An Interesting Afternoon at the RTA

[Tote]

Yesterday I got the BA that we bought form a dealer in Victoria on the weekend registered, my what an interesting experience...
A bit of background, the BA is ex Victoria Police, I bought it from a dealer who presumably bought it from Fowles or similar auctions. Since it was being sold interstate the dealer organised an unregistered vehicle permit for me to drive it home.
Checked up on the RTA website, I need a Blueslip, a Greenslip, proof of identity and proof of purchase of the car so I go about geting these organised and find that there is only one blueslip mechanic in my home town and they could only book me in next week sometime. No worries thinks I, I'll just go to the next large town and get one there, after a few phone calls It's booked in and done later that afternoon. Thats where things went pear shaped.....
I thought, rather than driving back home and doing the rego there I'll just duck into the RTA near where I got the blueslip, so I front up to the counter and get told:

RTA: "we can't accept a contract as proof of purchase of a vehicle"

Me: "no worries I've got a printed reciept showing the deposit and the balance"

RTA: "No that reciept is no good as it dosen't have the salesman's signature on it"

Me: "OK, what do you need?"

RTA: "We also need the old rego papers as well as a reciept showing the salesman's signature"

Me: "I don't have the old rego papers as the vehicle was sold to me unregistered"

RTA: "Well we need those"

RTA: "All I can do is fax off to the Victorian Roads Dept asking for the rego history of the car but that will take any where up to a week"

Me: "Do you have a number I can ring to see about this as I feel you are not being very helpful"

So outside I go, ring the dealer who is a little confused but happy to sign the reciept and fax it off. I got through to the RTA helpdesk who said that all I needed was the blueslip, Greenslip and proof of purchase, they ring the registry and have a discussion with them and they seem to agree all is OK.
Back inside to the fray once more:

RTA: " I'll start this as if it's a new application"

RTA: " I'll need the original registration papers for the car......"

So after another discussion about why the dealer may or may not have given me the old rego and whether the RTA were making the rules up as they went along they produced a document on RTA letterhead entirely different from the one given to me by the friendly chap at the RTA in my hometown stating that if the car was less than 5 years old they needed the old rego number. ( not the papers, mind)
So anyway I took the car home and thought, I'll just drop into the RTA here and try my luck.

RTA: "You were lucky to get a blueslip today"

Me: "Yeah I had to drive into town and make a few phone calls. I've got a blueslip, greenslip and a printed reciept, I've also got the contract of sale"

RTA: "no worries I don't need those reciepts, all the info is on the contract. Vehicle was unregistered was it?"

Me: "Yep, I drove it up here on a permit"

RTA: "What plates do you want, yellow or white, I'll show you the next set of each if you like"

Me: " I'll take the white ones, thank you"

And to think, if I had just gone to the local RTA in the first place I would have avoided all that stress...........

On a serious note if a blueslip is meant to prove a car's identity why would you need to provide previous rego history. From the RTA website:

Proof of acquisition (eg a receipt for purchase of the vehicle, certificate of registration signed by the previous registered operator/s of the vehicle, or the previous certificate of registration in the same name if coming from interstate).

I read that paragraph as saying that a reciept for purchase of the vehicle is sufficient proof of acquisition, anyway it's registered now, that's all that matters

Regards,
Tote


:

[T3ts50]

Its like some Banks. I have deposited cheques under my Dads name in my account with no hassles, at other branches they wont allow it. Its really who you get on the day.

[kooky]

Life is like a box of chocolates

[Boosh Brus]

That sounds like the RTA

[geohatrick]

RTA is useless at best half of them dont know whats going on even when you call them up you get sent to about 6 different people before you get a straight answer thats if they dont just leave you on hold then disconnect you.

[3vXT]

When i changed to black and white plates, my closest RTA let me sort through their available number plate combinations until i found the one i wanted. They were very helpful though i have had the opposite experience at times too.

[Chamelion]

Sounds like the Ford dealerships too... Bryan Byrt ford were more than happy to supply me with my vehicles service history (just bought the car second hand from a dealer, came with stamped book but no receipts) but as it turned out they only sold it and didn't service it.
I contacted Denmac Ford who did the servicing and they won't do so much as tell me when the plugs were last changed.

Annoying, I really want to service this car properly, but I am on a budget so can't go willy nilly replacing things that aren't in need of replacement. :(

[King Nothing]

Yeah sounds like the RTA for sure. When my fiancee went to go get her licence she had a hell of a time proving who she was.

