# NCT or not!



## dariuscork (4 Mar 2009)

What is the situation with nct,I hear now that you do not have to display a current disc and guards are only interested in tax+insurance????


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## patftrears (4 Mar 2009)

dariuscork said:


> What is the situation with nct,I hear now that you do not have to display a current disc and guards are only interested in tax+insurance????



Stopped 2 times in the last month at check points, I have nct but don't have it on the window as no holder, just keep it in the glove box.
Asked both times where was my nct, no problem once I showed it, but they are looking out for them.


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## Smashbox (4 Mar 2009)

You need to have a valid NCT cert in order to drive your car legally. This is a legal requirement. There is a fixed penalty for not having one and if unpaid a court appearance. And penalty points.

http://www.penaltypoints.ie/mandatory_court_appearance.php

You were misinformed.


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## michaelm (5 Mar 2009)

Smashbox said:


> You need to have a valid NCT cert in order to drive your car legally. This is a legal requirement. There is a fixed penalty for not having one and if unpaid a court appearance. And penalty points.
> http://www.penaltypoints.ie/mandatory_court_appearance.php


Couldn't agree with you there.  AFAIK there is no legal requirement to have an NCT to drive.  Non display of an NCT could result in a court appearance and a fine but I've only ever heard of one such case.  There are no penalty points for non display of an NCT cert (nor, incidentally, for not carrying a driving licence).


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## Dreamerb (5 Mar 2009)

michaelm said:


> Couldn't agree with you there. AFAIK there is no legal requirement to have an NCT to drive.


I refer you to regulation 19 of the vehicle testing regulations. There is a legal requirement to have a valid NCT.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2004/en/si/0771.html


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## RonanC (5 Mar 2009)

michaelm said:


> but I've only ever heard of one such case


 
I was summonsed to appear in court for failure to display NCT...


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## gebbel (5 Mar 2009)

I am aware of one Polish national who does not have the NCT on his car. He was stopped twice in the last year and his details checked. In both cases they made no mention of the NCT and waved him on.


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## Smashbox (5 Mar 2009)

Thanks Dreamer, I knew it was a requirement. Gebbel, your Polish national must be lucky.


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## Sunster (5 Mar 2009)

Whether its legal or not....the other question is whether your car is covered for insurance when you drive it knowing its without the NCT.
If you were involved in an accident....I very much doubt your insurance company will be giving you much backing...

Also surely if you don't have the NCT, you can tax the car?


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## michaelm (6 Mar 2009)

Dreamerb said:


> I refer you to regulation 19 of the vehicle testing regulations. There is a legal requirement to have a valid NCT.
> http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2004/en/si/0771.html


Thanks for the link.  I stand corrected.  I thought that the possible fine was for non display rather than operating the vehicle.  I suppose that in effect it's the same outcome.  I've often driven cars without NCT, maybe they're tightening up on it now.





Sunster said:


> Whether its legal or not....the other question is whether your car is covered for insurance when you drive it knowing its without the NCT.
> If you were involved in an accident....I very much doubt your insurance company will be giving you much backing...
> 
> Also surely if you don't have the NCT, you can tax the car?


Open to correction here but insurance companies are not concerned with NCT.  And certainly one can tax a car without NCT (they scrapped the 'must have NCT to tax' requirement long ago).


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## Sunster (6 Mar 2009)

michaelm said:


> Open to correction here but insurance companies are not concerned with NCT. And certainly one can tax a car without NCT (they scrapped the 'must have NCT to tax' requirement long ago).


 
Crikey...doesn't this make the NCT pretty pointless and probably just add to the garda burden to enforce?
If NCT was related to tax, that would solve much of the problems.


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## askalot (6 Mar 2009)

gebbel said:


> I am aware of one Polish national who does not have the NCT on his car. He was stopped twice in the last year and his details checked. In both cases they made no mention of the NCT and waved him on.



Mr. Prawo Jazdy just keeps getting away with it!


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## Latrade (6 Mar 2009)

Sunster said:


> Crikey...doesn't this make the NCT pretty pointless and probably just add to the garda burden to enforce?
> If NCT was related to tax, that would solve much of the problems.


 
Not really, your insurance wouldn't be valid without it. So in the event of an accident, you wouldn't be covered.


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## michaelm (6 Mar 2009)

Latrade said:


> Not really, your insurance wouldn't be valid without it. So in the event of an accident, you wouldn't be covered.


Does your insurance policy state that it is only valid with an NCT, where applicable?  Has anyone on this thread had a motor insurance claim and been asked about NCT?


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## demoivre (6 Mar 2009)

michaelm said:


> Does your insurance policy state that it is only valid with an NCT, where applicable?



Doubt it. If you fail the NCT how do you get your car home from the test centre and get it to a garage for repairs and then back to the test centre? Think I'll buy a tow truck and set up shop beside a busy NCT centre !


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## Sunster (6 Mar 2009)

Take the scenario whereby one's car doesn't have the NCT yet is insured. The brakes in the car fails...you crash into something or someone...you think you're insurance company will help you out in todays economic climate....getting anything back from insurance companies have always been testing at best


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## Smashbox (6 Mar 2009)

askalot said:


> Mr. Prawo Jazdy just keeps getting away with it!


