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Due to the general high level of general manly knowledge on the forum i thought best to ask the collective.
Situation.
I was involved in a 50/50 car scrape/bump on a country lane 3 weeks ago,
I was just about the upload my Mot certificate to my insurers to help with the claim.I am a young driver 20 years old and been driving two years,My mot ran out in febuary and since then unbeknownst to me i found i had not renewed my mot,I thought the garage had done it when i changed my tyres last novemember and thus it was about to run out soon.
I felt and feel sick to my stomach but i dont know how my genuine mistake will cost me.Ive taken my car into the garage at 8 this morning to try and get it currently covered and valid Mot,But since i would have been driving without a valid Mot when i crashed i think im in the grey area where my car is insured but my vehicle didnt have Valid mot.
I feel awful.Is there anything i can do to help the situation,I think i will ask the garage if the car was in a road worthy state pre Mot and then work from there.Is it worth paying the other cars damage (his was less than mine may i add) and not going through my insurance any more.
If i could have some guidance on the issue it would be great,However it has taught me to remember to do it.
thanks in advance.
You'll be OK mate.
Although they may factor it into how much you get paid out.
Hmm,
[b]If [/b]you had any weight to your argument, it would be that the crash [b]wouldn't [/b]have been caused by any level of 'unroadworthyness', so an MOT wouldn't have 'helped'.
That's an 'if'....
DrP
It often gets forgotten and there's not a reminder usually like there is for tax, service, insurance etc.
I looked at mine last week and discovered it was about to lapse.
If the costs are not high, best to just pay up from your own pocket rather than go through insurance. Even without the MOT issue, a claim at this early stage of your driving will hit next premiums pretty hard.
I'm a pessimist - your insurance company will say your insurance is invalid as there was no valid MOT in place so you'll end up paying anyway. If you're lucky the other bloke won't find out and involve the police. No MOT = no insurance = lots of points+fine.
I always thought that having no MOT also invalidated your insurance, but [url= http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=4784884 ] this [/url] suggests it might not be the case.
Either way, at 20 with any claim your next renewal won't be much fun, sorry!
I tend to keep a reminder in every calendar I have of the month I need to renew my MOT, would help if there was a reminder system really.
If the costs are not high, best to just pay up from your own pocket rather than go through insurance. Even without the MOT issue, a claim at this early stage of your driving will hit next premiums pretty hard.
This
If its a fifty / fifty and the other party is reasonable then just tell them you aren't going to claim through your insurance and let them sort out their own damage?
What are you paying for insurance currently?
I'm guessing you have two years no claims.
If you claim on your insurance you will pay your full excess plus a pretty big increase in premiums for the next two years until you catch up with your no claims bonus.
would help if there was a reminder system really.
There is one
[url= https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/mot-text-reminder-service ]MOT Reminder[/url]
I found out about this last week after establishing that I was 6 months past my MOT date!
@bikerbruce, sorry to hear this - these things do happen (we've had inadvertent periods without MOT and even insurance due to change of address oversight)
The Insurance companies basic position is they will not want to pay, it's a condition of the insurance that you have a valid MOT.
If I were you I'd pay up yourself (telling the other driver you don't want to involve the insurance co), get your MOT and ask/hope your current insurer continues their coverage. Unfortunately if they withdraw their coverage you have to declare that to any new insurance company.
Look on the bright side that it was a relatively small accident without major injury claims.
sounds like your insurers already know about the claim so any 'damage' to future premiums is already likely to be done 🙁
Speaking as someone who is getting the car MOT'd tomorrow (day it runs out) because I'd forgotten, I can empathise.
A quick google suggests that if you have no MOT then you have no insurance. Simple as. ( http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/Road_Traffic_Law/Road_Tax_and_MOT)
So as above - I wouldn't go through the insurance on the basis that there is seemingly a very large can of worms waiting to be opened there if you do.
Having no MOT is non endorsable, you can't get points for it. It also won't invalidate your insurance with regards to third parties, ie the other person involved in the collision. It's bullshit bingo on here when these threads come up.
Now your insurance are aware, it will probably be recorded anyway even if you settle with the driver. So when renewing/shopping around you will need to declare it,depending on whether the wording is 'any claims' or a 'any incidents'. There is a difference!
i always used to write the MOT, tax and insurance renewal dates on the sun visor of my car as i was prone to forgetting.
might be worth doing in the future...
I got pulled on the motorway for no MOT a couple of years ago. £60 fine, no points, insurance still valid and was allowed to continue on my merry way after being told to get an MOT sorted ASAP.
