NCT Delays - Advice

In the same boat ourselves. Only noticed the test was up in Jan and earliest was June.

Have booked earliest appointment and plan to continue as normal. The NCT set up is a joke it should be rolled out to garages to try clear the back log. I could have the jeep in for DOE next week 🤷‍♂️

Book at next available date, print out out the booking form and stick it in the disc holder.

Same boat here and lots like it around the country, some centres seem to be covering much larger regions than others.

As with all the advice on all these NCT threads.... Call them. You could get an earlier appointment that way or be put on a cancellation list.

Really?

didn't know that.

it’s still written in the customer charter.

I booked recently, was given a date months and months away

Put in a request to be put on the cancellation list, specified the center I wanted, and that a sat morn only.

Got a mail back, within a few days, had my test at my preferred location on a Saturday morn at 11am.

Bingo, simples.

Now, if you contact them about the 30 day thing... They will find you a test day and time.. it might not suit you, and if you decline that, well, tough titty, get to the back of the line.

Rang on Tuesday morning here as it was due on the 3rd. Totally forgot about it. They gave me a slot later that day. No problem getting them when you ring up

Mullingar on this occasion. Had openings in Athlone within 3 days, and Tullamore within 4 days. I'd say I got a cancellation that hadn't been filled. Rang around 10 on Tuesday morning and test was at 4.50pm then the same day

Like **** it is. No mention anywhere else on the thread of any location. The whole thread is about delays, not delays in any particular centre. Furthermore, you ring NCT directly and ask for appointments in your preferred location.

Well the NCT on my car is next May. I looked up booking in October, nearest date was middle of May. I booked. It's a week or 10 days after the due date. It was the closest date available for the 3 centres I'd mentioned. "Rural" locations have delays of months and months. It's not an urban/rural issue. It's an NCT issue.

What queue was the OP referring to? It's not mentioned. Just NCT queue in general, which we know is per centre. My example was that ringing them could land you with a test on the day you ring. It was pure luck of course but nonetheless, can happen.

The best course of action if you need a test within the next 6 months is to ring them and tell them the score. They are very helpful and will try sort you out.

If you pass by your local centre pop in and ask when is the ideal time to find a cancellation. In two cases it was suggested to me to call about 12.15-12.30 as a tester may be free for the last slot before lunch.

I'm due a test at the end of the month and hopefully its the same (currently booked for Aug 8th - but I work near the centre)

I think considering they said 7-8 months, you can make a wild guess.

I filled in their form online a week or two ago and got appointment emailed to me for 23rd of Jan while online available appointments were for June-July onwards.

Limerick.

When I was looking at dates online, it gave me an option to fill out a form if I needed the appointment sooner. Have you tried that for your local center?

When looking at dates, at the bottom of the page it'll say the following and there will be a link to the form to fill in with your details:

"If you are unable to obtain an appointment at your chosen Test Centre then please contact our call centre or  It is your responsibility to ensure your vehicle holds a valid NCT at all times."

But that's bit Dublin.. we all know thats all that matters.

If it's not a Dublin problem, it's not a problem.

I'm on cork, the next date available was about 4 months out, send an email requesting a cancellation for a weekend morning, got a reply bean within 47hrs, for a test in 3 weeks, at my preferred location on a Saturday morn.

The system is completely fûckéd up and a shambles, but you just need to work that shambles to make it work for you.

Organized kaos

I didn't realize Ryanair did the NCT bookings. Need one in Dublin. So they set them up in Cork or Tralee.

I find logging into the NCT website at around 11 or 12 at night is useful. I generally see spots for regional towns within a few days.

I just did it now and saw a few places for the 10th of January.

For the doubters.

At least the garda are now taking the delays into account before proescuting for no valid NCT.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/nct-forced-to-draft-in-staff-from-philippines-and-spain-to-tackle-seven-month-backlogs/ar-AA167dHN?cvid=509ec692f1744b3dafe51b006e38d55d

I couldn't get a date and I've been looking for months. The phone support wouldn't put me on a list until I was within 2 weeks of my due date. So I just filled out the online form. That was months ago. In fairness got a sms last week for a date this week. So got sorted in time.

Dunno why it's so last minute every year. It's swamped every year. Why can't I book a date now for next year.

Whoo hoo progress. Thanks for the update.

Hi admin. I posted this first in the nct sticky so can it be deleted from there please.

I applied for nct in November 22. Got a date in late may 23. So 6 months wait. I queried with nct about a free test as outside 28 days window. This was the response. Dates have been changed etc.

Thank you for your recent correspondence. I understand it is your contention that the test fee should not have been applied. I will attempt to clarify this matter.

I can see that your NCT appointment was booked on the 01/11/2022 for an appointment to take place on the 28/05/2023.

The NCT have in place a priority booking list. If there is no appointment available within a four-week period, you may add your vehicle to the priority booking list which ensures your vehicle will be tested within the 4 weeks. A notice is displayed on our website at the time of booking which confirms the following: ​ “If you are unable to obtain an appointment at your chosen Test Centre then please contact our call centre (01-4135992). It is your responsibility to ensure your vehicle always holds a valid NCT.”

On review of our records, it appears that this option was not selected, and you subsequently accepted a booking for the 28/05/2023.

The NCT Customer Charter was developed to ensure a quality service for our customers with recompense by way of a free test if an appointment cannot be provided within the four-week period. In this case, regrettably NCT has not been afforded the opportunity to provide an appointment within the 4-week period.

Based on the above, regrettably, I can only conclude that the test fee was correctly applied on this occasion.

I appreciate that this may not be the response you had hoped for, however should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me.​

Kind Regards,

TBH. I cant even remember seeing a priority option.

Came across this message on the NCT website today when booking a retest. Ridiculous carry on that they only make 1/3 of possible bookings available on line. Surely they are contracted to deliver a service that consistently delivers. I'd love to know what penalty clauses exist in that contract for this service.

To me it seems they are holding test slots back so that they don't breach their charter. Almost warrants a complete ground up review.....

just ring them and you'll get a test appointment within 2 weeks, no point in stressing and speculating about cert expiry date when its completely within your power to fix it.