I am writing in response to your request for information about 0870 and
0845 telephone numbers operated by VOSA.  You raised three points, which I
deal with in turn;

1.  The geographic telephone numbers to access VOSA's call centre services
from overseas are as follows:

(0870) 6060440 routes to +44 1792 470470 - VOSA Call Centre
(0845) 6005977 routes to +44 1792 460329 - MoT Validation and Enquiries

One of the services VOSA used to deliver on the (0845) 6005977 number was
MoT Certificate Validation; this is now outsourced to SBS (Siemens Business
Services) and directs callers to ring (0870) 3300444.  This number routes
to +44 191 3756248.


2.  VOSA provided an 0845 number over 6 years ago for Enquiries on the MoT
scheme.  This number is charged to UK landline callers at a local rate and
does not currently generate any revenue.  VOSA pay part of every call to
this number.

The 0870 number was established in 1999 to provide the routing
functionality not available to geographic numbers.  The revenue currently
received from this number is around £50k per annum; this revenue helps
offset the cost of providing the call centre.


3.  VOSA is an agency of the Department for Transport.  Within this
department, VOSA is a member of a group of agencies called the DVO (Driver,
Vehicle and Operator) Group, which is focused at delivering services within
these three areas.  The DVO Group has an initiative called the SVCC (Shared
Virtual Contact Centre) project.  The project is aware of the recent
publicity around 0870 numbers, but the consensus of the members at the time
was that the rebate they get from the 0870 number offsets what they would
need to charge for their services.

This is surely deliberate and depraved lying if there ever was. Firstly there is the ubiquitous lie of 0845 being a "Local" rate number. Then the claim is made that ".  VOSA pay part of every call to this number".

I don't believe any call receiver now pays any subsidy to receive calls on 0845 or 0844 numbers?

I received mine a few weeks ago and also noticed the same thing.

I even emailed them on the 10th October over it but surprisingly never heard anything.

Dave wrote on Mar 6^th, 2006 at 1:32pm:


I think £44.15 is the maximum garages can charge for an MOT.

Many garages charge less than that.  I had my MOT done the other day and it cost £37.50.  A garage can't charge more than £44.15, but it can charge less, and of course most usually do.

My Local Bus Garage (First) does MoT's.

Ok thats not the whole story. Friend is a bus driver and he often takes his car into the Garage to get an MoT done. Never costs him anything other 'then a round down the pub'. He said he could get my car MoT'd for free. No MoT for 2 more years though. Also no 'required' parts at kwik fit.

See if you look hard enough, you cant get cheap(er) MoT's.