In your case though I'd probably not go through the insurance as they could be very awkward.
would help if there was a reminder system really
I'm surprised nobody's made a smartphone app for this yet, seeing as most people these days seem incapable of sitting the right way on the toilet without consulting their phone ...
I had a minor crash a few years back and found, like you, that i had no MOT at the time.
The insurers never asked about it and it was never mentioned?
The day i picked up my fixed car i had it immediately MOT'd and there was never any comeback to the whole situation.
Hopefully you'll be fine.
6/8 months forgetting your MOT ? 😯
are you one of those people that can afford to tax the car for a whole year at a time?
There isn't a dedicated MOT app - but there are lots of reminder apps. I use one called "due" which does a very good job of hassling me until I do things I need to do.
I have a permanent mot reminder set-up
Please don’t take this as gospel as its off the web, but its seems about right
[i]Failure to hold a valid MOT is an offence under Section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and can result in a fine of up to £1000. The offence of driving without an MOT does not carry penalty points although most policies of insurance will become invalid without an MOT being in place, which could lead to an offence of driving without insurance which carries between 6 and 8 penalty points.[/i]
Given you are a young driver 6 to 8 penalty points on your insurance will have a massive impact on your renewal premium for a good few years, if the damage to the other car isn’t that great and it doesn’t sound like as you described it as a scrape/bump, it might be worth offering to settle with out involving insurance companies.
EDIT: You have sorted out an MOT?
It also won't invalidate your insurance with regards to third parties, ie the other person involved in the collision. It's bullshit bingo on here when these threads come up.
Correct and correct!
There's been discussion of this with regards to motorbikes etc that are laid up for the winter. Mostly they are insured but SORN. SO if the MOT runs out, people wait until spring to get MOT & Tax..... But if it gets nicked whilst not MOTd, which does happen, then only thing an insurance company [i]might[/i] do is reduce the payout slightly as it wasn't 'fit for the road' or somesuch drivel, but they'll pay out.
would help if there was a reminder system reallyI'm surprised nobody's made a smartphone app for this yet, seeing as most people these days seem incapable of sitting the right way on the toilet without consulting their phone ...
Most have a calendar/memo tool already built in, no?
Having called the Other chap he has agreed to no go through the insurance,but with the bill for his car at a grand of costs. However if i go through insurance,i have 250 excess and the posibility of them not honouring it due to lack of mot plus i need to try and work out how much losing my no claims and the increase cost of my insurance in the future will cost.
thanks for the advice,Ill keep thinking of solutions.
Slightly off topic but I am the only one who finds it a reflection of government priorities that it sends me a reminder to pay my car tax for free, but wont send me a reminder to have the road worthiness of my car checked without charging me a fee.
which could lead to an offence of driving without insurance
COULD COULD!
Won't happen. Stop shitting the poor bloke up.
I must read the manual more ..... my car actually has a built in system to remind me about all yearly stuff
I've only had it 2 years 🙂
I tend to keep a reminder in every calendar I have of the month I need to renew my MOT, would help if there was a reminder system really.
There is - it costs a couple of quid and can be done by text msg.
A while ago it happened to someone near to me. The insurance co took the view that, so long as there was nothing wrong with the car, it was no problem. And a friendly copper said the attitude test would apply.
Its currently in the garage now being MOT'd and i will consult my dad later..he's a lawyer,basically trying to sort it myself because his office went up in smoke last week and he's going on hol on weds so last thing he needs to sort out is this!
I just feel moronic (which i probably am,I will right it on my visor from now on )
Right, let's (not for the first time) get the whole MOT/invalid insurance thing sorted.
The only standard [i]condition precedent to liability[/i] in a motor insurance policy is that [i]the driver must have a licence to drive the vehicle[/i].
Some cheaper insurance policies have warranties regarding a valid MOT or even vehicle servicing in accordance with manufacturers recommendations, however, none of these are able to affect the provision of RTA (third party) cover.
The worst case is that your insurers deal with the third party's damage & try to recoup their losses from you directly - this is very unlikely though as they would need to be able to prove that a defect with your car that would've been picked up at the MOT test was the cause of the accident. To date, this has never happened as the law recognises that the MOT test is confirmation of a vehicle's roadworthiness at a given point and not an indicator for the future.
Get your car MOT'd straight away - if it passes first time then there'll be no real argument.
It often gets forgotten and there's not a reminder usually like there is for tax, service, insurance etc.
I looked at mine last week and discovered it was about to lapse.
