NCT waiting list backed up to 5 months!

snappieT

Hi all,
I've recently become aware that my NCT has expired. You see, NCT don't bother to let you know it's about to expire any more, even though they used to.

The 2 years you get on an NCT cert also appear to be from the previous expiry date, not the actual test date taken - so if you're late (as I was, bought car without NCT), you get less than 2 years. Don't get told this explicitly either.

Did I forget to mention that you (as of this month) can get 5 penalty points for driving without an NCT?

Let's put a cherry on the cake: Very earliest slot to have car tested (in Ballymun) is October 3rd. Great.


So here I am, not thinking my NCT is about to expire until October (having got it tested in Oct 07), not being told it has expired, facing 5 penalty points if I get caught, and having to wait for 5 months to get it re-tested. What went wrong?!?

I have my booking, and will be driving with confirmation slip to show to a nice member of our police force when he decides to be a prick upstanding gentleman. Cert in window shows test date as Oct 07, but expiry as May 09, which should help also. I know in most cases, I'll be fine if stopped, but where do I stand if some arsehole fellow has had a bad day and goes on a power trip?

Any suggestions/comments appreciated.

Graham_B18C

There's been about 4 or 5 threads about this in the last few days, do a search and few should pop up, most of the stuff was covered in em

Here's one!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055570603

And I think Kev is right, ring all the time and you might get a cancellation

Rowley Birkin QC

Get the car ready for the test and ring them at least once EVERY day and ask for a cancellation at any centre you can feasibly make it to, don't bother with the website. I got a date yesterday for 18:40 this evening.

To make it even easier, heres the landline number thats never engaged like the 1890 number, 014135900

rai555

bigkev49 wrote: »

Get the car ready for the test and ring them at least once EVERY day and ask for a cancellation at any centre you can feasibly make it to, don't bother with the website. I got a date yesterday for 18:40 this evening.

To make it even easier, heres the landline number thats never engaged like the 1890 number, 014135900

It's not the way to book the test. If they not coping or not trying to do so serious changes needs to be made. Monopoly is not the perfect situation for common people, consumer rights agency might help, just few hundred of complaints might help NCT to improve their attitude

Rowley Birkin QC

Yes but for people like me and the OP who didn't bother testing the car when it expired, mostly because it wasn't enforced by the Guards in my case, who feel under threat of picking up 5 penalty points it is the quickest way to get peace of mind.

Cancellations turn up every day and to be fair it's hardly NCTS's fault that people like me and the OP didn't try to book a test when we should have but rather panicked at the prospect of rocketing insurance premiums!

snappieT

Grahamo999 wrote: »

There's been about 4 or 5 threads about this in the last few days, do a search and few should pop up, most of the stuff was covered in em

Tried searching, NCT was too short a term. Went back 5 pages and couldn't find anything, didn't realise just how popular the Motors forum is! Thanks for the link though.

bigkev49 wrote: »

Get the car ready for the test and ring them at least once EVERY day and ask for a cancellation at any centre you can feasibly make it to, don't bother with the website. I got a date yesterday for 18:40 this evening.

A nice hint, I'll be trying that out alright, but my question is what to do in the meantime. Other thread seems to say having the proof of confirmation will do the trick in most cases, and you need to be brought to court to have the penalty points applied, which won't happen once you've made a reasonable effort.

bigkev49 wrote: »

Yes but for people like me and the OP who didn't bother testing the car when it expired, mostly because it wasn't enforced by the Guards in my case, who feel under threat of picking up 5 penalty points it is the quickest way to get peace of mind.

To be fair to me, I expected to have 2 years from my last test, which I didn't get. I also expected to be able to book about a month in advance.

Rowley Birkin QC

Initially book whatever date they give you, be it September or whatever, and give them your mobile number for the confirmation text to be sent out to you. Make sure your tyres are good, lights work and the car isn't falling apart and the Guard probably won't do you for it. Also, I'd edit some of the terminology for the Guards you have in your op, karma and all that!

