AIBU to be angry with garage over Dangerous MOT fail?

[User10204842]

I took my car in for its mot yesterday, I’ve been with this garage for a couple of years and they’ve been brilliant up until now.
I thought it was strange when I dropped it off, the lady asked me when I wanted it back? I said I wasn’t sure how much work needed doing so whenever.
AIBU that when you take your car for an mot (at a garage that does your other repairs) you expect them to fix any minor issues and advise you about majors? This is what all garages I have taken my car to have done in the past.
Usually they call you and explain what work needs doing, you agree on it and they do it.
Anyway, yesterday I got a call saying my car was ready but it needed some work. They can’t fit me in until next week, so I agreed a date and set off to pick it up.
When I get there she only charges me for the MOT, £30, and sends me on my way. No one explaining what work needs doing, so I shoot off to get daughter from nursery.
I completely trust this garage, they have been brilliant in the past so had no reason to question them.
When I get home and look at my certificate I see I have a dangerous fail on the brake pads. I’ve not had a dangerous before so I look it up and see I shouldn’t even be on the road!
At this point I am absolutely livid, I could have been fined £2500 if caught.
Anyone else had this situation, and AIBU to be angry with the garage for giving me the impression the car was safe to drive.

If you drive, it's important to know what these rules are. Don't know why you didn't just ask at the time you picked it up. Yabu, your fault not theirs, they are not nannies.

Maybe contact the garage and give them feedback so it doesn’t happen to anyone else? Maybe the reception staff aren’t aware of the consequences of what they did by not relaying to you the type of fail and it’s significance?
It wouldn’t be a complaint but a “just in case it helps the same from being repeated.”

You are allowed to drive it back next week for the said repairs without a cert.

@Wally1983

You are allowed to drive it back next week for the said repairs without a cert.

There is an exemption from the requirement to have a valid MOT, if you are taking it for a pre booked MOT or MOT repairs. However there is never an exemption for ‘using an unroadworthy vehicle on a public road’ which is a separate offence.

So did your car fail it’s MOT? If so you know you shouldn’t of driven it as it will null and void your insurance?

@Bebethany

So did your car fail it’s MOT? If so you know you shouldn’t of driven it as it will null and void your insurance?

No it won’t

That depends how long your current certificate is valid to. If the OP's certificate runs out (for example) on Friday 1 October, she can still drive it until Friday, arrange to have the work done at a garage of her choosing and take it back wherever she wishes to have it retested before 2359 on Friday night

Don't think this is correct as I understand it the mot only tells you that your car is road worthy on that day. It's up to you as the owner to make sure that your car is roadworthy at all times. I have seen on FB on a traffic group people posting about spot mot checks being done on cars by a mobile unit to check they are roadworthy. If you have faulty brakes or worn tyres and are involved in an accident having passed your mot from 6 months ago will not absolve you from prosecution

I'd expect to be told. But if also check if it needed work if it had in fact actually passed.

That's what a pre mot service is for so they do the work before the mot. If it was only booked in for this that's all the time they have to spend on your car. I'm more concerned that you were able to drive it from the garage as I had this and couldn't move it. The only way they would let it go was if I was driving to a garage to get fixed (they were the same would be days before they could get round to the work). So had to drive it to the seal shop round the corner. Next time you know to book a pre inspection before an mot service

I used to work in a garage (a much maligned main dealer) and if we had been doing all the service/maintenance for a vehicle, I'd know for example the day before at the latest that a car had 70% worn brake pads the last time it was in 5 months ago and make sure we had parts ready just in case.
If I was the person booking, rather than the call centre, I'd also allocate more MOT time for a 10 year old car than a 4 year old car, particularly if I had the cars history on record and I could anticipate it needing work to pass.
In the event that we couldn't do work immediately I'd offer a courtesy car to save a customer driving a dangerous vehicle. If they wanted to take it away and get the work done cheaper elsewhere, I'd get them to sign a disclaimer before I handed over the keys.
This garage sounds negligent and haphazard to be honest.
I remember having kittens once when a woman drove her kids away in a death trap of a car, brakes fucked, exhaust rattling, zero tyre tread... Horrifying. You'd better believe she had it all spelled out to her I'm words of one syllable before she drove those children away.

