December/January 2018

DEC/JAN 2018 AFTERMARKET 5 www.aftermarketonline.net Four mechanics have received suspended prison sentences and face almost £20,000 in fines after a DVSA investigation found they were issuing fraudulent MOT certificates. Garage owner Mark Huckstepp, his son - also called Mark - and employees Anthony Hinds and Jagdeep Lotey all worked at Gallows Corner MOTs in Romford. After receiving intelligence that the garage was issuing MOT certificates for cars they hadn’t seen, DVSA investigators started a surveillance operation. During the week that DVSA watched the firm, just 23 vehicles arrived to take their MOT, but the garage issued 103 MOT certificates. To make matters worse 48 certificates were issued for cars that hadn’t been tested for up to two years. DVSA chief executive Gareth Llewellyn said: “Issuing fraudulent MOTs means increasing the number of unroadworthy, even dangerous vehicles on our roads. We’ll withdraw the right to provide MOTs, and will not hesitate in prosecuting garages who put the travelling public at risk.” Following a court case at Willesden Magistrates Court and Harrow Crown Court, all four men have also had their authority to perform MOT tests removed for the maximum five years and were sentenced for their part in the fraud: Mark Huckstepp Senior was sentenced to eight months custody (suspended for 18 months), ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,777 costs plus a £140 victim surcharge Mark Huckstepp Junior was sentenced to four months in custody (suspended for 18 months), ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,677 costs plus a £115 victim surcharge Anthony Mark Hinds was sentenced to six months in custody (suspended for 18 months), ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £5,580 costs plus a £115 victim surcharge Jagdeep Lotey was ordered to carry out 175 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 costs. Bangers4Ben 2017 raises £56,000 This year’s Bangers4Ben raised over £56,000 for Ben. This year’s event theme was ‘The Alpine Special’ as the chosen destination was the Swiss Alps. The car that raised the most profit at auction after the event was Blackhorses’ Mercedes-Benz safety car which sold for an impressive £2,400. Meanwhile, the Auto Trader team’s ‘Big Cheese’ car raised over £5,000 in additional sponsorship. Other wacky bangers included Promotive’s James Bond Lotus, Geoff Cox Derby’s Mad Max-inspired vehicle and the Plan Insurance Alpine Chalet. The Best Car prize went to the AA team who transformed their Volvo into a tank. Gemma Heathcote and Amanda Massey from GardX were awarded the Fancy Dress prize for their alpine- themed outfits which changed daily and included skiwear, milkmaids, cows and lederhosen. Best Tweet also went to the GardX team for their carpool karaoke which saw the pair recording songs with various ‘celebrities’ over the trip. Bangers4Ben is an epic road trip run by Ben in association with Car Dealer Magazine. 45 teams drive to and from a different location somewhere in Europe each year. Each team of two buys an old banger for less than £750, paints or decals it and then selects a fancy dress outfit to drive in. Afterwards, the cars are sold at auction and the money raised contributes to the final total for Ben. You can register your interest for Bangers4Ben 2018 by visiting: www.ben.org.uk Schaeffler Automotive Aftermarket upgraded Schaeffler’s automotive aftermarket business is to be upgraded to full divisional status following a prolonged period of growth. Fom 1 January 2018, the Schaeffler Group will comprise of three separate divisions – Automotive OEM, Industrial and the newly- created Automotive Aftermarket (AAM) – which will be run autonomously within Schaeffler from its headquarters in Langen, Germany. The move has led to the internal appointment of Michael Söding to the board of managing directors, who has been the president of the Automotive Aftermarket business unit since 2009. As an autonomous division within Schaeffler, AAM will be given more momentum to proceed with necessary improvements and changes faster and more effectively – for the benefit of its customers, including those in the UK. Schaeffler UK managing director Nigel Morgan, explained why the British AAM organisation will benefit: “We will remain an ambitious and reliable partner to the UK aftermarket, but this improved position within the Schaeffler group will allow us to become more efficient at developing and delivering our fantastic range of LuK, INA, FAG and Ruville repair solutions, all backed- up by the unrivalled levels of service that our customers have come to expect.” Mechanics sentenced for issuing dodgy MOT certificates