12 Apr 2019

Two Auckland garages suspended for incorrectly issuing WOFs

5:50 pm on 12 April 2019

The Transport Agency has suspended two garages in Auckland from issuing warrants of fitness affecting almost 3000 vehicles.

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Photo: 123RF

The agency said Graeme Jordan who runs Peninsula Motors at Whangaparaoa, and inspectors Peter Flannery and Michael Urquhart had been suspended.

"During a recent site review Graeme Jordan admitted to incorrectly issuing a warrant to a vehicle with serious defects, on the basis of customer assurances that they would fix the mechanical issues following the inspection," the agency said in a statement.

It is encouraging 1170 vehicle owners who got warrants there to get a new inspection done using a voucher that will be valid for six months.

At Autozone Services in Ōtāhuhu, the inspector and company director Mohammed Hussein has been suspended.

"Over the course of five site reviews beginning in 2018 ... Mr Hussein continued to display an inability to undertake Warrant of Fitness inspections in accordance with Land Transport rules and regulations," the agency said.

"Most seriously, he failed to properly inspect vehicle safety systems including seat belts, steering and brakes."

More than 1600 vehicles are affected.

The agency now has 356 separate actions underway against garages, truck engineers, operators and driving course providers.

So far, 27 have had their licences revoked entirely; another 63 have been suspended; and 152 are on notice of being suspended or revoked.

The revocations range from major logging truck operator Stan Semenoff Logging in Northland, to Clutha Transport in Balclutha.

Among the suspensions, the case of Gravity Services in Glen Innes in Auckland affects almost 6000 vehicle owners on its own.

Three unnamed heavy vehicle drivers have been suspended, while 24 unnamed drivers with personal Transport Service Licences have been suspended or revoked.

The agency in February said it had cleared the 850 crisis cases identified last October, and that compliance actions now underway represented its new "business as usual" approach that was much tougher than before.

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