FLEETS have been urged to 'shop around' to find the best price for an MoT by the director general of the Office of Fair Trading after it broke up an MoT test centre cartel. The cartel, involving at least 69 garages, operated in the Cleveland area of Britain.

Acting on a tip off the OFT's cartels task force discovered that the garages had agreed to fix the price of a car MoT so that it was 'difficult, if not impossible', to arrange for a test below the then statutory maximum fee of £29.42. The law allows MoT testing stations to charge whatever fee they like up to the statutory maximum.

After the break-up of the cartel OFT director general John Bridgeman said: 'I advise anyone who needs an MoT test to shop around. Garages are free to charge less than the statutory maximum and many do so.' No court action is to result, but Bridgeman warned: 'I take a very serious view of any cartel activity and hope that all MoT testing centres will take heed of this warning.'