The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) has slammed the government for freezing MOT test prices without properly consulting the industry.
The RMI recently met with the under secretary of state for transport, to discuss the pricing of MOTs with the focus being on increasing the MOT fee. RMI director Stuart James said there was a genuine desire for garages to invest in technology, recruit apprentices for the future and provide a higher quality service to the consumer, and a small increase in the fee would support all of these aspirations.
He said: “While the RMI acknowledges the Government’s efforts to support the motorist it is outraged that it has failed to recognise the spiralling costs incurred by garages. The last official review of the MOT test price was in 2010. However in the last three years the cost of running a garage has snowballed.
“The industry is committed to raising standards to the benefit of the consumer. Through training, up-to-date equipment and improved customer relations, garages across the UK are providing a better service than ever before.
“The motor industry is one of the biggest recruiters of apprentices in the UK. Thousands of garages a year invest in training the future of the sector. However all this comes at a huge cost to the garage.
“As the majority of MOT test stations are small- to medium-sized businesses this price freeze could result in these already struggling businesses being forced out of the market. This will profoundly damage the industry and stifle the economy just as it begins to recover.”
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