It’s been a busy few weeks since my last blog post, so now’s a good time to update you on what we’ve been up to since.
Until recently, we had 3 development teams working on the MOT service, but we’re just moving to 4.
This is so we can start implementing the new roadworthiness directive, as well as keeping going with more general improvements. Getting the new team on board has been good fun in rapidly getting them up to speed with MOT. Part of our way of working is making sure that the whole team understand the business context - so we’ve taken them to see how garages work and how IT we develop is used.
Get an annual MOT reminder
One of the biggest things the team have been working, is getting this service fully ready for the GOV.UK website.
As with all government services it needed to meet the government’s ‘Digital Service Standard’. This means it looks consistent with other government services and is designed to meet the user's needs.
The team had the assessment for this service at the end of September, and recently had the news that the service has passed. This will mean customers will soon be able to find the service if they search for ‘Get MOT reminders’ on GOV.UK or any other internet browser.
Being able to find the service on GOV.UK will make it easier for customers to find, and reassure customers it’s an official service.
Changing our authorisation and administrative processes
As you might already be aware, we’re changing the way you get in contact with us, as our work is being centralised into one office.
We know some of you have found it hard to get in touch with us sometimes, so moving to a central team means we can have a larger team in one place. It also means we can be more consistent in how we deal with things.
So from 1 November, any queries that would have gone to your local office, will be dealt with by contacting our customer support team - on 0300 123 9000 or by email at motadministration@dvsa.gov.uk.
This will affect changes to authorisations, new authorisations and all other queries that would have been dealt with by area offices.
However, if you do have a question about the IT system such as the MOT testing service being unavailable, you’ll still need to contact the Business Service Desk as normal on 0330 123 5654.
Replacement certificates
As part of work into improving our administrative processes, we’ve been looking at the volume of ‘replacement’ certificates we’re issuing. One of the main reasons we need to issue these is because mileages have been entered incorrectly, and the volume of these is rising.
Part of the reason that volumes being requested keep going up will be because drivers are more aware of the mileages now they are made public through the MOT history service, but we do need to make sure we are minimising errors. With more motorists aware of these mistakes it’d be great if we could improve accuracy of input.
We’re also looking at whether we should extend the time a garage has to make corrections of such errors from the current 7 days. I’d like your feedback on this, so let me know what you think by commenting below.
Moving to the future
We’re also just starting to do some experimental work in one of the areas we can move the MOT test forward.
It’s still early days but we’re looking again at how we can connect garage equipment and vehicles directly up to the MOT testing service - so results can be recorded directly without keying them in again.
This may be able to help improve garage efficiency, customer service and fraud prevention - as well as better dealing with modern vehicles.
Although this work is a while away from production, you might see the team out and about in garages, getting a better understanding of how we can make this work in different situations.
Keeping you up to date
Another large piece of work at the moment is the new roadworthiness directive that will come in May 2018. I’ll let you know more about this very soon, in another blog post - there isn’t room in this one!
We’ll continue to keep you up to date with what we’re working on, and as always we’d appreciate your views on what we’ve covered so far.
97 comments
Comment by George woods posted on
Yes good idea. For more time to change mileage some. cars are difficult to get the mileage up thanks for latest update
Comment by Mick Bloomfield posted on
Surely if you reset the mileage parameter on the system before it warns you of ' mileage much higher/lower than last test' to say 12000 miles. This would reduce the amount of mistakes being entered.
Comment by Bob W posted on
I think the reason for some of the wrong mileage entries is due to some times testers entering the trip reading instead of the correct one
Comment by Gary Paterson posted on
Excellent idea to extend the Time Period, Blog updates great too.
Comment by g melfi posted on
very good idea to extend the time to change mileage mistakes on certificate
Comment by Geoff hooper posted on
Very good has mistakes are made keep up the good work
Comment by Ralph Flynn posted on
Thanks for the update. I feel that making the time stations can update the millage longer is a good idea but there still needs to be a limit say 14 days as although it may be us that's made a mistake it does state on the printed certificate given to the presenter that they check all the details before leaving the testing station. I reality no one checks until they get home if at all so the increase would be welcomed.
Comment by Michael Stanton posted on
Good to give us moore time to correct mistakes on mileage
Comment by Anthony Jones posted on
Definitely a good idea to increase the deadline to change incorrect mileage.
Comment by joe digney posted on
I agree we should be able to correct mistakes as some customers don't spot it until later
Comment by Stephen Key posted on
I think it's a great idea for the VTS's to be able to rectify there mistake rather than it going to "You" to sort the amendments. After all we are only human.
