# NCT tests backlogs getting longer



## Joe_90 (16 Nov 2014)

Heard about this so went to book a test, NCT out 15 of Jan next!

Checked 10 closest centres on the website there was one available slot before 31 January.  

System seems to be out of control.


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## michaelm (16 Nov 2014)

If you're in a hurry to get the car tested tell them you are selling the car and they will put up on a cancellation list.


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## Frank (16 Nov 2014)

Do NCT centres hold bookings for garages and traders?

They never seem to have an issue getting tests.


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## Tired Paul (16 Nov 2014)

I rang last week after getting a date of 02 Feb 15 as the earliest available date in Cork. Got a text yesterday to say booking now arranged for next Saturday. When you ring they will give you a date and time within 28 days - otherwise its free.


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## Sue Ellen (16 Nov 2014)

If you keep an eye on the website yourself you will see cancellations popping up regularly especially when the staff have finished working and aren't there to grab them first   Its a while now since we needed to use it but that's what I noticed about the system then.  Early in the morning too before they start work.


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## Time (16 Nov 2014)

The website is updated at 23.30 each night. That is when cancellations open up.


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## AlbacoreA (17 Nov 2014)

That what I did keep watching the site until a closer date came up.


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## Joe_90 (17 Nov 2014)

So rang them today.

They will contact me within 7-10 days with a time for the local centre with 28 days of today.


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## Time (17 Nov 2014)

And they will get you a date within 28 days. The day and time might not suit but you won't be getting a free test.


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## Sue Ellen (17 Nov 2014)

Time said:


> The website is updated at 23.30 each night. That is when cancellations open up.



I regularly found cancellations popping up during day also.


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## flowerman (17 Nov 2014)

If the NCT was propperly run and managed then the customer would not have to keep on ringing looking for a cancelation or checking the NCT website.
Funny that as the price increased so too did the waiting list for a test.
3 month long waiting lists are a joke and show how badly run and managed this money making racket is.


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## Leo (18 Nov 2014)

flowerman said:


> Funny that as the price increased so too did the waiting list for a test.



So you're suggesting simply increasing the price has increased the demand for the NCT?


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## flowerman (18 Nov 2014)

Leo said:


> So you're suggesting simply increasing the price has increased the demand for the NCT?


 
You charge people more money for a service,yet the waiting time for said service is getting longer and longer and nothing is being done to bring down waiting times.

The entire NCT system is poorly managed and run on the whole.
Leo Varadkar was asked about this before and he just tried to wash his hands of it,same with Pascal Donohoe when he was asked about it last month,he just warbled on,avoided the actual topic and then started talking about how people should buy a leap card and use the train or bus instead.


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## Time (18 Nov 2014)

They haven't given anyone a free test. It is not happening. They always find you a date within 28 days. It just might be early on a Sunday morning or at a time that would not suit most normal people.


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## Leo (18 Nov 2014)

flowerman said:


> You charge people more money for a service,yet the waiting time for said service is getting longer and longer and nothing is being done to bring down waiting times.


 
Ah yeah, I accept that, just your wording was suggesting the lengthening of waiting lists was related to the increase in price. There has been a significant increase in traffic volumes and new car registrations over the last couple of years. 

As with many government procurement procedures, the final terms were never released, so we have no idea what SLAs Applus+ are being held to. Would anyone be surprised if the current service level was within the terms?


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## flowerman (18 Nov 2014)

Leo said:


> Ah yeah, I accept that, just your wording was suggesting the lengthening of waiting lists was related to the increase in price. There has been a significant increase in traffic volumes and new car registrations over the last couple of years.
> 
> As with many government procurement procedures, the final terms were never released, so we have no idea what SLAs Applus+ are being held to. Would anyone be surprised if the current service level was within the terms?


 
Over 200,000 cars currently dont have a valid NCT cert,mainly down to these massive waiting times.
From 8th December if your car does not have a vaild NCT cert then you will get 3 penalty points on your licence if stopped by gardai or if you are in an RTA.
Full story in tomorrow mornings broadsheet and tabloid newspapers.


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## grenzgebiet (19 Nov 2014)

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/nct-workers-to-share-productivity-windfall-of-500k-298490.html


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## Leo (19 Nov 2014)

flowerman said:


> Over 200,000 cars currently dont have a valid NCT cert,mainly down to these massive waiting times.
> From 8th December if your car does not have a vaild NCT cert then you will get 3 penalty points on your licence if stopped by gardai or if you are in an RTA.
> Full story in tomorrow mornings broadsheet and tabloid newspapers.



That story has been doing the rounds since September at least, so nothing new in it.

My car is of an age where I have to get it tested every year now. I've never failed to get an appointment that suited me, but then I don't leave it to the last minute. You can book a test up to 90 days in advance of your due date without it affecting the expiry date. 

If your car falls due around the high demand times of January, and soon July with the split in plates (sales volumes in Jan can be 13+ times that for other months), you really should start looking well in advance.


