The F-Wit gave me six months! Argh!!

[Flyingpony]

The F-Wit gave me six months! Mr Law abiding Flyingpony who never breaks the law has discovered to his horror that some F-Wit short changed me last year.

Back in November 2005 my bike was four years young and it went in for it's annual WOF, passed with flying colours too.

So, seeing it's roughly that time of the year again, I'd best check the expiry date and make sure everything was working as required. The WOF label holder also got its layer of road dirt wiped off (that only gets cleaned once a year) and ....... this is when my blood boiled :angry:

Noted the day part was today and thought, cool just in time. Looked at the month part and thought, May? They gave me an 18 month WOF last time :mellow: Then looked at the year section, 2006, as in, now :crazy:

That's right folks!!!!

My WOF EXPIRED IN MAY 2006 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Which means that for the passed six months I've been thinking my bike was road worthy but the F-Wit :weird: who wrote the slip out where the last WOF was done short changed my time validity :mad: :angry2:

Quote from the LTSA website:

Vehicles first registered anywhere less than six years ago must have WoF inspections every 12 months.

They're going to be getting an earful very shortly :tugger:, that's once they get off the phone that is.

I'm going have to be more pedantic and make sure the time validity is correct :sherlock: Wasn't calm enough to renew the WOF on Saturday, so next time I'm in the saddle, it shall be done.

So, does your WOF actually expire when you think it does?

[terbang]

Don't know but they have the expirey dates on a computer system. Amazing how it never fell to bits despite the paperwork being wrong eh..

[steved]

They're going to be getting an earful very shortly :tugger:, that's once they get off the phone that is.

I'm going have to be more pedantic and make sure the time validity is correct :sherlock: Wasn't calm enough to renew the WOF on Saturday, so next time I'm in the saddle, it shall be done.

So, does your WOF actually expire when you think it does?

Just buy an old bike mate. Keeps things simple :Punk:

[MSTRS]

Which means that for the passed six months I've been thinking my bike was road worthy

It probably was roadworthy. Thing that most people don't realise is that bit of sticker only proves a vehicle was roadworthy AT THE PRECISE MOMENT that the inspector checked it - ie, the moment it is out of his sight, the driver/rider might spin up the drive wheel(s) and wear the tread to under the legal limit.
WOFs are a necessary evil, but they really prove nothing. A ticketable 'offence' to not have one, for sure, but as I understand it, in the case of an insurance claim, the vehicle's actual condition would be more important than the existence of a current WOF.

[Motu]

Get them to check the expiry date on the computer - give me your rego number and I'll do it for you if you like.

It's pretty common,I do it all the time.95% of our WoF's are for 6 months,sometimes it's hard to pick up on a 12 month one,even if the dates are staring at you from the computer screen.Also we have two modes of entry - normal and express.The normal mode is slower as it goes through more screens,but it does automaticaly give the expiry date.Express mode has less screens and we can enter a fail/pass in the one go....otherwise we have to fail the vehicle and then make a new entry for the pass,they monitor our pass/fail rate so we need to be acurate on our failures.But the express mode gives the pass date as day of entry....many a slip up.

But it goes onto the computer as the correct date.

[Flyingpony]

Okay,,, so I rang the place and enquired politely WTF happened. They seemed to blame the computer system because they issue the sticker according to the what it says on the screen, just like Motu posted.

Right-to-ho, so now I ring LTSA to lodge a software defect report.

The kind lady at LTSA informed me the actual expiry date was two days ago and therefore the label had been incorrectly completed.

She also said that since the label is one of the first items checked, I'd still have attracted Parking Warden & Police attention until they confirmed the actual date on the computer system.

Can breath a big sigh of relief because should I have needed to claim insurance, on paper it would've been road worthy in addition to its actual condition.

Oh well, now that it officially expired two days ago, I'd best make sure my next road trip is carefully executed and is only between home and a WOF renewal place.

[Disco Dan]

15 cars... only ever bought 3 WOFs...

I sell the car before WOF expires, buy new car with brand new WOF.

...i get bored easily of cars.. can you tell?

[vifferman]

Thing that most people don't realise is that bit of sticker only proves a vehicle was roadworthy AT THE PRECISE MOMENT that the inspector checked it .
You mean, the sticker only proves that the inspector said it was roadworthy at that precise time.
I've had several vehicles issued with WOFs when I knew for a fact they did not satisfy the requirements/legislation. And if checked over by a polismun immejuttly afterwards, I could've been issued with another sticker. :shit:

In fact, my bike is currently illegal; I could find at least two things that don't meet the legal requirements.

