Who can I escalate my RAC complaint to?

georgie_p

I have a serious complaint with the RAC. I sent an email to their CEO outlining the issues I experienced, and spoke to someone on the telephone who said my complaint would be investigated and responded to.

20 days later, I received a response which was extremely unsatisfactory. The member of staff had only responded to one of the points in my complaint. I attempted to call the complaints department and to my surprise, they no longer have telephone contact. The automated message on the phone directs you to their email address or postal address.

I responded to the email expressing my dissatisfaction and asked how I could further escalate the complaint. Looking at their website, it would seem the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) would be the next logical step. I requested a final resolution letter from the RAC so that I could upload this as part of my FOS complaint, and this is what the RAC said:

Dear [name],

We have provided you with our full response in e-mail form, and wouldn't be able to issue it as a PDF.

You're more than welcome to contact Ombudsman Services, but I must inform you that we are not accountable to them in any way, and are under no obligation to enter into any dealings with them.

Kind regards,

Jan Ibrahim
RAC

theonlywayisup

It is difficult to advise without knowing a little more about the type of complaint and if it was in relation to a payment you've made, any contract breaches etc.

marliepanda

It really depends on the outcome you want. if it is a monetary loss you have or want to claim for, you could escalate it to small claims court if you are still unhappy.

What that last email says is you are free to go to the FOS but they dont have to do anything the FOS says... so, is there a point. Its still up to you though.

Gavin83

Can you be more specific? Which service did you purchase from them? Their insurance services will be covered by the Ombudsman where as the breakdown recovery won't be. For that, try the ODR here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

georgie_p

Thanks everyone, as a very brief summary:

RAC Full UK Breakdown cover

1. Contacted RAC on Saturday 25th August at 11:50pm to alert them that my vehicle had broken down. They advised a waiting time of 6 hours before someone could attend my vehicle. I alerted them to the fact I am 7 months pregnant, pulled up on a kerb (not parked legally) and in the middle of a City at night.

2. Had to get the vehicle pushed to a parking location where there were no parking charges in force on the weekend. Got picked up by a family member and taken home (arrived home at around 2am).

3. Received no update from the RAC the following morning, waited until the Monday and still received no update.

4. Turned on the car's engine on Monday 27th August at around 8:30pm and heard a loud bang and smoke was pouring out of the bonnet. Contacted RAC again who said someone would be out within the hour (9:30pm). Waited until 9:50pm then contacted RAC for an update. The adviser said someone would arrive after 5 hours.

5. Explained to the RAC that I had been waiting almost 48 hours for someone to attend my vehicle with no updates. I was now stranded on the roadside, vulnerable, and my vehicle was still unusable (possibly made worse because no one had attended it). After an hour of complaining on the phone, RAC offered to get a taxi home for me - they confirmed my address incorrectly for the 5th time in 2 days (I had corrected my address with them every phone call I made). They said they would arrange a taxi to Swindon (I live in Gloucester). I said I would not take up their offer of a taxi service to the wrong town.

6. Arranged my own taxi home and obtained a receipt from the taxi company. 56 hours had passed and I still hadn't received an update or anyone from the RAC attend my vehicle. I pay £14 monthly for this service and haven't actually received a service.

7. Arranged for my vehicle to be towed/scrapped and obtained proof of this as it was now completely useless and still the RAC didn't come to help.

I have asked the RAC to reimburse my taxi fare (of which they have confirmed they will send a cheque to my home address, which is incorrect and they're incapable of correcting), reimburse my £14 per month that I've been paying since October 2017 as they weren't able to provide a service (technically still waiting for someone), and to compensate me for the stress and anxiety caused by the RAC when in a vulnerable position as a pregnant woman. They only addressed the taxi fare and completely ignored anything else.

Greta_Sharbo

Pursuing a claim for stress is tricky because it's not something you can put a figure on easily.

How much do you want? Present them with that figure and see what they say - if it's reasonable you might get it. If not you may need to consider court action and have a judge decide.

AndyMc.....

georgie_p wrote: »

Thanks everyone, as a very brief summary:

RAC Full UK Breakdown cover

1. Contacted RAC on Saturday 25th August at 11:50pm to alert them that my vehicle had broken down. They advised a waiting time of 6 hours before someone could attend my vehicle. I alerted them to the fact I am 7 months pregnant, pulled up on a kerb (not parked legally) and in the middle of a City at night.

2. Had to get the vehicle pushed to a parking location where there were no parking charges in force on the weekend. Got picked up by a family member and taken home (arrived home at around 2am).

3. Received no update from the RAC the following morning, waited until the Monday and still received no update.

4. Turned on the car's engine on Monday 27th August at around 8:30pm and heard a loud bang and smoke was pouring out of the bonnet. Contacted RAC again who said someone would be out within the hour (9:30pm). Waited until 9:50pm then contacted RAC for an update. The adviser said someone would arrive after 5 hours.

5. Explained to the RAC that I had been waiting almost 48 hours for someone to attend my vehicle with no updates. I was now stranded on the roadside, vulnerable, and my vehicle was still unusable (possibly made worse because no one had attended it). After an hour of complaining on the phone, RAC offered to get a taxi home for me - they confirmed my address incorrectly for the 5th time in 2 days (I had corrected my address with them every phone call I made). They said they would arrange a taxi to Swindon (I live in Gloucester). I said I would not take up their offer of a taxi service to the wrong town.

6. Arranged my own taxi home and obtained a receipt from the taxi company. 56 hours had passed and I still hadn't received an update or anyone from the RAC attend my vehicle. I pay £14 monthly for this service and haven't actually received a service.

7. Arranged for my vehicle to be towed/scrapped and obtained proof of this as it was now completely useless and still the RAC didn't come to help.

I have asked the RAC to reimburse my taxi fare (of which they have confirmed they will send a cheque to my home address, which is incorrect and they're incapable of correcting), reimburse my £14 per month that I've been paying since October 2017 as they weren't able to provide a service (technically still waiting for someone), and to compensate me for the stress and anxiety caused by the RAC when in a vulnerable position as a pregnant woman. They only addressed the taxi fare and completely ignored anything else.

Playing devils advocate, you put yourself in a vulnerable position by returning to the vehicle.

pmduk

As already mentioned there is no requirement for their breakdown services arm to be answerable to an ombudsman, therefore the small claims court is your only option.

georgie_p

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Playing devils advocate, you put yourself in a vulnerable position by returning to the vehicle.

I was already in a vulnerable position to begin with, the first time around. I had to return to the vehicle or face an £80 fine for being parked where I was, given there were no other options. If the RAC had actually turned up, they could've towed my vehicle home, to a garage, etc. but... oh yeah, I'm still waiting for them.

macman

LBA then small claims process.

georgie_p

macman wrote: »

LBA then small claims process.

What's LBA please?