This has just flooded in from Hugh Bonniville (great series W1A...)
16 December 2020
Our ref: 2012/00793
Dear Mr <redacted>
Thank you for your further email of 7 December about your MOT appeal. I’m replying in line with the second stage of our complaints procedure.
I appreciate the circumstances, and I am sorry for any inconvenience this issue has caused you.
I acknowledge you are dissatisfied with the responses you received from our customer service unit (CSU), however, there is very little I can add to what you have already been told.
We have limited jurisdiction and only consider complaints reported within twenty-eight days from the date of issue of the test certificate for mechanical problems and three months for any corrosion-related issues.
Unfortunately, as you submitted your complaint outside of the accepted timeframe, we are not able to look into the specific concerns you have raised in your complaint. I understand this issue might frustrate you, but we cannot retroactively accept any evidence submitted after the deadline has already passed.
While we cannot respond to your specific concerns about your MOT appeal, please be assured the DVSA closely monitor the activities of any testing station which has been the subject of a complaint, to ensure that repeat incidents do not occur.
I appreciate that Grace’s advice to contact The Motor Ombudsman was not relevant in this circumstance. I am sure it was not Grace's intention to misadvise you. All our agents want to provide the best level of customer service, disclosing every potential option for you to pursue your complaint.
We cannot provide any compensation for the test certificate you received from the test centre. I understand you will be taking this issue further with trading standards, other than this course of action we can only recommend seeking further legal advice.
At this stage, I find that we have done everything possible to advise you, and there is nothing further I can add that would be of assistance. I appreciate this is not the response you had expected.
You have now reached the end of our complaints process. If you are unhappy with how we have dealt with your complaint, you can ask us to refer your complaint to one of the Department for Transport’s independent complaints assessors. You need to do this within three months of receiving this response. The ICA cannot look at complaints about legislation and government, departmental or agency policy. Further information about what the ICA can and cannot look at can be found on GOV.UK.’
Yours sincerely
Greg Sanders
Corporate Reputation
customerservices@dvsa.gov.uk