Comment by Sid Swaine posted on
A very helpful blog, thank you! Mileage is a very sensitive area, mistakes can and do happen, testers must have a system and process to double check, to minimise errors. When an error occurs it would be helpful if an
N T could correct this within 24hrs. In the event that it is not picked up in this time scale, I fail to see why there can't be an opportunity to correct the mistake anytime before the next test completion. If this were facilitated additional and essential security would be required. The NT would input the correction, giving some brief commentary as to how it went wrong, the A E / Site Manager would then authenticate the correction, by input of their security number. In this case, the A E / Site Manager would have supporting documentation on file should an audit require evidence to justify/prove the authenticity of correction. These documents would also be recorded on the MOT system by the A E /Site Manager at the time of authorising correction, validating authenticity. Consider offering each test centre an annual nominal correction allowance, thereafter the privilege is reviewed/revoked. We sadly don't live in the ideal world, and mistakes happen, the consumer is disadvantaged financially should a mileage error get recorded against their vehicle, and that not right or fair..!
Comment by bill thompson posted on
quite agree should have longer time for corrections
Comment by Mohammed imran sadiq posted on
Yes a very good idea of giving more time to correct Milage ?
Comment by Gary Adcock posted on
could the system not flag up a mileage issue when entering the details, at least if the mileage is lower than the previous year?
Comment by Peter Arries posted on
These blogs are very informative, perhaps 14 day's for mileage correction !!!!
Comment by Roger Chaplin posted on
Yes extending correction time for mileage would be very usefull
Comment by Terry posted on
Agree more time to correct milage mistakes upto 1 month would be good
Comment by S Calvert posted on
I agree, up to 1 month or 28 days for mileage mistakes
Comment by Lee Taylor posted on
Good Update and Thanks. 2 weeks for mileage correction would be useful to identify and rectify errors. Any longer and you could start to move towards 'fraud territory......'
Comment by Andrew Chambers posted on
Regarding replacement certificates:
We test motorcycles and very often if we do have to make a change it's because on many motorcycle speedo's (often Chinese) unless marked next to the odometer it's hard to determine if it relates to MPH or KMH depending how the dial face is laid out.
If the former test certificate is not present and the customer doesn't know themselves then of course until we print the new certificate we can't see the previous mileage history and if it's the bike first 3 year test we can't tell from the fresh certificate we print either.
Other than that I think our errors with number input are rare.
Anyway an extention of time allowed to make changes would be useful.
Comment by markT posted on
i agree about extending the time to alter the certificate also..but as for connecting the other equipment to enter results directly its best left alone as its done now.
you mention mistakes about incorrect mileage,mistakes can also be done on brakes/emissions too leading to another problem to rectify possibly on the certificate or test result outcome,which once the results are entered they cannot be changed afterwards due to an operator error or computer fault,another would be cost also ?? i think we pay enough to have the facility to mot vehicles.remember this was a big white elephant a few year back when it was first thought of.
Comment by andy posted on
yes what your doing is great .
Comment by Andrew Child posted on
To extend the time a garage has to make corrections of such errors from the current 7 days sounds great idea.
Comment by Mart posted on
Good Blog, too the point. it's nice to know what's going on. I agree that more time to amend mistakes would be useful.
Comment by Williton Autoservices ltd posted on
totally agree that the period to correct incorrect mileage is extended.
Comment by Matt Veness posted on
Yes to the mileage amendment.
Comment by peter gilbert posted on
more time to correct errors would be a very good idea.
Comment by Dave posted on
Why does there need to be a time limit restriction on being able to correct the mileage for the testing station ?
Comment by Andy Reynolds posted on
I enjoy reading your blogs Neil and find it a great way to keep up to date with changes. Yes I agree that there should be a longer time period to be able to change incorrect mileage at the VTS. It does concern me though, that an NT can record an incorrect mileage at time of test, it could save the VTS time by encouraging the NT to check his results before saving the test result. I`d be interested to know if more mistakes were made on two man testing where an assistant wrote down the wrong mileage and the NT had not checked themselves.
Comment by Graham posted on
What about more emphasis on the customer to check details on certificate are correct. It is up to them anyway but maybe a message in bold on certificate. If customers realised sooner / straight away, the problem would be solved
Comment by Richard posted on
I see you say your looking (early days) at connecting garage equipment up to the mot testing system. We've been here before. I remember the fiasco we had quite a few years back, when we all needed to have our exhaust emission analyzers upgraded so we could download the data to the then old smart card & then upload onto the testing system, but nothing became of that, it cost garages a lot of money to buy the compliant machines or upgraded just for the idea to be binned.
Comment by con posted on
yes please extend the time we can change things. can you also make it so we can edit a pass or a fail within a set time say 5 mins .
