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New MOT system crash forces motorists off the road

Garages across the UK have been unable to issue MoT test certificates because of issues with the government’s new multi-million pound online system.

Slow performance and random crashes have forced motorists to leave their car at home or face driving illegally as without an MOT they are unable to tax their car or legally allowed to be on the road, according to the Daily Mail.

So bad is the new system, in fact, that officials have asked garages to issue old-style MOT certificates and for drivers to send details manually while the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) sorts out the cloud-based system designed by software company Kainos.

To make matters worse, garages have reportedly struggled to get through to the DVSA’s help desk and Kainos is failing to respond, too.

It is currently unclear how many of the 16,000 garages using the system have been affected. The remaining 8,000 garages will adopt the new system in September, likely adding more strain to the already struggling system.

Garage owner Howard Watts told the Telegraph newspaper: “We have been having problems since last Thursday and just can’t get the system to work.”

“It means that we are turning away regular customers who need an MoT – and they shouldn’t be on the road without one. There have been problems with every new computer system they bring in,” he added.

Another disgruntled garage owner, Anthony Marshall, said he had only been able to do one MOT a day whereas he could normally average 10. He also mentioned having to wait for the system to load, which has cost him ‘a fortune’ in missed revenue.

“I’m basically sat here waiting for the computer to work. It’s cost us a fortune already and I’m sure it will cost us more before it’s working properly. It’s broken down every day since it was installed,” Marshall explained.

“I’m filling out paper forms again, which we haven’t had to do for years, probably over a decade,” he added.

DVSA chief executive Alastair Peoples said of the transition phase: “There is a well-established contingency process in place and all garages can still carry out tests and issue MOT certificates.”

“We are bringing in additional resource to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience,” he added.

29 million MOT tests are processed every year.

The government was criticised for its rollout of the new online car tax system, which also suffered teething problems when it came into operation on the 1st of October.

Been inconvenienced by a lack of an MOT? Feel free to rant below.

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