Then just ring them once or twice a day and ask for the next available cancellation in the 3 centres closest to you. I started out with Sunday 31st, got it to Friday 29th and then finally to this evening as it suited me best. Just a matter of perseverance.

Flyboy!!!

snappieT wrote: »

Any suggestions/comments appreciated.

Go get a pretest, a lot places offer them free incase you give them custom if something needs fixing, I know a big blue Peugeot garage in Finglas that does this. Get your slip of paper from them saying it should pass, get your booking for the NCT, if stopped by a Gard, show him both pieces of paper and say you're ringing for cancellations all the time. If he stills acts all high and mighty, letter of the law, tell him you'll be happy to go to court because you're sure you're doing everything you reasonably can and are confident a judge would see it that way.

dudara

Your NCT expires on the same date every two years. If you don't get it tested by that date, then that's your tough luck, you have to accept that much time off your next NCT. On the flip side of the coin, you can get your test before the NCT expires.

Berty

Does anybody feel we need to allow private garages to apply to become NCT centres in the same way MOT/DOE commerical are in Ireland and MOT centres in the UK?

whiterebel

dudara wrote: »

Your NCT expires on the same date every two years. If you don't get it tested by that date, then that's your tough luck, you have to accept that much time off your next NCT. On the flip side of the coin, you can get your test before the NCT expires.

Mine one is due its first one on 1st July, yet I can't get a booking until October.
Yet another Government shambles to kick their arses over come June.

Rowley Birkin QC

whiterebel wrote: »

Mine one is due its first one on 1st July, yet I can't get a booking until October.
.

Yes, you can. Ring them looking for cancellations, it really isn't that complicated.

Also, apologies on behalf of everyone else who didn't get their test at the normal time!

Tigger

if my nct was up in 4 months i wouldn't be able to get it done

there is a lot of high horseing going on in this thread

Flyboy!!!

dudara wrote: »

Your NCT expires on the same date every two years. If you don't get it tested by that date, then that's your tough luck.

No. Ever since the NCT started, they have sent out appointment notifications and all of a sudden they've stopped. They created a situation whereby it was reasonable for people to expect their next test appointment in the post. That's the way it has been for years, you get your appointment in the post a couple of weeks before the test and you turn up on the day. Dunno why but that's still the way it is with Sandyford... So now they decide to stop and we find the waiting list is months long when we do ring up to book a test. I'm sorry but it just doesn't fly that it's Joe Shmo's fault that he's driving along without an NCT because the NCT have decided to take a holiday from normal practice. To say anything else is just nieve or you're flaming. Only thing I can think of is the NCT are trying to cut costs by shifting the onus to arrange tests on to car owners. It's not as if there are so many more cars on the road all of a sudden that they can't cope.

Berty has the right of it. There are plenty of Garages that do pretests which means that we have a viable alternative that can come into effect almost immediately. It's not good the NCT having a monopoly especially when they fail or refuse to meet their obligations. All that's needed a system for Garages to report test results to the National database and all that'll take will be to stick a letter in the post or to be hooked up electronically, it'll be the Civil servents on the other end who might be a delay.

Actually it probably is them getting swamped by all the cars bought during the boom now becoming due for an NCT test but then like all those high horesers point out, they should've seen it coming, shouldn't they!?

Tigger

just got the 9th of june

:cool:

EPM

Anyone else think its not too unreasonable to actually look at your disk and make provisions in advance so that people dont wind up in this situation?

The enforcement has been coming with a long time and when it does people are suddenly shocked.

+1 on the private garage idea Berty, would be very handy but then it'd upset the money making racket monopoly that is already in place:D

Rowley Birkin QC

Tigger wrote: »

if my nct was up in 4 months i wouldn't be able to get it done

there is a lot of high horseing going on in this thread

Tigger wrote: »

just got the 9th of june

:cool:

Where are your high horses now?! :p

EPM wrote:

Anyone else think its not too unreasonable to actually look at your disk and make provisions in advance so that people dont wind up in this situation?

