NCT booking past the expiry

stakey

So, due to a number of factors I let booking the NCT slip my mind until today. It's not due until the 14th of April but the NCT site is showing no available bookings in early April that will suit and none in March that will suit either.

I can book in for a week after the expiry date, so my question is what repercussions are there for doing this or is this something that happens quite often and overlooked?

Thanks!

MidlandsM

a tip is to log onto the nct site every morn around 9am and you'll see all the cancellations available......the put them up on the site around that time of day........you might nab a test date sooner that way.

good luck

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

djimi

You should be fine tbh; if youre stopped and can show the text to prove the booking then most likely you will just get waved on. Of course, its not a 100% certainty, but I dont think Ive ever heard of anyone get done for an expired NCT when they were awaiting a test.

shooter88

As mentioned look online every day and if you can print out the booking

CiniO

The solution is very simple.
Ring NCT booking-line and tell them you are requesting a booking withing next 4 weeks.
If they won't be able to give you a booking within that time frame, they will have to test your car for free.
And as nothing is for free in todays worlds - they will give a booking within 4 weeks, which in your case is before your due date.

Problem sorted.
No point in looking online everyday, ringing them many times, and begging for cancellation.

ironclaw

djimi wrote: »

You should be fine tbh; if youre stopped and can show the text to prove the booking then most likely you will just get waved on. Of course, its not a 100% certainty, but I dont think Ive ever heard of anyone get done for an expired NCT when they were awaiting a test.

Print out the receipt in the glove box and your golden. I got a new car in late February, earliest test was mid April. So I booked it for then. You can't prosecute someone if they made a reasonable effort to book the next available test date. Its entirely different to being out of date with no booking.

Lofty123

Got my reminder in the post today and went online to book. NCT not due until 25/5, but no appointments available in any of the three test centres within a reasonable distance until July!!
I can't get an appointment even though I am booking nearly a month in advance.
Even tried centres in Cork, Portlaiose and Limerick, same problem. What a shambles!

Will my insurance be invalid if I drive without a current NCT?
Am I expected not to use my car for 6 weeks?
If I do drive and am stopped at a checkpoint am I at the mercy of a Guard who's discretion will determine if I am prosecuted?
Can I be ticketed by a traffic warden for not having a valid NCT?

Does anything work anymore in this God forsaken country ? (apart from revenue collection measures)

biko

Arg the whole country is fooked I tell ya! Arggh



On topic, read your insurance policy. Does it state that you must have a current nct?

Gardai will usually let you go if you have some proof that you have an appointment, they're more interested in current insurance and tax.
Yes, you can get fined and more (Ivor Callely was fined 150) but chances are slim if everything else in order.

Lofty123

Thanks biko,
surely if I can be fined then it must be illegal to drive without a current NCT?

My insurance does not mention the requirement to have a current NCT, but in the event of an accident I suspect any claim would be denied.

IMHO the NCT people should be compelled to facilitate me with an appointment on time, given that they sent me a reminder and are aware that I am trying to book almost a month in advance.

One wonders how far in advance one would have to book to get an appointment before expiry of one's current NCT? At this rate my 12 month cert will be reduced to 9 months or less!

biko

Yes, it is illegal to drive without NCT.
http://www.rsa.ie/Documents/Licensed%20Drivers/Penalty%20Points%20Chart1.pdf see first line.

The garda can if s/he chooses take you to court and you could get 5 points.
If you have proof of an appointment in car it's likely you'll get off, they know it's months waiting to get a nct appointment these days.

At the end of the day it's an offence and you are taking a risk by not having current nct on your car.

CiniO

Lofty123 wrote: »

Got my reminder in the post today and went online to book. NCT not due until 25/5, but no appointments available in any of the three test centres within a reasonable distance until July!!
I can't get an appointment even though I am booking nearly a month in advance.
Even tried centres in Cork, Portlaiose and Limerick, same problem. What a shambles!

Will my insurance be invalid if I drive without a current NCT?
Am I expected not to use my car for 6 weeks?
If I do drive and am stopped at a checkpoint am I at the mercy of a Guard who's discretion will determine if I am prosecuted?
Can I be ticketed by a traffic warden for not having a valid NCT?

