RAC wouldnt take me to the garage near where I live

gridrunner

I recently broke down in Bristol about 70 miles from where I live. I have RAC cover for national recovery and onward travel.
Smoke had filled the cab of the car and I suspected a head gasket problem. I called the RAC and they told me I would have to wait 3 and a half hours for them to attend. I asked them to send someone who could recover my car to where I live as I suspected it wouldn't be able to be fixed at the roadside.
After 4 and a half hours the RAC man came. He said the head gasket had gone and that he could not recover the car as it was a 4 x 4. I told him that I didnt live in bristol and was stranded there and really needed to get home. He said another RAC truck would need to come and recover the vehicle. I asked how I could get a hire car provided by the RAC as part of my onward travel. He told me that I didnt have that cover (although I do).
He called his office about having my vehicle recovered. He then told me that there weren't any RAC vehicles in the area equipped to recover a 4x4. So couldn't tell me when this could be done. He said however that his office told him he was in fact allowed tow me up to 10 miles. I said I didnt know Bristol and wanted to have my car recovered back to a garage where I live and i needed to get home. He said that he could get me a courtesy car from the garage that he wanted to take me to, so then I would be able to get home. I asked how much it would cost to have the repair done there. He said he would call and ask which he did. He told me that it would cost approximately £600. He said that he asked them if they had a car I can use and they did. As he told me I couldn't have a hire car from the RAC and I had no way to get home, I agreed.
He told me that he would go through the back roads as he wasnt allowed to go on the motorway. However once being towed he drove straight onto the m5 motorway and took me that way. I was extremely nervous and was panicking due to him telling me that he wasnt allowed to use the motorway.
I got to the garage and he told me to wait in the waiting room where i did for about 20 minutes. Then the RAC man came in with the garage owner and gave me a key for an old 2005 Vauxhall Astra to use. I asked again how much the repair would cost and was told this time between 700 and 800 pounds. So even though this was more than I was told before the tow i agreed as it was very late now. I left the garage and drove back to Devon having been told it will take 12 days to repair my car. During the drive, the car seemed in bad condition even for a 15-year-old car, making a banging noise from under the car as I went.
The following day the garage called me saying the cost would now be 1300 pounds. I couldnt believe it. That was very different from what I was told in the garage. They also told me I had a dianostic fee of £72 to pay should i not have the work done.
I asked my local garage who I have used for many years what they would have charged me and their price is £850 for the same work.
I never wanted to use this garage and felt I was pressured to do so and had no choice so
I rang the RAC customer care line today. I told them of what happened and said i wanted to have the car recovered to the garage that I had originally asked for and didnt want to use that garage. I asked if I did have an onward cover and they said i did. However, they say I made my choice to go to a local garage and so they do not have any responsibility to resolve my issue. They said if I pay them they will recover my car to my local garage and will not do so even through i feel i was pressured to have it taken to where the RAC man wanted it.
I am shocked, to say the least, and feel ripped off. I wonder if RAC patrols get any commission on getting cars taken to certain garages?
I was wondering what other peoples opinions are regarding this. And if there is anything I can do to get my car taken to the garage which I originally wanted them to.

Robisere

You need to use their Complaint form:
https://!!!!!!!.com/yybp477e


EDIT: looks like they don't want you to see that. Just Google "RAC Complaint Form" and click the one that points to "Breakdown"


Failing that, contact CEO Dave Hobday:
Looks like HE does not want to be found either.

Try this: Google "David Hobday Email addresses" then scroll down to the RAC links.

custardy

I think you need to stop this garage working on your car.

Escalate your complaint with RAC.
You are in this situation due to their employee/contractor refusing you the services your policy allows for.
Had they gave you the service you requested/had cover for then the car would be in the garage you wanted.
However you have mucked up the water somewhat by authorising the garage to work on your car.

jaybeetoo

If you complain to the RAC you need to make it short and to the point.