But do I care? :shifty:

Of course I do.... :innocent:

[Motu]

It's the owners responsability to maintain the vehicle in warrantable condition.The WoF is a visual check only,no components are to be removed or adjusted,it's just as you see it.Oh,how I'd love to punch a screwdriver through some of the bog I see,I know it's unroadworthy,but can't fail it.I don't know why people get so hung up on WoF's,they are just a pretty basic safety and compliance check.

[crazybigal]

in the case of an insurance claim, the vehicle's actual condition would be more important than the existence of a current WOF.

haha try telling that to an insurance company when you make a claim! good luck

[Edbear]

I actually approve of the WoF check and my thread thanking Classic_Z highlights why a good garage is worth going to! Our car became 6-monthly after 6 years, but it always breezes through and apart form the minor inconvenience and the minor cost, I still believe it's worth it.

Another thing Tim discovered was I thought the WoF was due 13/11/06 but turned out it was 13/10/06! Oops!:gob: Sorry Officer! I didn't ride it after 13/11, honest!:bye:

[Motu]

People often blame me for their car not having a WoF because they didn't get a reminder - one woman said I would have to pay for her ticket because it was my fault......maybe I should even pay for the repairs.I don't send reminders for bikes and trailers.

I once had a driving instructor ring me up a bit upset - the examiner said the WoF had expired.Although the sticker said next week they were using the AA computer and said it showed it was expired.But they were looking at the issue date which was 14 days previous to the expiry date.I had a big shouting match with the examiner and then demanded to speak to his superior....but by then it was too late for the driving test.The driving school had to pay for that.

[Flyingpony]

I don't know why people get so hung up on WoF's,they are just a pretty basic safety and compliance check.
Not hung up all. Just got a bit upset with what appeared to be a potentially expensive error should something have gone wrong.

WoFs are very important and I like keep my bike/cage to WoF standard at all times.

There can be surprises though, time before last, they picked up on my cage a front left lower rear suspension bearing failure after it's silicon seal had failed (all up $120 repair the following day), this problem I hadn't picked up upon.

[xwhatsit]

I completely agree with the necessity of WoF checks, despite the nervousness I had about getting the WoF done on my bike a few days after I'd bought it. I would've been pissed if it had failed, but there are many mechanical things on a bike that if fail can cause a serious crash, so I'd be glad to know about any defects. In Queensland where I've been living the past few years, there are no WoF at all; police can give you a ticket for an unroadworthy vehicle, but this is quite rare. You should see some of the absolute shit on the roads over there; smoky Bongo vans owned by poverty-stricken South Aucklanders don't come close.

One thing I was wondering, Flyingpony said earlier it's expired and he'll make sure to ride carefully between only house and WoF check. I know that it's legal to do this in the UK; what's the rules here? Are you permitted to ride/drive your vehicle to get a WoF, or are you supposed to put it on a trailer?

[Motu]

You can ride/drive to a place of repair.

[lukelin250]

they send you a letter dont they?

[xwhatsit]

A place of repair? Interesting. So I could ride to a mechanic who gives out WoFs but not to a VTNZ testing station? Is it to ride to a place of repair only actually in order to get repairs then?

[Motu]

Ok fussy pants - you can ride/drive to have a WoF test,then home again,then you can ride/drive to a place of repair.You can still be issued with a ticket,then present your new WoF within 14 days or some such.If you don't get the WoF then you pay the fine...easy.

[Flyingpony]

they send you a letter don't they?
No letter, places that do that annoy me and typically lose my custom. Besides, don't you give a mailing address/place of residence which is at least 400km away? That might do the trick too since you're then thought to be from out of town.


Okay update:

Rode the steed this morning from home to my preferred WoF renewal place 6km away. Just gotta love places that give you one for $20 - why do bike shops charge $35?

Anyway, was nearly on the home straight as they say and what do I notice a few cars back in the other lane, Mr :Police: was there, so it was good to see that I had an official escort :mellow: Was quite surreal seeing him/her in the mirrors for the last 2km, was expecting the lights & siren to engage at any moment after they ran my plate through the computer...

Great news: Bike passed the WoF as expected. No written comments and no verbal comments too, well, got one:

Dude your bike rides really well :Punk: :love:

[Daffyd]

Don't you bloody believe it. If the Insurance company can see a way out of paying up they'll jump at it! No WOF is a perfect excuse.

[Daffyd]

Sorry...I was replying to no 4.