RAC breakdown

Katiehound

I was going to wait until I had feedback from RAC's investigation but that doesn't seem to be forthcoming. Clearly they are as prompt dealing with complaints as they are with actual breakdowns!

As briefly as possible.
Broke down in a small town less than 90 miles from home 10.15am. At max that is a 3 hour drive.
Hot day (30 degrees) on my own, with 2 dogs.
Car had to be pushed to get away from major junction, onto pavement.
It wasn't going anywhere. (Turns out clutch had gone)
Patrolman appeared at 4.30pm
Tow truck appeared at 11.15pm- 13 hours after reporting
Got home at 03.10 next day. Got bed after 21 hour day.
Not a happy bunny (understatement)

Complained!!
RAC will investigate within 20 working days- their time frame
20 working days has been and gone (Tues this week)
Zero, zilch, nada........

Am I impressed??:mad:
Needless to say I have no confidence in their so-called 'service'

forgotmyname

Always had good service from them. But they keep bumping the price up and i need to haggle it back down.

Not cheap enough after my first call, they will get one more chance or im going with Green Flag instead.

Been with the RAC for close to 30 years and only called them out 4 times. Only once needed recovery and that was quite a few years ago.

kazzah

we used to be with RAc but their price hikes were unreasonable- especially as in 20 + years we only had about 3 call outs
swapped to Green Flag which were much more reasonable - within first year I had to call them due to a huge piece of metal embedding itself in my tyre - couldn't change it myself due to a disability and they were out and had it changed within 40 minutes - wonderful service thankfully not needed them again so far- but wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

JJ_Egan

Do they give an actual time scale to respond ??

Barny1979

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Do they give an actual time scale to respond ??

Katiehound wrote: »

RAC will investigate within 20 working days- their time frame

It appears they have

hollydays

Females alone are usually prioritised

JJ_Egan

I should have said respond to a breakdown call .

Pollycat

It says this on their website but nothing about response times (that I can see):

We fix 4 out of 5 at the roadside

You can call on us 24/7 and we’ll always try to fix you there and then. You’ll be back on the road in just 30 minutes on average. Or if you need to go to the garage, we’ll get you there.

I might be wrong but I think I've seen some adverts that might mention response times, don't know which company/companies though.

It sounds like Katiehound had a very poor experience.
Keep us informed about what they say.

MovingForwards

I've nothing but praise for RAC, last time I broke down I was in a highly dangerous place, a lone female, and the guy was with me within an hour, moved my car to a slightly better place to get it going and followed me home to make sure it was ok; car broke down again and I never made it home instead I was towed back to where I had purchased it from.

Time before that I was in my classic car, RAC came out, tried to get my car fixed but unfortunately couldn't, got a recovery truck out a few hours later.

Time before that in a newer car, got me started and back on the road.

It's also recommended drivers have food, drink, phone charger and blankets in their car when going on a journey in case of a breakdown.

You got really unlucky and other threads show it's 20 days for them to deal with Complaints. Nothing to stop you chasing them for a response.

Fosterdog

If you are looking to change recovery companies I can't recommend the one you get free with a Nationwide paid for current account enough. I know it's £15 a month for the account but we get free travel insurance (European), free gadget cover (used twice for step daughters phones with brand new ones arriving just days after sending broken ones away) and free breakdown recovery.

OH had to use the recovery for the first time on Friday when his axle snapped, he was less than 10 miles from home but it was at rush hour on the Friday heading into a bank holiday weekend so expected a very long wait. First recovery van arrived in just 30 minutes, there was some confusion over the reported fault and the guy was just expecting a dropped exhaust and a simple tow home. He had to call through for a full recovery truck as obviously you can't tow a car with a snapped axle. The second truck arrived just 20 minutes later and less than an hour and a half from the first call there had been two guys arriving, car loaded on the truck, brought home, and car unloaded. Apart from the fault confusion it really couldn't have been any easier or smoother to deal with.

kazzah

I think the adverts are worded " in the majority of cases we'll get you back on the road in 30 minutes"

i expect somewhere deep in the T&Cs' it states the 30 minutes is the average time to get your car sorted and starts from when they arrive with you and NOT from when you call them

My green flag experience - I should have clarified it was lunch time and I was with a friend not alone and not late evening - just for clarity