She came from Scotland on her mums passport (expired), only had a photocopy of her birth certificate (original lost in move to Aus), had her citizenship papers, bank statements, RTA proof of age card, and some other stuff.

The RTA phoneline said we wouldn't have any problems, the lady (if you could call her that) at the desk said it wasnt enough! Tried the lady at the next counter, was no problem at all!

[gz1]

Yea friggin RTA bunch of retards.
RTA wombats I call them, for two reasons, 1. Waste Of Money Time And Brains, and 2. they dig useless tunnels that lead nowhere, think cross city.
That really gets me going things like that, which I see all the time with this useless organization. And you can't blame the counter staff for most of this, they have to do what ever crap they are told by their incompetent management.
Government departments have earned a stereotype image of being slack however in RTA's case they truly live up to it. If any political party promises to wipe out RTA and start fresh they will automatically get my vote.

[atec77]

Originally Posted by Tote

Yesterday I got the BA that we bought form a dealer in Victoria on the weekend registered, my what an interesting experience...
A bit of background, the BA is ex Victoria Police, I bought it from a dealer who presumably bought it from Fowles or similar auctions. Since it was being sold interstate the dealer organised an unregistered vehicle permit for me to drive it home.
Checked up on the RTA website, I need a Blueslip, a Greenslip, proof of identity and proof of purchase of the car so I go about geting these organised and find that there is only one blueslip mechanic in my home town and they could only book me in next week sometime. No worries thinks I, I'll just go to the next large town and get one there, after a few phone calls It's booked in and done later that afternoon. Thats where things went pear shaped.....
I thought, rather than driving back home and doing the rego there I'll just duck into the RTA near where I got the blueslip, so I front up to the counter and get told:

RTA: "we can't accept a contract as proof of purchase of a vehicle"

Me: "no worries I've got a printed reciept showing the deposit and the balance"

RTA: "No that reciept is no good as it dosen't have the salesman's signature on it"

Me: "OK, what do you need?"

RTA: "We also need the old rego papers as well as a reciept showing the salesman's signature"

Me: "I don't have the old rego papers as the vehicle was sold to me unregistered"

RTA: "Well we need those"

RTA: "All I can do is fax off to the Victorian Roads Dept asking for the rego history of the car but that will take any where up to a week"

Me: "Do you have a number I can ring to see about this as I feel you are not being very helpful"

So outside I go, ring the dealer who is a little confused but happy to sign the reciept and fax it off. I got through to the RTA helpdesk who said that all I needed was the blueslip, Greenslip and proof of purchase, they ring the registry and have a discussion with them and they seem to agree all is OK.
Back inside to the fray once more:

RTA: " I'll start this as if it's a new application"

RTA: " I'll need the original registration papers for the car......"

So after another discussion about why the dealer may or may not have given me the old rego and whether the RTA were making the rules up as they went along they produced a document on RTA letterhead entirely different from the one given to me by the friendly chap at the RTA in my hometown stating that if the car was less than 5 years old they needed the old rego number. ( not the papers, mind)
So anyway I took the car home and thought, I'll just drop into the RTA here and try my luck.

RTA: "You were lucky to get a blueslip today"

Me: "Yeah I had to drive into town and make a few phone calls. I've got a blueslip, greenslip and a printed reciept, I've also got the contract of sale"

RTA: "no worries I don't need those reciepts, all the info is on the contract. Vehicle was unregistered was it?"

Me: "Yep, I drove it up here on a permit"

RTA: "What plates do you want, yellow or white, I'll show you the next set of each if you like"

Me: " I'll take the white ones, thank you"

And to think, if I had just gone to the local RTA in the first place I would have avoided all that stress...........

On a serious note if a blueslip is meant to prove a car's identity why would you need to provide previous rego history. From the RTA website:

Proof of acquisition (eg a receipt for purchase of the vehicle, certificate of registration signed by the previous registered operator/s of the vehicle, or the previous certificate of registration in the same name if coming from interstate).

I read that paragraph as saying that a reciept for purchase of the vehicle is sufficient proof of acquisition, anyway it's registered now, that's all that matters

Regards,
Tote


:

Last time I bought a vic car to drive back to Godsown had a similar problem , rang the brother in law who was way near the top at main roads Qld and waited , 20 minutes later it went straight through , it seems like genuine offers to take legal action helps a lot ?