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## horusd (22 Dec 2014)

My NCT is due in Feb 15.  I ran thro all dates from last week right into March WITHOUT getting a single free appointment  in Northpoint 1.  When I got them on the phone they said I should hear from them with a cancellation.  What gives with this company? Surely they KNOW how many cars are due and should  have planned to handle it effectively so that all cars are efficiently and promptly tested  to comply with the requirements of the RSa or whoever looks after road safety.  I imagine it is a highly profitable service, but it appears  it is not well-managed. There should be a penalty incurred by the company for failing to adequately provide the service they were engaged for. 

There should now also be some sort of legal waiver for cars which can't be tested within the appropriate timeframes.   But this at best is only a sticking plaster on what looks like an organisational  mess on the part of Applus.


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## Bronco Lane (8 Jan 2015)

My test was due the end of January. The nearest that I could get was March when I contacted them 1 month ahead of my test date, online.  I also am finding a box popping up on their website that says my details are not secure. I rang them. They said that they would ring me back when an appointment becomes available. No phone call to date. I am doing my best but risk getting penalty points because of the incompetence of others.


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## Woodie (8 Jan 2015)

Friend of mine is in exactly the same situation as Bronco Lane.   Rang in early December, earliest date in March and the was  in a centre 50kms away!  It's a total nonsense.  In  the UK perfectly good and honest garages can be appointed to do the MOT (NCT)  without all this hassle.   The online systems are a nonsense, yet even the AA seem to think it is not a problem, if listening to their spokesman before Christmas is anything to go by.


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## Leo (8 Jan 2015)

Woodie said:


> the UK perfectly good and honest garages can be appointed to do the MOT (NCT)  without all this hassle.



That system has a lot of issues we don't have to contend with, from fake centres issuing forged certs, to unscrupulous garages failing cars on tyres or brakes that should pass.


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## sulo (8 Jan 2015)

My NCT is up 22nd January.  I went online and the Greenhills Rd facility has no availability until March.  I rang on Monday, couldn't get an answer.  So sent an email - no reply (Ive always booked via email). Next day rang again, no answer, tried again in afternoon, got through!  No apts until March.  They asked for my number and email, and said they would ring me back if they got a cancellation.  I queried the issue with Penalty points, and asked could they give me a statement indicating they could not provide me with an apt - in case I got stopped.  Advised that they would not do that - and advised me that they would not recommend I drive without a valid NCT.   I will ring back again, and email to show that I am making every effort to participate in the system in place.


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## Brendan Burgess (9 Jan 2015)

I have moved all the tips about how to get one quickly to this Key Post: 

*What is the quickest way to get an NCT?*

Prompted by this thread, I input my car reg into the NCT system. That told me that my NCT is due in May. I booked a test for late April in a centre and at a time to suit myself. 

They have confirmed to me by text and by email. 

When you find the date your NCT is due and you don't want to book a test yet, you can input your email address to get a reminder. 

Brendan


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## dereko1969 (9 Jan 2015)

Why did you wait until 2 weeks before your expiry?


sulo said:


> My NCT is up 22nd January.  I went online and the Greenhills Rd facility has no availability until March.  I rang on Monday, couldn't get an answer.  So sent an email - no reply (Ive always booked via email). Next day rang again, no answer, tried again in afternoon, got through!  No apts until March.  They asked for my number and email, and said they would ring me back if they got a cancellation.  I queried the issue with Penalty points, and asked could they give me a statement indicating they could not provide me with an apt - in case I got stopped.  Advised that they would not do that - and advised me that they would not recommend I drive without a valid NCT.   I will ring back again, and email to show that I am making every effort to participate in the system in place.


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## sulo (13 Jan 2015)

dereko1969 said:


> Why did you wait until 2 weeks before your expiry?




For anyone interested in the thread topic, I got a date and time text to me! Fair play as Ronan might say!


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## Mrs Vimes (14 Jan 2015)

something of a relief to see that the gardai are "taking a common sense approach"

http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0113/672338-nct/


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## MrEarl (15 Jan 2015)

Mrs Vimes said:


> something of a relief to see that the gardai are "taking a common sense approach"....



It's just a shame to think we can't take a "common sense approach" to solving the problem permanently, either open more NCT centres or else make the ones that are open, into 24/7 facilities.


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## Leo (15 Jan 2015)

MrEarl said:


> It's just a shame to think we can't take a "common sense approach" to solving the problem permanently, either open more NCT centres or else make the ones that are open, into 24/7 facilities.



Splitting the year into 2 plates should help down the line. There won't be the huge surge in demand to satisfy the volume of cars that were sold in Jan/Feb previously. Up until that was introduced, as many cars were sold in January as there were in the final 5 or 6 months of the year. If NCT capacity was built-out to handle the January volumes easily, then we'd be paying a lot more for the NCT, and they'd be very, very quiet for a lot of the year.


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