NCT - getting a date

galwaytt

...so my car has been booked for an NCT since March, for 2nd June.

But I only just copped that that's a Bank Holiday Sunday, which I can't make.

Anyway, long story short, just off the phone with them - the earliest date available now (look at your calender, folks...) is 26th AUGUST !!

That's a 12 week lead time. I've asked for a cancellation or other centre, but no joy, but they'll put me on a 'priority list'.

I've rang the Dept of Transport, as they have ultimate responsibility for this, being over the RSA - NCT are required to give you a date within 4 weeks, and this is a metric which is part of their contract review.

This means since i booked, waiting times have gone up by 50%. As well as pricing.

Simply not good enough.

Nuphor

You can get tested in any centre you like, so you might to see about getting it tested at another centre. Alternatively, your local centre every so often - cancellations can pop up often.

Yawns

As well as pricing.

Is the cost going up? Wasn't aware of it.

If you are looking for a cancellation, the best thing is to actually ring the NCT center in the morning and see if they have anything for that day. Obviously only works if you are available throughout the day to bring the car in for a test, altho someone may ring in to cancel a test that's due in 5 days or so. You could get lucky and get that appointment. Keep an eye on the website too.

challengemaster

Just looking at NCTS website there, there's quite a few spots open around the country before 26th Aug. Even galway has ones for the 3rd Aug (I'm aware thats still ridiculous)

darlett

Just tried to book a date- my car is due mid june- but the closest I can get is late july. Does this mean Im liable to get 5 points if Im pulled during that time? Or if I have a booking receipt can that get me out of that nasty hole? (Feels a bit like not knowing what a tracker mortgage is... )

Would have thought 4 weeks was plenty of notice-Im sure it used to be, but then ive heard that fail rates have leapt up recently so i guess thats a direct side affect of that.

mgbgt1978

galwaytt wrote: »

...so my car has been booked for an NCT since March, for 2nd June.

Not like you Galway to be unaware of the "28 days or it's free" part of Applus+'s contract with our fine government.
Unfortunately as you did not insist upon it at the time of booking it's now too late to look for same.
Next time do not book online (unless there is an appointment within 28 days), simply phone them and ask for a test within 28 days...you can even be kind enough to give them 24 hours to text you back with an appointment if you like.

As I've said here many times, this is not some marketing ploy, it's part of the contract which this company signed when they took on the job of providing NCT tests in this wonderful country.

edit; unless of course you were aware of all this Galway, and the June date suited you originally. In which case all of the above only applies to the rest of you......

mgbgt1978

BTW your Thread Title makes it look like you are on the hunt for a female

Cheensbo

The nct booking seems to be all over the shop tbh:

The brother went online on Monday to book an nct, was given a date for 28 July, didnt bother booking it...

I rang on tuesday, and got a test on 8th June - a fortnight, pretty acceptable i reckon.

Told the brother straight away and he rang and got his for 15 minutes before mine :pac:

mgbgt1978

Which really just proves that it is usually better to phone them rather than constantly trying to find a date online. Just make the NCT call centre staff do their job and find you a test date within 28 days.

BTW to anyone who is calling from their mobile be aware that the 1800 LoCall number is not included in any free minutes you have and you will be charged for it....use 014135994 instead.

galwaytt

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Not like you Galway to be unaware of the "28 days or it's free" part of Applus+'s contract with our fine government.
Unfortunately as you did not insist upon it at the time of booking it's now too late to look for same.
Next time do not book online (unless there is an appointment within 28 days), simply phone them and ask for a test within 28 days...you can even be kind enough to give them 24 hours to text you back with an appointment if you like.

As I've said here many times, this is not some marketing ploy, it's part of the contract which this company signed when they took on the job of providing NCT tests in this wonderful country.

edit; unless of course you were aware of all this Galway, and the June date suited you originally. In which case all of the above only applies to the rest of you......

Dang. Forgot about the free test angle !
The original date despite being booked so far back suited me alright, so no complaint there. Btw all dealings were done on the phone.

dieselbug

The 4 weeks limit only applies by phone afaik. If you book a date online outside the four week limit you are accepting that date. Online waiting times are now gone silly.
On the other hand I rang last Tuesday for an appointment, I gave three acceptable test centres and got a booking in Kilkenny next Monday, lucky.

