RAC Breakdown service - non- service actually - A tale to enjoy with a cuppa

[Cotswoldiver]

1 hour ago, J R Martin said:

Studying the various options for car recovery and reading the Contracts very carefully, some I notice will not cover any vehicle over 16 years old!

Take care before signing up, not many TR are less than 16 years old!

John

 

1 hour ago, J R Martin said:

Studying the various options for car recovery and reading the Contracts very carefully, some I notice will not cover any vehicle over 16 years old!

Take care before signing up, not many TR are less than 16 years old!

John

That's so true John. I noticed yesterday that Goodwood also offer a classic car breakdown service which I would hope would have less of the fall foul of the small print stuff. If Goodwood can do it, is it not something that could be developed from the TR Register App to take it from a list of people near by to a register recovery service?

[monty]

Just had a reply from my insurers Hagerty & they are surprised to hear of these poor RAC responses as their records show the performance details overall to be very similar to the likes of Green Flag, AA & others. They do assure me that the situation is monitored & although they may have the odd delay nothing as extreme as we have been hearing has occurred with any of their clients. They did mention a big recruitment drive by the RAC for staff in order to reduce any outsourcing. The offer is apparently around £50k per annum with bonuses so maybe that will attract! I guess we will just need to see how things progress.

[tthomson]

When I read the first message in this thread I expected some comments, but nowhere near what I saw, so I thought that I would add my own experience of calling the RAC on 1st July this year. (2023).

I was returning home from my niece's wedding in Blagdon (Chew Valley Somerset), and at just after midnight and just North of Bristol Airport on the A38, as I entered a roundabout, the person in front of me stopped for no apparent reason and despite braking hard, I rear ended him. Totally my fault I should have checked a second time. The damage to my VW Golf is not good. I went under his rear bumper and his car suffered minimal damage. (The trim on his bumper had been partially loosened, and he was able to drive away without a problem). No one was hurt since it was a slow speed impact, but the VW 's radiator was damaged and leaking. The impact had pushed the bonnet and passenger wing back which meant the passenger door was unable to open more than a couple of inches. I called the RAC and they said. "We provide breakdown recovery, but not accident recovery. If you want to be recovered, it is at your cost." I explained that my wife is disabled and that she is unable to walk unaided so a recovery is the only possibility, and that I couldn't open the passenger door beyond an inch or two. After various discussions they agreed to recover us (still at my cost and they would send a recovery vehicle estimated at 45 minutes from then. They then called me back about an hour later to say the recovery vehicle was delayed and they could arrange a taxi to take us home (100+ miles), and that I could leave the car with the key on the front tyre. I pointed out that I had an electric wheelchair in the car, a rollator, various bags and shoes and ramps and all sorts of stuff, and my wife was unable to walk unaided, and I was not leaving this until the recovery vehicle turned up. They said they would arrange for the taxi and the recovery vehicle to arrive at the same time, which in fairness they did. At 3:30 am. The taxi (Uber) was a Prius Hybrid and only had room for the buggy, and a bag. I had to kick the passenger wing and wrench the door to get it open far enough for my wife to climb out. Almost everything else had to left in our damaged car. They had assured me the car would be securely stored overnight and returned to our home the following day. Once the car was on the recovery truck, I was not allowed to retrieve any further items. Now my daughter was due to be married near my home a week later and she had returned from New Zealand where she lives a few days previously, and we had arranged for her to drive our other car. The sandals that my wife had spent months choosing were in the damaged car. I was not permitted to get them. As you can imagine we were not best pleased. The taxi got us home close to 05:30 and we slept for a few hours, but did the car arrive that day. Not a chance. I called RAC and they said you need to speak to the recovery contractor. I called them and the person I spoke to said. "We use multiple contract recovery people, and once the car is in secure storage it will be looked after." I explained the situation and the response I got was "I can only tell you what I have written in front of me. The car will be returned to you sometime this week." My insurance company was jumping up and down asking to check the car and I explained that it had not yet been returned. "Where is it?" they asked, "because we can't release it until it has been assessed." I have no idea I said. no one has told me where it is other than in secure storage. I called the RAC and they said you need to speak to the recovery contractor and gave the same number as previously. I called them and the person repeated the same thing as before. "I can only tell you what I have written in front of me. The car will be returned to you sometime this week.". But where is it stored I asked because the insurance company need to assess it prior to releasing it. "I can only tell you what I have written in front of me. The car will be returned to you sometime this week." It was a stressful few days. We didn't know where the car was. It had stuff we needed, and The insurance company were chasing us regularly. On Thursday a man rang my doorbell and said. "where do you want your car?" It was on the back of his truck. It was driveable, but not legal, and the radiator was damaged from the crash. I said on the drive. which he did. Then he was gone. I then was able to tell the insurance company and they said they would get someone out to assess it. When I consider all the stress that I felt and then the bigger level of stress that my wife must have been under, I will not renew my RAC membership, but I think the AA and many of the other breakdown and recovery companies are much the same. They don't care a damn for the customer. As mentioned earlier in this thread RAC, AA, Green flag etc don't do anything themselves, they are just middle men and the contractors are so busy that no-one has time to find out what the customer wants. So I think there is an opportunity in the market for a recovery service that treats customers with respect. And if there is one. I'd like to know how to get hold of them.

