RAC refused service after stranding me at a services for 16 hours

chriscfrancis

On 14/11/2019 at 11.21 in Sainsbury's Petrol Station Pontypridd I called the RAC due to an automatic gearbox fault, the patrol arrived and unfortunately the fault could not be repaired at the roadside so he arranged recovery at 13.28. Both the patrol and their service up until this point were very good.

At 13.49 I received a text message from Celtic Recovery advising they had been given the recovery job from RAC and aimed to be with me by 16.49

At 17.20 Celtic Recovery called to advise an eta of 19.30

At 18.05 RAC called to confirm Celtic Recovery had arrived and advised their delay was unacceptable and would be recorded.

At 19.40 Celtic Recovery arrived, loaded my vehicle and we left Sainsbury's at around 20.15

At around 20.45 I was advised by the driver they wouldn't be taking me home but to Sedgemoor services and to call RAC to arrange a link recovery

At 21.02 I called RAC and the operator confirmed link recovery eta of 21.50

At 22.10 I called RAC the operator confirmed recovery was on route.

At 22.37, 22,42 and 23.07 I was called by a recovery contractor to confirm they were on route

At 00.12 I called RAC and was advised recovery wouldn't arrive until 8am and that they would find me a hotel

At 02.05 I called again and was advised a hotel would be arranged

At 03.00 I called yet again and was again advised a hotel would be arranged

At 03.57 I called again and was advised nothing was on file and dispatch would call to confirm

At 04.38 I called again and was advised that the recovery firm that called at 22.37 had been and stated vehicle was over length and I was not covered, I was given the option to either pay for commercial recovery or wait for a patrol to confirm the length of the vehicle. At a cost of £1168 I couldn't afford the commercial recovery so decided to wait for a patrol to confirm length of my vehicle.

At 06.58 patrol arrived and confirmed vehicle was over length by 60cm

Some of the details above may be slightly incorrect as I was becoming somewhat delirious after being awake and freezing cold for so long but I have done my best to make an accurate record, timings are correct as recorded on my phone.

In total I spent over 24 hours awake in wet clothes, I was freezing cold to the bone which has made me ill, I've missed 2 days of work from the exhaustion and spent over £400 having my vehicle recovered.

All of this could have been easily avoided if I had been told the vehicle was over length when the patrol arrived, but instead I was strung along for just under 16hrs being told a different story every time I called and taken the wrong direction to a service station in an area I didn't know. Not once was I called to confirm anything or to let me know I wasn't being recovered home or that the vehicle was over length.

I understand the vehicle was over length and they were well within their right to refuse service and I really wish they had done so as I'd have been home a lot earlier! I just don't think their handing of the situation was acceptable.

Aylesbury_Duck

Make a complaint, cancel your policy (if you can do so without penalty) and go elsewhere.

mattyprice4004

What vehicle is it?

Pollycat

RAC website gives details of max weight/max width/max length of eligible vehicles:

https://www.rac.co.uk/breakdown-cover/breakdown-help/vehicle-eligibility

I agree they handled it poorly.

discat11

If you never travel without a credit card I'd recommend you changing to a breakdown insurance company (if your vehicle is covered of course).

I get mine for a fraction of what I'd pay the 'big 2' and I've used it once and it was pretty flawless.