Reply to: Car broke down - RAC are crap

[wim121]

When I was younger and couldnt afford reliable cars, I used to use the AA a lot, never too much of an issue.

Some people varied in quality. Some were useless and just towed you home, however two in particular were great. One found my clutch cable had snapped, so drove me down to the nearest spare parts place, got the cable and had it fitted in under an hour. The other one found a dodgy ht lead that was earthing that everyone else had missed.

However in recent years, I have noticed them going downhill. My last breakdown last year, in the lakes, I had to wait for a couple of hours. They seem less enthused with helping now and the customer service isnt as good as it once was.

I'm a bit put off the RAC as I havent heard great things about them either.

[northernladuk]

the other time was when I bought my first new car, I didn't realise how clean the engine oil was and just keep adding more and more and more . Then i realise, whoooooops! AA guy turned up and helped me even know AA rules clearly say he can't do that anymore beacuse it's messy and potentially get oil everywhere. He was kind enough to just do it because A) he was bored, B) he never worked on this model before. lucky me.

You got big tits per chance?

[Friday Blue]

I have been switching between AA and RAC which every is cheaper. never used the RAC call out service *touch wood*.

Called AA twice, both very good experience. one time i locked myself outside when i defrost the car , they turned up after 3 hours, but i was okay because it was a bad winter.

the other time was when I bought my first new car, I didn't realise how clean the engine oil was and just keep adding more and more and more . Then i realise, whoooooops! AA guy turned up and helped me even know AA rules clearly say he can't do that anymore beacuse it's messy and potentially get oil everywhere. He was kind enough to just do it because A) he was bored, B) he never worked on this model before. lucky me.

[psychocandy]

Britannia Rescue have been very good to me. Particular the time I bust my sump while driving in a field in the countryside. Managed to nurse the Vectra to the roadside trailing a 100-foot line of oil. But I don't think the cows or repairman noticed it.
I better not say what I was doing in there; my hobby has a small-enough following that I might be recognised

Dogging and banging your cleaner?

[psychocandy]

My car went a bit wonky on the M4. Crawled to Leigh Delamare services and called the AA. The man in the van was there within 15 mins, couldn't find the problem so he decided to get me recovered back to Wales.

The recovery lorry arrived while the first AA guy was writing up the notes and took me home. In all I was no more than 1 hour later than usual in getting home.

Total cost to me? £0.

My coverage is provided with my bank account.

Assuming you went over the Severn Bridge, RAC would have made you pay £18 for that.

Well, the patrolman wouldnt have told you. According to the recovery truck they never tell the customer because they dont want the grief - they leave it to the recovery truck driver to break the bad news.

[oscarose]

Join the AA.

HTH

[MarillionFan]

Broke down in a sports car in 2007 outside Leeds, got picked up by RAC. I was on the way to a wedding in Northamptonshire, and asked if he'd go out of the way to drop us there, before taking the car home to Somerset. I RAC patrolman nicked my car wheels | The Sun |News.

I got to the wedding, car got towed home and I fixed it a couple of weeks later. Couldn't fault them.

RAC patrolman nicked my car wheels | The Sun |News

Seems a little backhander is endemic.

[KentPhilip]

Britannia Rescue have been very good to me. Particular the time I bust my sump while driving in a field in the countryside. Managed to nurse the Vectra to the roadside trailing a 100-foot line of oil. But I don't think the cows or repairman noticed it.
I better not say what I was doing in there; my hobby has a small-enough following that I might be recognised

[VectraMan]

I once found myself waiting at the side of a road with a couple of guys in a Caterham who'd already been waiting some time for the RAC. It had a broken gearbox, and so needed a flatbed, and the owner was less than impressed when after 2 hours the RAC sent a patrol van. But then having spoken to the owner, the RAC bloke got up and left without saying a word, and only after a few phone calls did we find out they were refusing to help him because the patrolman had said he felt threatened by the three of us (two of us were sat 100 yards away having a sandwich).

So when the AA turned up for me, he arranged with the flatbed driver to join the AA there and then and another flatbed was ordered.

I'm sure there are bad stories about the AA too, but certainly my experiences have all been good and have put me off the RAC for life.

[bless 'em all]

Top of the range.

My car went a bit wonky on the M4. Crawled to Leigh Delamare services and called the AA. The man in the van was there within 15 mins, couldn't find the problem so he decided to get me recovered back to Wales.

