NCT Waiting List

VolvoMan

I have a car with an NCT that expires on 30th August. My question is, if I book the test now for that date, would it mean that I would get it for free (due to the four week rule)?

CiniO

VolvoMan wrote: »

I have a car with an NCT that expires on 30th August. My question is, if I book the test now for that date, would it mean that I would get it for free (due to the four week rule)?

I think that you get it for free only if they can't provide you with the booking for anything less then 28 days.

Esel

No cigar, OP.

DaveJac

not sure how good they are at giving out free tests worth a try though best off to ring customer care and give out a bit about the wait

Barr

Theres a long waiting list at the moment , unlikely you will get it free though.

bladebrew

i would ring asap to book it, i thought i was being clever booking mine 7 weeks before it was due, i rang in may and was told the next date is in august!!

as far as i can tell if you mention the free test you will magically get a date a lot sooner,

VolvoMan

Are they now not obliged to give to you for free though if the wait is longer than four weeks? Seeing as you can book the test up to three months before the date of first registration of the the car, my plan was to book it for the end of August and hopefully take advantage of what appeared to be a loophole. I was planning to use the backlog to my advantage, but anyway.

bladebrew

there are a few posts on here that go into greater detail, but afaik if they cant offer you a date at all within 28 days then the test is free, if you ring and have to wait 3 months you still pay,


*open to correction on this*

CiniO

bladebrew wrote: »

there are a few posts on here that go into greater detail, but afaik if they cant offer you a date at all within 28 days then the test is free, if you ring and have to wait 3 months you still pay,


*open to correction on this*

That's not right.
If you ring, and they can't offer you any appointment within 28 days of time of the call, your test is free.

fitzeyboy.

just ring and mention free test. You will get the test within 3 weeks at the most. The "free" word must trigger some alarm that can magically make space in the seemingly jammed schedule.

TestTransmission

Had my nct done last week,car now has a lovely 26 months nct.

No excuse imo

dirtydiesel

CiniO wrote: »

That's not right.
If you ring, and they can't offer you any appointment within 28 days of time of the call, your test is free.

Your wrong on this one.
In simple terms you ring them and they have 28 days to find you a booking. That booking could be weeks or months away but as long as they offer you a date within 28 days you pay.
Loads of people have been mislead into thinking they have to test the car within 28 days.

Trhiggy83

I got my cheque in the post with a refund there recently, if you ring them for an appointment and it takes longer than 28 days a you are entitled to a refund. I just bought a new car recently and it needs an nct as well and i rang them and they could not give me a date yet but you can bet i will be claiming the money back when the time comes. Its only 50 quid but better in my pocket. The only thing is you have to write into them for a refund, it will take 5 mins to do but worth it.

Wicklowrider

dirtydiesel wrote: »

Your wrong on this one.
In simple terms you ring them and they have 28 days to find you a booking. That booking could be weeks or months away but as long as they offer you a date within 28 days you pay.
Loads of people have been mislead into thinking they have to test the car within 28 days.

Last Wed I attended NCT in Deansgrange. I was told to "put away the credit card" as I had been waiting in excess of 28 days.

My car's nct was due in May. Last week of April I rang for booking and was told July date. I phoned a few times in interim and asked for cancellations etc, as per advise on this forum. I was told each time there was nothing available earlier than my date in July.

So I got test free even though I didn't ask and I saw a woman getting hers free same day.

I guess it depends on the customer care person you are dealing with to an extent.

Trhiggy83

dirtydiesel wrote: »

Your wrong on this one.
In simple terms you ring them and they have 28 days to find you a booking. That booking could be weeks or months away but as long as they offer you a date within 28 days you pay.
Loads of people have been mislead into thinking they have to test the car within 28 days.

I dont agree with what you are saying, it clearly says that they should be able to offer you a test within 28 days of making a booking. This 28 days starts when you make the call to book. The problem here is that it is not publicised because they dont want to give refunds, which is fair enough

CiniO

dirtydiesel wrote: »

Your wrong on this one.
In simple terms you ring them and they have 28 days to find you a booking. That booking could be weeks or months away but as long as they offer you a date within 28 days you pay.
Loads of people have been mislead into thinking they have to test the car within 28 days.

I'm not.

That's info from citizensinformation:

According to the NCTS Customer Charter if you request an NCT appointment within 4 weeks and it cannot be provided, you are entitled to have the test carried out for free.

And that's info from NCTS website

4.Ensure that an average leadtime for an appointment at an individual test centre is less than three weeks with an free test if this is greater than four weeks.

Barr

Happy days so , I was told there was not a vanancy in Cork till September. Im going to ring for my free test on Monday

mgbgt1978

Dirty Diesel, I'm afraid you are wrong to say that they just have 28 days to give you a date for the test.
They have to test your car within 28 days of you contacting them or the test is free.
This has nothing to do with goodwill, customer service,etc. It is part of their contract with the government.

If you ring and they have nothing available within 28 days tell them you will give them a couple of days to text you back with an appointment that falls within the 28 days. This approach usually works better than demanding an appointment straight away.
Also, do not be fobbed off with a stand-by appointment which could leave you hanging around the test centre for an entire day.

dirtydiesel

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Dirty Diesel, I'm afraid you are wrong to say that they just have 28 days to give you a date for the test.
They have to test your car within 28 days of you contacting them or the test is free.
This has nothing to do with goodwill, customer service,etc. It is part of their contract with the government.

If you ring and they have nothing available within 28 days tell them you will give them a couple of days to text you back with an appointment that falls within the 28 days. This approach usually works better than demanding an appointment straight away.
Also, do not be fobbed off with a stand-by appointment which could leave you hanging around the test centre for an entire day.

my local test centre owes me a refund so! when I enquired about this they said as long as they gave me a date within 28 days........ will be calling in there monday to demand a refund.