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.

No you don't.You can drive for MOT related reasons

Untrue = if your fail is classed as dangerous, as with the OP's brakes, she cannot drive at all until the fault is fixed and it passes its MOT.

I think you're getting a lot of stick OP, whilst yes you should've looked at the paperwork, I've never had a car fail it's MOT and them not call and tell me, they mention it when you go in too.

@BIoodyStupidJohnson no I’m not allowed to drive it anywhere. I shouldn’t have driven it away from the garage. I should have either had it repaired at the garage or had it towed on a low loader to another garage. Your not allowed to drive your car at all on a dangerous fail. Which they did not tell me at all.

This is on you. Sorry.

I think OP in your shoes I'd be calling the garage and asking why they didn;t make it really clear that your brakes needed immediate attention. They will be aware of why your car failed, and that you've driven it away. They will also be aware that driving it back to the garage is illegal.

Ask them to book it in to fix the brakes, and ask them to send a low loader or pick up truck to your house for the car. Or to send a mechanic over to pick it up using trade plates and drive it to the garage.

This is all very strange. Surely you would have asked how it went etc when you went to collect it?

And of course if you’re MOT has failed you shouldn’t be driving it for non-MOT reasons...

How much clearer do you want? They gave it to you in writing!

In 30-odd years of having MOT's done, I've never had a garage not tell me verbally what work needed doing. To be fair, that's usually because they phone me up for authorisation to do the work immediately.

The garage were definitely less clear than I've ever experienced.

It seems odd to me that you'd pay someone to check if your car was OK. Then they tell you it's not OK and at know point do you ask what's wrong with it just collect it and go and agree to pay for whatever it is.

Any decent garage would let you know when you collected the car not just hand over paperwork and say it's done. Yes OP should have checked the paperwork but I would also have expected them to inform her it failed and to have called her earlier in the day to let her know, complete the job and then retest? I think there's a bit of fault both sides her OP sorry!

They wouldn't do ££'s of work without contacting you, probably wouldn't carry the parts and will be back to back with jobs.
This is your fault you should have listened and questioned when they explained and at the very least check your paperwork.
The garage aren't at fault.

Some garages have their own recovery vehicles, ask for a home pick up when you book.

*here

Sounds like they were pretty unclear, they would normally ring and say its either a pass or fail. If they just said 'it's done ready to collect but needs some stuff done' I would assume they meant it had passed with advisories that needed to be done, especially with them not being able to fit the work in until next week.

I think my worst MOT experience was a garage who I am convinced did not actually carry out the MOT, as a month after it the brake shoe in one of the rear wheels completely broke apart and jammed the wheel. Luckily I was only doing 5mph at the time. They had also put down front brake pads as an advisory when the ones in there were nearly brand new.

I do feel like more often than not I get fucked around by garages. No doubt there will be a lot of holier than though responses on this thread saying that you should have known and should be getting your car serviced three times a year.

@SoupDragon yes I should have asked them to go through it with me. They normally do it as standard so I think it just threw me a bit.

@KingsleyShacklebolt

Not such things as minor and masjid on MOTS, only legally compliant or not

Untrue - www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/blog/new-mot-vehicle-test-may-2018

Major fault fail = you can carry on driving until your current certificate runs out.
Dangerous fault fail = cannot drive.

Advisories or minors - not a fail at all, just something you need to keep an eye on. DH has had "advisories" on his shock absorbers for 3 MOTs in a row.

An advisory is not a minor fail - it's an advisory. And yes I'm aware of them as I referred to them in a previous post. And minors are not 'fails' So it's impossible to fail an MOT on an advisory or minor issue.

Fundamentally it doesn't change the point that OP was given a fail certificate and thus the car is legally non compliant and needs sorting. And it's her responsibility as a car owner to arrange that

You can drive for MOT related reasons

No you cant,

Dangerous A direct and immediate risk to road safety or has a serious impact on the environment.

Do not drive the vehicle until it’s been repaired.

When they called you to say your car 'needed some work' did you not ask what the work was? Didn't they say?

[quote User10204842]@VainAbigail no they normally call me to let me know what work needs doing and they do it the same day.[/quote]
But they did tell you. They couldn't fit it in until next week.

The woman asked if you wanted to pick it up withe the alternative being to leave it with them until it was done, maybe have a courtesy cars etc.

You misunderstood and didn't check the paperwork. Drive it back there tomorrow and leave it with them or book it into another garage.

And there is a process for reporting dodgy MOT testers (as individuals) or garages

www.gov.uk/guidance/report-an-mot-tester

The DVSA has a sort of "mystery shopping" scheme, they take a car to a garage knowing exactly what the assessor should be picking up on a report as a quality control measure. Mostly randomly, but also in response to people complaining. Or because they have identified that the percentage of passes/fails from one tester or one garage are very might higher/lower than they would expect.

But OP didn't say she had a dodgy MOT!

@User10204842

You can drive on a minor can’t you? I’ve tried to get on touch no reply. That’s why I’m wondering what other people have done. Also, I accept that I shouldn’t have driven but in the past they have fixed majors for me on the day. I’ve never taken a car for an mot where they literally do the mot test and nothing else. That’s like a council run test centre isn’t it? Usually a garage would also do the repairs at the same time?

Absolutely not in my experience unless it's a really minor thing

I've used many different garages for MOT tests and if the car fails they usually ring me, explain the options and we agree a date for the work to be done and a re-test

Unless I've been very lucky they don't have someone waiting around to do work that hasn't been booked in and for which they haven't ordered the parts

Imo your experience isn't the norm

An advisory is not a minor fail - it's an advisory. And yes I'm aware of them as I referred to them in a previous post.
And minors are not 'fails'
So it's impossible to fail an MOT on an advisory or minor issue.

Well that's why I referred to minors and advisories as "not a fail".

@KingsleyShacklebolt no to be honest I’m done with them. My husband is replacing the brakes at the weekend and I’ve booked it in for a retest with another garage. I just think it’s really sloppy.
They are ignoring messages.
I think it’s 50/50. Yes legally I should have read all the paperwork but I do feel like I was misled by being told my car was ready to collect. It wasn’t ready to collect as it wasn’t and isn’t road legal. It was ready to collect with a low loader!

By ready

I do see where you're coming from OP. Whenever I've had an MOT done, they've always rung me to say whether it's passed and is ready to pick up, or whether it's failed and needs work doing, in which case we then discuss the work.

If they rang to say it's ready to pick up but needs some work which we can fit in next week, I probably would have assumed it was minors (although I also probably would have clarified if it had passed or failed at that point), but I do think it's weird for the garage not to say on the phone one way or the other.

I'm pretty sure my garage wouldn't leave things this unclear.

When they said the car needed work and could be done on X date what did you say?
Surely you asked what was wrong with the car and how much it will cost?