At midday on Wednesday September 3rd, the first available MOT test appointment at the Recinto Ferial station on the Consell de Ibiza website was for Thursday 18 December at 4.45 pm. That’s a wait of three and a half months! However, a few hours earlier in the Recinto Ferial car park, someone was offering an appointment in less than 48 hours.
«Come by on Friday morning and I’ll talk to them to see if...» replied this elderly man when asked, «I’ve been told that the best way to get an MOT is to talk to you. Is that right?» When asked about the price, he replied, ‘It’s €150 in cash. If the car is in very bad condition, we’ll see. If it’s impossible to pass, I’ll let you know.»
This individual’s activity in the car park is constant, as Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera was able to verify on site after a neighbour reported what was happening to the newspaper. He walks from vehicle to vehicle with a sandwich in his hand, protected from the sun by a cap and with a bunch of keys hanging around his neck. He opens cars, leaves papers inside, closes them and sometimes moves them before leaving the key on the front wheel. He also collects documentation and cash from some drivers, enters the station and returns to drive the vehicles directly to the inspection tunnel himself.
One of those vehicles, a white van in visibly poor condition, broke down after emitting a large cloud of black smoke from the exhaust. It was pushed by its owners to a parking space, but minutes later it started up again and entered the inspection line with the same individual at the wheel.
Neighbourhood complaint
‘Ariel’ is the fictitious name chosen by the neighbour who filed the complaint to preserve his anonymity. After waiting four months, he attended his official appointment with the ITV on 18 August at 8 a.m., where, according to his account, the technicians warned him that a vinyl sunshade on the windscreen could prevent his work van from passing the inspection.
‘While I was removing it, a man approached me and asked if I was Patricio. I said no, and he explained that he could pass the van’s MOT for £150 or £200,’ Ariel explains. He rejected the offer, although he claims that the individual continued to detail the services he offered. «He told me that if I had any old cars that had difficulty passing the inspection, he could make sure they passed.»
Outraged, Ariel returned to the fairground several times and, according to his complaint to this newspaper, repeatedly checked on the activities of the man and his alleged accomplices. He says he even called the local police to report him.
«Accomplices»?
When Ariel talks about ‘accomplices’, he shows photographs taken during his private investigation. The photographs show another individual, bald and wearing sunglasses, in similar situations: standing between cars and collecting documentation.
However, the most serious suspicions point to the ITV station itself. According to the neighbour, these intermediaries could only offer their services with the complicity of some operators. He also photographed these operators interacting with the man in the cap, as can be seen in the accompanying images.
As reported in Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera on Wednesday, the Consell acknowledged that there were still vacancies for mechanics, leading to the introduction of private operators and the tendering of a second mobile ITV. The Consell itself admitted that the lack of specialised personnel was the main obstacle to providing a fast and efficient service.
However, the evidence gathered by this newspaper invites reflection on whether the long waits are solely due to a shortage of mechanics, as the institution claims, or whether, presumably, the activities revealed in this report could be a key factor in the collapse of this public service.
If you wish to report any situation related to this issue or anything else happening in Ibiza, you can call 971 190 543 or send an email to: redaccion@periodicodeibiza.es.