[monty]

31 minutes ago, tthomson said:

When I read the first message in this thread I expected some comments, but nowhere near what I saw, so I thought that I would add my own experience of calling the RAC on 1st July this year. (2023).

I was returning home from my niece's wedding in Blagdon (Chew Valley Somerset), and at just after midnight and just North of Bristol Airport on the A38, as I entered a roundabout, the person in front of me stopped for no apparent reason and despite braking hard, I rear ended him. Totally my fault I should have checked a second time. The damage to my VW Golf is not good. I went under his rear bumper and his car suffered minimal damage. (The trim on his bumper had been partially loosened, and he was able to drive away without a problem). No one was hurt since it was a slow speed impact, but the VW 's radiator was damaged and leaking. The impact had pushed the bonnet and passenger wing back which meant the passenger door was unable to open more than a couple of inches. I called the RAC and they said. "We provide breakdown recovery, but not accident recovery. If you want to be recovered, it is at your cost." I explained that my wife is disabled and that she is unable to walk unaided so a recovery is the only possibility, and that I couldn't open the passenger door beyond an inch or two. After various discussions they agreed to recover us (still at my cost and they would send a recovery vehicle estimated at 45 minutes from then. They then called me back about an hour later to say the recovery vehicle was delayed and they could arrange a taxi to take us home (100+ miles), and that I could leave the car with the key on the front tyre. I pointed out that I had an electric wheelchair in the car, a rollator, various bags and shoes and ramps and all sorts of stuff, and my wife was unable to walk unaided, and I was not leaving this until the recovery vehicle turned up. They said they would arrange for the taxi and the recovery vehicle to arrive at the same time, which in fairness they did. At 3:30 am. The taxi (Uber) was a Prius Hybrid and only had room for the buggy, and a bag. I had to kick the passenger wing and wrench the door to get it open far enough for my wife to climb out. Almost everything else had to left in our damaged car. They had assured me the car would be securely stored overnight and returned to our home the following day. Once the car was on the recovery truck, I was not allowed to retrieve any further items. Now my daughter was due to be married near my home a week later and she had returned from New Zealand where she lives a few days previously, and we had arranged for her to drive our other car. The sandals that my wife had spent months choosing were in the damaged car. I was not permitted to get them. As you can imagine we were not best pleased. The taxi got us home close to 05:30 and we slept for a few hours, but did the car arrive that day. Not a chance. I called RAC and they said you need to speak to the recovery contractor. I called them and the person I spoke to said. "We use multiple contract recovery people, and once the car is in secure storage it will be looked after." I explained the situation and the response I got was "I can only tell you what I have written in front of me. The car will be returned to you sometime this week." My insurance company was jumping up and down asking to check the car and I explained that it had not yet been returned. "Where is it?" they asked, "because we can't release it until it has been assessed." I have no idea I said. no one has told me where it is other than in secure storage. I called the RAC and they said you need to speak to the recovery contractor and gave the same number as previously. I called them and the person repeated the same thing as before. "I can only tell you what I have written in front of me. The car will be returned to you sometime this week.". But where is it stored I asked because the insurance company need to assess it prior to releasing it. "I can only tell you what I have written in front of me. The car will be returned to you sometime this week." It was a stressful few days. We didn't know where the car was. It had stuff we needed, and The insurance company were chasing us regularly. On Thursday a man rang my doorbell and said. "where do you want your car?" It was on the back of his truck. It was driveable, but not legal, and the radiator was damaged from the crash. I said on the drive. which he did. Then he was gone. I then was able to tell the insurance company and they said they would get someone out to assess it. When I consider all the stress that I felt and then the bigger level of stress that my wife must have been under, I will not renew my RAC membership, but I think the AA and many of the other breakdown and recovery companies are much the same. They don't care a damn for the customer. As mentioned earlier in this thread RAC, AA, Green flag etc don't do anything themselves, they are just middle men and the contractors are so busy that no-one has time to find out what the customer wants. So I think there is an opportunity in the market for a recovery service that treats customers with respect. And if there is one. I'd like to know how to get hold of them.

This is the second instance where we have heard the RAC suggesting to the person who has broken down to ‘leave the key on the wheel’! Absolutely appalling & I wonder what the insurance company thinks of that risk!