Broke down on M6

Nasty

I broke down last night on the M6, I thought I had cover with the RAC via my car insurance, so I rang them and they said i was not covered anymore and they would just send me the bill. After the man from the rac turned up, my wife reminded me that we switched insurance and where not covered. Anyway they could not repair the car so we had to get a flatbed truck to take us back home. the car is a 4x4 so it had to go on the back of a truck. The journey home was 130 miles. We signed a form the man had and did not have to hand over any money. Does anyone know what the deal is with this sort of thing, have they signed me up to the rac when i rang or am i going to get a horrendous towing bill through the post? If so how much?

mister_bojangles

When I broke down and a tow guy helped convey me and the car to a garage, I equally signed a piece of paper which he said 'the insurance company will sort out'. I never realised that my insurers would regard it as an insurance claim, which eventually affected my 'no claims bonus'. I did not argue because I never read my Insurance Schedule anyway; and was grateful to have been towed, rather than have the car smashed by vandals.

vaio

i'd guess you are looking at between 50p and £1 a mile for the tow

peterg1965

I'd call the RAC and ask them what the cost was. Did you not get a copy of the paperwork you signed?

Happychappy

Normal call out is £105 plus Vat plus mileage charge of £1 to £1.50 per mile each way

Nasty

I did not get a copy of the paperwork. I thought it might be £1.50 both ways. Oh well I suppose a lesson has been learnt the hard way. I had better make sure i have proper cover next time we go on a big trip. If you had proper rac etc recovery would you still have to pay for towing costs if your hundreds of miles from home?

owey

I thought you could join the rac on the spot?.

Nasty

Hopefully when I rang up they joined me automaticaly, it might save me a massive bill. But i thought towing was free for a 10 mile radius then after that you had to pay. The moral is dont travel without cover. I will post the cost when they send it to me.

Lady_S

You can join the RAC on the spot, but its only for a local tow. So your covered up for 10 miles.

If you need a recovery you are probably looking at £200 for 130 miles.

But I would imagine the chances of them catching up with you are remote.

tomstickland

owey wrote:

I thought you could join the rac on the spot?.

They charge a very high price for doing this though. Either them or the AA, I know because I tried it once.

movilogo

When you join RAC, roadside assistance starts immediately. But RECOVERY service offer begins only after 24 hours! Roadside usually means towing to a max of 10-20 miles.