What are my rights when breakdown service says not a mechanical fault

Wendy.j.smythe

I would be extremely grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction and what to do next.

I bought breakdown service (cheap, but it covered what I wanted) and I broke down just recently but when I phoned up the helpline, when I told them that there is a banging, metallic sounding, and feels as though something has fallen down underneath driver side front.  I was asked questions as to what was wrong, but I could only tell him what it sounded like, which was that it sounded like something has fallen down and is scraping along floor, metallic sounding, and banging is getting worse.

I was told that it was not a mechanical fault and was not covered!  What?! I said I didn't know what it was but I could not drive the car as it is getting worse.  But he insisted that because I could drive but that I chose not to, that I was not covered.  I therefore had to call out and pay dearly for another breakdown service to rescue me, and it turned out to be the drive shaft clanging around as it had broken.

I had to be towed to a garage and have the part replaced.  From my understanding, the drive shaft is a necessary part of the mechanics of a car and with it failing, and if I had carried on my journey and ignored the banging, I could have lost control of the car.

Where do I stand here? Are they right that because I could drive it but decided not to, that I was not covered or does a drive shaft count as a mechanical fault? 

It seems as though the only way they could find out if mechanical or not is to see the car as I am not a mechanic and just told them what I heard. I certainly couldn't tell whether something was falling down off the car, or that something was banging against something else, but that is what it sounded like. It didn't sound like, for example, the exhaust falling off for sure!

Thanks in advance of any advice. TY.

Alderbank

Wendy.j.smythe said:

I bought breakdown service (cheap, but it covered what I wanted) 

With respect, it doesn't sound like it covered what you wanted.

What you can expect to receive should be defined in the terms and conditions. Many breakdown services offer a range of services at different prices.
You don't identify the company you bought from or the specific product you bought so it is not easy for us to advise whether you are getting what you paid for. Could you possibly at least share the terms and conditions for the service you chose?

Aylesbury_Duck

Which company, and what level of cover?  If you bought very cheap basic cover, I'm not surprised they wouldn't attend for a suspicion that something was wrong, rather than an actual breakdown.  We'd need to know the conditions of cover to know if they acted correctly or not.

HillStreetBlues

Total non-expert but my guess is the operator thought your exhaust had fallen off, so non-mechanical.
Can't see how a drive shaft would be classed as non-mechanical.

PHK

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Which company, and what level of cover?  If you bought very cheap basic cover, I'm not surprised they wouldn't attend for a suspicion that something was wrong, rather than an actual breakdown.  We'd need to know the conditions of cover to know if they acted correctly or not.

I agree  the basic services generally just cover if you breakdown (ie you cant drive it) away from home and cover the costs of getting you going again or  to either a garage or home.

Wendy.j.smythe

Thanks for your replies.  The policy covers me for breakdown, with either solution at roadside or towing to garage. Personally, and I could be wrong in terms of my rights, that whatever the reason for me stopping by the side of the road and I feel uncomfortable in driving on with banging and scraping of a metallic sound and I feel unsafe driving forward, they should attend at least to see what the problem actually is. In this instance, it turned out to be the drive shaft which I believe is a fundamental mechanical part of a vehicle. If I had carried on with my journey, I could have had a potentially serious accident if I lost control. 

I think sometimes that when the advisor is trying to find out what the problem is, they forget that I am not a mechanic and can only give them the clues; like banging, scraping, knocking that is so loud it was frightening enough for me to pull over to the side of the road. I think it absolutely absurd that, if it was the exhaust that had come off and was scraping along the road, then I have broken down as I cannot safely drive the vehicle - to me that is a breakdown.

outtatune

Have you sent a copy of the garage's report stating it was a driveshaft failure to the breakdown company?

Aylesbury_Duck

Wendy.j.smythe said:

Thanks for your replies.  The policy covers me for breakdown, with either solution at roadside or towing to garage. Personally, and I could be wrong in terms of my rights, that whatever the reason for me stopping by the side of the road and I feel uncomfortable in driving on with banging and scraping of a metallic sound and I feel unsafe driving forward, they should attend at least to see what the problem actually is. In this instance, it turned out to be the drive shaft which I believe is a fundamental mechanical part of a vehicle. If I had carried on with my journey, I could have had a potentially serious accident if I lost control. 

I think sometimes that when the advisor is trying to find out what the problem is, they forget that I am not a mechanic and can only give them the clues; like banging, scraping, knocking that is so loud it was frightening enough for me to pull over to the side of the road. I think it absolutely absurd that, if it was the exhaust that had come off and was scraping along the road, then I have broken down as I cannot safely drive the vehicle - to me that is a breakdown.

That's understandable, but it doesn't answer the question about whether what you reported was covered, and therefore whether the service provider has breached the contract.

sevenhills

Aylesbury_Duck said:

That's understandable, but it doesn't answer the question about whether what you reported was covered, and therefore whether the service provider has breached the contract.

I don't think the OP described it very well, but a broken drive shaft sounds like something that should be covered.

Recovery costs would be less than £100, but worth pursuing.

Aylesbury_Duck

sevenhills said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

That's understandable, but it doesn't answer the question about whether what you reported was covered, and therefore whether the service provider has breached the contract.

I don't think the OP described it very well, but a broken drive shaft sounds like something that should be covered.

Recovery costs would be less than £100, but worth pursuing.

Agreed, but what I was alluding to was that when she first called them, a general banging noise might not constitute a breakdown.  With hindsight of course, it was warning of an impending one, but if the car hadn't actually broken down at that point and the cover was very basic, it's a possibility that the provider wasn't wrong to refuse to attend.

km1500

PHK said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Which company, and what level of cover?  If you bought very cheap basic cover, I'm not surprised they wouldn't attend for a suspicion that something was wrong, rather than an actual breakdown.  We'd need to know the conditions of cover to know if they acted correctly or not.

I agree  the basic services generally just cover if you breakdown (ie you cant drive it) away from home and cover the costs of getting you going again or  to either a garage or home.

Not being able to drive it is not a definition of breakdown. One can think of a number of faults where it is possible to drive the car but would still be a 'breakdown' (eg: failure of lights when driving at night, major oil or water leak, flat tyre, brake failure). 

A broken drive shaft is certainly a breakdown, as it would be very inadvisable and unsafe to continue.