my friend wreaked her car last week (not her fault) but sadly discovered it was 5 weeks out of MOT. Any one had experience of this situation? Will the insurance use it as an excuse? Dont think there is a legal basis for them not paying out unless it says in their terms and conditions that no mot = no payout. Which is unlikely i think since you can legally drive with no MOT in certain situations. However, she is a touch worried!

Any one?

i think its unlikely... they'll find any excuse possible.
and she WAS driving it illegally, whether she meant to/knew or not


makes me wonder though, why do we get reminders every year to bend over and be raped for environment damage (or road tax as its known) but we don't get reminders for safety things like MOT...

[Edited on 5/10/09 by blakep82]

yeh a reminder would be great

found out my mot for the tin top was 2 and half months out of date

only found out it was out of date when i went to get tax

Can't you visit a local garage, pay them out 50 quid to book a mot test and then claim that she was taking the car there when the other person run on her?

Might have to pay the other person damage as well as the insurance will say that the car is uninsured.

[Edited on 5/10/09 by l0rd]

Yep my uncle wrote his camper off and discovered the MOT had expired. He had a bit of a wrangle but in the end, surprisingly they paid out though they didn't need to.

I would imagine not as the insurance doc says car must be in a road worthy condition, however that maybe be subjective, ie the car is looked at after the crash to see if anything was defective and caused the accident therefore making the mot unimportant. So may differ between companies...

as for mot reminders, in northern ireland we get reminders. however thats because the mot testing is done by the government rather than like in england by licensed private garages. In my mind however i dont see why the mot and tax arent just one, ie when mot the car you pay for both at once, as we are made display a mot disc now here and a tax disc why didn't they think taking it step further just having one thats both

There could be reminders now in the UK since the system has been computerised. Before that it wouldn't have been possible as I understand it.

Note an MOT doesn't imply the car is roadworthy at any point other than the time of the test, and certainly not after 11months have passed.

I understand that the MOT is only worthy for that day only?

Slightly off topic, but I have always wondered...

Why... dont they send you a letter every year reminding you they want your money....

you take your car to the MOT centre, pay for the MOT and at the same time pay for your "road fund license"..

That way there is only one thing to be paid for, one thing to be reminded about.... simples... seeings as you cant have one without the other, why not combine them!??!?

its an interesting question about road worthiness - my van failed its mot today with 'dangerous play in ball joint' and the tester was happy for me to drive it home. Not that i did mind, thats why i have a spare van, but still, a professional says its dangerous but they let you drive it - technically legally as that would've been home from a booked MOT.

Anyway, on the plus side, she just rang them (esure) and they said they weren't bothered, payment has already been issued and its down to the salvor to complain if they arent happy. But as a write off it would need an MOT anyway before being returned to the road, so they have lost nothing either.

I suspect the insurers know that they cannot refuse a pay out on those grounds, hence just aim for customer good will - a bit like when credit cards say how nice they are offering to guarantee anything you buy but dont mention they have to by law!

If your lady friend were on the way to the MOT station at the time of the accident, it would be very difficult for them to find otherwise...

I agree that the payout is at risk because she was driving illegaly, but you might find the assessor forgiving given that it is a no-fault claim. You never know.

I used to get reminders years ago about my MOT from the main dealer, but theyre not so attentive now, as i suppose it must cost them a few quid to do it.

I used to work in motor claims and came across this fairly regular. We used to value the car based on if it did have MOT and then offer around 10% less.

The "roadworthy" clause in the policy is usually only applied when the fault has actually caused the accident.

quote:

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Originally posted by MakeEverything
If your lady friend were on the way to the MOT station at the time of the accident, it would be very difficult for them to find otherwise...

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quote:

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Originally posted by l0rd
Can't you visit a local garage, pay them out 50 quid to book a mot test and then claim that she was taking the car there when the other person run on her?
[Edited on 5/10/09 by l0rd]

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Two separate issues.

Not having a valid MOT - OK if driving to a pre booked MOT test or taking vehicle to garage for repair.

Having an unroadworthy vehicle or one that does not comply with construction and use requlations - no excuse.

Just another legal inconsistancy.

I was just saying that,

If a friendly garage put on their schedule accidentally at 4 and the accident was at 3:30 you can argue that you were going to the MOT centre for the testing.
The car was not on the road for all those days due to lack of money.

But you then run the risk of being done for insurance fraud. Good luck insuring anything else future.

I always undestood it was treated as two separate things. The lack of MOT is an offense for which the police can prosecute you, but it is not a justification for the insurance to not pay up (it doesn't mean they won't use it ans an excuse to delay payment, or to haggle over price though)

hugh

I got stopped with no MOT before, got a lovely letter from the plod saying they dont like to prosecute for minor offenses, dont do it again! Fair play to them, i've tried my hardest ever since to keep them mot'd.

She told her insurance she had no MOT? I'd have kept quiet and let them find out.

Yeah they should send reminders... I had to take mine in last week cos I couldn't remember when it was but I did know it was "soon, or maybe just run out"