A Hamilton teen, who was "gutted" after he failed his restricted driver licence test when the fuel light turned on, has had the decision overturned.
Seventeen-year-old Michael O'Brien was sitting his test at Frankton's Vehicle Testing New Zealand (VTNZ) on Monday. He was halfway through his drive with the tester when the fuel light came on - and the instructor failed him.
Paperwork given to Michael said he was failed due to a 'vehicle fault' due to insufficient fuel, Stuff reports.
"We were gutted," his father told Stuff.
But then he checked, and found there was enough fuel left in the car to complete the test. He then made a formal complaint to VTNZ - and won.
VTNZ general manager operations Greg O'Connor told Stuff that failing Michael was a mistake.
"Regrettably in this instance, the officer involved has made an error," Mr O'Connor says.
"VTNZ have now spoken with the officer to remind them of the correct process."
Michael has received an apology, a full refund for the cost of his test and a free re-sit.
His father wants other families to watch out for any other unfair practises.
"The overarching concern for me is how many other people are going in and not thinking, 'hang on, that's not right'," he told Stuff.
"It didn't sit right for us, so we followed the process and fair enough [we were right]."
Newshub.
