[Arethusa]

I have a fiesta, that needs a new clutch, an MoT and a service. I cannot drive the car because of the clutch. The firm that I have contacted to take my car to the garage are saying that they do not have an operators licence and therefore cannot take my car as it has no MoT. My car is not on a public highway, and would not need to go on a public highway in order to be lifted onto the back of a recovery vehicle. The MoT is pre-booked. If it wasn't for the clutch, I could legally drive the car to the garage. I would like to know is the recovery company right in telling me that, if so. How do I get my car to the garage, which is about 30 Mile's from where I live?

[Rolebama]

I don't know about today, but when I worked for the AA, the licence they held for recovery meant that they could only carry cars that were paper-wise legal at the time of loading. We were told never to ask any questions, but if information was volunteered, we could not load.

[olduser]

It sounds to me as though the recovery firm do not have insurance to cover damage to recovered vehicles or the just want to avoid claiming on it, there intention being to get you to claim on your insurance if there is any damage.
Whilst it may be legal to drive a car (insured) to an MOT, I am not sure it is insured, the insurers T&C usually something like the car has to be taxed and current MOT for the insurance to be valid.

Whatever, your simplest solution is to find a garage who will collect your car, do the clutch and the MOT.

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by olduser

Whilst it may be legal to drive a car (insured) to an MOT, I am not sure it is insured, the insurers T&C usually something like the car has to be taxed and current MOT for the insurance to be valid.

Yes, it does remain insured as travelling to a pre-arranged MOT is one of the exceptions. The only thing it tends to effect is the value should it be declared a total loss after a crash due to the values differing vastly between a vehicle with a current ticket and one without.

Most reputable garages with a recovery facility don't have an issue with recovering a broken down vehicle as an operators licence is not usually required.

Recovery vehicles are generally exempt from operator's license requirements if they are only used to transport broken-down vehicles. Recovery vehicles include heavy wreckers, flatbed trucks with winches and ramps, and tow dollies.

[olduser]

A neighbour (in Norfolk) had a car damaged while being transported, the carrier told him to claim on his car insurance.
He said, there was correspondence between the insurer and the transporter (or so he was told when chasing up the payment) he eventually was told to take it to the insurers favoured body shop and had it fixed.

He put up with it all, as he had a friend that had a similar problem.

To get a licence to transport vehicles do they have to prove they have insurance for the cargo?

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by olduser

A neighbour (in Norfolk) had a car damaged while being transported, the carrier told him to claim on his car insurance.
He said, there was correspondence between the insurer and the transporter (or so he was told when chasing up the payment) he eventually was told to take it to the insurers favoured body shop and had it fixed.

He put up with it all, as he had a friend that had a similar problem.

To get a licence to transport vehicles do they have to prove they have insurance for the cargo?

A garage must have the appropriate business insurance which includes employer and public liability insurance in place just the same as any other business and the cover will be appropriate to the business they operate.

The owner is handing over the custody and care of their vehicle to the recovery firm/repairer and so the duty of care lies firmly with the recovery agent and any subsequent incidents become their responsibility and liability not the vehicle owner.

So to be told by a garage that any damage caused by them must be claimed off their road traffic act policy is not only a lie, it suggests that the garage is also being dishonest because it did not/does not have insurance in place.

On the topic of repairers, insurers can no longer insist that a damage or broken down vehicle goes to their approved place of repair. This requirement was removed several years ago leaving the owner free to choose a garage of their choice and the insurers are required to respect and honour this..

One of the good things that came out of the CPR reforms was freedom of choice which also includes the right to choose your own legal representation as well as your own choice of garage/repair after a crash.