The recovery lorry arrived while the first AA guy was writing up the notes and took me home. In all I was no more than 1 hour later than usual in getting home.

Total cost to me? £0.

My coverage is provided with my bank account.

[psychocandy]

Yes, agree with Bacchus. RAC seem to have a load of stuff hidden in the t+cs which they then invoke when it suits them.

Like for me, they'll expect you to pay the Severn Bridge toll for the lorry so its £18 (£6 for a car). Not being funny but its pretty much the only way into Wales from Bristol area (unless you want to drive miles) so its not exactly a choice.

As for the parts call-out thing, total con that is. T+Cs say 'cost of part' but nothing about callout fees but apparently RAC choose to deem that a parts cost includes call out.

I saw the invoice that the patrolman had and they'd been charged £40 by unipart yet told me I only had to pay £25. Im wondering whether Unipart have started doing this to RAC and RAC have been attempting to claw back at least some of the cost (probably thinking £25 people wont be bothered but £40 they might) rather than swallow it.

Like I said, it was quite funny that RAC paid the £40, got the parts and then had the wrong ones anyway, so I didnt have to pay anything and they'd just lost the £40 (and had to take the parts back!).

To be honest, as with most people, I dont want to argue the toss all day about it when my car breaks down. As yesterday, I want to know that I can rely on the provider getting me sorted and certainly dont want to risk not being able to get into client site and losing a days billing. If I could pay for a premium breakdown service I would.

I was only 40 miles away and had planned to drive home this morning but I knew that I couldnt risk requesting a tow on monday morning because they wouldnt turn up on time. As it was, told them to turn up at 8pm last night (this was booked at 1pm) and they still didnt show till 9-30pm!

You can guarantee if I'd asked for 730am on monday, the buggers wouldnt have shown up for hours.....

[Diver]

Did you even want a new-born baby or was that a special offer they were doing with every call-out?

No, I made the baby while we waited

[Bacchus]

Completely incensed with RAC

I broke down in my little Hymer motorhome on the A3, they came and had a look, couldn't fix it (turns out to be a broken shim), the patrolman ordered the flatbed to recover it/me - by the way you're not covered and it will cost £450 (four hundred and fifty pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to recover it forty miles.

To cap it all, got the fat useless retard to drop the vehicle at my local garage expecting him to be able to drop us off at home (2-3 miles). Sorry gov, can only do one drop. Put it back and take us home then? No, will have to charge for another pick up then. Now I don't mind a walk, but GF Bacchus wasn't very well and he left us in the middle of an industrial estate on a Sunday afternoon with no passing taxis and no phone (which he knew as the battery died whilst taking a photo of the van being loaded onto his wagon).

I phoned the RAC renewals the next day - "can I just check that I am covered for a motorhome" - "oh yes sir, up to 25' ". Phoned customer services to try and get my money back "oh no sir if you read the UK terms and conditions (forty pages) in conjunction with the EU terms and conditions (sixty pages) you are only covered in the UK up to 18' and your van is 18'3". Wankers. UK had been in the EU since 1973 - sorry sir it's in the terms and conditions...

I absolutely deplore the culture of faceless corporations hiding behind incomprehensible terms and conditions which basically say "we'll take your money, and then you can fuck off"

Cancelled my membership on the strength of this, but as it turns out that I have full membership with Barclays Premier so I will be using them again for tiny little jobs that I would usually do myself but can't be bothered.

[ChrisPackit]

I'm with GEM Assist and can't rate them highly enough. £70 for the year and yes they do use local garages, but never waited more than 45 mins for assistance and has been very good in sorting problems out.

I even took the piss with them, when I bought a car with a known blown head gasket, drove it 10 miles from the sellers house and called them up.

The only down side is you've got to pay them up front for each breakdwon and then claim it back, but out of the 5 or 6 times I've done it, the cheque comes back in a few days.

[Zoiderman]

Broke down in a sports car in 2007 outside Leeds, got picked up by RAC. I was on the way to a wedding in Northamptonshire, and asked if he'd go out of the way to drop us there, before taking the car home to Somerset. I believe the action he did at the time was a surreptitious rubbing of two fingers together. £40 secured the job.

I got to the wedding, car got towed home and I fixed it a couple of weeks later. Couldn't fault them.