Does anything work anymore in this God forsaken country ? (apart from revenue collection measures)

Did you read my answer above?
Ring them and request appointment within 28 days. You will get it.

In relation to your insurance - depends. My policy strictly claims that if car doesn't have valid NCT, they can refuse to pay for the claim. It's not the case with every insurer, and I'm not sure if they really can refuse to pay, but that's what it says.

Lofty123

CiniO wrote: »

The solution is very simple.
Ring NCT booking-line and tell them you are requesting a booking withing next 4 weeks.
If they won't be able to give you a booking within that time frame, they will have to test your car for free.
And as nothing is for free in todays worlds - they will give a booking within 4 weeks, which in your case is before your due date.

Problem sorted.
No point in looking online everyday, ringing them many times, and begging for cancellation.

Thank you CiniO,

Perhaps you could post where you got the information that they would have to test for free if they can't offer me an appointment within 28 days?

I would point out that NCT ltd have been awarded the contract to manage the testing process, something they are not doing adequately if I have to pressure them for an appointment within a reasonable time frame.

JerCotter7

http://www.nct.ie/customer_charter.html

CiniO

Exactly. As of JerCotter7 link:

Ensure that the average lead time for an appointment at an individual test centre is less than three weeks and no greater than four weeks. The customer will be provided with a test free of charge where an appointment cannot be offered within a four week period provided that:
• The Customer has not declined a test appointment (either confirmed or provisional) more than twice, at a centre of their choosing, for the test due at this time

• The Customer has not previously accepted a booking outside of the 4 week period.

I don't understand why people keep complaining that they can't get test on time even after reading that advice.

All my NCT booking over last 3 or 4 years (and I generally test one or two cars a year) were done that way. Phone to NCT. They ask for reg. I give them reg, details, and when they offer an appointment which is usually few months away (or sometimes they can't offer appointment at all) I just say that I'm requesting an appointment within next 28 days. Answer is always that they will send me confirmation within few days. And they really do, and test is usually a week or two weeks ahead. I always worked for me.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

CiniO wrote: »

Exactly. As of JerCotter7 link:



I don't understand why people keep complaining that they can't get test on time even after reading that advice.

All my NCT booking over last 3 or 4 years (and I generally test one or two cars a year) were done that way. Phone to NCT. They ask for reg. I give them reg, details, and when they offer an appointment which is usually few months away (or sometimes they can't offer appointment at all) I just say that I'm requesting an appointment within next 28 days. Answer is always that they will send me confirmation within few days. And they really do, and test is usually a week or two weeks ahead. I always worked for me.

your welcome

plus not like their stopping you from testing your car 3 months early or anything meaning you can book even further in advance again.

This actually annoys me the stupidness of assholes, even the ones I get talking to me.

like the one I had "my cert expires tomorrow, give me a test for tomorrow morning at x location" - are ya for fecking real ya pr*ck ,

my response is " the next available appointment is for 2-3 weeks away."

the customers response "thats not my problem" - like seriously ? would ya ever go and ****e,

then the others " oh I didnt get a reminder so its your fault my nct is out of date" oh yeah its not your car or responsibility or anything .... of course its our fault you havent kept your car up to scratch like

these people actually do my nut in, actually close to quitting aswell to go back to penneys if the option is there

sorry for the rant.

op. call and get another date on the phone. as already said of there is none then they will send ya one

out of curiosity which location is it for and I can give ya an idea ?

djimi

Lofty123 wrote: »

My insurance does not mention the requirement to have a current NCT, but in the event of an accident I suspect any claim would be denied.

I suspect that an insurer would first have to prove that your not having NCT was a contributing factor to the accident before they could use it as a means to deny a claim.

Lofty123 wrote: »

One wonders how far in advance one would have to book to get an appointment before expiry of one's current NCT? At this rate my 12 month cert will be reduced to 9 months or less!

My NCT expired at the end of January. I booked my test about two weeks before the cert expired and got a date for about 10 days later. Same last year as well. Also got a retest within a week. That was all in the Naas center.

You can also book your NCT up to three months before the cert expires, and the new one will be valid up to 12/24 months after the current cert expires. So if your cert is out in January and you do the test in October you will get the new cert up to January the following year (or two years depending on age of car).