELP - Stopped with No Insurance or MOT??

annedenton423

Can anyone help me out there. This morning on the way back home from dropping my son at nursery, I was stopped by the Police claiming I had no insurance or MOT !!! I was gobsmacked and said I know for a fact I have insurance as I put the Certificate aside this morning as the Car Tax is due at the end of the month. They said according to their on-board computer I had neither!! Flumexed I said I only lived down the road and I would show it to them. They followed me home, I gave them the Certificate and they called the insurance company to confirm it was valid. IT WAS !!

I asked if they would like to wait whilst I dig out the MOT. They said they had to go and that I had to produce it within the next 7 days.

Normally, Renault send out reminders and I haven't had one, so I called them and the MOT ran out on 21 April. I was ill in hospital and my husband was in Chicago, so it was a complete oversight. I know there is no grace period for MOT expiration only if you have it booked in within a week of expiry.:eek:

It's booked in for this afternoon and I will take the Certificate and produce it.

My questions are: Can I ask the garage to back-date the MOT? And, I understand that I will probably be fined but don't know what the "norm" is.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Anne

whatatwit

The garage cannot backdate the MOT, as they are all computerised now.

There is a site that you can check on if your car is insured....it's the same one the police use. https://www.askmid.com

If you then present the new mot and your old one, i don't know what the procedure will be.


When you do re-new, make sure you allow at least 7 days, as the insurers only have to update the datebase every 7 days or so. :eek: My dad got stopped on Monday evening and he had renewed last week.

annedenton423

Thanks every so much for the information. I will check out that site anyway, but the Police actually called my insurers who confirmed that I AM INSURED.. I'll present the new MOT later and plead with them not to fine me - can't deal with that at the moment. Many thanks again Anne

Keith

annedenton423 wrote: »

I know there is no grace period for MOT expiration only if you have it booked in within a week of expiry.:eek:

A car can not be driven on the road without a valid MOT, unless it is being driven to a prebooked test. There is no 7 days grace after your MOT expires

amandada

Unfortunately your lack of MOT means your insurance is null and void, despite what was said today.
Don't even ask the garage to doctor your MOT certificate, it's more than their licence is worth.
Sorry you find yourself in this pickle, but the responsibility to make sure the car is legal lies with the driver.

I'd add that this year is the 1st year I've been organised enough to have my MOT date marked on the calender and not had the mad panic when I realise it's due 2 days before it expires.

Quentin

You hopefully now have a MOT, and have been given 7 days to present it.

There should be no problem unless you confess!

Keith

amandada wrote: »

Unfortunately your lack of MOT means your insurance is null and void, despite what was said today.

Are you 100% sure of that?

Some do ask for a valid MOT, but most insurance companies only ask that a car is roadworthy, not that it has a valid MOT. A car can pass an MOT and then be unroadworthy minutes later, by for instance placing a bald tyre in the spare wheel cradle.

annedenton423

Thanks to everyone who has responded - I know it's down to the driver, but unfortunately, I was in hospital rather seriously ill - it was the last thing on my mind. Looks like I'm going to be hit with a fine...:eek: Kind regards, Anne

Quentin

amandada wrote: »

Unfortunately your lack of MOT means your insurance is null and void, despite what was said today.

That's just scaremongering. You can insure your car without it having a current MOT. You just should ensure your car is roadworthy when you drive it. (A current MOT doesn't ensure the car it was issued to is roadworthy beyond the time of the test.)

Quentin

annedenton423 wrote: »

Looks like I'm going to be hit with a fine..

Doubt it. Don't confess!

annedenton423

OMG - I would never knowingly drive my car if I thought for one minute that the insurance was not valid. I have two very young children and would not take that risk. I know when my husband renewed the insurance, there was no request for the MOT. The car only had it's 1st MOT last year! The tax is due at the end of the month so I had dug out the Certificate of Insurance this morning, so I knew it was insured (?) and I had planned to dig out the MOT when I got back from the Nursery run, but was stopped on the way home. I'm frightened out of my life to drive the car down the road now..