RAC wrecked Van

wilf69

In February my friends van broke down. He called RAC and they came to pick up the van to the nearest garage. Unfortunately they (a subcontractor) winched the vehicle using the tow bar below, rather than the winch area and ripped out the bumper and radiator, causing more than £300 of damage. When they arrived at the garage the operative was seen pushing the (displaced) bumper back and got my friends signature on his 'tablet'. The full extent of the damage was not seen until afterwards.
When I complained on his behalf it was rejected as 'it had been signed for'. I then referred this to the CEO who sent it back to someone within RAC whose attitude was 'you can't prove it, it was signed for'. I pointed out that the timings on the documentation did not reflect the actual time of the incident and what guarantees could they provide that the following the signature the records had not been amended. I also asked for full disclosure of documentation they had relating to their enquiries. Answer came there none. Although I have three witnesses to their one, the attitude was that we would not be able to provide sufficient evidence to win a court case; arrogant at best, irresponsible and fraudulent at worst. Anything I can do from here?
I would also be curious to know why membership of these organisations is outside the remit of the FCA.

[Deleted User]

Send them a letter before action (LBA). You may well have to take them to court, however.

Do note that your "three witnesses" would need to be independent (i.e. not family or friends) to carry any real influence.

m0bov

Can you get a statement from the repairing garage as they would have inspected the van when they took delivery of it?

naedanger

wilf69 wrote: »

In February my friends van broke down. He called RAC and they came to pick up the van to the nearest garage. Unfortunately they (a subcontractor) winched the vehicle using the tow bar below, rather than the winch area and ripped out the bumper and radiator, causing more than £300 of damage. When they arrived at the garage the operative was seen pushing the (displaced) bumper back and got my friends signature on his 'tablet'. The full extent of the damage was not seen until afterwards.
When I complained on his behalf it was rejected as 'it had been signed for'. I then referred this to the CEO who sent it back to someone within RAC whose attitude was 'you can't prove it, it was signed for'. I pointed out that the timings on the documentation did not reflect the actual time of the incident and what guarantees could they provide that the following the signature the records had not been amended. I also asked for full disclosure of documentation they had relating to their enquiries. Answer came there none. Although I have three witnesses to their one, the attitude was that we would not be able to provide sufficient evidence to win a court case; arrogant at best, irresponsible and fraudulent at worst. Anything I can do from here?
I would also be curious to know why membership of these organisations is outside the remit of the FCA.

Obviously don't just accept the RAC's word you won't be able to prove your case.

If you take them to court then the court will decide based on the balance of probability taking account of all the evidence. The balance of probability is not a high burden of proof. You just need to convince a neutral observer that, taking account of all the the evidence, your version of events is more believable than the RAC's version.

I would have thought a key piece of evidence was the condition of the car. Was its condition consistent with both the reason for the original call-out and the damage that would have arisen if the RAC mishandled the car in the way you allege? Or was its condition more consistent with what the RAC are alleging happened?

Obviously witness evidence is also very important. But as previously mentioned it will not just be a case of who has more witnesses - some witnesses will be more credible than others and independent witnesses will carry more weight.

One other possible thing to consider. Was the action of using the 'tow bar below' obviously negligent for a competent vehicle recovery agent?

But in summary try and consider your position as though you were an independent judge. If you think your version is more believable (based on the evidence alone) then definitely consider court action.

bod1467

wilf69 wrote: »

Unfortunately they (a subcontractor) winched the vehicle using the tow bar below, rather than the winch area

I'm struggling to understand what this exactly means, and how it could have caused the claimed damage.

What I do know is that the OP has no claim at all; the friend may do ... unless the OP is talking about a "friend" rather than a friend.

[Deleted User]

bod1467 wrote: »

What I do know is that the OP has no claim at all; the friend may do ... unless the OP is talking about a "friend" rather than a friend.

Explained here:

wilf69 wrote: »

I complained on his behalf

bod1467

Doesn't change the facts ... OP cannot make any claim at all, the friend has to do it.