Member of RAC breakdown? Thinking of becoming one? A must read!!

Katy M

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Jan 24, 2007
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Location
Andover, England
I’ll keep this brief; my complaint to the RAC runs to a number of pages!
I broke down during the week 30 miles from Newcastle but in the middle of nowhere.
I called the RAC at 10:39. At 17:30 - 6 1/2 hours after my call - I received the first and only call from their patrol man - he was 150 miles away having been given the wrong location by the RAC office; this despite using the ‘what three words’ app and giving the road number and a major landmark I was on.
Numerous chase up calls produced words; my case was being ‘escalated’, but no action. They were very busy!
My policy comes with onward travel - a hire car. Here’s the most ridiculous part: Having told them I was stranded and without any means of transport, I was expected to make my own way the 30 miles to Newcastle to collect my, it turns out, van - they had no car. Just as well I wasn’t with a family of 3 or more then!
The hire car company saw sense and did drive it out to me- albeit for a charge. They got to me at 19:30 - 8 1/2 hours after my call to the RAC. But the RAC even interfered with this common sense approach, telling the hire company I was going to turn up at 10:00 the next morning, I think not!!
I was going to give the RAC a chance to respond but they’ve given themselves 20 days to do that - too many other complaints perhaps! They’ve pre-warned me the answer will be something to do with staff shortages and high demand. Doesn’t help the poor sods like me left hanging for soooooo long.
I strongly urge you all to go elsewhere for your recovery options.
Love (a still very annoyed) Katy.
 
That is appalling service. I had a bad experience with them 25 years ago, never bothered with them since. I have GEM cover these days but have not had to use them yet (that'll be the kiss of death now!) :D
 
Over the years in the job, and dealing with broken down vehicles etc, I always found the RAC or AA the most difficult to deal with. I have never used those companies and never will.
 
I left the RAC a few years ago after a ridiculously long wait at 11pm and a crappy tow home after first breakdown driver was over his hours.
Got home at 6am in the end.
With AA now, used them twice and nothing but praise.
 
The 20 days will be related to their own complaints policy.
Sick and tired of this bullshit, people working from home, unprecedented demand...

They are understaffed as they laid people off during the pandemic and are not replacing them.
The majority of call centres I ring i am on the phone for 20 mins min waiting, if we were standing in a shop we would walk out.

We wanted online commerce and cheap prices and this is the result
 
Over the years in the job, and dealing with broken down vehicles etc, I always found the RAC or AA the most difficult to deal with. I have never used those companies and never will.

Same here. Also had friends with multiple issues too when calling them out. They send a Van to hit their call out time, then they feck off until the recovery truck arrives 6 hours later.

Green Flag have always been good for me, anywhere in the country when i called them out.
 
Been with Britannia via the CSMA i'm covered for whatever vehicle i'm in called them out three times for the GSA never had any problems.
 
The 20 days will be related to their own complaints policy.
Sick and tired of this bullshit, people working from home, unprecedented demand...

They are understaffed as they laid people off during the pandemic and are not replacing them.
The majority of call centres I ring i am on the phone for 20 mins min waiting, if we were standing in a shop we would walk out.

We wanted online commerce and cheap prices and this is the result

This :thumb

it is very typical of our times. Everything dumbed down, everything down to the bottom dollar. A race to the bottom. Cnuts
 
That’s the only positive I can give the RAC - they answered quite quickly but then drip fed me BS for the next few hours!
Checked my Bennets insurance recovery later - that too was with RAC so I would have still been up the creek.
 
Bike back with dealer and sorted In 1/2 hour. Fuel coupling parted. Even more annoyed as I could have been back on road and carried on with my trip had they got to me within there target time.
 
I too, as has been mentioned by a few in this thread, was once with the RAC when I first had my own independent transport. For years I paid the premium and then when I needed to call them out, they were truly awful. Much of which has been covered already by others. I voted with my feet and took my business elsewhere.

Currently with autoaid direct with personal cover.
 
I used the RAC in Germany once, full Euro cover on a membership packaged with a load of other things.
I have to say, after a bit of a faff convincing them I was a member- the European call centre couldn't find my details, had to call a UK number who accepted I was covered and relayed that information to the Euro call centre- the recovery truck was with me in an hour and the hire car 2 hours later. Of course out there, they automatically used a contractor, not like in the UK when they keep you hanging around to use their own trucks rather than turn a local company out if they can't hit the target times.
In the past, in the UK, I've relied on Green Flag, who use local companies to come out to you, always got to me within the hour with a tow-truck so no waiting around for a second vehicle of the first can't fix you at the roadside.
 
Sadly they have not changed since 1982 when I was last a member. They left me and SWMBO at the side of the road for 4 hours before they arrived and told me they could fix brakes at the roadside, another 3 hours later the recovery truck arrived and they just dropped us at a local garage who was just closing. RAC and the AA have never been the same since they stopped being recovery service associations and became breakdown insurance.
 
Interesting about the European breakdowns. I’ve been unfortunate to be stranded or with other who have been and the Euro system seems so much more geared towards efficiency or is it bikes or both?
Have used Autoaid for a puncture on M6 near Carlise (oop north again, the place hates me!) on a bank holiday - could have been bad. Brilliant. Not only did they get to me in quick time but their control room had called around and the recovery truck took me straight to a dealer who had a tyre for me! Back on the road with 2 hours.
Are you reading RAC?
 


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