RAC No refund Rip off.

Inactive

I cannot remember the last time that I read a thread with the title that had " Rip-Off " in it when it actually was a rip off and not down to the posters own shortcomings.

jack_spratt_2

I think you have all missed the point of the post!! the OP paid for a years membership to the RAC his circumstances have changed and it is no longer needed.

To compare buying RAC membership with buying a house is pointless !!

If you paid your car insurance for a year and needed to cancel it after 3 months would you expect to pay a years premium with no refund !! no you would be charged short period rates ( percentage of the annual premium)

I thought this site was a money saving site to promote everyday members of the public to obtain the best deals and fairness from companies there are trading with.
not support to large companies hold onto monies which in reality have no right to helping there profit margins .

Yes the original poster was naive but when you consider that you can get the same level of cover with RAC costing £120 and pay £60 for the same cover still with the RAC but not direct with them hardly covers them in glory

The point is in the OP circumstances there can be some lack of sympathy but they apply this to any reason to the need to cancel (no case is treated on a individual base)

Inactive

jack_spratt wrote: »

I think you have all missed the point of the post!! the OP paid for a years membership to the RAC his circumstances have changed and it is no longer needed.

Not at all, what is unclear about;

" If you cancel the membership after 14 days, no credit or refund will be given "

The OP agreed to that, so therefore there is no " Rip Off ".

jack_spratt_2

Inactive wrote: »

Not at all, what is unclear about;

" If you cancel the membership after 14 days, no credit or refund will be given "

The OP agreed to that, so therefore there is no " Rip Off ".

So you would be happy if you had a medical condition and you were not allowed to drive and the RAC held onto your payment

My main complaint with the RAC it is inflexible !! no matter what situation arises you cannot get a refund .
People do not tend to read the full terms and conditions !! only when there is a problem will they then look at them .

Inactive

jack_spratt wrote: »

So you would be happy if you had a medical condition and you were not allowed to drive and the RAC held onto your payment

My main complaint with the RAC it is inflexible !! no matter what situation arises you cannot get a refund .
People do not tend to read the full terms and conditions !! only when there is a problem will they then look at them .

I may well not be " happy " with it, but if I agreed to it, then it would be my own fault if I couldn't get a refund, I would not be whinging on here about it.

If people cannot be bothered to read T&C's, then it is their own fault if things go wrong.

I agree that the RAC Terms are very strict, for that reason alone I would not use them.

aqueoushumour01

just because something is in the T&C's doesn't make it enforeceable. Someone could set up a website and hide away in the small print that by agreeing to the purchase of say an MP3 player, they reserve the right to take £1k from your account every month. Just because they state that doesn't mean they will get away with it.

Clearly, the RAC's terms are not as outlandish as the above example but a lot of services offer a facility to obtain a refund for the remaining period should you decide to go elsewhere. A house or any durable product is not a fair comparison as you've used the item. However, with a service, the remaining term hasn't been used yet so it's slightly unfair IMO to have to pay for a service you haven't yet received. Slightly unfair, though, does not mean illegal and I can't see how the OP is going to get anywhere with this. Just chalk it up to experience and get a better deal next time - also try to go via a cashback site to get a better deal.:)

xmaslolly76

　

The following refund policy will apply for Members cancelling within the cooling off period:
a) if the Member joined already requiring assistance, the Member will receive a full refund of the total Membership premium paid less the AA’s charges for assistance provided. The minimum charge for this assistance is £105, which excludes any additional recovery charges paid for [FONT=Frutiger 45 Light,Frutiger 45 Light][FONT=Frutiger 45 Light,Frutiger 45 Light]excess mileage (see under ‘Relay’, ‘what is not covered’).
[/FONT][/FONT]b) if the Member did not join already requiring assistance, the Member will receive a full refund of the Membership premium. Please see section 4 of the AA Membership Arrangement and Administration Contract on page 19, for information on AAIS’s fees in the event of cancellation.
You must not, in any event, make further use of the cancelled Membership.
Please note that there will be no separate or additional cooling off period(s) during the Membership Year, regardless of any changes that are made to the Membership.
9. Outside of any relevant cooling off period (on joining or renewal) the following will apply:
a) for Members with Annual cover: subject to any other statutory rights the Member may have, there will be no right to cancel (and therefore no refund of the Membership premium);
b) for those with Continuous Membership: the Member can cancel their cover at any time by giving a minimum of 30 days notice. Cancellation will take effect at the next payment date following the end of the notice period. Please note that Continuous Members are entitled to change their level of breakdown cover at any time. However if the Member asks for a service to be removed from the cover held then this will take effect at the next payment date and no part month refund of premium will be due.*
10. The AA shall have the right to cancel any Membership Breakdown Cover Po

Looks like the AA have exactly the same terms and conditions so the argument is pointless you would be in exactly the same position with either company. The only way to prevent this from happeneing is not to pay in one lump some but have a Monthly continuous payment set up then you just give 30 days notice and only pay for the months you have taken.

jack_spratt_2

Inactive wrote: »

I may well not be " happy " with it, but if I agreed to it, then it would be my own fault if I couldn't get a refund, I would not be whinging on here about it.

If people cannot be bothered to read T&C's, then it is their own fault if things go wrong.

I agree that the RAC Terms are very strict, for that reason alone I would not use them.

I do understand were you are coming from but this is one of my main complaints about the British public they will except things without complaint !!
We should complain more and not just except status quo

I read this morning the people in France are objecting about mobile phone masts being placed in village areas and near schools and are getting them removed would that happen in this country .

As usual everything is weighted towards a companies benefit and not the consumer

xmaslolly76

We are but the point is the OP is saying that RAC are ripping him off but has gone with a new company with eactly the same Terms and conditions.

Inactive

jack_spratt wrote: »

I do understand were you are coming from but this is one of my main complaints about the British public they will except things without complaint !!
We should complain more and not just except status quo

I read this morning the people in France are objecting about mobile phone masts being placed in village areas and near schools and are getting them removed would that happen in this country .

As usual everything is weighted towards a companies benefit and not the consumer

Fair comment, however the OP did have the choice of not using the RAC.

The same applies to other contracts, Broadband Suppliers, Telephone Suppliers, most " Brits " will happily sign up to long term contracts, and then whinge when the service is poor, but they agreed to the contract in the first place.

I would not dream of entering a long term contract for my phone or BB.