CRT's useless online renewal system...

[Delta9]

Today I received a reminder to renew my licence. It tells me to register on their system, for which I will need my customer ID number. Of course the e-mail doesn't include said number. I called them to get the number and then tried registering, it tells me that my e-mail doesn't match my customer number. They just sent me the reminder to this e-mail address so it is clearly the one they have on record for me. I called them again and they confirmed that they do indeed have that e-mail address on record and that they would e-mail me a password reset link. After half an hour I still hadn't received the link so called them again. They said that they would re-send the password reset link. Half an hour later and I still have no reset link. How do they make this so hard when renewing my car tax online takes minutes?

[Delta9]

Well the password e-mail link just turned up. I clicked on it and just get a message that "The code to reset your password has either expired or is not valid. Please enter your email address and a new password reset link will be emailed to you." of course when I enter my e-mail it tells me that it is not recognised. This is a joke...

[churchward]

I have used the online renewal for several years without an issue but these online systems can be frustrating I know when they don't work for you. I usually get a letter through the post with a reminder including any renewal numbers/IDs etc.

[Delta9]

I have used the online renewal for several years without an issue but these online systems can be frustrating I know when they don't work for you. I usually get a letter through the post with a reminder including any renewal numbers/IDs etc.

I used it last year without issue but apparently they have a new system now (which doesn't work).

[andyb116]

Went through exactly the same thing when I tried to renew ours, in the end the lady at the other end of the phone who was very helpfull took payment over the phone and emailed me the documents/discs to print. Hit the same problem, "email not recognised to the customer No". Strange because I'd gone to the link from the email she'd just sent me. Phoned back, same helpfull lady answered and said I'll print them here for you and post them. Technology is a wonderful thing.

[cotswoldsman]

Just wondering with these phone calls to CRT to get you number etc. Why did you just not simply renew on the phone?

[Delta9]

Just wondering with these phone calls to CRT to get you number etc. Why did you just not simply renew on the phone?

I don't actually want to pay for the renewal today, just register on their system so that when I come to renew I can do it on-line at my own convenience.

[dor]

One annoying thing C&RT seem to be planning is dropping the continual Direct Debit. For several years now, they have renewed my license and mooring on the first of the month, taking the money then or within a few days. They are discontinuing this (though they assure me it will still work ok for renewal on 1st June) which is annoying as I didn't have to do anything except mae sure the money was available, the money was taken at the last moment and I had my full early payment discount.

 

Now they want you to ring up or do it online, which usually means them money is taken at that time, not when it is due. They say they are discontinuing the continual DD as too many people change their bank details,don't notify them, then moan if they lose the early payment discount. But if they change details without telling C&RT, it's their own fault if they lose the discount.

[cotswoldsman]

I don't actually want to pay for the renewal today, just register on their system so that when I come to renew I can do it on-line at my own convenience.

Ah ok

[DeanS]

I got an email today to say I should use the new online renewal system.

I also received my new paper licence disks in the post today. ?

So I presume I have a year to register, by which time, hopefully it'll all be working ok ;-)

[AndrewIC]

Been round that loop today. Email asks me to log in to licensing with my "MyTrust" account. Ah good, I have one of those because I am registered for stoppage alerts. Doesn't work on licensing side. Reset password, still doesn't work. Reply to email, auto reply says it's not monitored. Email customer services, no response so far. I hope they are still sending out the paper renewal forms.

[MtB]

There's probably a team of two developers on £24k a year been given the job of launching the on-line licence renewal service. It works fine for most boaters and the team will be working hard to analyse and fix the cases where it didn't.

 

The other way would have been for CRT to throw £1m at the project to get design it properly and get it thoroughly tested and debugged before launching. People would then complain this money should have been used to fix leaky lock gates etc.

 

If renewing on-line doesn't work for you, ring them up and renew on the phone. Or send back the forms. Both these methods work fine for most of us, most of the time too. Just like any other system there will always be the fringe cases that don't work.

 

I bet if someone could design and set up a poll where the respondents are not mostly the self-selecting dissatisfied, 99% of attempts to renew on line will be found to be successful.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

There's probably a team of two developers on £24k a year been given the job of launching the on-line licence renewal service. It works fine for most boaters and the team will be working hard to analyse and fix the cases where it didn't.

 

The other way would have been for CRT to throw £1m at the project to get design it properly and get it thoroughly tested and debugged before launching. People would then complain this money should have been used to fix leaky lock gates etc.

