Penalty points for no NCT.

Just bought a car with NCT expired since March. Rang the "lovely" NCT people today as obviously want to get it sorted before this rediculous new law comes in on May 1st. I asked the woman on the other end what the waiting list is like and she said "you're looking at the end of May at least".

So I said "well then surely if I book it now and have written confirmation from you that I am on a waiting list, that will suffice if I am stopped by the gardai in the meantime - considering the backlog is not my fault??" She replied "No not at all, its up to whatever guard stops you whether they give you the points or not, even if you have your test date"
No way! They can't give you the full 5 points if you are waiting for your NCT?? Can someone clarify this as Mrs NCT lady has me in a right state!!
 
I know both my brother and my mother recently booked a test in the Athlone branch, and one has a 4 week wait and the other has a 5 week wait in front of them.

Ridiculous really, and this was all BEFORE this news came out.
 
Grace80 said:
No way! They can't give you the full 5 points if you are waiting for your NCT?? Can someone clarify this as Mrs NCT lady has me in a right state!!
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I wouldn't worry about it.

Think about all the other things that were never enforced - if you, the NCT and everyone on this board know about the wait, the gardaí do too.

Do you have evidence of a test date?
 
Caveat said:
I wouldn't worry about it.

Think about all the other things that were never enforced - if you, the NCT and everyone on this board know about the wait, the gardaí do too.

Do you have evidence of a test date?
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Quite true, but also the commencement will co-incide with the May BH weekend when there are extra road checks anyway and often during the first days / weeks of a new penalty being introduced there tends to be extra Gardai vigilance on that particular issue, so there is a possibilty that there will be enforcement from May 1st.
 
Caveat said:
I wouldn't worry about it.

Think about all the other things that were never enforced - if you, the NCT and everyone on this board know about the wait, the gardaí do too.

Do you have evidence of a test date?
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I agree - put the confirmation letter/e mail in the car as evidence of booking the test and I reckon you should be fine.
 
Whatever about having evidence, I cannot get through to the NCT on the phone, I have two numbers, and now they have a generic message on their website, explaining that they are very busy, but to keep trying, so you can no longer book on-line now either!! What department runs the NCT?
 
Due to the recent announcement, NCTS are currently experiencing an unprecedented demand in the number of people requesting a booking. Please be aware that our Call Centre is fully operational however, you may experience problems getting through to us and this is purely down to the volume of people trying to contact us, we do ask that you bear with us on this and that you keep trying.

NCTS do endeavour to contact as many car owners as possible and from the 1st January this year we have sent over 247,000 notifications regarding their NCT however, it should be noted that in some instances such as, change of ownership of the vehicle, if the vehicle is off the road or if the vehicle is out of tax that can affect whether a letter is issued for that vehicle. Therefore, we would encourage customers who have not heard from the NCT but feel their car is eligible for the NCT to contact us directly and we will arrange an NCT for them.
 
Hi,

We have a car at home which is rarely driven (not sure anymore if we need but in current climate you wouldnt get much for a 00 polo).

After all the recent hooplah about the nct I decided to check the disc - out of date since March 2008!!!!! Does anyone know what will be the story with it when i decide to get the nct updated? Will i have to jump through a load of hoops, fill in forms?

Thanks,
WB
 
It is possible to test your car 5 weeks before the current nct expires.Sons starlet nct due to expire 3rd of May.Got nct done on 2nd of April in case work needed to be done luckily it passed first time.Job done!!
 

Yes indeed another revenue generating exercise.
Give you another good one. I am in the taxi business. If you decide to buy a brand new car for use as a taxi (I think only a fool would do so) it has to have a suitability test which is fine. But then it has to have a full NCT test as well. Imagine a brand new car being put through the rigours of a full nct test. Absolute madness. Plus all taxis have to have an nct done every year and plus I hear they are bringing in an annual suitability test of top of this. Once a car is suitable once it should be always suitable unless modifications are done to the vehicle. A visual check is all that is needed.
I'm telling you this nct crack is a pure money making racket.
 
Wife's car failed today due to misaligned lights. Will be fixing on Friday, but looks like a test date won't be available until well into May. I have to say I find this rush to NCT very frustrating - those who abide by the law and do the right thing by arranding their NCT in advance are now being inconvenienced by a lazy minority who are now worried about tests. Surely there is something wrong if this is the result of an enforcement measure?

Also - why do NCT not issue reminders - is there no database of results or names etc?
 

Lots of nonsense there. Firstly, government will gain nothing from this as there will be no extra cars taking the test. The NCT has been enforced for the past 8 years or so and in that time every car over 4 years old has had to take the test. That has not changed. All that has changes is that if you fail to do take the test you may be subjected to penalty points and a fine (which is easily avoided by simply putting your car through the test).

Usual ill-informed over reaction from taxi drivers.
 
Pretty ridiculous reply. Not a taxi driver but someone who has gone through several NCT tests and come out the other end with a plus. Resent NCT and all it stands for. My car 5 years old with low milage and stil has to go this rubbish of a test. Incensed.
 

Just making the point that a taxi driver has to have his or her vehicle tested EVERY YEAR even if its a BRAND NEW vehicle! We have no choice in the matter. I fail to see the necessity to have a brand spanking new car NCT'd. I dont mind having to have a yearly NCT but a yearly suitability test now is beyond a joke.
 

Just ring them up and get a appointment - if they question you ( extremely improbable ) plead ignorance ! AFAIK though if you pass the NCT your cert will only be for one year because it will be back dated to Mar 08.
 
Caveat said:
I wouldn't worry about it.

Think about all the other things that were never enforced - if you, the NCT and everyone on this board know about the wait, the gardaí do too.

Do you have evidence of a test date?
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I got my test date today - finally got through on the phone after VERY long wait. The earliest appointment they could give me is last week in May. The girl on the phone gave me a different story than the other NCT operator yesterday. She said that there will have to be a lead in time for enforcing this and as my NCT only expired at end of March (plus the fact that I only bought the car the other day!) and the fact that I have proof of a test date should suffice if the guards stop me.
 
Yeah, put up the price to €50 in February apparently, but the email that I got two weeks ago to confirm the test told me it was €49 and to bring payment of €49. So when I arrived for test yesterday with my cheque for €49 - I got short shift!! Had to pay the extra euro!!
 
cant get thru to them - have tried at least 20 times in the past 2 days - obviously another ill thought out idea - smacks of the driving licence fiasco !
 
steph1 said:
I fail to see the necessity to have a brand spanking new car NCT'd. I dont mind having to have a yearly NCT but a yearly suitability test now is beyond a joke.
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Just because its a brand new car, it can still have faults and as its a public service vehicle it must be tested to ensure that it if safe to carry fee paying passengers.

I dont agree with the NCT and they way they test and charge but it has helped take an awful lot of scrap from the roads
 
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