Beware of the 'RAC CON'

whyconme

I have been a loyal RAC customer for 9 years on a family membership and 3 years on my own happily paying for and very occasionally using their breakdown attendance cover. All was well until today when my wife, who has been with Green Flag via Tesco for a couple of years, got her renewal in the post. First thing I noticed is the envelope is proudly showing the RAC logo... I got interested very quickly!

If like me and the rest of the uk you consider The AA and the RAC to be the most popular beakdown providers in the UK you would not be too far wrong. Green Flag to me were never in the same league and therefore when my wife told me she was paying £75 for full vehicle cover (thats homestart, onward travel the whole shooting match) I was not surprised that I was paying over £100 for less cover with the RAC as I considered them to be superior, they had never let me down in the past, been professional and knowledgabe, and above all FAIR.

So I nearly passed out when she opened the letter to reveal her premium... £63! Yes thats for full RAC cover! No clubcard point rubbish either, just hand over £63 and you get the lot direct from the RAC. Only in February I had paid £101 that included a 'no claims discount' for less cover direct from RAC and had been assured that they had 'compared' that price against the AA and greenflag and assured me it was 'comparable'. The current online price for full cover as a new member is about £130 on the RAC website.

So I get straight on the phone to the RAC who made no apologies whatsoever and were at a loss to explain why it is cheaper to buy through a third party rather than direct other than it was due to bulk buying (which I understand). My main question was why is buying direct SO MUCH MORE! Obviously there was no answer other than that I had a 14 day 'cooling off period' in which to cancel, i didnt so now I have been conned... accept it!

Now in reality I forgot about the renewal and it was done automatically, I certainly would never have agreed to be ripped off!

The comparison between online prices by RAC is totally meaningless if the very same company is selling their services for less than half price through Tesco.

To conclude beware of RAC, they prey on the trusting nature of their customers who have been loyal for many years. They are prepared to stab you in the heart (right through your wallet), then tell you you are not entitled to a refund if you cancel.

This is even worse than the car insurance Industry as far as I can tell who can be a bit naughty come renewal time if you get complacent. However I have never seen this level of Con be exposed, and at least with car insurance you can usually cancel and get some money back, unlike RAC who flat refuse. No sympathy, No good will gesture, No to RAC unless its full cover for under £75 in future for me and hopefully if you are reading this, now for you too!

NEVER EVER PAY THE ONLINE PRICE!, (remember when the internet was the place for the best deal! those days are long gone it seems).

RAC HAVE TOTALLY RIPPED ME OFF AND DEPRIVED ME AND MY 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OF MUCH NEEDED MONEY, I TRUSTED THEM AND THEY KICKED ME WITH A MASSIVE OVERCHARGE, DONT FALL VICTIM OF THIS PLEASE, GO WITH THE AA OR SOMEONE MORE REPUTABLE.

mikey72

Joint membership is cheaper than two individual ones.

But renewals are always overpriced, so we always cancel and renew each year.

AA, roadside and relay, joint personal membership, £101, then with £50 cashback through topcashback, every year. So just over £50 for both of us, with the AA.

(Renewal was £180)

funkycoldribena

Not being rude but this is old news.Always shop around first,I paid £45 quid with Swinton (its gone up now),woudnt entertain having auto-renewal or paying around £100 for breakdown-would go with autoaid instead.

jlrtech

tesco set the price not rac , why are you makeing a fool of your self in public ?

Invalidation

jlrtech wrote: »

tesco set the price not rac , why are you makeing a fool of your self in public ?

Maybe he's following your lead ?

thescouselander

Yes, its well known that renewals are very expensive. AFAIK, you have the right to cancel within 30 days of an automatic renewal so if you are within this period insist on a refund.

whyconme

hi thanks for comments both good and bad. I was not expecting any discussion I just wanted to vent a bit of anger that the price I paid direct was more than a better thing from tesco (provided by... them?) And try to do something because the RAC who I have been loyal to basically told me it was my fault for trusting them to look after me.

Just seemed bonkers and unfair to me.

If Tesco are underselling it (i.e. selling at a loss) to gain customers I accept that but I think If thats the case more fool RAC for letting them do it as its made me feel like for over 10 years me and my family have probably been ripped off to the tune of about £40 per year, which adds up to quite a lot.

TODAYS PRICES:

Online price for new customer joining today on RAC website for full monty cover = £208.25
Tesco price today £89
I have checked and tesco say european cover is included, I also spoke to RAC and they told me they believe it to be a like for like comparison.
Please remember if you are with Tesco and you call for help an RAC van will come, Its the same cover.
Now tell me is that overpriced? You are punished to the tune of £119.00 for 'foolishly' thinking that good old trustworthy RAC would give you a fair deal! Nah something aint right there!

MsHoarder

The trick is to do a comparison then ring up when you get your renewal quote letter. Like the mobile phone companies, they can drop the price if they think it will keep you.

The automatic renewal quote is always extortionate, it relies on members not reading the letter.

jlrtech

Invalidation wrote: »

Maybe he's following your lead ?

you just dont get it do you

Lum

Tesco are probably using the same mechanism that the cashback sites use, only they keep the cashback for themselves and offer you a lower price.

Nobody rewards loyalty any more. RAC renewals are higher than their own quoted site for new customers. I had that argument with them years back (before they did cashback), "It's only for new customers, they told me", I replied, "ok, so what you're saying is, in order to get that price I have to first join the AA for a year?". They agreed to give me the lower price.

mystic_trev

whyconme wrote: »

RAC HAVE TOTALLY RIPPED ME OFF

Should have gone to Specsavers