NCT and over-the-top Garda

SparkRite said:
@gears303 Don't wait for the NCT, act now. Send a copy of your receipt / booking confirmation for your NCT ASAP to the guard, with a cover note apologising for not having it done at its due time and thanking him for bringing it to your attention. Playing to their egos works wonders.
Better still drop into the station where he is attached to and deliver it by hand. Appear as sincere as possible.
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+1

I'm a little bit concerned about the demand for your mobile phone number, especially his insistence that he "needed it". He is free to ask, of course, but he's not free to tell you you must give it. We have given the Gardaí extraordinary powers in the current pandemic. It is right that they are held to account and don't further impinge on the citizens right to privacy.

I'm not heard of this mobile number request at a checkpoint before, has anyone else had that experience?
 
gipimann said:
I got an email re renewal of my motor tax last week, and the email includes the NCT due date (which will be the first NCT for the car).
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You do get reminder about Car tax but not NCT. Good to know if you input while renewing car tax, they give you a reminder.

A few years ago, my NCT ran out by 6 or 7 months before I realised, luckily I wasn't caught.

In this case, the Garda was a bit OTT IMO. That said if a Garda asked me my mother's maiden name, I'd just give it. Points are a pain.
Laramie said:
I always thought that I would be contacted automatically when my car was 4 years old and told that my NCT was due?
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They use to send reminders but stopped years ago.
 
I always get an NCT reminder, either for the first one or subsequent ones.

Where does this idea that they don’t issue reminders come from?
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I always get an NCT reminder, either for the first one or subsequent ones.

Where does this idea that they don’t issue reminders come from?
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This idea comes from a spokeswoman for the NCT. Perhaps they're still issuing some reminders to some people from some database they have - but largely they're relying on motor tax now.

www.irishtimes.com

NCTS failing to contact all motorists due for the car test

MOTORISTS WAITING to hear from the NCTS to be told when their car is due for its National Car Test, should stop and check it …
www.irishtimes.com www.irishtimes.com

Despite assurances on the NCTS website that the organisation will "contact owners of eligible motor vehicles (based on official vehicle registration records) in advance of the anniversary date of first registration of your car" a spokeswoman confirmed to The Irish Times that this is not actually the case.

She pointed out that the Motor Tax renewal notice does include a reminder of the test falling due, but this is not much help to a person who taxes their car in January with the NCT falling due two months later.

"We do not contact everyone," she said. "We try to contact as many people as we can, but the onus is on the owner of the car to be aware of when the test is due and to have their car tested.


This matches my experience - the only reminder I get is a one line in the tax renewal - which is not really where I'd expect to get it.
 
becky said:
A few years ago, my NCT ran out by 6 or 7 months before I realised, luckily I wasn't caught.
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I was stopped at a housing estate I was entering while there was a concert on so they were checking for residents so people didn't just park there and block the place up. The Garda asked me I thought it would be a good idea to get the car NCT'd as it was 7 months out of date. I apologised and said I would. He then suggested I should get it taxed as that was 8 months out of date. I asked if I was in trouble and he smiled and said "no, we're not checking that stuff today" but if he saw me the next day I would be. Nice guy. I sorted the tax out that evening and booked my NCT.
 
You were very lucky so . It is very easy to forget these things especially with no reminders .....
 
I've opted for email reminders rather than paper ones from motortax.ie. The email always has the next NCT due date added on.as well. It used to be 27th August, but the latest one says NCT due on 27th December 2021. Obviously, 4 months added due Covid for all vehicles. Presumably Gardai well aware of this.
 
Purple said:
I was stopped at a housing estate I was entering while there was a concert on so they were checking for residents so people didn't just park there and block the place up. The Garda asked me I thought it would be a good idea to get the car NCT'd as it was 7 months out of date. I apologised and said I would. He then suggested I should get it taxed as that was 8 months out of date. I asked if I was in trouble and he smiled and said "no, we're not checking that stuff today" but if he saw me the next day I would be. Nice guy. I sorted the tax out that evening and booked my NCT.
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That was a sound Guard.
 
Agreed, I find most of the Garda very good to deal with, even the couple who have done me for speeding over the years, were fine.

That said, I also make a point of treating Gardai with respect, and wouldn't be getting up to many criminal activities (if any ;))
 
Baby boomer said:
I've opted for email reminders rather than paper ones from motortax.ie. The email always has the next NCT due date added on.as well. It used to be 27th August, but the latest one says NCT due on 27th December 2021. Obviously, 4 months added due Covid for all vehicles. Presumably Gardai well aware of this.
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While you're right and the email does have the NCT due date on it, if you're looking at the email in your Gmail on a smartphone, there's a very good chance you'll never scroll down far enough to see it. I'm just after taxing my car about 10 minutes ago and when I read your post I said to myself that's funny, I never noticed the NCT due date. So I looked at my reminder email and sure enough, if you scroll down past all of the information pertinent to taxing your car (including the link / button to go pay your motor tax now), then it's there right enough.
 
Looking at my emails I never get reminders before I make a booking.
I do get reminders of the bookings I have made, but thats (obviously) after I've made the initial booking each year.
Maybe people are mixing those things up.

I did get an email about extending the date for one of the cars prior to booking a date. In fact I tried booking it and it failed.
 
torblednam said:
While you're right and the email does have the NCT due date on it, if you're looking at the email in your Gmail on a smartphone, there's a very good chance you'll never scroll down far enough to see it. I'm just after taxing my car about 10 minutes ago and when I read your post I said to myself that's funny, I never noticed the NCT due date. So I looked at my reminder email and sure enough, if you scroll down past all of the information pertinent to taxing your car (including the link / button to go pay your motor tax now), then it's there right enough.
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Fair point! I'm one of those sad obsessives who make a point of reading the small print. I never cease to be amazed that the rest of the world isn't like me
 
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