RAC

IanJ62

Rac have been chasing me for a renewal. I realised at this point my motor insurance renewal was also due and included Rac cover. So basically I have been paying for the cover twice , Surly the Rac should see this and not chase for individual cover as well. If I only had the insurance cover they could see I had it in the event of a breakdown. How many others are paying twice for exactly the same product I wonder?

400ixl

It's not their responsibility, they don't know if you may want two lots of cover.

Also, if the insurance is with a 3rd party they also may not even be able to associate the direct customer and 3rd party customer as the same person.

I doubt very many people have a direct RAC breakdown policy and one with their insurance, as it is most often a selectable add-on for the insurance policy and they would know they already have the cover. Many may have an overlap if they find it is more viable to switch to insurance based cover but their personal policy hasn't expired yet.

Might be more common where people have packages with their banks that they did not realise includes breakdown cover.

EssexExile

IanJ62 said:

Rac have been chasing me for a renewal. I realised at this point my motor insurance renewal was also due and included Rac cover. So basically I have been paying for the cover twice , Surly the Rac should see this and not chase for individual cover as well. If I only had the insurance cover they could see I had it in the event of a breakdown. How many others are paying twice for exactly the same product I wonder?

My late father-in-law had a packaged bank account that included AA cover, and he paid them over £200 a year for separate cover. I wouldn't expect the AA to know he had the same cover twice, that was his responsibility, but he wasn't a very responsible person.

Grey_Critic

***How many others are paying twice for exactly the same product I wonder?***

I know a lot of people doing exactly that - the favourite is Home Emergency Cover.

Bascule1

IanJ62 said:

How many others are paying twice for exactly the same product I wonder?

Yep.. Me it turns out. I should have known of course. But so should the RAC. I've spoken to them on the phone, and they were happy to tell me that my car was covered twice! Once by me direct and again by virtue of the car having been serviced by the manufacturer (which I hadn't realised). Will be cancelling immediately but they shouldn't be allowed to take advantage of my stupidity surely? I feel as though I ought to have a refund?....

EssexExile

Bascule1 said:

IanJ62 said:

How many others are paying twice for exactly the same product I wonder?

Yep.. Me it turns out. I should have known of course. But so should the RAC. I've spoken to them on the phone, and they were happy to tell me that my car was covered twice! Once by me direct and again by virtue of the car having been serviced by the manufacturer (which I hadn't realised). Will be cancelling immediately but they shouldn't be allowed to take advantage of my stupidity surely? I feel as though I ought to have a refund?....

My manufacturer makes it very clear that servicing includes breakdown cover, it's a good selling point. They don't make it clear that their cover isn't as comprehensive as the AA or RAC though.

facade

EssexExile said:

My manufacturer makes it very clear that servicing includes breakdown cover, it's a good selling point. They don't make it clear that their cover isn't as comprehensive as the AA or RAC though.

The "AA cover" or "RAC cover" you get included with insurance, or with a new car is minimum cover for that car only.

I, and many people have personal cover, which means The Nice Man will cone out to any car, motorcycle, van etc that I am driving, or a passenger in, I also have recovery which takes me and the car home if I know I could fix it myself .

Now if you only ever drive the one car,  you are happy to abandon your friends and walk and you don't mind paying garage prices for a minor repair you could do for nothing at home the cover you get through insurance is fine, otherwise you end up paying for the cover you need.

The "included with insurance" cover is the most basic cover, and it is pretty much free to the insurer, so you aren't really paying anything significant for it, and it isn't like you are paying double for the AA cover.

Bascule1

Thanks for the input. I'll have to decide whether I want the cover to be for me or the vehicle I guess. The RAC did tell me that the Nissan cover (that I get for a year after a service) was for Roadside Rescue, At Home, Recovery, and Onward Travel. That's at least as good as I'm paying for. And we have the reg specified in the membership so I'm guessing that would cover the specific vehicle whoever's driving. I'll need to check....

cymruchris

IanJ62 said:

Rac have been chasing me for a renewal. I realised at this point my motor insurance renewal was also due and included Rac cover. So basically I have been paying for the cover twice , Surly the Rac should see this and not chase for individual cover as well. If I only had the insurance cover they could see I had it in the event of a breakdown. How many others are paying twice for exactly the same product I wonder?

You could swap to an alternative provider. I've just taken a year's full cover policy out with 'Emergency Assist' through 'Topcashback' - 'Premium' - Home start, National Recovery, Roadside, Unlimited call-outs, Car hire contribution, Overnight stay contribution, Onward travel contribution - and after the cashback cost me just a tad over £30 for the year, and my car is a 2007.

And yes, I know people will say 'Ah but are they any good if you actually need them?' - I did call them out last year - to Central London just off Trafalgar square on a rainy Saturday night. They were there within 30 minutes of the call, and had me on my way within the hour.

The likes of the RAC and AA these days are not the premium services they once were.

oldagetraveller1

The only reason I have R.A.C. personal cover, Roadside, At Home, National Recovery, is to cover me if/when driving my 60+ years old Classic and the daily driver, of course.

I buy it using Tesco Clubcard vouchers. £33 in vouchers this year for that cover.

Fortunately it's been years since I used them, that was for the old banger, it was a good service then.

Can't comment how good or bad they are currently though because there's been no reason to call them out. That's jinxed it now!

martin_54

I  had to  call  the  RAC  out  Febuary  14th  2023 in  Penzance  Cornwall  at  13.00,   it  was  three hours   for a  patrol  to  turn  up  and  a  further  Nine   hours  for  a  recovery  truck  to  get  to  me,    to  take  me  62 miles  home,  got  home  3.30am,                                                                                                                      At  11.00  they  told  me  to  make  my  way  home  and  leave  the  key  on  a  tyre???  the  car  would  be  recovered  later,   looking at other  options now.   and  they  have  given me a extra  three months  cover.