New Fail Crteria's

The original wording ‘A brake disc or drum cracked, insecure,
excessively pitted, scored or worn’ didn’t really make it clear how bad
the cracking, pitting, etc. had to be before the disc or drum is rejected.

I would agree that their was evidence that the original Reason for Rejection was being misinterpreted, and too strict a standard was sometimes being applied ,but i would not blame it entirely on the big fast fits as the problem was more widespread then that.
If the standard was changed it would be done to simplify the reason for rejection,hence the one we have now.
If Vosa make the decision to change the wording on rfr it would be to make it easier for testers to interpret the wording.
I work 4 days on 4 days off,the 4 days i work, consist of 12 hour shifts,the 4 days off gives me time to freelance at some of the fast fit centers and local garages,this includes testing and to QC other testers,in my region and my experience has been that testers working in the fast fit places don't get paid to fail vehicles but do get paid on the amount they do and that's all.Vosa are well aware of that.
So unless one has worked in these places it would be wrong to speculate,thats all it is speculation on what goes on, what incentives are paid etc as i imagine there will be a few members which are employed by these people on this forum that will be able to tell you more.

Their maybe some bad apples but at the end of the day these bad apples are not just confined to the fast fit centres,The fast fit testers i come into contact are great lads and follow the regulations,they do get a lot of crap from customers but when you are dealing with the amount of customers they do from all walks of life,what do you expect.

I very much doubt that Vosa would let big company's dictate or influence howany standard should be applied,if that was the case,more rfr will require changing.

To offer nominated testers a bonus for failures is a recipe for disaster and the company would be out of they minds to offer such incentive as all that will do is encourage people to fail vehicles unnecessarily.Would a major company want that??,i would think not.

So if any of the members are employed by the larger fast fit centers,tell us what its like

Not all national fast fit chains are the same. But the good and decent one(s) are in the minority in my experience.

There IS a bonus scheme in most and it's human nature to try to earn more - the fast fit managers and directors are well aware of this. I have heard facts (not stories) from VE's, SVE's and Area Managers and it does go on. I'm not prepared to post in a public forum anything I have been told in confidence so don't even ask.

When I worked at the last dealership I did, (No name mentioned), the senior tech who used to work on the ramp at the side of me was a good twenty years younger than I, the manager who was probably just like most other people wanting to make his bonus as well, and the way he did it was by sales, therefore the younger techs were pushed for more, then one day the tech next to me changed brake discs and pads on a car and after the receipt was turned over and the bill paid, the guy from 'Trading Standards' made himself known and the next thing was court action.

The tech advised that he did what the manager instructed him to do, the judge was having none of it and fined him £3000, the tech also lost his job and the dealership made no effort to pay his fine, quite obviously looking after their own interests.

The moral of the story, you should not take at face value what your bosses tell you, they have valid interests in their actions, which in the MOT Trade, VOSA are only just starting to recognise.

Everyone likes passing the book and looking whiter than white, but there is only one, and that's me LOL

Brake judder has suddenly become a very popular failure point at certain places

Worked in a main dealers a few decades back, Massive bonus earners. In 1987 one guy took a month off to get his below the threshold for the next tax bracket, and in one week we had a rush on car sales for a major fleet and two of us PDI'd all week and we earned £1010 each in the WEEK before christmas. (It was a long hard week!!!)

Covered the service reception desk for a few months when the regular deceptionist was off fo a major surgery. Noticed that the big bonus earners were winding in the same lists time after time, pads and discs, shoes and drums, shocks, clutches (in the day a Cavalier or Astra clutch was a 20min job.)

I authorised a list for one guy, went back to the workshop to give him the OK to do the repairs and , Like you do when there's a wheel hanging about chest height on a two poster, I gave it a rock to check the wheel bearing. the tech said, *it's OK now, I knew you would get the OK on that so I did it." Reply" You're a clever B****ard, Astra III rear whell bearings are not adjustable, haven't been for two years"
asked the service manager if we should do anything and he said "Why, Tech makes £2 bonus, garage makes £30, my share is 90p, I wish all you techs would do it!"

I just can't believe that two lease companies sent in mystery shopper cars, and they both came to me, and didn't get ripped off.

So it's not just the QFs, main dealers can be as bad. Find an indy you can trust and stick to them is my advice

Whereas us QFs use that "mickey mouse Castol stuff"??

Never had an issue caused by Castrol.

It's nice to hear that you're one of the good ones alex. I fear that you may be in the minority but keep up the good work you're doing. Hopefully your influence will rub off on others around you. I bet you have no problems sleeping at nights

Yes nice to know there is genuine testers working at some centres.