Christ no, you do realise this is Ireland don't you?!

Tigger

bigkev49 wrote: »

Where are your high horses now?! :p



Christ no, you do realise this is Ireland don't you?!

well i drove at about 90mph all the way to work this morning

voxpop

Cheers guys - this thread reminded me to book mine. Deansgrange all booked out but got 25th of July in Fonthill.


I do think its a bit sly that they dont send out a notice. For tax and insurance you get a notice.

Rowley Birkin QC

voxpop wrote: »

I do think its a bit sly that they dont send out a notice. For tax and insurance you get a notice.

Despite the fact it's there in plain black and green on the windscreen of your car?! :rolleyes:

bladespin

bigkev49 wrote: »

Despite the fact it's there in plain black and green on the windscreen of your car?! :rolleyes:

Not on mine it isn't :eek:

Due for it's first NCT this year and no sign of a notice, getting worried now.

voxpop

bigkev49 wrote: »

Despite the fact it's there in plain black and green on the windscreen of your car?! :rolleyes:

I dont tend to examine my windscreen everytime I get into my car. :rolleyes: yourself

Tigger

bladespin wrote: »

Not on mine it isn't :eek:

Due for it's first NCT this year and no sign of a notice, getting worried now.

yust ring them

Blazer

woohoo...car is 05 and due NCT since Feb.
However they said June or so would do for the NCT..:)

Rowley Birkin QC

voxpop wrote: »

I dont tend to examine my windscreen everytime I get into my car. :rolleyes: yourself

Maybe not everytime but there really is no excuse for not being aware of it.

I'll see your :rolleyes: and raise you a:cool:. Not stirring, just saying that it's not that much to ask to be aware of these things yourself.

Gregor Samsa

bigkev49 wrote: »

Despite the fact it's there in plain black and green on the windscreen of your car?! :rolleyes:

Unless your car is less than 4 years old :pac:

rebel.ranter

There may be some merit in the point that people should take the onus on themselves to remember to book an NCT. However not everybody out there is car savvy & as others have pointed out there are reminders for tax & insurance.

I have booked many NCTs since the scheme started back in 2000, up until now I have never had any issue with booking one with just 2 weeks notice. The media furoré has led to this crazy situation. People who abide by the process are being put in the firing line because of those that were not following the system.

The NCT people themselves recommend booking your test 4-6 weeks in advance of the due date. The NCT on one of my cars expires in July some time. I went about booking it in May, 6-8 weeks in advance of the due date, I got given the 09/09/09!! I have followed the rules yet I am now potentially at risk of getting 5 penalty points. How can that be right?

AS an addition I have talked to a few Garda & they have said that they would not prosecute for an out of date NCT if the car seemed to be in reasonable order & that there was nothing else untoward about the situation. I also believe that if you could produce a letter of confirmation of booking with the date booked clearly shown then he/she would want to be a right cnut to do you. (Pardon my language) An printed e-mail of the confirmation would show the necessary detail.

Yes you could go about seeking a cancellation but not everybody has a flexible enough working week to facilitate a whimsical, random allocation of a date.
The system is at fault here, to quote Jake from "Two & a Half Men"

"Hate the game, not the player"

thebman

Man that is crazy. Shouldn't they obliged to hire more staff and build more centres if necessary?

What the hell like, surely there is performance commitments they have to meet especially if they are going to dish out 5 penalty points for not having it when you can try and not have it through no fault of your own.

That is ridiculous. I have a car luckily with NCT for another year and I think it is completely unreasonable to expect people to be magically aware their system is backed up by 5 months!

whiterebel

bigkev49 wrote: »

Yes, you can. Ring them looking for cancellations, it really isn't that complicated.

Also, apologies on behalf of everyone else who didn't get their test at the normal time!