When I had the reminder through about my car tax (actually for a motorbike) there was a line at the bottom which stated when my MOT was due. Is this not normal then?
Not very helpful now, but you can sign up for an SMS reminder at a cost of £1.50 directly with VOSA.
chrismac - Member
Slightly off topic but I am the only one who finds it a reflection of government priorities that it sends me a reminder to pay my car tax for free, but wont send me a reminder to have the road worthiness of my car checked without charging me a fee.
I thought that too. As long as the government get their cash the aren't bothered about people driving around in unroadworthy cars.
When I had the reminder through about my car tax (actually for a motorbike) there was a line at the bottom which stated when my MOT was due. Is this not normal then?
Not seenit on a car/van one, simple idea though.
.
To the OP, I agree with idea of settling direct with the other driver, if it is £1000 as mentioned above, a £250 excess and loss of NCD could easily come to more than that, without even getting into the MOT issue. I got away with driving with no tax for a month (long story, for which I blame the DVLA) got a way with a £60 fine for parking without displaying it rather than a £1000 for driving around not having it. I could have contested that fine but thought it better not to draw attention to the bigger problem, I would advise you not to either.
Is this not normal then?
dunno, I just read the digits after the £, wince and then go online and pay it.
this has just reminded me im 4 days over - now booked for Friday. It's a pain the missus' is due on the day of her VED so i always remember, mine is out of sync by a month or so..
You dropped your car off this morning? If they didn't have chance to do the MOT don't pick the car up.
If you can - a grand is nothing. At your age you'll be paying well over your excess for upto 5yrs in alot bigger premiums. I suspect its too late though?
You've been driving for 6months without a valid MOT? Seriously, take this as a lesson. Not that your car was in a dangerous condition but the fact that you forgot that long. Get a reminder set up- on Outlook/email etc for all bills like this IMO.
@chrismac - I don't know why they don't charge an extra quid or two for the MOT and send you a reminder. They have the data as valid MOT is looked up when you renew your road tax on-line.
sitting the right way on the toilet
What you can do this wrong? Where's my developer subscription, I'll be rich I tells ya!
Reference MOT reminders, my local garage always ring or email me to get it booked in year on year; suits me and keeps their repeat business turning over. Small rural set up, owner's wife does the admin/reminding (unlike large nationals that send out service reminders for vehicles you've traded back to them 9 years ago!).
I will learn from this for sure,my car was well maintained and was functioning well, i merely forgot to do this and it is entirely my fault Im so annoyed as its going to cost me lots to resolve.In future ill put it on the next years calender.
[i]I got pulled on the motorway for no MOT a couple of years ago. £60 fine, no points, insurance still valid and was allowed to continue on my merry way after being told to get an MOT sorted ASAP.
In your case though I'd probably not go through the insurance as they could be very awkward. [/i]
Same as me...
Cheers for all the pointers to the reminder service - luckily I'm not too bad at it these days though. I was thinking a simple postal one would be good really.
Good luck OP 🙂
Slightly off topic but I am the only one who finds it a reflection of government priorities that it sends me a reminder to pay my car tax for free, but wont send me a reminder to have the road worthiness of my car checked without charging me a fee.
Nope, we now have an entire nation that is totally devoid of any sense of responsibility, it isn't just you. 😉
No MOT does not invalidate insurance.
Your car can be roadworthy or unroadworthy with or without an MOT, so why would it?
At worst, in case of total loss an insurer may reduce the payout as a car with no MOT is less valuable than one with.
No real excuse for forgetting but even if you are that badly organised the government set a text reminder service for you
[url= https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/mot-text-reminder-service ]Text reminder[/url]
I had an old Rover nicked one night, some years ago. MOT had ran out on it a few months previous. I'll be honest, I was winging it till I traded it in. Insurance paid out ok. I can remember phoning the insurance company, first thing I told them was that it had no MOT, but the chap said it didn't matter. That was Direct Line. Cheque came through a few weeks later.
mot not required for insurance.. otherwise the 3 bikes in the garage that no longer need mots as they were pre 1950's would be scuppered for ever..
frankly bonkers that old stuff doesnt need an mot any more, i just bought a 1951 rolling wreck that if i could get it running i can legally ride on the road its insured.. doesnt need an mot and the tax is a freebie.. and thats another thing in todays climate why do i being lucky enough to have a number of mans toys not have to pay tax or even an admin fee just because thier old..
Whether your insurance is valid with or without MOT depends on your policy. It says in the small print on your documents or you can ring your insurer. It varies depending on reputation of provider and cost.