We've Got Mail: A Dublin reader has written in to highlight what she describes as the "national money-making racket" that is the National Car Testing Scheme (NCT). Recently she left her "pristine condition" 1998 VW Golf with a garage on Dublin's south side to undergo a pre-NCT test. "I felt the €60 cost of so doing would be worth the money and effort." However, the best laid plans appeared to have been her undoing and after the test she was dismayed to be told her car had failed because an old light bulb which had been removed and replaced at the garage had been left within the casing of the head lamp.

"I explained to the official that the garage had left the old bulb in there by mistake and that I could get it removed immediately, thereby enabling me to pass the NCT in full," she writes. Unfortunately her pleas fell on deaf ears and were met with "stony-faced rejection". She was told that her only option was a re-test which needed to be taken within 30 days. "When I asked apart from this was my car in good 'roadworthy condition', I was told the car was fine! You can imagine how annoyed I was, not only at this compete and unnecessary lack of flexibility, but also at the utter incompetence of the garage who were supposed to prepare my car for its NCT." She is still annoyed because, she writes, "I know from talking to friends that I am not the only victim of this kind of thing." She totted up what preparing her car for the NCT cost, including the re-test fee and it has climbed to €176.50.

"What I want to know is just how common this is. I have no doubt that a large number of your readers have suffered from this same unfair treatment.

"I understand completely the necessity of such tests and support their introduction. I take the test seriously and had a car valet and a pre-NCT test done to ensure my vehicle passed the test and was legally roadworthy.

"What I cannot bear is the complete inflexibility and pettiness in the administration of the system."

She is now convinced that the Department of the Environment is more concerned with making money out of the NCT than ensuring our roads are safe. "Perhaps if the departments of the environment and transport spent more time focusing on improving driving standards and less time trying to trip people up, we would all be a little more safer and less out of pocket."

We called the Department of the Environment, which administrates the NCT and a spokeswoman robustly rejected our reader's charge that it was little more than a "national money-making racket". She explained the reason the car had failed was that one of the headlight beams was out of focus, something which may or may not have been caused by the presence of the rogue bulb in the casing. She said the NCT did offer a degree of flexibility and had the testing machinery not indicated the flaw and had the old bulb been merely detected on a visual inspection then our reader could have had it removed on the same day and been given a pass at no extra charge. "Because it requires the use of the equipment, however, it has to be re-booked in," the spokeswoman said.

Token gifts

Still more on gift vouchers. Ian Smalley contacted us to see if we could resolve an issue that has always bothered him. "My bone of contention is whether it is legal for any organisation selling gift vouchers to impose a deadline by which the voucher must be used," he says. He points out that there are plenty of stores which impose no deadline on the use of their vouchers.

"M&S and Argos are two that come to mind. There also seem to be a good few around who do impose a deadline. I was always under the impression that it was not legal to do so as the gift voucher is basically just cash, albeit cash that must be spent in a particular store. If you could shed any light on the legal position in this regard, I would consider myself enlightened!"

This has also bothered PriceWatch so we tried to find out what the legality of imposing limits was - and unfortunately, the news isn't good. It is up to the seller as to how long a voucher is valid, according to the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Retailers can, at their own discretion, extend the time frame on a voucher but if they are not willing to do so, they are within their rights. Incidentally, studies have shown that up to 30 per cent of vouchers are never redeemed so you may want to think before giving one, and if you get one make sure you spend it quickly.

Sky-high charges

Jane Crowley sent us an e-mail to complain about the cost of credit card bookings on the Ryanair website. "For the pleasure of paying for your flights," she writes, "Ryanair charges you €10! Just to use a credit card on their site? I didn't see an option for cash. For two flights that cost 99c and €9.99 respectively we ended up paying €62 each. Still cheap but I thought €10 was a bit extortionate."