NCT Backlog

TheSheriff

Hey guys,

I know there was a recent thread on this but it has been closed.

Just wanted to ask has anyone had any experience whereby their NCT has expired and they have been stopped by the guards?

Basically my story is I rang the NCT ~28th November 2014 as my NCT was up on the 14th of January 2015.

I was told I was put on a waiting list. I rang back a few times in December as I had heard nothing and was told I was still on the priority list.

Got a text on the 23rd of December to say my NCT was booked for the 16th of March 2015! (two months after it expires)

I finally got onto them this morning and was informed yes its the next available date ( Ive asked for anywhere in Dublin or Cork) and the most I can be offered is a free test on that date.

I just think its a bit outrageous having given them approx 7 weeks notice of the cert expiring.

I will undoubtedly have to drive the car without a valid cert if this date sticks as I need it for work and couldn't do without for three months.

Anybody had this experience where they were driving without a valid cert due to the NCT backlog?

(BTW not looking for an argument on my own organisational skills and how I should have contacted them sooner)

Neilw

There are test dates available at short notice, I had booked a test date for the end of Feb but changed it to the 8th of Jan last night. You just have to keep an eye on what becomes available.

celica00

Im in the exact same situation and have no idea what will happen if I get stopped while waiting for my test coming up.
However, if you stress them enough,u can get on some kind of "emergency" prio list and receive an appointment on very short notice (if someone cancels their appointment)

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Just cancelled an appointment in Kells on the 19th January if ye wanna check lol

Neilw

If you have a booking reference you can change the test date on-line, check every day for a suitable date and I bet you'll find one.

mgbgt1978

So the OP is getting a Free Test !!!!






......if (and only if) he requested a test within 28 Days when he first rang them.

joujoujou

7 weeks prior to due date is not enough, especially if due date is on Jan/Feb - most of cars bought in Ireland has aforementioned due date.

Just booked NCT for myself - it'll be done 2 months prior to due date, no problem.

I'd advise to look up for appointment approx 5 months ahead of due date. :P

Cleveland Hot Pocket

joujoujou wrote: »

7 weeks prior to due date is not enough, especially if due date is on Jan/Feb - most of cars bought in Ireland has aforementioned due date.

Just booked NCT for myself - it'll be done 2 months prior to due date, no problem.

I'd advise to look up for appointment approx 5 months ahead of due date. :P

my golf was due in february.
Went to book there, next date 26.3.

joujoujou

As I said - not enough. :]

TheSheriff

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

So the OP is getting a Free Test !!!!






......if (and only if) he requested a test within 28 Days when he first rang them.

Yeah well I asked for one as soon as possible when booking

TheSheriff

joujoujou wrote: »

7 weeks prior to due date is not enough, especially if due date is on Jan/Feb - most of cars bought in Ireland has aforementioned due date.

Just booked NCT for myself - it'll be done 2 months prior to due date, no problem.

I'd advise to look up for appointment approx 5 months ahead of due date. :P

Cheers!

Great help!

Guy:Incognito

If anywhere in Dublin or Cork will do, surely so will anywhere in between, no?

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

If anywhere in Dublin or Cork will do, surely so will anywhere in between, no?

I looked at everywhere in the country except ulster recently and there was a 2 month wait at best.

Odyssey 2005

joujoujou wrote: »

7 weeks prior to due date is not enough, especially if due date is on Jan/Feb - most of cars bought in Ireland has aforementioned due date.

Just booked NCT for myself - it'll be done 2 months prior to due date, no problem.

I'd advise to look up for appointment approx 5 months ahead of due date. :P

While you are right about 7 weeks not being enough is is totally unacceptable that anyone should have to wait that long for a test when they are given 7 weeks notice in which to fit it in. I also got my test 3 months in advance of it being due but that's just me. They know that most of the cars in the country are sold,ie.in Jan/Feb so should make provision for this.
It was different when non display of an NCT cert just got you a bollixin from some jobsworth at a checkpoint,but now it can land you in court and have penalty points heaped on your licence.
The op gave his preferred test sites as Dublin and Cork, how many centres are there in these two main cities,surely to fook he can be offered something better than he has been.

