SUBSCRIPTION to the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair should be mandatory for all MOT testing stations, parliament has been told.
Today (Tuesday, December 1st), Motor Codes boss Chris Mason spoke to the All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group (APMG).
The former technician and garage owner urged MPs that self-regulation was the way forward for the service and repair sector, rather than the more costly option of legislation.
However, he called on the government to support the self-regulatory code by making it compulsory for MOT stations – a move that may please those who have criticized the code for its reliance on self-regulation rather than a compulsory licensed approach.
Chris was joined in parliament by Colin Brown, director of consumer policy at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Richard Burden MP, chairman of the APMG.
“We are determined to build on the early success of the Service and Repair Code, working collaboratively with industry to raise and maintain standards across the sector through effective self-regulation,” said Chris.
“The Service and Repair Code provides garages with a hallmark of quality that consumers can rely on and presents the sector with a means of outing rogue traders that tarnish the reputation of their industry.”
During the discussion, Chris called on the government to show its support for the code by making subscription a requirement of being an MOT testing station.
“The incentive for independent and franchised garages to sign-up is clear,” continued Chris.
“As a Motor Codes garage, each subscriber plays a part in the regulation of the industry, whereas if government is forced to introduce legislation that imposes standards, the rules will be out of the sector’s control and will certainly cost them significantly more to comply.”
The Service and Repair Code has almost 6,000 garages signed-up. It is currently seeking approval from the OFT under its consumer codes approval process and achieved stage one approval last year.
