Yahoo Finance Forgetting this expiry date could cost you $1,400
Car registration is one of the most common expiry dates Australians forget, and one of the most costly.
With fines of up to $1,400, the cost of driving an unregistered vehicle is steep, but keeping up to date with registration is the most commonly forgotten expiry date, new research from reminder app GetReminded has found.
The data found that 5,440 NSW drivers had been caught driving an unregistered vehicle, triggering $4 million in fines in January alone. In NSW, the fine for driving an unregistered car is $697, matched by the fine for driving an uninsured car, which also expires with the registration.
“Across Australia highway patrol vehicles are now fitted out with registration detection cameras so your car license plate is automatically scanned as you drive past and police are alerted if the rego has expired,” GetReminded co-founder Tim Nicholas said.
Sydney woman Hanne Bjellaane found out about her expired car registration the hard way after she and her partner forgot to renew their car registration for months on end.
Ultimately, they needed to return the old plates to RMS, pay and wait for new plates and then finally buy registration for the new plates.
She said she doesn’t understand why the RMS sends reminders only by letter, when most of the world has moved onto digital modes of communication, which she believes she would be less likely to miss.
The other dates Australians are forgetting
But while car registration expiry is the main, and most costly, date that Australians are forgetting, there are a few others which need to go in your diary.
Passport renewals: While COVID-19 has kept Australians’ passports firmly locked away, failing to renew a passport can be just as constantly as it is stressful.
GetReminded has recorded a 30 per cent increase in the number of passport renewal reminders.
Mobile phone plans: Failing to shop around for a better mobile phone deal might not seem like an expensive move, but it can add up.
According to Kill Bills author Joel Gibson, one of the easiest bills to switch is your phone bill, as you’ll generally take your mobile number with you and there’s no switching cost.
“I think people would be surprised that sometimes you can even save hundreds or even $1,000 by switching from one mobile plan to another,” he said.
“That’s a really easy way to save possibly a couple of hundred bucks in a matter of minutes.”
GetReminded suggested Australians keep an eye out for the end of their bundled 36 or 24 month plan to make sure they don’t get lumped with an expensive contract at the end of the period.
Insurance: With both home and car insurance prices regularly increasing, it’s important that Australians set some time aside every year to make sure they are on the best deal possible.
According to Finder analysis, there’s a difference of $1,244 between the cheapest and most expensive home insurance policies. And when it comes to car insurance, that different balloons out to $2,353.
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