Supergurrier

galwaytt wrote: »

...so my car has been booked for an NCT since March, for 2nd June.

But I only just copped that that's a Bank Holiday Sunday, which I can't make.

Anyway, long story short, just off the phone with them - the earliest date available now (look at your calender, folks...) is 26th AUGUST !!

That's a 12 week lead time. I've asked for a cancellation or other centre, but no joy, but they'll put me on a 'priority list'.

I've rang the Dept of Transport, as they have ultimate responsibility for this, being over the RSA - NCT are required to give you a date within 4 weeks, and this is a metric which is part of their contract review.

This means since i booked, waiting times have gone up by 50%. As well as pricing.

Simply not good enough.

Gimme 2nd June slot ! I have to wait until 30th July

michellie

If you phone between 9 and 9.30 in the morning you are most likely to get cancellations. Keep trying that.

georgefalls

I booked a retest online last night. Earliest date was 3rd June. Isn't that a bank holiday? Do they work on bank holidays.?

Booking ID Number : -1
Registration Number : 01D*****
Centre : Carlow
Address : Old O'Brien Road (via Bradshaws),Pollerton,
Carlow, Carlow
Date & Time : On Monday, 03 June 2013 at 12:00

djimi

I have never not got a test within a fortnight of making an appointment (in Naas). I'm convinced it has to do with the online system; those that book online seem to get ridiculous dates, whereas if you actually pick up the phone and ring them you seem to get more sensible dates.

BMJD

I've used the cancellation route for the last 5 or 6 years and I've never had to wait more than a couple of days. My work schedule means I do have some free time during the week though, and being in Dublin means I am close enough to a few different centres. For my last booking, I looked up the NCT website on a Thursday and there were spaces available the following Monday even though it was a bank holiday. I was in and out in 20 minutes.

mgbgt1978

Galway, you could cancel online immediately (not less than 5 working days before test or there will be a penalty).
Then ring them back first thing Monday morning and insist on a date within 28 days.
Still better than August !!!!

Supergurrier

Woot got Castlerea cancellation tomorrow at half 9

GET IN

tin79

It has gotten silly at this stage and its only going to get worse with older cars being tested every year.

My father tried to book in at the start of Feb for a test due on March 1st. Earliest he could get - including having called in - was late May. So thats a 3 month delay for a cert that only lasts a year.

I can see successful prosecutions for having no NCT dissapearing rapidly at this stage as it will be easier to just carry a booking letter than to do the test!

We shouldnt need to be ringing at 9am in the morning on a Monday just to try and get a test. As a mandated test it shouldnt be this difficult.

Speaking to the dealer I bought my new car off he was saying its becoming a nightmare for him. He is Dublin based and he said its getting very difficult to get NCTs for new imports in a reasonable time.

Supergurrier

Go with what was posted here though tin79

I had a date booked from 2-3 weeks ago of the 20th July and i just happenned to be off for the next 2 days so i rang NCTS there around quarter past 9 this morning and i got a date for tomorrow in Castlerea instead of galway 45 min drive or so.

They were spot on.

nct tester

It would be a lot easier to get a date for the test if half the country wasn't driving around with no nct but have made an appointment for three months down the line in case they are stopped by the guards, but no intention of turning up for it, just rebooking it everytime, therefore taking up slots that genuine motorists could avail of. The same names crop up on the booking sheet a lot of the time and its easy to find out how often they've booked a date and not turned up.

Gabbo57

Few things - In the centre I work in we have roughly a 10% no show rate which over a week accounts for around 150 slots per week, over a three month period that's 1800 appointments missed that other people could have used. This obviously doesn't help the backlog situation.

You can get your car tested within 90 days of your certificate expiring. So why not call them up say four months before it expires and get a slot within those 90 days. Therefore you'll be giving yourself plenty of time and also not be worried about driving with an expired cert.

