Brake Pad MOT Question

[littleredfiesta]

Hi,

I'm a fairly new driver and I took my car for the its first MOT since I bought it (second hand, it's a 2006 reg) six weeks ago. Today, the brake pads completely failed. I tried to brake at a junction and all I got was a crunching noise and I couldn't stop. Luckily I was going fairly slow at this point and the road ahead was clear, so I was able to pull over and call out my breakdown provider.

I wanted to ask whether the state of the brake pads should have been picked up on during the MOT? I only drive once or twice a week for short journeys, so they must have been in fairly bad condition prior to the MOT. My car actually failed on the hand brake, which I paid for the provider to fix - I don't know if that's relevant or not. The breakdown repairman advised me to complain but I wasn't sure if I have a leg to stand on as technically the MOT is only valid for that day.

[littleredfiesta]

itcaptainslow said:

"Absolutely failed"-in what manner? Did the remaining material detach & fall off the backing plate of the pad or did the pads just wear down to the metal backing?

Sorry, I meant failed as in I wasn't able to brake - the pedal just went straight to the floor. I think pads have worn down to the metal backing - judging by the scraping sound at least. I didn't find any fallen material down the road.

Thanks for the reply. I'll take the car to a garage to check what's happened before I complain to the MOT station.

[littleredfiesta]

Sorry, I didn't word my original message clearly. I've had the car for around 11 months and it was fully serviced and MOT'd not long before I bought it. I took it for an MOT six weeks ago.

I just wanted to check if the pads issue should have been identified / given an advisory. I was advised to complain to the MOT provider but I didn't want to waste my time and create a fuss if it's just one of those things that happens and not an error on the garage's part. Thanks for the replies!