I am sure I am not the only one who has forgotten to remove a fail item on a retest or not put on a advisory
thanks
Comment by Les Phillips posted on
Make mileage entry mandatory at vehicle registration that way its more difficult to enter data incorrectly. If unavailable select unavailable. Also Include the long since lost mileage discrepancy check when the system would report excessive differences in yearly mileage. This should cut down many errors and replacement certificates issues.
.
Comment by Bob Patch posted on
An extended period for correcting mistakes would be helpful. Some errors may be due to digital dashboards using a single display for both odometer and trip readings, with the means to joggle between them greatly varied between different makes and models and not always easy to find!
Comment by james posted on
sounds a good idea to extend the time to correct mileage
Comment by ray posted on
Yes need longer for amount of time for mileage mistakes
Comment by motboyhull posted on
I agree that the time limit should be raised say to Two weeks,this give time for the customer to recheck all the correct details,and if need be return to get it rectified.
Comment by David Thomas posted on
Yes, I think having longer to correct a mileage error is a good idea. It is
very easy to make a mistake when entering mileage.
Comment by mangal singh sagu posted on
yes it is good idea to give more time for replacement certificates
Comment by Derek posted on
good idea to allow more time for corrections - better for customer service also
Comment by Rowland Hibbard posted on
I agree more time to correct mistakes with mileage would be useful.
Comment by Denis posted on
Thank you for this message
Interesting as always and helpful
Comment by Michael posted on
I think giving us longer to rectify a mileage mistake is a good idea.
Comment by bp autos posted on
more time for milage corrections is agood idea as some speedometer ar very hard to read if dash has digital problems parts of digits missing
Comment by bob posted on
good informative blog
Comment by Kevin Gascoigne posted on
Connecting machines to the MOT system won’t prevent fraud at all.
The reason being that the system doesn’t know what car is actually being measured!
Let’s say a car fails it’s emissions test,
All a fraudster will do is test another car with good emissions.
Same with brakes.
All you will achieve is more expense for all the honest test stations.
Comment by cheekyboy posted on
one other thing is there a way in which if the mileage is put in in miles it could come up it was in KM the previous year? or visa versa, just a thought
Comment by Philip Burgess posted on
totally agree with extending the time mistakes can be rectified at the VTS surely it's the best service we can offer our customers, we've made the mistake let us put it right for them
Comment by Carl Billinger posted on
spot on guys . for once system seems to be working ok .
Comment by Joe Ball posted on
The extension to replacement certificates is a great idea.
This can be a very frustrating situation and would be great to be able to correct this should there be mistake.
The issue is how many miles a car can accumulate in a time period, thus not giving an accurate reading when the replacement is issued. I would suggest putting a (mileage correct at date of replacement) in the advisory box to make the customer aware this was not taken at the time of test.
Comment by Saheed Khan posted on
Very informative blog ...
More time to correct Milage is what we need as customers tend to come after the six days grace. As long as proof of incorrect Milage is presented we should have the option to change...
thank you
Saheed khan
Comment by William MacLean posted on
Well done on looking at The incorrect mileage record on mot certificate. It would be very beneficial fir testing stations to amend mistakes
Comment by mark posted on
linking garage equipment is just pie in the sky, emissions were supposed to be linked years ago and no doubt it will cost the stations more money again
Comment by Chandresh Bhardia posted on
Very useful full in did
Comment by Quentin Thorp posted on
Be good if incorrect mileage could rectified up to say 14 days
Comment by Mike Taylor posted on
I agree more time for mileage correction, one of my customers had so much hassle with local office, he gave up.
Comment by cheekyboy posted on
100% agree if a mistake is made on the mileage etc we should have longer period to do this ourselves
Comment by Stephen Heywood posted on
I think it's a great idea to extend the amount of time you can change the mileage on the certificate. Mistakes do happen and this is usually the last six of the vin is entered instead of the mileage.
Comment by Balhar Natt posted on
Well done keep up the good work.
Comment by john mitchell posted on
Possibly increase time to same as full time allowed for MOT retest after repairs - don't think any longer.
Outwith that timescale then same process if there is a mileage error/discrepancy/query.
Comment by Dylan posted on
When i went to the original seminar for the new mot service it was mentioned if the mileage was very different from previous mileage it would flash up to make sure new mileage was correct. That doesn't happen.
Comment by Julia (DVSA) posted on
Hi Dylan
The MOT Testing Service does flag when a mileage entered is lower than the previous or substantially higher. We're aware of a defect in the system which and we're currently rectifying.
Comment by Len posted on
Thanks for this message, I find these very informative and it's good to be kept in the loop