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

NBLondon

It's not great - but as Grumpy_chap sez - it may depend on the actual circumstances to set the priority - and even the number of other calls in the area which could depend on the time of day, the prevailing weather, other incidents etc.  The fact that you had no spare and needed a recovery vehicle as opposed to a regular patrol  is also significant.

sweetsand

NBLondon said:

It's not great - but as Grumpy_chap sez - it may depend on the actual circumstances to set the priority - and even the number of other calls in the area which could depend on the time of day, the prevailing weather, other incidents etc.  The fact that you had no spare and needed a recovery vehicle as opposed to a regular patrol  is also significant.

No one said it was not great but what I and a few other have stated is the fact that it is not in the contract to aid lone female drivers within an x amount of time. That is the bottom line and there is going to be no compo
We used to get simiar when years ago I worked at ??? and our technicians went out to reapir they would agree with the customers some of them that the wait was not on/etc and one I pulled up a few of them and told them that I'd give them the cutomers phone number and they could add that to the list of their jobs for that day, that made them see the light

no company wants bad comments but at times due to cirucmstances there is no other option and all the RAC could do I guess was pritortise the call which I am sure they did.

Soot2006

Like everyone else, I agree it's not great.

As a general tip, when I shredded a tyre beyond repair my breakdown advised 50 min wait, but when I called around every mobile tyre fitter I could find on Google, I found a chap able to get to me within 20 min and change the tyre.That way I could get on my way without any follow-up or diversion. Sometimes worth making a few cold calls.

burlingtonfl6

fred246 said:

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

Bill Burr..... ''There are never any feminists in a house fire''
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onNBxynagXE

sweetsand

Soot2006 said:

Like everyone else, I agree it's not great.

As a general tip, when I shredded a tyre beyond repair my breakdown advised 50 min wait, but when I called around every mobile tyre fitter I could find on Google, I found a chap able to get to me within 20 min and change the tyre.That way I could get on my way without any follow-up or diversion. Sometimes worth making a few cold calls.

4 hours is too long but then again I'm sure most of the reasonable people that read/post here will agree that the RAC did not do this on purpose.
One on my siblings on the way doen to see us had a flat tyre - they called out the AA during the week about 5pm when roads are buy and they cam within 30 mintues.  This is why they are no gurantees and they cant be kept as no none knows whatsa round the corner

however, I vagulaey recall is it the AA adverts or another company that if they did not get there within an x amount of time they will give you 5/10 quid but that may have been years ago.
We are with MB they sent their own vheicle out once when we needs them a while ago car engine light on the other cars not whom they are with as all under warranty and it inc raodside/etc cover as long as we have the cars serviced as per rules.
The OP was right in calling the rAC just in case they made a mistake but other than that, no compo as OP wants IMO

EdGasketTheSecond

I am a lone male and waited 4hrs for AutoAid to come to my assistance when the radiator on my car had a terminal leak. Not much you can do really; if they are busy, they are busy. They won't have patrols just sitting around waiting for a call so you have to wait in turn. I suggest you check reviews of various breakdown services and see if anyone regularly performs better.

droopsnoot

waiyeelaw said:

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.! 

To be fair, he isn't going to do or say anything else in that situation. He's standing in front of an upset and angry customer, and he'll know that empathising with you is more likely to calm the situation down than trying to make excuses or point at the contract. I'm sure we've all been in situations where the frontline staff agree with us about how others haven't treated us very well, and that if it was their call, we'd have been served more quickly, or in a better way.

macman

NBLondon said:

It's not great - but as Grumpy_chap sez - it may depend on the actual circumstances to set the priority - and even the number of other calls in the area which could depend on the time of day, the prevailing weather, other incidents etc.  The fact that you had no spare and needed a recovery vehicle as opposed to a regular patrol  is also significant.

Exactly. With a spare on board, the OP could have: changed it herself, called on the services of a passing Good Samaritan, or received much faster response from an RAC patrol van, rather than a tow truck. 
A lone female is not automatically top of the vulnerability list: there might be people with young children, elderly people, people with medical conditions, people broken down in a hazardous location...the list is endless.

Biggus_Dickus

OP,

I’m sure all the breakdown companies prioritise their calls and they are quite right to do so;...drivers (regardless of gender) who are in a particularly dangerous location are prioritized;...adding children to the mix obviously increase the priority. People who are exposed to the elements and can’t shelter in their car because of its perilous location are prioritized,...again, the ‘child factor’ will increase the urgency.

A 4-hr wait is a bit crap and I’d be extremely frustrated myself if I was hanging around that long;...however, without knowing how stretched the RAC breakdown teams were (given the current situation) perhaps what you got was as good as they could give that day;...you’ll never know. Imho, your chances of an apology/compensation are slim, to say the least.

As stated up-thread, you can put it behind you and stay with the RAC or change companies altogether.

There are quite a few alternatives out there,...and (perhaps) cheaper too.

 

 

Green.Lander

This happened to my daughter except she had two tyre issues caused by a lorry forcing her off the road. Decided to travel to see her instead of waiting for truck, we even had a bit to eat before they finally arrived.