RAC loyalty abused

Autorenuked

Last year I inadvertantly left my RAC breakdown cover on auto renew and only discovered this when I noticed a huge £192 debit on my bank statement. This figure had gone up by over 80% in two years despite me having been a member for over 30 years. Having cancelled auto renew I was again aghast when this year’s renewal quote came in at £260. I phoned them and told them how unimpressed I was with their exploitative practices (sic) and lo and behold, they said that they could reduce it to £120.

I was now incandescent that they should ‘try it on’ in this way and got them to put this quote on hold while I considered other options. A couple of years ago I had opened a Nationwide Flex Plus account, purely to get their travel insurance as my existing cover dropped off when I turned 70. The package also included Car Breakdown cover but I hadn’t really looked into that as I was already covered by the RAC. However, the RAC renewal experience made me revisit what cover I already had from Nationwide.

To my surprise and delight I discovered that the Flex Plus account gave me full AA cover equivalent to the my previous RAC cover. Moreover, the AA were extremely helpful in helping me set up their app on both my own and my wife’s mobile phones. The outcome is that I have saved myself £260 and will never again take cover with the RAC nor recommend them to anyone else. The lessons learned are;

1. Never auto renew and always make sure that you have ticked the ‘don’t auto renew’ box on all your account websites.
2. Don’t think that you will be rewarded for loyalty. This may well be seen simply as an opportunity to exploit you.
3. Back in the days when I sort of trusted the RAC I used to always have to haggle with them at renewal and always got a significant reduction. This time was a bridge too far but if you do feel wedded to them for whatever reason, always haggle the price - you are 100% likely to succeed.
4. Always check whether you have alternative cover to avoid duplication. Drainage leaks and repairs seems to be another fertile area for being double covered!

Hope this salutory tale is useful!

Ayr_Rage

I am sure you feel better now you've vented.

However, leaving anything on automatic renewal is and has been for years plainly daft.

The eminent founder of this site has always espoused shopping around at every renewal for a service.

I'm surprised you and so many others have never embraced the concept.

Autorenuked

Totally agree and have always fully embraced Martin's wise words. Put it down to finger trouble on this occasion. I posted as a useful reminder to always double check your settings before pressing enter!

sammyjammy

And never assume that loyalty counts for anything, its business.