RAC damaged my car

Vortex666

Hi! Looking for some advice on a situation with RAC!
So basically a contractor doing a job for RAC damaged my front bumper and scratched rear bumper on my BMW 4 series.
Arrived at Stansted on the 19th Jan,picked up my car from car park at 22h.
Realised i have a broken coil spring in the front driver's side after moving 100 yards out..
Reported to RAC @ 22:10.
Bunch of texts saying help is being arranged and should be with me within 4.5h..
5h later i make several phone calls, putting me through several people who can not help and stringing that a truck should be with me soon..
12 hours later and i was still in the car, (luckily we were at a BP station with food drinks and toilet..) enough is enough i need help now or im finding another recovery truck..
Final call, "we're very sorry to hear that,why did you not get a room?" 🤦‍♂️ Because you kept saying help is on the way etc!!!!
Next, "we're sorry but we can't help you today!" Wow..
Anyway,they managed to get me a hire car to make my way home,and offered to take my vehicle to storage with a prompt that it would be taken to my local garage within 5 days!!!
6 days later no sight of my vehicle... called RAC and got told only next week at some point...
Demanded a hire car,wich was given for another 5 days..
5 days later, and still no updates or whatsoever on my car,i call them!
"Your car is already on it's way to you!! "
Oh,why did no one update me?? 
10 min later, CMG recovery services (contractor) calls me

 "i will be at the garage in 45 mim"
Same day i handed over back the hire car as it ended that night.
My car arrives at the garage, i was at work.
Next day,8:15am im at the garage to check my car!
And boom!!!! Front bumper smashed at the bottom,paint scratches on rear bumper,looks like the straps they use rubbed the rear bumper..i was shocked looking at the state of the car...not to mention how dirty and covered in bird poo it was, looked like it was stored in a barn...
So, after such a very bad experience i called RAC to make a complaint, was given a case nr and gave them a statement.
Sent them pictures of the damages,sent a picture of my car showing the front bumper the day i was waiting for the recovery truck and can be seen that there was no damage ( i had the front bumper resprayed last year)
Was told to wait for a reply.
I can see this is going to be a long stressful dispute..
Can anyone give advice? Is there anything i should do to get them moving? 
Should i ask RAC for their insurance details and call them? Should i involve my insurance company??
Any advice is appreciated!
Pictures below
Thanks 

Nobbie1967

You did well to have a photo just prior to them picking up the vehicle, normally the problem is proving the damage wasn’t there already. I’d just wait for the RAC to complete their investigation and get back to you.

Be wary of offers to repair the car for you as you then have no control over the quality of the work and little comeback since you will have no contract with the repairer.  My preferred option would be to get the repair authorised by the RAC at my selected repairer and pay myself, then get the RAC to reimburse the cost.

I think it’s worth contacting your insurer to clarify whether this is a notifiable occurrence for insurance purposes. They normally ask for any ‘accidents, claims or convictions’, but I’m not sure this applies in this case. Better safe than sorry as it could result in a claim if RAC deny responsibility, but tell them that you are currently not making a claim and this is for information only.

Vortex666

Nobbie1967 said:

You did well to have a photo just prior to them picking up the vehicle, normally the problem is proving the damage wasn’t there already. I’d just wait for the RAC to complete their investigation and get back to you.

Be wary of offers to repair the car for you as you then have no control over the quality of the work and little comeback since you will have no contract with the repairer.  My preferred option would be to get the repair authorised by the RAC at my selected repairer and pay myself, then get the RAC to reimburse the cost.

I think it’s worth contacting your insurer to clarify whether this is a notifiable occurrence for insurance purposes. They normally ask for any ‘accidents, claims or convictions’, but I’m not sure this applies in this case. Better safe than sorry as it could result in a claim if RAC deny responsibility, but tell them that you are currently not making a claim and this is for information only.

Thank you for your reply!
Just literally picked it up from the garage, coil spring now fixed and car back on the road. Will be taking some more pictures tomorrow and have a better look at damages,car is absolutely filthy so will wash it for better inspection.

I will do as you said,just inform their insurance, hopefully will get them moving.

I will not accept taking my car to their chosen garage, i rather taking it to my local body shop where it got resprayed last year as they did a great job matching the colour.
If i remember correctly was just short of £350 for a full bumper respray, however this time the rear bumper will also need painting 😏..