 

If renewing on-line doesn't work for you, ring them up and renew on the phone. Or send back the forms. Both these methods work fine for most of us, most of the time too. Just like any other system there will always be the fringe cases that don't work.

 

I bet if someone could design and set up a poll where the respondents are not mostly the self-selecting dissatisfied, 99% of attempts to renew on line will be found to be successful.

Online licence renewal has been available since 2005 for 12 month licences.

 

I would expect that problems have been introduced by recent changes to the system not being adequately tested.

 

 

 

[Dave Clinton]

Online licence renewal has been available since 2005 for 12 month licences.

 

I would expect that problems have been introduced by recent changes to the system not being adequately tested.

 

 

 

 

It's not a particularly difficult programming exercise.

 

Even the most basic online shop can maintain a registration database of customers.

 

I would lay money the competence is in inverse proportion to the amount of money spent on it.

[AndrewIC]

Online licence renewal has been available since 2005 for 12 month licences.

I would expect that problems have been introduced by recent changes to the system not being adequately tested.

 

Quite. It wasn't very elegant, but it did work.

[Phil.]

Renewed mine yesterday. The My Trust login was not sync' to the licensing side but once I had re registered my email it was all fairly easy after that.

[Guest]

It's not just CRT that experience issued like this though.

 

I tried to register with the Highways agency yesterday so I could open a Dart Charge account to pay for crossing the Dartford crossing, massive fail.

 

So opted to pay a one off charge for our crossings in a few weeks, took payment and said I would get an email as a receipt, still waiting. The only proof I will have that I have paid is my bank account record.

 

Total rubbish.

[DHutch]

We have just continued to chuck a cheque in the post....

 

 

 

Daniel

[Higgs]

We have just continued to chuck a cheque in the post....

 

 

 

Daniel

 

 

This is the way I still prefer to handle licence renewal. I won't use the internet unless I'm forced to do it. The car insurance is the only exception, so far.

[ditchcrawler]

 

 

This is the way I still prefer to handle licence renewal. I won't use the internet unless I'm forced to do it. The car insurance is the only exception, so far.

But you never know if the cheque arrives until/if you receive your licence.

[Higgs]

But you never know if the cheque arrives until/if you receive your licence.

 

 

I think I usually send that one off by recorded delivery as soon as I get the reminder. If it gets too close to the date it's due and I haven't received the licence, I'd ring to make sure they've got the cheque. So far, haven't needed to panic.

[Delta9]

An update: After I made this thread it took me about a week and 6 phone calls for them to enable my account and I was finally able to log in and update all my details. Today I come to log in and pay for my licence which expires on Tues and it won't let me. I get the same as I did at the start, "this email does not match the customer number" . Of course I can't call them today as their office is closed on the weekends. Bloody idiots.

[dccruiser]

An update: After I made this thread it took me about a week and 6 phone calls for them to enable my account and I was finally able to log in and update all my details. Today I come to log in and pay for my licence which expires on Tues and it won't let me. I get the same as I did at the start, "this email does not match the customer number" . Of course I can't call them today as their office is closed on the weekends. Bloody idiots.

Fancy admin staff taking the weekend off .... they do it at my local council every weekend and my village bank ... perhaps you ought to have them tied to the nearest lock gates and flogged! or maybe and i know it is a big maybe, knowing they had teething troubles with their system as you have experienced them, you could have perhaps tried yesterday whilst someone was in the office in case it didnt work, or alternatively instead of calling the office staff or god forbid CART as a whole bloody idiots, you should just enjoy the sunshine accept the office staff are probably doing the same with their friends and families and call them monday morning.

 

Rick

Edited June 27, 2015 by dccruiser

[Delta9]

Fancy admin staff taking the weekend off .... they do it at my local council every weekend and my village bank ... perhaps you ought to have them tied to the nearest lock gates and flogged! or maybe and i know it is a big maybe, knowing they had teething troubles with their system as you have experienced them, you could have perhaps tried yesterday whilst someone was in the office in case it didnt work, or alternatively instead of calling the office staff or god forbid CART as a whole bloody idiots, you should just enjoy the sunshine accept the office staff are probably doing the same with their friends and families and call them monday morning.

 

Rick

I was working for all of their office hours yesterday. I'm usually working during their office hours which is why I went through the rigmarole of getting my account working last month as I knew that when it came to renewal time I would have to do it out of office hours. They've had over a month to get their online system working, so this isn't teething trouble, it is complete incompetence.

[GUMPY]

you get a lunch break don't you?

Do as I did when my BSS wasnt registered on the online system and call them during your break. My problem was sorted in seconds I even managed to eat my lunch.