Bad service from the R.A.C

DT391

Honda Accord broke down 6th July (lower ball joint snapped), R.A.C came out and tried to drive the car onto his carrier by placing the broken ball joint back onto its socket by jacking car up then lowering but as soon as he went to drive the car onto the equipment the wheel tilted and pulled the driveshaft out of the engine, as the engine was still going I could hear the drive shaft splines being ground away.
anyway they have admitted being in the wrong, patrol officer should have pulled the car onto the ramp by tow wire but will only pay £77.50, as they say the car has done 176,00 miles.
My argument is that the driveshaft was fine before and it was the direct action of the R.A.C that caused it to need reconditioning.
I was also without my car for 4 days
total bill for repair was £312.40
£16.67 for the ball joint, £60 for labour and the rest for reconditioning the drive shaft!
I have turned this offer down and they say that was the final and only offer they will make
As you can imagine I'm not happy about this and would like any advise as what to do next or if you think it is a reasonable offer

topdaddy_2

Yeah they should have winched it. Not only cos the car might not have made it under its own steam but it might not of held once on the bed by its own brakes. Rookie mistake.

flashg67

Not reasonable in my opinion but short of a small claims court and the time & risk that involves, only you can decide if it's worth it to pursue.
Can you escalate this higher with RAC - to a senior manager or the executive office?

colino

Keep trying to claim off of the RAC, but perhaps you have to re-evaluate your approach to car maintenance. Are you sure a driveshaft was toast after a couple of minutes of partial engagement?
Ball joints snap when they are old and ignored, driveshafts can be reconditioned, replaced with non-oem or even second hand for a fraction of the price you have paid. All relate to age and value of the car or the keenness/depth of pockets of the owner.
RAC et al are a breakdown service, not a mobile garage.

Stoke

Just another reason added to the growing list why I won't go near RAC. You can read dozens of reports of their buffoon technicians coming out and making rookie mistakes causing serious problems (including in one case frying an ECU by accidentally shorting a set of jump leads). In every case I've read, RAC have done everything they can to squirm their way out and not pay or pay as little as possible, as in this case.

I would absolutely demand a new/replacement driveshaft. The one you had was working until the clown technician mucked it up.