TheSheriff

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

If anywhere in Dublin or Cork will do, surely so will anywhere in between, no?

Yeah it would I guess - its realistically as I live in Dublin but my parents home is in cork so I could justify making the trip down.

Ill just keep ringing everyday and hope for the best

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

While you are right about 7 weeks not being enough is is totally unacceptable that anyone should have to wait that long for a test when they are given 7 weeks notice in which to fit it in. I also got my test 3 months in advance of it being due but that's just me. They know that most of the cars in the country are sold,ie.in Jan/Feb so should make provision for this.
It was different when non display of an NCT cert just got you a bollixin from some jobsworth at a checkpoint,but now it can land you in court and have penalty points heaped on your licence.
The op gave his preferred test sites as Dublin and Cork, how many centres are there in these two main cities,surely to fook he can be offered something better than he has been.

No court anymore, it's gone from a summons and 5 points to an FPN and 3 points.

Guy:Incognito

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

They know that most of the cars in the country are sold,ie.in Jan/Feb so should make provision for this.
.

Centres are already open 7 days from early to late, don't see were they can fit in extra capacity just for 2 months.

mgbgt1978

Do people remember the 'good old days' when the NCT sent out a reminder (sometimes even a preliminary appointment offer) ?
They have (or at least had) every vehicle's expiry date on their Database...apart from 2nd hand imports first test.
Surely it can't be that hard for them to see the demand coming down the line and temporarily increase staffing levels, etc to cope with the peaks.
It seems that they are determined to maintain maximum profits while forcing some motorists to drive without a current NCT, despite agreeing (it's in their contract) to test vehicles within 28 days of a Test Request.
Why should it be left to the consumer to phone months in advance and then wait for a suitable Test Date ?
If you went to Tax your car and were told "sorry, bit of a backlog but try again in a few weeks" would you just accept it and drive around without Tax ????
It's a farcical situation and nobody is prepared to accept responsibility.

TheSheriff

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Do people remember the 'good old days' when the NCT sent out a reminder (sometimes even a preliinmary appointment offer) ?
They have (or at least had) every vehicle's expiry date on their Database...apart from 2nd hand imports.
Surely it can't be that hard for them to see the demand coming down the line and temporarily increase staffing levels, etc to cope with the peaks.
It seems that they are determined to maintain maximum profits while forcing some motorists to drive without a current NCT, despite agreeing (it's in their contract) to test vehicles within 28 days of a Test Request.
Why should it be left to the consumer to phone months in advance and then wait for a suitable Test Date ?
If you went to Tax your car and were told "sorry, bit of a backlog but try again in a few weeks" would you just accept it and drive around without Tax ????
It's a farcical situation and nobody is prepared to accept responsibility.

Completely agree with this.

I asked the woman on the phone from the NCT office (while trying my best to remain calm that she was doing her best to help me) about the legal ramifications of them not being able to offer me a test - basically she passed the buck saying there was nothing she could do and that its still illegal to drive without an NCT

Odyssey 2005

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Centres are already open 7 days from early to late, don't see were they can fit in extra capacity just for 2 months.

More centres maybe? They are making their problem of under capacity our problem of no certs, and unfortunately we are the ones who pays with pp's and fines. We are for the most part giving them reasonable notice for the test,the number of cars eligible for the test are increasing every year but have many new centres opened recently?. I don't know the answer to that question, just asking..

mgbgt1978

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Centres are already open 7 days from early to late, don't see were they can fit in extra capacity just for 2 months.

Temporary Centres ?
Temporary Staff in the existing Centres ?
Government get off their a*5e and change things around a bit....allow for earlier Testing ?.....allow for motorists whose NCT has expired but who have a confirmed Date (within a certain timeframe) to continue driving ?
Possibly look at moving the due date for January registered cars....some move to Nov/Dec, others to Feb/Mar ?

Mycroft H

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Centres are already open 7 days from early to late, don't see were they can fit in extra capacity just for 2 months.

More centers. Now that's not going to happen overnight.

Or have authorised third party testers? Garages in small regional towns? Something like the CVRT?

