Did you get a free NCT test in Letterkenny? 19.10.07

THE National Car Testing Service Ltd., has denied that serious delays at testing centres throughout the country including Letterkenny could cost the company hundreds of thousands of euro this year as motorists demand free tests.

NCTS Ltd., is obliged, under its contract with the Road Safety Authority, to waive the €49 fee if drivers are kept waiting longer than four weeks for a test. Sources claim, however, that the wait has been between six and eight weeks all  summer at most
test centres throughout the country including Letterkenny due to inadequate staffing levels and a backlog of cars due for testing. A total of 6,435 motorists contacted the NCTS in August requesting a test, according to the Road Safety Authority. The Authority said the average wait for individual centres that month was between eight and 18 days. "Any customer who contacts NCTS and requests a test should be offered a test date within 28 days unless they request a later date to suit a particular time of day, for example," said Road Safety Authority communications manager, Brian Farrell. "In some cases, no appropriate slot is available on the day of request. In that case, generally the request is fulfilled the following day, once the next set of unconfirmed provisional booking slots are freed up and the test can be booked within the requisite period. "If the test request cannot be fulfilled at that stage, the customer is entitled to a free test," he said. The Authority said the average wait time for the service was 12.5 days. NCTS Ltd., operates a provisional booking system where customers are given around two weeks to confirm or change the time. If no confirmation is received, the provisional booking is deleted from the system and offered to someone else. However, Mr. Farrell said overall responsibility lay with the vehicle owner to ensure their car is tested on time. "If a customer requests a test and is not offered a slot within 28 days, or a free test, if appropriate, they should take the matter up with the NCTS customer services manager."
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