I waited for RAC as a lone female for 4 hrs! Is this acceptable?

waiyeelaw

I unfortunately broke down with a puncture.

I stated the breakdown details to the assistant on the phone.  I Explained that my tyre was completely shredded and that I had no spare and would need a tow truck. 

It took over 4 hours for anyone to reach me which I believe to be totally unacceptable. By which stage by anxiety levels were high and I was very worried being on my own. 
All I had were automated txt updates every 30 mins and I had not spoken to anyone for over 3 hours until I made a call myself. 

When the patrol officer eventually arrived he was upset and angry himself that I was not seen to sooner. He could see I was very distressed and was on my own.! All in all it took nearly 5 hours to get me back in the road !! 

I emailed them with the complaint that the wait was unacceptable and that the advisory was incorrect. Even the patrol officer said I should have been seen sooner and that it should have been dealt with better. 

The reply from customer care was very blunt and that they weren’t able to offer any good will for my distress and waiting time. 

I would like to go further with this as I felt this was unacceptable being as they sell there service on good communications and customer care.
Where do I go from here??

The_Fat_Controller

Is there any guaranteed response time in your contract ?
What advisory was incorrect ? 

pramsay13

It's not acceptable for anyone to wait 4 hours although I'm not sure that being a lone female is particularly relevant. 
How much good will would you like?
Vote with your feet and change breakdown company.

strawb_shortcake

I got left by RAC for 4 hours with children one December, I did call numerous times in that period and in the end a passing tow truck stopped and helped. 
I think there was a misunderstanding with where I was stopped and they went to the wrong area. 
They offered a goodwill with £30 being credited to my bank account. I wasn't happy at the time but in hindsight mistakes do happen.

fred246

Sounds like the WASPI women. We want equality except when inequality would be better for us and then we'll have inequality please.

AdrianC

waiyeelaw said:

I unfortunately broke down with a puncture.

I stated the breakdown details to the assistant on the phone.  I Explained that my tyre was completely shredded and that I had no spare and would need a tow truck.

I presume your car has no provision for a spare, or there's no spare fitted from new as standard, rather than the spare simply not being there?
Would it originally have been fitted with run-flat tyres that have been replaced with non-RFs?

The reason I ask is that they treat punctures differently where the manufacturer's standard provisions are no longer present.

It took over 4 hours for anyone to reach me which I believe to be totally unacceptable. By which stage by anxiety levels were high and I was very worried being on my own. 
All I had were automated txt updates every 30 mins and I had not spoken to anyone for over 3 hours until I made a call myself.

Was there a reason you didn't call them earlier to chase?
What expected times were you given when you first logged the issue, and when you were updated?
What were the circumstances? (Time, rough location, conditions)

The reply from customer care was very blunt and that they weren’t able to offer any good will for my distress and waiting time. 

I would like to go further with this as I felt this was unacceptable being as they sell there service on good communications and customer care.

Let's look at their actual marketing and Ts & Cs...

https://www.rac.co.uk/breakdown-cover/uk-breakdown
Nothing on the main landing page about response times.

https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/orange-drive-terms-and-conditions
Nothing in there about response times.

I can't find anything at all on the RAC's own site giving any average or expected time. Nearest I can find is...
https://www.petrolprices.com/news/complaints-against-rac-and-aa-double-year-on-year/
"The AA said the average time between when they receive a call and when they arrive at the breakdown is under 50 minutes while the RAC said it gives each member an individual expected time of arrival."
and
http://www.breakdowncover.co.uk/rac.html
"Response times are excellent - RAC aim to have a patrol vehicle on the scene within 40 minutes of receiving your breakdown assistance call. Should the vehicle be in a dangerous location, or RAC identify you as a priority case, an RAC breakdown vehicle could be with you a lot sooner."
But, of course, they're third party sites... One is people moaning - and indirectly quoting the RAC giving no time target or limit. The other is trying to sell you their services - but using wording the RAC themselves don't in their own marketing.

Nor do I see anything in there prioritising purely on the grounds of sex or gender. Should there be, in this day and age? Wouldn't it actually be illegal to discriminate against half of the population on their sex or gender, by placing them automatically at lower priority...?

So, yes, you have every right to be disappointed in their response time.
That doesn't mean you have some right to compensation.
It does mean you should probably vote with your feet come next renewal... but would anybody else be better, given the current circumstances?

Where do I go from here??

To the dealership to enquire about availability of a space-saver spare kit?
To specsavers so you can see and avoid the next pothole or whatever you hit?

macman

Might be a good moment then, as a lone female, to carry a spare wheel in future. Even if the car did not come with one.

sweetsand

Dear OP
It is indeed understandable that you have raised a complaint but the bit about copesation IMHO is a bit too much.
The RAC have a good reputation.
You said the "RAC man" that came to rescue you was "angry" about you having to wait so long.
Please speak or write to the RAC again and ask the member of staff for a link to the reason he was angry and where it states in the contract that they would be there in a x amount of time. I doubt he will be able to do that as nothing like that exisits in the contract.
RAC is good but they or anyone else can not gurantee coming to "lone women" in an x amount of time They can garantee priorty but that is not based on an X amount of time
I hope it is easier for you to digest your woes armed with the knowldge.
Take care.

Grumpy_chap

I don't think a 4-hour response time is reasonable, whether female or not.  However, there is a prioritisation that the call-handlers are meant to use, one of the parameters is the vulnerability of the customer.  What we don't know is what your location was - if you were stranded in a remote location that is less safe than if you were stranded in a town centre and could have chosen to sit in a coffee shop in relative comfort while waiting.

sweetsand

Grumpy_chap said:

I don't think a 4-hour response time is reasonable, whether female or not.  However, there is a prioritisation that the call-handlers are meant to use, one of the parameters is the vulnerability of the customer.  What we don't know is what your location was - if you were stranded in a remote location that is less safe than if you were stranded in a town centre and could have chosen to sit in a coffee shop in relative comfort while waiting.

No one said it was "reasonable"!  Where does it state in the RAC contract that they will get to any driver  within and x amount of time, it does not, oh dear.

Grumpy_chap

I did not reference the contract because other posters have already done so and to do so again would not have added anything to the discussion.