Norman_Castle

The following day the garage called me saying the cost would now be 1300 pounds. I couldnt believe it. That was very different from what I was told in the garage. They also told me I had a dianostic fee of £72 to pay should i not have the work done.
I asked my local garage who I have used for many years what they would have charged me and their price is £850 for the same work.

Ask your local garage what they will charge to recover the car to them or try other local recovery companies. Even if the overall cost is the same you will be getting the work done by a garage you know and trust.

tasticz

Unfortunately, i too became a victim of something similar with RAC. The agent that attended breakdown promised earth and I allowed them to take my car to thwir approved garage. He said my car would be given priority, price would be so and so bla bla. Couple days later gor a phone call saying the work was going to cost double. Stopped them from doing work and moved the car to my local garage. I was charged £66 for inspection. The price quoted for repair was rac garage was £2160 while my car was repaired by my usual local garage for £1194 which was roughly similar to price initially quoted to me.

kangoora

It could be some shady RAC patrols may be getting backhanders from a local garage.

I've got UK wide recovery and if a patrolman said to me I can only tow you to a local garage then I'd be straight on the phone to Central Office complaining. This is, of course, after telling the patrolman what I was going to do.

In both of the above cases I would register a formal complaint with the RAC asking why the RAC wouldn't uphold their end of a contract. Although, I suspect, the fact that both of you agreed (albeit under some pressure?) to be taken to a local garage would weaken your complaint/allow them to claim it was your decision.

[Deleted User]

This is what I don't like about these breakdown polices. They always only take you to a nearby garage in the area of breakdown that they have a deal with and who charge way over the odds for a shoddy repair.

I much prefer to phone an indie recovery guy and get recovered to one of the local garages I use myself near home if I'm stuck anywhere outside the 10 mile limit.

The 15 year old courtesy car is quite common with indie backstreet garages, it's usually only main dealers that give you a brand new car.

AdrianC

There's several different issues here, I think.

1. Why wasn't onward travel available?
If onward travel had been available, the time pressure to get your car to a destination would have been off, and you'd have been able to get it recovered back home. As it was, you made a decision to get it taken to a local garage rather than wait for a suitable recovery vehicle - it sounds like they A-framed you, rather than wait for a flatbed.

Having said that, you could have organised your own onward travel, then had the RAC recover the car recover when possible - and claimed the onward travel cost back from the RAC.

2. Why did the estimate escalate?
There's no great surprise there. A side-of-road wet-finger figure is no more than that. Even the first guesstimate from the garage is liable to vary once they start investigation work. The HG has gone - but HGs don't "just go" - something takes them out. What was that? Was it just low coolant due to levels never being checked, was it something minor like a failed fan switch, or had coolant been lost due to a stone through the rad or a failed water pump? And, yes, if they start the investigation work and you then choose to take the car elsewhere, it's not exactly unreasonable to charge for the time they've spent on it. £72 is probably one hour's labour - £60 + vat. And the garage provided you with a courtesy car - which, whether you liked the car or not, got you moving again.

prowla

I've had the AA take my car to a garage of my choosing and then run me home.


Another time the AA man drove me 20 miles to the nearest garage which had a replacement part (a relay switch) and then drove me back home and fitted it.


I've never heard of them "insisting" on a garage of their choosing.

forgotmyname

Mostly had good service with the RAC, I was with them for over 20 years.

Did have one miserable breakdown guy, turned out to be a dodgy wire in a loom (he didnt find that another RAC guy did). 2 calls for the same car within a few days.

One call when my clutch pedal stuck to the floor, that guy was brilliant he swapped the slave cylinder but that failed to cure it, turned out to be the master cylinder. I fixed that myself the next day. (he took me to a main dealer to buy the slave cylinder and i thought of hear this will double the price of the car but it was only £40 or so. Land Rover)

But i left them this year, for too expensive, I got the same cover from Green Flag for £132.50 where the RAC wanted over £200.