VI test error leaves garage down IMO
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• by Dominic Perry The Vehicle Inspectorate (VI) las come under fire from a _ondon garage owner after he Nas left with a £600 loss followng a bungled vehicle test.
Brian Hosford, who runs
30w-based DKB Mobile Services, put a customers T-eg Isuzu 7,5-tonner through its onual test at the VI's New cross test centre. The vehicle 'ailed due to a supposed brake
defect, but when Hosford came to examine the vehicle he could find nothing wrong. "I stripped the brakes right down and could not find a problem," he says.
'1 spent about 20 hours on it in total and didn't find a single defect because there wasn't one—I could have taken 100 hours and still found nothing."
The vehicle was re-tested and failed again on the same defect. It was only when Hosford raised his suspicions about an incorrect testing procedure did the VI finally admit responsibility.
In a letter to Hosford, John Cuthbert, the VI's south central regjonal manager, admits to a problem: "ft is clear that that the normal test was not carried out for this type of handbrake," he says.
He has offered Hosford a free vehicle test and says that the New Cross test station will waive its pit fee: a compensation package amounting to £65.
But Hoscroft's customer has withheld payment for the work because of the extended downtime on the truck, leaving him with an outstanding bill of £600.
He says the money offered Is an insult: "I'm a bit annoyed. They are always very quick to put haulage firms on show when they get things wrong; I don't see why I should suffer the consequences of their error."
A VI spokesperson confirms that there was an error in the brake test, and as a consequence a refund of the retest fee was issued.
Any additional request for compensation will be considered by VI headquarters.