How far can MOT testers go with probing for rust?

Took my Disco in for MOT today, failed on a number of areas of rust. What concerns me is that where I had corrosion/bubbles I now have hole! Are MOT testers really allowed to dig holes in your car?
I looked on the MOT uk site and found the following,

It is important that use of the Corrosion Assessment Tool is restricted to ascertaining that the failure criteria are met and not used for heavy scraping or poking of the affected areas.

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Whilst I accept the work probably needs to be done (or the car scrapped) I can't help thinking the tester was a little 'over enthusiastic'!

If he can poke a hole in it your screwed!

If you were the mot tester you wouldn't just have a peek it's your ticket on the line.

Tbh if you got a disco it's best I factor in a welder when purchasing even disco IIs

Having identified the important load bearing members and ‘prescribed areas’ on a vehicle, the tester should determine whether they are excessively corroded, firstly by visual inspection and then by finger and thumb pressure.

If necessary, the Corrosion Assessment Tool should be used to assess the extent of any corrosion by careful scraping or light tapping of the affected areas.

It is important that use of the Corrosion Assessment Tool is restricted to ascertaining that the failure criteria are met and not used for heavy scraping or poking of the affected areas.

Excessively corroded metal, or metal treated with filler, emits a duller sound than unaffected metal. It is not permissible to apply heavy impact blows or to use a sharp instrument to probe at the structure

all he has to do is make a small hole, once that point has failed then there is no point spending anymore time hacking away at it

Gunscrossed said:

Took my Disco in for MOT today, failed on a number of areas of rust. What concerns me is that where I had corrosion/bubbles I now have hole!

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No. You had bubbles hiding a hole, whereas now you have just the hole. Should improve the mpg a bit though, being lighter after the test

Rust bubbles have no structural strength. If the tester has failed it, it needs fixing so get it fixed.

Where are you based? Maybe someone on here might be able to point you in the direction of a sensible welder.

My previous car was apparently retested by a VOSA inspector 30 minutes after its last MOT. He turned up at the garage, asked to see the list and, since my car was still on the premises, picked it for retest. If VOSA find a failure on a passed vehicle, the tester's got an awful lot of explaining to do.

I'm in North Essex if anyone knows a welder!

corrosion should be tested using finger/thumb pressure.
1: avoiding personal injury to the tester from sharp edges
2: if any damage caused does not meet fail criteria it becomes the responsibility of the tester.

basically what i was told when i did the VE course.

YOREVOL said:

corrosion should be tested using finger/thumb pressure.

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that's me looking for a skinny female mot tester in the future lol