Car_54

This was not a road traffic accident, so the motor insurance procedures don’t apply. 

The claim is against the RAC, not their insurers (if any).
Whether it’s covered by insurance (errors and omissions policy?, goods in transit?) is their problem, and not a legal requirement. 

Vortex666

Car_54 said:

This was not a road traffic accident, so the motor insurance procedures don’t apply. 

The claim is against the RAC, not their insurers (if any).
Whether it’s covered by insurance (errors and omissions policy?, goods in transit?) is their problem, and not a legal requirement. 

I won't involve my insurer,but RAC must have and provide details of their insurance, hence why im wondering if i should speak to them as that may get them moving 🤔

Jay1234569

Hello mate I can relate,  I had a similar incident,  and let me tell you it happened in the July last year , and now I'm still waiting for a court case this week , not only did the rac make life hell after damaging my car they were offering Less money to get the car fixed , and now I have taken them to court , it was a nightmare dealing with them , but I explained in short as to what happened but a lot did happen and no do not use your insurance to claim , they have their own insurance in place when they come to recover you , and while your car is in thier care they are liable for everything, I cannot wait vwnt out all my anger and frustration this week in court , I have been waiting over 6 months for this,  they took 4 months just to tell me they were going to pay less for the damages they caused , do not trust rac ever again , the aa have a better track record,  

Jay1234569

They also rejected the price their own garage gave to fix my car , they are pathetic , and yes I did reject to fix my car there , infact I want my car to be replaced completely as now it has so many faults which they caused , I am not sitting for repairs as this can go on forever , with many faults which may be discovered later , they not only damaged the car from inside they also broke parts internally so in my case I'm right in asking for the car to be replaced completely,  I told them to keep my car and pay up.  I don't want car going to garages I don't trust , and any other garage won't take my car for repair as they can't guarantee all fault s will be fixed due to the nature of the way they damaged the car , they damaged my clutch and other internal parts too.  So I'm not going  have my time wasted constantly, I did try to have the issues resolved but the garages have said they won't touch it as they don't know what the rac have done and they don't eat to be liable for other faults 

Jay1234569

I think we have a similar case so you will be needing my advices as I am now in a stage where they haven't been able to resolve this,  and we have to go court,  the cheek of the rac , they damage your car and they make you wait over four months to make you an offer , and they reject paying for your daily taxi fares for you being without a car , which mounted up to over thousands in four months,  they offered £350 , for the damages,  the bumper alone costs £500 plus extra for fitting and spraying,  then we have payment for other parts, the grill they damaged , they also caused scratches amd dents all around the car , and damaged clutch And master and slave cylinder, and other parts too , total the cost is well above £2000, and then we have my expenses which I wouldn't have incurred if it wasn't for them , yes they gave a courtesy for only two weeks and they took it back and I have been without a car for over 6 months due to them not resolving this , so it is a dreadful experience , 

Vortex666

Jay1234569 said:

I think we have a similar case so you will be needing my advices as I am now in a stage where they haven't been able to resolve this,  and we have to go court,  the cheek of the rac , they damage your car and they make you wait over four months to make you an offer , and they reject paying for your daily taxi fares for you being without a car , which mounted up to over thousands in four months,  they offered £350 , for the damages,  the bumper alone costs £500 plus extra for fitting and spraying,  then we have payment for other parts, the grill they damaged , they also caused scratches amd dents all around the car , and damaged clutch And master and slave cylinder, and other parts too , total the cost is well above £2000, and then we have my expenses which I wouldn't have incurred if it wasn't for them , yes they gave a courtesy for only two weeks and they took it back and I have been without a car for over 6 months due to them not resolving this , so it is a dreadful experience , 

Hey pal, thank you for your comments!
Wow, that's just insane 😲..they already had 20 working days to investigate my case,and last week had an email they needed another 20 days🥴.. im gonna wait as my damages do not prevent me from driving, They're only cosmetic..
Had a quote from my local garage who actually had my front bumper resprayed last year, so this time a new bumper is required as it looks cracked a little bit..bumper alone is £700 from BMW..plus painting rear bumper too, materials, labour etc came up to £1600... Doubt RAC will pay that but lets see..
Keep me posted with the outcome on your case,give them a load of !!!!!!, hope it turns out well for you mate.