A question for MOT testers

[Station]

I put my ex-sportyshite Micra in for MOT today.
It was the same person that butchered my MR2 - side skirts were hanging off because he pulled so hard the screws came out of the plastic plugs.

The Micra needed a bit of welding on the back of the sills - I cut out whatever rust was there and welded plates and did a really good job of it. I put UPOL zinc primer on and then stone chip and then had a can of Metallic Beige mixed and correctly sprayed that on. It looked really nice and you could only see the raised part of the plates.

MOT time comes, I see the person who last tested my MR2 is in.
I come back to find the Micra parked in a position where I could clearly see his handy work.
On one side, the three inch plate I had welded on was bent down pulling the rest of the sill with it and torn off with what I assume was a crowbar. It was also convenenietnly marked in yellow.
It must've taken some force to prize that off and I asked him to show me the crowbar he used. He claimed I had 'bonded' it on (the UPOL zinc primer was the bonding stuff) and it wasn't welded. I told him to pull the rest of the panel off with his hands which he did but it took some force (there was only one weld spot left). He also had a good dig around the rest of my welding with the edges of the plates forcefully bent back.
Is there anything I can do as surely this isn't right and I'm still hurting over the state he left my MR2 in. The soft twat basically thinks I'm trying to pull the wool over his eyes or something.

[Station]

Also have photos.

 

He also said on the mot fail sheet 'DO NOT USE UNDERSEAL BEFORE RETEST'

WTF?

[SambaS]

The guy is a c*nt and you could report him to VOSA, but I don't know how he would pull a welded patch off with his hands??!

 

They are not even allowed to remove underseal never mind use a bloody crowbar

[SambaS]

Why would you go back????!

[twosmoke300]

Knob . Power goes to their heads I reckon.

[dave21478]

Vote with your feet and find another garage.

 

Im not deliberately being an arse, but surely a properly welded on plate shouldnt come off, even with a crowbar? No, he shouldnt be using a crowbar, he is only allowed to use mild pressure with his little pointy hammer, so while a nicer tester may have passed it surely there must have been a problem with the repairs?

[twosmoke300]

I did also think that but was afraid to say it after I sided with a tester on another thread .

[skattrd]

I think you need to have a word with his boss as what he's done does not sound legit.

 

Do not underseal before re-test is complete bollocks. If you are going back there (I wouldn't) I'd consider using vandal paint as underseal next time.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I'm with Samba, what on earth did you go back there for if you knew they employed a DIY welding-hater gorilla MOT dude?

 

Edit: Also what do you think about him pulling the patch off with his hands? That doesnt sound very good to me I must say.

[nigel bickle]

I had a similar hater, failed every wiper blade on every car I took in, even when brand new. I liked the Garage, so stuck with it a while, to the extent I fitted them to the arms but left the plastic wrapping on.

 

Sadly it got beyond a joke so I reported him. I understand his pass rate of 30% coupled with the garage biz levels from 'regulars' being decimated helped him decide MOTing wasn't for him.

 

Last I heard he was on the Royce assembly line at Goodwood. Well suited I reckon.

[cobblers]

The MOT tester is clearly being a dickhead as he's not allowed to use anything other than a little plastic hammer to tap on anything suspect, he's definitely gone way out of bounds by prying your patch off.

 

However, there's no way you should be able to remove an MOT patch with any kind of crowbar so clearly the guy (even though he's a cock) was right about your welding not really being up to scratch.

[red5]

VOSA.

 

End of.

 

CAT 'Corrosion Assessment Tool' is not a crowbar (if that's what he used)* That is wilful damage.

 

'Do not underseal'? That is bollocks.

 

Ps, if your patch is not up to spec then that's how it's reported. There is a criteria to inspect it against.

 

 

 

*....

[twosmoke300]

Removed by what was assumed to be a crow bar .

 

So did you see him do it ?

 

Your not even allowed to use the screwdriver end of the cat , thats for scraping brake pipes .

 

The underseal thing I kind of agree with as I've seen some terrible welding covered by seam sealer and shultz.

[red5]

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4s06000101.htm

 

And

 

http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/htdocs/m4x0c000001.htm

 

 

' If the method of repair is in doubt the tester should pass and advise.'

[michael1703]

You should use finger and thumb pressure, if in doubt use the CAT tool and even then, only a bit of tapping and scraping.

 

The guy sounds like a cock, I'd repair his damage exactly as you'd done it before he wrecked it and take it somewhere else.

 

If you appeal to Vosa (now called DVSA) they will arrange for an inspector to assess it and you will be appointed a time/place to present the car and then there will be months of hoo haa etc etc

 

I'd just vote with your feet

[AlabamaShrimp]

As others have said it's a straight complaint to his boss/company and vosa. Just don't rant but use lots of big words. Don't mention that people said your repair might have been crap.