Odyssey 2005

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Do people remember the 'good old days' when the NCT sent out a reminder (sometimes even a preliinmary appointment offer) ?
They have (or at least had) every vehicle's expiry date on their Database...apart from 2nd hand imports.
Surely it can't be that hard for them to see the demand coming down the line and temporarily increase staffing levels, etc to cope with the peaks.
It seems that they are determined to maintain maximum profits while forcing some motorists to drive without a current NCT, despite agreeing (it's in their contract) to test vehicles within 28 days of a Test Request.
Why should it be left to the consumer to phone months in advance and then wait for a suitable Test Date ?
If you went to Tax your car and were told "sorry, bit of a backlog but try again in a few weeks" would you just accept it and drive around without Tax ????
It's a farcical situation and nobody is prepared to accept responsibility.

Great point about the tax..
NCT are just like every other quango,kick the can and blame everybody else.

mgbgt1978

Odyssey 2005 wrote: »

Great point about the tax..
NCT are just like every other quango,kick the can and blame everybody else.

Almost. they are a Spanish company who tendered lowest for the NCT contract and now find that they are unable to honour their contract and maintain the profit level they expected.........and somehow it's our fault .

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

mgbgt1978

Mycroft H wrote: »

More centers. Now that's not going to happen overnight.

Or have authorised third party testers? Garages in small regional towns? Something like the CVRT?

Ah no, I've a much better idea Mycroft.
Maybe they could have an amnesty similar to the driving Test Backlog in 1979.
We could just print off our own Certs for a few months until things settle down

boardsuser1

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Ah no, I've a much better idea Mycroft.
Maybe they could have an amnesty similar to the driving Test Backlog in 1979.
We could just print off our own Certs for a few months until things settle down

If sylvester barrett were still alive he'd be very proud of that comment

TheSheriff

The whole system just seems very ill equipped.

Like I can see the benefit in booking months in advance and thats brilliant for people who have the foresight to do that but surely having an imminent nct expiry date looming should bump you up the queue to people who have months left on theirs.

The mind boggles

boardsuser1

TheSheriff wrote: »

The whole system just seems very ill equipped.

Like I can see the benefit in booking months in advance and thats brilliant for people who have the foresight to do that but surely having an imminent nct expiry date looming should bump you up the queue to people who have months left on theirs.

The mind boggles

My own car was registered in January, however I booked it in last October, no regrets either thankfully

pablo128

Go onto the nct website before 8.30 in the mornings. Cancellations are added back onto the system around 8 am.

dobsdave

Are retests allocated differently?
My initial test was done Dec14th, needs a retest.
Got one one for next Monday, I had a choice of times.
I just went back on there, and this Friday is also available.
In fact every day from 7thJan onwards is available to the end of the month.
Centre is fonthill.

joujoujou

dobsdave wrote: »

Are retests allocated differently?
[...]

Yes, they are.

dobsdave

joujoujou wrote: »

Yes, they are.

Looks like they need to do a rebalance then :eek:

TheSheriff

dobsdave wrote: »

Are retests allocated differently?
My initial test was done Dec14th, needs a retest.
Got one one for next Monday, I had a choice of times.
I just went back on there, and this Friday is also available.
In fact every day from 7thJan onwards is available to the end of the month.
Centre is fonthill.

They must be....

Ive just checked every center for Jan and the closest I could get is Mayo at the end of Jan !

joujoujou

Significantly less amount of time is necessary to put a car through a retest (in most cases). I guess they have a number of slots allocated particularly for retests each day, each test centre. Last time I had a retest I got an appointment online within a week from a first test. Also, AFAIR there were many slots to choose from.

delly

Check again tonight at 23:31 and see how you get on.

mgbgt1978

pablo128 wrote: »

Go onto the nct website before 8.30 in the mornings. Cancellations are added back onto the system around 8 am.

delly wrote: »

Check again tonight at 23:31 and see how you get on.

While both of these suggestions might work for some it's still far from a proper solution.
Why should we be forced into checking a website at a certain time of day just to do something as simple as booking a test which we are paying for ???

If anything the NCT should be emailing those whose test is due with an option to book one of these appointments which suddenly cropped up....We're paying for the service, let them do the work.

Rant over.

Guy:Incognito

Mycroft H wrote: »

Or have authorised third party testers? Garages in small regional towns? Something like the CVRT?

