Women call for MOT law change to crack down on 'sexist' mechanics

Some women feel that they have been ripped off by car mechanics

Taking your car in for an MOT is an act all UK motorists must do once a year. But two-thirds of British women feel as though they are met with inflated prices thanks to sexist mechanics.

New data from Carly has found that 61 per cent of British women support new regulations to be put in place for mechanics and garages to receive penalties if a woman can prove she has been ripped off.

It comes as data suggests less than one-quarter of female motorists fully trust a garage to be fair and correct when taking their vehicles in for a job. And 77 per cent feel as though they can not fully trust the prices they are given.

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Half of women feel they have been mis-sold or deceived about the necessity of repairs to their vehicle. And 45 per cent say they are not wholly confident that the charges from garages are accurate or fair, GBNews reports.

"Pink pricing" is where women are charged more than men for the same product simply because of their gender. Penelope Silver was taken advantage of at a garage and explained how it can be "anxiety-inducing" to take your car to a garage as a female.

She said: "We're still profiled and taken advantage of because we're perceived as lacking knowledge. We shouldn’t have to fight twice as hard just to be treated fairly and honestly."

One in four women said they find nothing more stressful than visiting a car garage. Carol Hughes said that she relied on her vehicle to get to vital hospital appointments and therefore risked her health when taking it to a garage.

"When my newly purchased car broke down on the way home, the garage wouldn’t take me seriously until I had a male mechanic repeat exactly what I had told them," she said. "I lost so much money and risked my health because they would only listen to a partner."

Carly has recently launched its Repair Costs AI tool which allows motorists to estimate any issues with their vehicles and get a correct cost prediction for the repairs needed.

Daniel Meeghan, UK country manager of Carly, said: "The fact that women are still being treated unfairly in car maintenance is shocking, but it's a reality we aim to change by increasing industry transparency.

"If more women—and all drivers, for that matter—have access to accurate, real-time information about their cars, they can feel empowered to question their mechanics, leading to long-term, trustworthy relationships with car garages."

Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency

Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:

1. End the two-child benefit cap
2. Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
3. Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
4. Protect children’s and youth services
5. Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
6. Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
7. Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
8. Provide free public travel for young people

You can see why in more detail here.

Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.

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