 


That was classic.


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## duchalla (6 Mar 2009)

michaelm said:


> Does your insurance policy state that it is only valid with an NCT, where applicable? Has anyone on this thread had a motor insurance claim and been asked about NCT?


 
hi,

had a crash last month, rear ended someone, nct was out for about a week, insurance company paid out within a week, no mention of nct.


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## Smashbox (6 Mar 2009)

Perhaps they didnt know?


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## demoivre (6 Mar 2009)

duchalla said:


> hi,
> 
> had a crash last month, rear ended someone, nct was out for about a week, insurance company paid out within a week, no mention of nct.





Smashbox said:


> Perhaps they didnt know?



If having  valid car insurance is conditional on having a valid NCT cert  don't you think the Insurance company would have asked before they paid out?


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## michaelm (6 Mar 2009)

Smashbox said:


> Perhaps they didnt know?


It's not an issue for them.  As for concerns that this or that minor or technical discrepancy might render insurance invalid, well, you're kinda insured even if you have no insurance, a levy (2% i think) is added to car insurance policies to provide a fund to pay claims where the offender didn't have insurance.


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## Latrade (6 Mar 2009)

Check your renewals form. Most state that it is conditional (where car qualifies for NCT) on a valid certificate, some even ask for the certificate. I think it's a bit like the Motor Tax where they ask for insurance details, but don't actually check them out.


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## dariuscork (6 Mar 2009)

So ok then what is the answer,is insurance void without a current nct?


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## dereko1969 (6 Mar 2009)

gebbel said:


> I am aware of one Polish national who does not have the NCT on his car. He was stopped twice in the last year and his details checked. In both cases they made no mention of the NCT and waved him on.


if the vehicle is registered in poland (not on irish plates) then there's no requirement to display an nct as the car is not on our system, same with insurance discs.


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## bb12 (6 Mar 2009)

dariuscork said:


> So ok then what is the answer,is insurance void without a current nct?



I remember Pat Kenny doing a programme on this a few years back...apparently once the insurance companies enter into a legal contract with you, they're obliged to insure you no matter what, even if you don't have any NCT. I think you're insured even if you're drink driving and have a crash...


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## patftrears (6 Mar 2009)

I know my policy is valid without NCT, some policies will state that you need a valid NCT.
Insurance companies can argue that if you don't have a valid NCT, your car might not be in a road worth condition, which would invalidate your insurance. But it would be a big stretch.


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## WIFESLIST (6 Mar 2009)

You do need to display your NCT cert in the window,as i found out the hard way on feb 20 in the Richmond courts. to make a long  story boring, i was driving my wifes car to a funeral in APR 08 when i was stopped tax and ins was up to date but the NCT cert was out of date since NOV 07. Basically what had happened was that , she who must be obeyed, had brought the car for its NCT test in NOV but she had to bring it back to show that a broken mirror was fixed  within 30 days or you re do the test.30 days later ie XMAS came and and went. Garda who stopped me told me to re apply for the NCT within ten days and that would be that. Which i did and thegarda in the station put my details onto the pulse system. F/F TO JAN 09 and i get a summons for feb 20 . I went to court explained all to the judge questioned the garda showed evidance of test  app showed print out from Irishtown garda station proving i was there within ten days  all to no avail. VERDICT i got the probation act  moral get your NCT AND KEEP IT UP TO DATE


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## galwaytt (7 Mar 2009)

demoivre said:


> If having valid car insurance is conditional on having a valid NCT cert don't you think the Insurance company would have asked before they paid out?


 
sorry that is incorrect - having an NCT or not is irrelevant to your insurance.  There's a very simple reason for this - the NCT does not warrant your car to be road legal, except for that instant where it's inspected.   1 day, week or month later, you have an accident and the presence or absence of an NCT is irrelevant to your insurance - that's why they use assessors.  

Your car could have no NCT and be perfectly mechanically legal (so not affecting the cause of the claim for instance, which is what they're looking for).   The reverse is also true: that is, your car could have NCT, and on inspection on foot of a claim, found to be unroadworthy.  In this case your ins co would take this into account (negatively) with regard to your claim.

This is borne out by Duchalla's post, above...

There is another, more deep-seated issue, from a legal perspective - and it has come in court with respect to having a valid licence, and the effect on insurance, and the court ruled that the insurance is still valid.


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## galwaytt (7 Mar 2009)

bb12 said:


> I remember Pat Kenny doing a programme on this a few years back...apparently once the insurance companies enter into a legal contract with you, they're obliged to insure you no matter what, even if you don't have any NCT. I think you're insured even if you're drink driving and have a crash...


 

..correct. The courts have ruled that where insurance is mandated by law (Road Traffic Act), a policy bought, accepted and in force, that it must be honoured, end of.

The recourse for ins co's in Ireland in cases like this, is to sue you civilly for the costs involved.  However, there is no criminal case to answer - it's a money thing.


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## gerrydean (17 May 2010)

Car insurance don't ask if you have a valid NCT when you are getting a policy with them but they do ask for a valid NCT when they are to pay out. Just found this out last month. So the car insurance companies should ask when you are first buying your policy.


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