 

Other thing, never go back there...

[Pillock]

Weld it, smear dog shit on it and get him to try and pull it off again with his bare hands.

[Jim Bell]

I'm guessing most of us could pull a wing off, eventually. What does that prove? The blokes obviously a cunt. I would say never go back but you already have.

Certainly report the cunt now.

[the judge]

I had to pass a Sunny with filler in chassis leg once. My CAT could only tap,or scrape. Pass n advise. Guy is a dick

[forddeliveryboy]

You must feel like spraying expanding foam up his exhaust pipe.

 

But nobody wants to be in a crash in a car with weak joints. I had a mate involved in a massive crash a couple of years ago, in a car I'd rebuilt - properly - previously. If I hadn't, he probably wouldn't have walked out with nothing more than the need for a large whisky.

 

Only you know how strong the welding was - was it the metal the patch had been welded to which let go, or the weld itself? A word with the boss is unlikely to be the first complaint he's had. Enough complaints and he'll get rid.

[Station]

I tack welded the plate over the hole of cut out rust. He had rammed his tool under the plate and bent it off. This was because it was 'bonded on'.

The plate had the edge turned up which is consistent with someone ramming a tool in and trying to pry it off. When trying to justify his decision I asked him to try and remove the bonded on panel with his hands which he did after a few seconds with great force.

I've wasted enough energy on him and his schemes now so rewelded the plate on and will send some stuff to the 'ministry'.

[dollywobbler]

Tack welding doesn't sound like an ideal repair though to be fair. He does seem to have been a bit harsh, but it sounds like he had reasonable grounds to be a bit grumpy.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

gotta be honest if he has managed to remove a welded-on patch with his official MOT toffee hammer, or even with a screwdriver or whatever, or even half-remove it then rip it off with his hands it must have been a pretty flipping shite job. Strictly speaking he can't insist on you not undersealing your repairs but equally if he thinks you're trying to get something past him he can refuse to do the test full stop. So maybe his 'NO UNDERSEAL' rule is so he can actually check your welding is 'correct', that being a better option for you and him, than refusing to do the MOT test.

[wuvvum]

I have to say I always thought repairs that were covering rust holes in structural areas had to be seam welded rather than tacked.

[Joey spud]

Sounds like the tester is a bit of a dick but you shouldn't be able to pull a patch off.

I was an Authorised examiner of my own business and i had a young lad start for me who i eventually put through the mot course and he was fine doing modern stuff all day long but anything a little old or modded and he turned into a mot hitler and just couldn't pass and advise any welded repairs without trying to pick at them.

 

There is a guy on the Blue forum who has a thing for little Simca's and he currently has a thread going about his Simca pickup that he is restoring.

Now the problem is he cant weld,its just bird poo with no penetration at all.some of the panels he has 'restored' are load bearing brake/suspension areas.

He even grinds the 'poo' down then slaps what looks like cheap tar based underseal over the top.

 

Every time i visit his thread i think he must assume his work is ok as he is showing it off to his peers and  no one over there has mentioned its sub standard to him,i would dread being the guy having to mot it one day.

 

Actually last time i looked in Mr B had dropped a hint about the quality of the welding by subtley enquiring what equipent he was using...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Ha!!! That guy seems like a proper maniac. I quite fancy puling him up for his thoroughly dire welding but criticism is banned over there so you have to tread carefully and find a way to say something is shite using only positive-sounding words, which is not impossible but requires a bit of thought.

[Mrcarlos]

I do mot repair welding day in day out , you couldnt remove any plate i weld on with anything short of an angle grinder , the tester isnt supposed to use any prying force at all with the corrosion assessment tool just tap it but i would take a look at your welding penetration if its possible to pry it off. Dare we ask for some pics of your repair ?

[stuboy]

pics please

[Bren]

A quick question - did the welds "tear" from the panel or has the whole lot come off in it's original piece ie lack of fusion?

 

Some pics might help - if the welds were satisfactory and the tester has simply torn the repair panel off I would contact VOSA sooner rather than later.

 

Reminds me of a tester at one of the local stations - he was notorious for ramming things through sound metal.

Rightfully, he was eventually sacked.

 

Sounds to me like the tester perhaps has a lack of confidence in his ability hence he is going somewhat over the top?

[Bren]

Also have photos.

He also said on the mot fail sheet 'DO NOT USE UNDERSEAL BEFORE RETEST'

WTF?

I would have asked him " do you want me to have it non destructive tested as well you cnut?"