As you sound like you work there, you might check and see when they are available that would suit me, would you?:rolleyes:

Graham_B18C

Is ringing up your only man or will checking online work too? Isn't any online till Oct

Slidey

Berty wrote: »

Does anybody feel we need to allow private garages to apply to become NCT centres in the same way MOT/DOE commerical are in Ireland and MOT centres in the UK?

No, definitely not.

The DOE testing is rife with corruption and the RSA havent the money or the man power to police is correctly.

In NCT centres you are surrounded by co-workers all the time and they have stringent in house checks in place.

I would be more in favour of putting the DOE (or VTN as it is known now) in the same kind of setup.

chrism2007

where is it 5 months? i got mine in 11 days in waterford

mcwhirter

snappieT wrote: »

Hi all,
I've recently become aware that my NCT has expired. You see, NCT don't bother to let you know it's about to expire any more, even though they used to.

The 2 years you get on an NCT cert also appear to be from the previous expiry date, not the actual test date taken - so if you're late (as I was, bought car without NCT), you get less than 2 years. Don't get told this explicitly either.

Did I forget to mention that you (as of this month) can get 5 penalty points for driving without an NCT?

Let's put a cherry on the cake: Very earliest slot to have car tested (in Ballymun) is October 3rd. Great.


So here I am, not thinking my NCT is about to expire until October (having got it tested in Oct 07), not being told it has expired, facing 5 penalty points if I get caught, and having to wait for 5 months to get it re-tested. What went wrong?!?

I have my booking, and will be driving with confirmation slip to show to a nice member of our police force when he decides to be a prick upstanding gentleman. Cert in window shows test date as Oct 07, but expiry as May 09, which should help also. I know in most cases, I'll be fine if stopped, but where do I stand if some arsehole fellow has had a bad day and goes on a power trip?

Any suggestions/comments appreciated.

I got a reminder through the post back in march, when my car's nct had expired, where are you living, maybe it depends on the area.

snappieT

dudara wrote: »

Your NCT expires on the same date every two years. If you don't get it tested by that date, then that's your tough luck, you have to accept that much time off your next NCT. On the flip side of the coin, you can get your test before the NCT expires.

I don't think this is on. If my car passes the test 3 months late, it has been certified as OK for 2 years, no matter what.

If I brought it in 3 months late with a problem that developed in the previous 3 months, they wouldn't say "I'm sure it was fine when it was supposed to pass the test", and let you away with it. It really should be 2 years from the day of passing.

(And as I said in my OP, test centre is Ballymun)

Guy:Incognito

snappieT wrote: »

I don't think this is on. If my car passes the test 3 months late, it has been certified as OK for 2 years, no matter what.

I'm sure it's not the reason but Having it valid for 2 years after the test encourages the motor tax "off the road" trick. A large amount of people will stretch the intervals to a lot more than 2 years.Having it like this makes it possible to look for cars with regular testing histories and hopefully service histories to compliment it. (people here really have to start looking for these things when buying cars or some of the utter crap beign sold here will never be improved)


I bought a new car in 2000, so since 2004 I've needed an nct. I passed the car to my mother in 05 and since have had 6 (iirc) cars, all of which were older than the care Ibought in 2000 (bar 1) and havnt had any NCT notifications, yet I somehow managed to keep them in date. It really isnt difficult.

+1 on not haveing private garages do the nct. It's all to easy to have your doe done through mates or mates of mates. Plus it leaves it very open to faults being "discovered" when they have the car should someone a bit on the unscrouplous get intot the testing business,

Heroditas

I booked mine today. The earliest date I could get was 29th October in Fonthill! :eek:

They said they'd send me a letter in case I get stopped by the Gardai but still, 4 1/2 months is a pretty long wait.

Last year I booked my previous car in for an NCT and the waiting list was only two weeks. Surely the new penalty point threat hasn't increased the waiting lists by this much?