The online system is not great I'll agree for getting appointments short notice. When people do cancel, the slots open up for the call center staff and with the amount of calls they get a day the slots get eaten up as soon as they're canceled.

This whole free test thing confuses people. NCT are obliged to give you a date for a test within 4 weeks from time of contact. But the date doesn't have to be within those four weeks, they just have to get you an appointment, it could be for 5/6/7 weeks down the road.

Every center is fully booked every day and in most cases, overbooked but no one will be turned away even if everyone shows up. The centres are booked according to the amount of inspectors on duty. They tend to overbook to counter the no shows.

Hope this helps!!

CiniO

Gabbo57 wrote: »

Few things - In the centre I work in we have roughly a 10% no show rate which over a week accounts for around 150 slots per week, over a three month period that's 1800 appointments missed that other people could have used. This obviously doesn't help the backlog situation.

150 missed slots per week at 10% rate, meanst 1500 appointments per week in total.
That gives about 215 appointments per day assuming that centre is open 7 days a week, and over 15 appointments per hour assuming centre works 14 hours a day (8am-10pm). So assuming that test lasts for 30 minutes, you need at least 8 testing lanes, and they should be obliged nearly at all times, leaving very little time for any delays, or even equipment maintenance.
Am I right?
I never actually was aware how busy those NCT centres are. My local one has only 2 testing lanes.

You can get your car tested within 90 days of your certificate expiring. So why not call them up say four months before it expires and get a slot within those 90 days. Therefore you'll be giving yourself plenty of time and also not be worried about driving with an expired cert.

Up to recently, you couldn't book online more than 3 months before due date. So the first possible moment I could log in and book a test was actually 90 days before due date, so at that time I should have already be able to have a car tested.
About 2 years ago I rang them 4 months before due date, and I was told that my car was no due inspection yet so I can't book an appointment. I replied that I know it's not due yet, but I wanted to book already as I know waiting times are long, and I want to have my car tested as early as possible.
She has some doubts, but eventually she gave me an appointment.

I think this was changed some time ago, and now you can log in online to book an appointment 4 months before the due date, and you can probably book over the phone on earlier date.
But still waiting times are unreasonable.

The online system is not great I'll agree for getting appointments short notice.

It's very gently said - not great.
It's complete rubbish. I've never seen an appointment closer than 3 months away in my local centre on online booking system.
I completely can't understand why don't they make the same available appointments online which are available to phone booking centre. It can't be that hard.

When people do cancel, the slots open up for the call center staff and with the amount of calls they get a day the slots get eaten up as soon as they're cancelled.

IMHO while NCT car testing is a great thing are works very well, but their booking system is complete joke.
The same as those idiotic NCT regulations giving NCT valid up to next due date, no matter when test was carried out.

This whole free test thing confuses people. NCT are obliged to give you a date for a test within 4 weeks from time of contact. But the date doesn't have to be within those four weeks, they just have to get you an appointment, it could be for 5/6/7 weeks down the road.

I think you are wrong in here.
It says clearly

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.

Every center is fully booked every day and in most cases, overbooked but no one will be turned away even if everyone shows up. The centres are booked according to the amount of inspectors on duty. They tend to overbook to counter the no shows.

Out of curiousity what happens when inspector get's sick or f.e. is injured at work and has to leave (or anything like that)?
Or if equipment of test lane fails.
With such tight schedule it seems very difficult to accommodate for anything like that.

mgbgt1978

Gabbo57 wrote: »

This whole free test thing confuses people. NCT are obliged to give you a date for a test within 4 weeks from time of contact. But the date doesn't have to be within those four weeks, they just have to get you an appointment, it could be for 5/6/7 weeks down the road.

Total Rubbish . If that were the case they could give you a date 5 years away.....probably better if you stick to testing cars and avoid the call center advice.

By the way, did sombody employed by Applus+ actually tell you this or did you just come to this conclusion on your own ?

rocky

User Kopparberg here repeatedly said it's the same system they use in the call center and online... turns out it's not really?

Supergurrier

rocky wrote: »

User Kopparberg here repeatedly said it's the same system they use in the call center and online... turns out it's not really?

Not atall