Of course moving over a window might have helped as well. ? as I figure the vic people are even worse / more clueless than here in Qld

[uranium_death]

Originally Posted by kooky

Life is like a box of chocolates

Some chocolates have pineapple filling (which kicks ) and some have turkish delight...which I am not greatly fond of...

Now there's an -about simile.

Yeah...I know...Forrest Gump

[Dave_au]

Moral of the story:

Never give up, shop around until you find a government employee who is either:
A) Competent; or
B) Couldn't care less.

[xe351]

i too used to think that the rta was useless - than i moved to vic and met vicroads

[FORD3V]

Originally Posted by kooky

Life is like a box of chocolates

Yall never no what ya gona git...........

[[Tonko]]

Sound about as retarded as Vicroads...
I went to get an EB XR8 registered, so i took it in for inspection...
1st problem: The colour, I said it was green, The monkey said it was blue (everglade)
2nd problem: Engine Number, He couldnt find it to start with, then said it didnt match, but he couldnt tell the difference between a 3 and an 8
3rd problem: He left his books and papers on my roof, which blew all the pages away.
Then they said "come back tomorrow, we are closing soon"
My appointment was at 3, they close at 5.... And i got booted at 4:30.
Fools....

[BFYOOT]

some rta workers are wanna-be cops or politicians. they make up the rules depending on what mood there in for the day. very very unpleasant to deal with. if vicroads are worse, god help victoria!!

[sfr rob]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

Moral of the story:

Never give up, shop around until you find a government employee who is either:
A) Competent; or
B) Couldn't care less.

AMEN!

[Unco]

having dealt with the RTA several times, i can't help but feel that Queensland Transport employees get better training.

with the RTA you're more likely to get some tool who has no idea what they're doing. i feel your pain.

[ltd]

RTA = Road Tax Authority.
They are an equal opportunity employer as are all state governments; just mean you have an equal chance of getting someone with an IQ of less than 50 and someone with an IQ of 150.

Actually, I have an inside knowledge of the RTA, they deliberately act like a bunch of useless bastards so they don't outshine the government on incompetence.

[TUF_302]

I live in tassie, and got my XR8 from melb and i didnt even have that much of a headache registering it here lol!

[XRUTEDAVE]

My brother took his XC for an inspection at the registry in Canberra after fitting a 302, the inspector had to ask him if they came out with V8s : .

[stmatt]

Every time I enter the RTA premises I quiver and rage starts to consume my mind.
Also I have a thought about the RTA: they are the only profitable organisation or any organisation for that matter, that doesn’t have any competitors. McDonalds has KFC, the Liberal party has the Labour, Nike, Adidas, I couldn’t think of any other origination or company that doesn’t have a competitor. So that means they can charge what ever they want, with no worries about what a competitors price or offer may be and WE MUST PAY IT! Correct me if I’m wrong though, it’s just a thought. that gets me very very angry. I remember in business studies their’s also something that’s supposed to prevent things like that happening, like stopping McDonalds and KFC teaming up to control the market. Something to do with the ACCC.
Were raising number plate prices here (standard number plate prices), have three attempts at your L's for $50 (what is it a F*&K*N game!!). Ok I’m going to stop before I start hitting the keyboard lol.

[Ringo]

when I was 19 I sent my mum to VICROADS to get my new cheap run about car re-registered.....A bright yellow Datto 200B

I bought it unregistered and un-roadworthy and fixed it up. I had all the paperwork filled out and my mum ended up going to Vicroads for me...I was flat out at work and mum offered to help me. (gotta love ya Mum)

The VICROADS guy came out and looked it over, and the paperwork, and he asked my mum some specific technical question followed by some vague threat about not allowing it to be registered....(it was completely stock down to the hubcaps by the way)

Being non car orientated, my mum had no idea what he was talking about so she put a worried look on her face and says "Oh no.....i'm sorry sir...i didn't know you were going to ask me that....I don't know...my son has just fixed this up for me to drive...oh no....what will I do?.....".

VICROADS guy looks at the car, looks at my mum and knowing he is going to get no satisfaction from grilling her, and seeing he is distressing her more with each passing minute, stamps the paperwork, asked for $600 odd bucks and hands over a new set of plates and rego sticker and says "have a nice day".

Mum said she was planning to turn on the tears and wail about how tough her life was and how much she was looking forward to her "new" car if he was going to push the issue......he he he...gotta love your mum