@Shona52

That's what a pre mot service is for so they do the work before the mot. If it was only booked in for this that's all the time they have to spend on your car. I'm more concerned that you were able to drive it from the garage as I had this and couldn't move it. The only way they would let it go was if I was driving to a garage to get fixed (they were the same would be days before they could get round to the work). So had to drive it to the seal shop round the corner. Next time you know to book a pre inspection before an mot service

Pre MOT inspections aren’t such a wise idea.

Firstly you’re paying for basically paying for the MOT to be done twice. Why would you do that?

Secondly actual MOT tests are very highly regulated by the DVSA. If a garage is found to be lying/exaggerating about what is required to pass in order to create work for themselves, the DVSA come down on them like a ton of bricks.

In a pre MOT inspection there is no such regulation. Garages are free to recommend any ‘necessary’ work with impunity.

Why did the garage not think it strange that you picked it up?? I would have thought when they rang you they would have said 'do you want to leave it here'. Then you would have queried the problem. Kind of miscommunication all round imo.

Sorry I’d just used my old username!
I’ll try and remember what I put.
@Bebethany a failed mot doesn’t void your insurance, there’s different categories of fail. A dangerous fail is illegal to drive on. A major is ok as long as your taking it to get fixed and it’s at the road safety level and a minor is ok to drive as long as it’s done before your retest / mot runs out.
@Shona52 yes will definitely check next time if they can book me in for service at same time / give enough time for repairs and also what their policy is on a dangerous fail. If their policy is you have to take it away I won’t be using them.
We had a service at same time as mot last year, not sure what happened this year, just didn’t do it for some reason!

Sorry User10204842 I should have said ‘it’s illegal to drive the vehicle without a valid MOT’

Haven't read the full thread, and maybe missing the point but a set of brake pads are a fairly basic thing 30 minute job, for a garage not to do it on the day is poor. For them to be dangerous they would need to be down to the metal, this would be something you would here when braking.

@Tootsey11 yes they were worn unevenly, have about 1mm left on both front ones. So I would say they were just shy of making a noise. They weren’t making a sound as we’ve had them worn down before and I know what it sounds like.
I think there’s some issue with the braking so hopefully will find out Monday as the wear seems excessive for how long they’ve been on.
Also someone mentioned about a brake pad warning light, I just looked up and weirdly our car doesn’t have this, it’s only 7 years old. For some reason Ford didn’t fit to this model.

@Youseethethingis well it sounds pretty good for a much maligned dealer! 🙂 had the conversation last night of going back to using the dealership once this is sorted. They do offer a courtesy car which would have been great in this situation

Fucking car woes, can’t believe I am still here on this thread worrying about my bloody car.

@User10204842

Fucking car woes, can’t believe I am still here on this thread worrying about my bloody car.

It definitely could be worse I was WFH and looked up to see a car pouring with smoke outside my window today. Was a bit WTF when flames then came out of it Fire brigade came very quickly and the driver got out ok thankfully but it went up so fast Driver was not impressed as he queued for fuel yesterday, and he waited outside my house for 7 hours for recovery

@NotMyCat yeah it’s really not that bad! Yesterday was not a day to be waiting for breakdown recovery either 😬

I agree with you OP. If a garage had told me after an MOT that it needs some work but they can’t fit you in for a week but the car can be collected, I would assume that the faults are necessary to pass but will not prevent driving. To fail on brakes saying they are dangerous, they should have told you as soon as it was discovered so that you could agree to getting them fixed. Garages will carry stock of certain parts and I am pretty sure that they can get parts in same day if in an emergency. They had a duty of care to inform you of the fail and give you a chance to resolve before collecting the car.

@Tam20779 I think we’re in the minority for thinking like this. Most people have said I’m being unreasonable by expecting them to verbally tell me my brakes were at an illegal level.
Like you say, I’ve been told I’ve had an mot fail before. The work gets done or you bring it back for the work.
Never mind! Nearly a week now with no car now, at least I’m getting my exercise doing about 2 hours of walking a day 😆