Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered

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Sun 30 Nov 2014 19:58
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - bessboo06

Is it illegal for a dealer to cover the advisory box with a piece of paper and photocopy it to hide advisaries ?

Edited by bessboo06 on 30/11/2014 at 20:10

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Sun 30 Nov 2014 22:19
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - FP

If the intention was to pass the photocopy off as the original and to deceive a prospective buyer, almost certainly the answer is yes. Effectively, in legal terms, it is fraud.

Have you checked online, where the undoctored version will be available?

Given the availablility of online records, it would be a naive buyer who trusted the paper version, but in practical terms there might be little opportunity to dig around online before a decision about purchasing had to be made.

"You can check the MOT status of a car on the central government database. If the MOT certificate turns out to be false, the seller may have committed a criminal offence. Report them to Trading Standards." tinyurl.com/pk2qk9x

Edited by FP on 30/11/2014 at 22:27

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Sun 30 Nov 2014 22:50
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - bessboo06

Hi, i only bought the car yesterday and i wasnt happy with a sound it was making on driving so i refused to take car , i have to go back and sort out tomorow.While at home i looked at the MOT certificate he gave me and th advisary box had double lines like it had been photocopied so i checked online database and advisaries were issued but they were not present on my certificate.

What do you think i should do ? They had the car MOT done at a reputable vauxhall garage , should i contact them or go to the dealer . Is this enough to void sale as i just want my money back.

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Sun 30 Nov 2014 23:48
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - FP

If the MOT has been altered it will have nothing to do with the MOT testing garage. The dealer will be responsible.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations may be relevant here, which deals, among other things, with giving false information. It also refers to a "right of redress" for the victim of unfair practices.

I guess you would be able to return the car for a refund, but I'm not very familiar with the detail of the Sale of Goods Act, or whether SOGA in fact applies here, rather than CPUT. If the latter, you might have to go down the small claims route.

SOGA may apply, if the falsified MOT means the vehicle has been "falsely described".

Edited by FP on 30/11/2014 at 23:52

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 07:43
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - RobJP

The dealer has attempted to defraud you. Tell them to refund you in full, or you go to Trading Standards AND the police. Give them 1 hour to make a decision, and tell them that once the hour is up, you'll be taking it to the authorities.

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 07:53
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - Dwight Van Driver

AlertAlertAlert

Have a look at Section 173 Roiad Traffic Axt 1988. Serious offence.

Contact original Testing Station to confirm there were advisories put on when Cert issued.

Squirm time for seller if you play your cards right.

dvd

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 15:42
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - pd

Obviously they shouldn't cover them up - but it doesn't make the car misdescribed. If it was sold as having a new MOT and it has one, it has one.

What are the advisories? Anything serious or just wear and tear?

Most of them are just "a*** coverers" anyway and in most cases make no material difference to the car. It is unusual for any car a few years and miles old to have none so I am surprised the dealer thought it worth the trouble.

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 15:52
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - skidpan

When our Kia was MOT's in September by a Kia dealer there was a single advisory on the certificate.

It read something like

"unable to complete under body inspection due to fitted underbody shield"

I pointed out to them it was exactly as manufactured by Kia and if it stopped them inpsecting it fully they should remove it just like they remove the shield when servicing a car.

Service reception simply said that they are not allowed to remove the shield for an MOT.

So what happened earlier in the day when they serviced it?

Beggars belief.

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 16:54
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - pd

When our Kia was MOT's in September by a Kia dealer there was a single advisory on the certificate.

It read something like

"unable to complete under body inspection due to fitted underbody shield"

I pointed out to them it was exactly as manufactured by Kia and if it stopped them inpsecting it fully they should remove it just like they remove the shield when servicing a car.

Service reception simply said that they are not allowed to remove the shield for an MOT.

So what happened earlier in the day when they serviced it?

Beggars belief.

Some MOT testers go mad for advisories. The favourite pointless ones are things like engine undertrays (which cars do not have these?), sill covers (ditto), child seat fitted, discolouration of indicator bulbs etc. You can easily end up with a page of meaningless rubbish which looks terrible on first glance but amounts to nothing.

It is very easy to take a car for a MOT, get 12 advisories and then take for another and get none. It is all down to the discretion of the tester.

Even things like "Tyre close to legal limit" can mean it has 1.6111mm on it and shouldn't do more than 10 more miles or it has 4mm and could do another 8000.

Edited by pd on 01/12/2014 at 16:55

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 17:12
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - skidpan

Just remembered another daft one.

Took dads car for service and MOT at Nissan main dealer. Rang me after about an hour to say passed MOT and would be ready to collect mid afternoon after service completed. Rang back after lunch to tell me both front tyres were illegal and needed immediate replacement. I knew they were perfectly OK, had about 3.5mm on the fronts and probably 5mm on the rear so I played the game a bit then dropped the bomb shell on them by asking how come it passed its MOT this morning in your worshops if it had illegal tyres. After a short silent moment the answer came back as something like "we were just allerting you to the fact they are worn".

Was very tempted to write to local paper etc but what good would it have done.

12 months later it went back to the same garage having done another 3500 miles with the exact same tyres fitted, passed MOT yet again and no mention on service.

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Mon 1 Dec 2014 17:15
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - Bromptonaut

Yup, i've had daft advisories too.

  1. Engine cover fitted
  2. Scrape in n/s front wing
  3. Wheel trims badly scratched.
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Tue 2 Dec 2014 18:35
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - 2fast4u
On my cars last mot I had: "items removed from drivers view prior to test" as an advisory, it was the air freshener hanging from rear view mirror!! Not going back there again.

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Tue 2 Dec 2014 12:22
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - Andrew-T

We don't know yet how old this Astra is. If it is 8 or 10 years old I would expect to see advisories such as 'Brake pipes showing sign of corrosion' or 'Pads approaching wear limit'. What were they?

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Tue 2 Dec 2014 17:50
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - ED731PDH
Had this sort of sharp service from Nissan along them lines of "It's of the opinion of our chief mechanic who conducted a test drive that your rear shocks are shot".

Enough to fail the MOT? No.

Took to another garage, checked over, nothing wrong with rear shocks, or anything else for that matter.

Drumming up business?
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Tue 2 Dec 2014 20:05
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - alan1302
Had this sort of sharp service from Nissan along them lines of "It's of the opinion of our chief mechanic who conducted a test drive that your rear shocks are shot". Enough to fail the MOT? No. Took to another garage, checked over, nothing wrong with rear shocks, or anything else for that matter. Drumming up business?

Could be drumming up business or could be the 2nd place you took it don't know what they are on about.

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Tue 2 Dec 2014 20:43
Vauxhall Astra - MOT test certificate given by dealer altered - RT

Apart from checking for leaks and faulty mountings, dampers are "checked" by a crude bounce test - opinions on the result always vary!

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