New Licencing system rubbish

[jenlyn]

Several more unsuccessful attempts yesterday.

I got an alert from them yesterday, suggesting they were having issues.

[MtB]

I shouldnt have thought so, renewal email didn't say anything and I have been a long way this year - whether this was recorded by CRT is the next interesting question. I have also continued moving over the winters months(in a progressive journey I may add)

 

 

Yes as Jenlyn says, receipt of a renewal email suggests otherwise. I had overlooked this. You'd have received at least the first of a series of emails I suspect had they got you down as a candidate for a short licence.

[koukouvagia]

I'm fairly philosophical about CRT's inability to deal with my mooring and licensing bill each year. Never once in the past ten years have the mooring fees and licences for our motor and butty been correct.

I think the problem occurs because the system can't deal with slightly out-of-the-ordinary requests.

I have two boat licences, two mooring licences, two historic discounts, two prompt payment discounts and a mooring discount for the butty.

 

This is what happened this year:

 

1. I received no reminder, so had to phone CRT to find out how much I owed.

2. The renewal reminder arrived by post but the the butty mooring discount had been applied to the motor. Also I couldn't square the licence totals with what I thought I owed.

3. I phoned Milton Keynes and was told that if I applied online I would have to make four different payments and that I would have to speak to the local Mooring Supervisor to sort out the wrong discounts.

4. This turned out to be the wrong advice. I needed to speak to the new Boat Licensing Administrator at Leeds. At last someone who was on the ball. Hurrah for Alan Dowd. He phoned back immediately and said the had discovered the source of the error because the office at MK had applied, wrongly, a half price discount to the licences on both boats, instead of a mooring discount on the butty.

5. Alan Dowd corrected the totals and I paid a in a single transaction over the phone.

 

So all's well that ends well.

 

I am reconciled to the fact that I'm never likely to be able to use CRT's online payments system, but I would like to avoid another Groundhog Day in July.

Edited January 2, 2016 by koukouvagia

[mrsmelly]

My twopenneth. After first reading Mattys post a few days ago I thought bloomin eck I better allow ages to sort my renewal out which is this month end so I went online five minutes ago and first had to register which worked instantly I then renewed with amazing ease and speed with a few box ticks and bank account details so the system was spot on so I think Matty had problems cos CART want him off the waterway

 

Tim

[matty40s]

Ha no they love me.

 

I was sent several more activation codes on Monday morning (without even knowing about it) then they sent me an email saying they were aware they had a problem and could I call to sort it out.

I rang and was answered "Ah, hello Matthew"

After several more attempts by the lady at Leeds, she finally forced it through and set up the new account, and I paid my full whack. She did admit they had been having major problems over the Christmas period.

[Machpoint005]

Ha no they love me.

 

I was sent several more activation codes on Monday morning (without even knowing about it) then they sent me an email saying they were aware they had a problem and could I call to sort it out.

I rang and was answered "Ah, hello Matthew"

After several more attempts by the lady at Leeds, she finally forced it through and set up the new account, and I paid my full whack. She did admit they had been having major problems over the Christmas period.

 

...which is exactly why I renewed mine before the Christmas break (see above)!

Edited January 7, 2016 by Machpoint005

[bassplayer]

Ha no they love me.

 

I was sent several more activation codes on Monday morning (without even knowing about it) then they sent me an email saying they were aware they had a problem and could I call to sort it out.

I rang and was answered "Ah, hello Matthew"

After several more attempts by the lady at Leeds, she finally forced it through and set up the new account, and I paid my full whack. She did admit they had been having major problems over the Christmas period.

There are repercussions to trying to save £1 in interest. I know....it's the principle.

 

Happy New Year Matty

[Machpoint005]

I wouldn't cross the street to pick up a pound coin.

[metanoia]

Ha no they love me.

 

I was sent several more activation codes on Monday morning (without even knowing about it) then they sent me an email saying they were aware they had a problem and could I call to sort it out.

I rang and was answered "Ah, hello Matthew"

After several more attempts by the lady at Leeds, she finally forced it through and set up the new account, and I paid my full whack. She did admit they had been having major problems over the Christmas period.

 

Don't you find that a bit worrying?

 

Not their problems or your activation codes - or even their love for you - but when they KNOW who you are when you phone?

 

Perhaps it's just me - call it paranoia, metanoia...... but........

 

ETA: where are you getting these amazing interest rates, bassplayer, to save a whole £1?

Edited January 7, 2016 by metanoia

[bassplayer]

 

Ha no they love me.

 

I was sent several more activation codes on Monday morning (without even knowing about it) then they sent me an email saying they were aware they had a problem and could I call to sort it out.

I rang and was answered "Ah, hello Matthew"

After several more attempts by the lady at Leeds, she finally forced it through and set up the new account, and I paid my full whack. She did admit they had been having major problems over the Christmas period.

 

They do that to me too...and I'm not even called Matthew.

 

Actually, regardless the suspicion of contriveness, it's still a step forward.

 

I remember my ex boss, after just having a staff management course, coming in Monday morning and asking if we had a nice weekend. At the time it was embarrassing but to be fair it was a positive step.

[David Mack]

 

Don't you find that a bit worrying?

 

Not their problems or your activation codes - or even their love for you - but when they KNOW who you are when you phone?

