Booked a £35 MOT with the Autocentre Tritton Road, Lincoln yesterday. My car had been serviced and pre-MOT'd by my regular mechanic (who is also a licensed MOT operative) the previous day, so I was not expecting any issues. I received a call from Halfords to say my car had failed due to the covers over the ball joints of the rear anti-rollbar no longer keeping dust out, and I was asked if I would like them to fit new ones. I explained I was surprised because of the recent service and said I would have the remedial work done by my regular mechanic. When he looked at the issue he was very clear that there was nothing wrong with the dust caps but was more concerned that the rubber bushes (which lie beneath the covers) had both been cut - not damage that would have been caused through driving. Bearing in mind that this guy has serviced my cars for around 12 years and is a 35 year experienced mechanic with his own business and MOT station, I have no reason to disbelieve him. He replaced the caps and bushes for me anyway(free of charge) and showed me the ones he had taken off. He also explained that even with the cuts to the bushes, had Halfords picked this up, this would not have been a fail. When I got home I immediately contacted the manager-on-duty and explained all this to her but ultimately got no-where just that it was a difference of opinion of different MOT'ers. I made it clear that I felt like I had been duped and complained at having to pay for a re-test at which point she advised that I would not be charged on this occasion. I had to contact the office first thing the next day to book the re-test which I did but was told that I would be charged as todays manager was not aware of any discussion I had had. When I took the car for it's re-test I parked at a slightly odd angle and took note of this. 45 minutes later when I collected the car along with the Pass paperwork I noticed that the car had not been moved. It was raining heavily so I cannot imaging the mechanic crawling around under the car to check on the work that had been done! I have been left with the feeling that Halfords were not honest about the MOT and can't shake the feeling that, although I can never prove it, the tester created the issues in the expectation that I would pay for additional parts and labour (having read through some of the other reviews it appears this is a pattern). I may be being over cynical but I will not use Halfords Autocentre again. Cheap MOT equals additional unnecessary(!) costs equals unfair deal.