I'd be wholly against the system of having the testers be the people that also do the fixing.

Might not make honest people crooked, but it encourages crooked people to be crooked.

TheSheriff

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

While both of these suggestions might work for some it's still far from a proper solution.
Why should we be forced into checking a website at a certain time of day just to do something as simple as booking a test which we are paying for ???

If anything the NCT should be emailing those whose test is due with an option to book one of these appointments which suddenly cropped up....We're paying for the service, let them do the work.

Rant over.

True, to make matters worse this "priority list" ive gone on only applies to one test center - I had to pick one.

I asked her could I be notified if ANYTHING cropped up in Dublin or Cork, in any test center but she said no, basically you pick a center and you have to go on a list for that center and that one only.

Its a real farce of a system

dieselbug

The way this annual backlog crops up every first quarter is due to a bad system, end of.

From day one of the nct coming on stream this issue should have been foreseen and some half wit should have come up with a system where the renewal dates would fall more evenly throughout the year.

Their solution is to threaten people with points, bury their heads and cross their fingers.I dont believe anyone will be succssfully prosecuted for not having a current nct cert where they can prove they were waiting for an appointment. If they are we really have a banana republic.

The newer registration system will ease the problem but not for a few years yet. A simple solution would be to give those cars that will be late for testing the full term from the test date. Now their next test due date will fall on the later date and not in the congested Jan.This would only need to be done for one year or max two.

Chanchers could be weeded out by putting conditions in place where appointments would have to be arranged before certs expired.

Rubberchikken

Mine is due in april.
As i just had it serviced decided to get nct done (striking while irons hot!)

I rang the 1890 no as no slots available on site.
I got put on some priority list and got a txt 2 days bef christmas with a dare/time in jan.
probably depends on the centre you want to use.

delly

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

While both of these suggestions might work for some it's still far from a proper solution.
Why should we be forced into checking a website at a certain time of day just to do something as simple as booking a test which we are paying for ???

If anything the NCT should be emailing those whose test is due with an option to book one of these appointments which suddenly cropped up....We're paying for the service, let them do the work.

Rant over.

While I agree, my aim in posting was to give the OP along with others who have posted, a decent shot of getting a booking for 2 weeks time at 23:31 tonight. 23:30 is NCT magic hour, so in theory there should be plenty to choose from at 23:31, usually for exactly 2 calendar weeks ahead.

mgbgt1978

I wasn't having a go at yourself Delly. Far from it.
What you said is true. But it could be fairer for the customer...
If cancellations can appear on the NCT site then it's not impossible....quite easy really.... to have a software program that can text/email those who have already accepted a date well beyond their Due Date and offer these slots to these customers.
They could start at 9am for instance.If no reply from the 1st guy within say 10 mins then move on down the list.

Basically it shouldn't be up to the paying customer to do their work for them.


Having said that if you ring them and 'request' (or demand) a test date within 28 days, you will get it. You may have to wait a week or so (and the time mightn't suit) but you will usually get it.
AFAIK only one person here has ever reiceved a 'Free Test'...and even then they paid first and got a refund when they complained. So I still haven't seen evidence of somebody actually doing an NCT without handing over money first.

ninty9er

I booked January 17th online on Saturday. Check another centre.

cena

So what well the cops do if your nct is out of date like the o.p and not getting a test till march

TheSheriff

Logged on at 11.31 to try and book as per advice only to be told my car reg is locked out of the system and I must contact them via telephone.

F**K

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

cena

TheSheriff wrote: »

Logged on at 11.31 to try and book as per advice only to be told my car reg is locked out of the system and I must contact them via telephone.

F**K

Why would it be locked out?

tuxy

Thanks for the head up about the cancellations becoming available on the system at 23:31.
I just managed to book into my local center for the 12th of next month.
I had checked earlier today and the earliest available was March.

Stheno

Just logged on and between Deansgrange, Fonthill, Northpoint 1 and 2 and Greenhills in Dublin there are at least 24 appointments available between tomorrow and Jan 12.

TheSheriff

cena wrote: »

Why would it be locked out?

I have no idea - it says ive made two many incorrect searches on the registration that I cannot use the online system

How can I be making incorrect searches - all you do is enter your reg