Perhaps their system tries to match the caller's number against their customer database, and the one thing that is correct on Matty's profile on their system is his phone number.

[matty40s]

Perhaps their system tries to match the caller's number against their customer database, and the one thing that is correct on Matty's profile on their system is his phone number.

I have only had the one email address since I joined the internet 11 years ago, and it worked fine with the old licencing system up until this year.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

I have successfully paid for licence online for last 5 or 6 years bar 1 where it was posted in from elsewhere.

It was a process that took less than 5 minutes.

BW and CRT have had the same email for me for the last 9 years now anyway.

 

I have gone online to do my 2016 licence and wasted the last hour and a half trying to register for a new system.

It either does not send me a new validation code, doesn't validate as it doesn't recognise code and email last sent, or comes back with system problem, our engineers are aware a dealing with it - yeah - on New Years Eve!!

I have done all the obvious like clearing cookies, only using latest generated validation code etc, but no joy.

So I have sent an email to Leeds and am now giving up.

 

For the last ten years I have licenced via an agent. The only problem I have had in the past was VAT being incorrectly applied. This was sorted out by the agent over the phone to BW.

 

When I renewed a few days ago, I found I had three different figures given. The renewal for the online system gave one figure whilst the renewal attachment on the reminder email gave a different figure. When I checked against the published licence fee scales,I found a different figure again.

 

I have provided a cheque for the highest amount and left it to the agent to sort out.

[alan_fincher]

Well as I have been highly critical of some of CRT's customer facing systems recently, I thought I would publish a positive experience for a bit of balance.

 

"Sickle's" licence is due for renewal, and presented the following possible complications if licensing on-line.

 

1) I had not managed to get a new BSS certificate before expire of the old one, so the new certificate has a later expiry date than might have been expected.

2) The insurance details were out of date.

3) We have changed the home mooring.

4) It attracts the 10% discount for historic boats.

 

The system presented me with both a full licensing option, and a "quick" one. I assumed the quick one would probably not allow me to change all required details, but tried it anyway.

 

No problem at all, and keying in the BSS certificate number, (only issued yesterday), brought up the correct new expiry date.

The pricing and discounts were clearly explained, and a warning issued that paying by credit card would result in a £7-50 surcharge - something not made adequately clear in the old system.

 

This time, unlike my first attempt with the new system for the other boat, I was able to download both the invoice and the file containing licence "discs" to print.

 

So well done CRT - this now seems to be working well.

 

My only complaint is that I do not think I have received either an email or a postal mail telling me the renewal was due, but maybe I did, and have mislaid it?

[john6767]

Perhaps they no longer send out a reminder email, as the new system does not need a magic number to let you do the renewal?

[jeanb]

As a result of an email reminder from CRT today, we've just renewed and printed off our annual licence up to 04/17. Just wanted to say how straightforward it was, altho' we haven't ventured out on the cut yet and we don't have a printer on board.

[valrene9600]

As a result of an email reminder from CRT today, we've just renewed and printed off our annual licence up to 04/17. Just wanted to say how straightforward it was, altho' we haven't ventured out on the cut yet and we don't have a printer on board.

Laminate them to stop them becoming a soggy mess with the condensation on window.

Edited March 30, 2016 by valrene9600

[john6767]

Laminate them to stop them becoming a soggy mess with the condensation on window.

Ours have suffered a bit from damp over the winter, but the ink has almost completely disappeared with exposure to light. There were only printed on and ink jet though, so not surprising. I keep meaning to print off another set.

[Delta9]

Why bother, nobody is going to look at them anyway.

[ditchy]

Bought mine online 2 weeks ago and after at least one phone call a day explaining my situation, I still dont have the option to download my licence. Dont know why I bother wasting my time. Press 1 for the licencing team, when someome answers, they ask for your details, they then trie for almost 5 seconds to pass you through before offering a call back which doesnt happen. Ill try again tomorrow

[jenlyn]

For the amount of money I pay for the licence, I think they can send a proper licence to me, if not, do away with displaying.

Before anyone hollers about money saving objectives, this is a drop in the ocean when compared to the amounts of money they frequently waste.

[john6767]

Why bother, nobody is going to look at them anyway.

I am.

[Allan(nb Albert)]

For the last ten years I have licenced via an agent. The only problem I have had in the past was VAT being incorrectly applied. This was sorted out by the agent over the phone to BW.

 

When I renewed a few days ago, I found I had three different figures given. The renewal for the online system gave one figure whilst the renewal attachment on the reminder email gave a different figure. When I checked against the published licence fee scales,I found a different figure again.

 

I have provided a cheque for the highest amount and left it to the agent to sort out.

Further to this, my agent has again sorted the problem out.

 

Sadly, I am told that CaRT intends to do away with 'agents' as they fall outside its online system.

 

 

[MtB]

I am.

 

 

Me too.

 

I always read the licence (if there is one one) when the boat has no name or number displayed, and there are plenty about around here, just out of curiosity to see what the name of the boat is.

[mayalld]

 

 

Me too.

 

I always read the licence (if there is one one) when the boat has no name or number displayed, and there are plenty about around here, just out of curiosity to see what the name of the boat is.

I tend to look at the mooring code to see where other boats have come from.