November 22, 2019 2.18 pm This story is over 52 months old

Gainsborough garage sold unsafe brake discs to undercover officers

They were fined £15,000 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court
Wilco Motosave has been hit with a big fine. Photo: Google Maps

A car garage has been fined £15,000 after it sold unsafe brake discs to undercover officers from trading standards.

Wilco Motosave pleaded guilty to two charges at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court after officers took a Volvo V40 for a service and brake discs.

The discs had not been cleaned of the anti-rust grease applied before storage so they were unsafe to use.

Kirsty Herbertson, senior trading standards officer at Lincolnshire County Council, explained what happened: “Whilst the service had in the main been completed, the most important issue to highlight was that the brake discs had not been cleaned of anti-rust grease which is on the discs whilst they are in storage.

“As a result, the discs were fitted and the car was returned to us. The vehicle was then checked by an independent vehicle examiner, who said it wasn’t safe to drive.”

Commenting on the case, the Chairman of the Magistrates stated: “You as a company are not keeping a regular assessment of your mechanical staff. We do not know how many sets of discs have gone out before these un-cleaned.”

The company was fined £12,000 for the two offences, ordered to pay full costs of £2,816.83 and a victim surcharge of £170 making a total to be paid of £14,986.83.

This premises was visited as part of an on-going programme of work checking that garages across the county are carrying out vehicle services correctly.