Do not rely on RAC to get you home.

[oldman]

Hi all,

I’ve no posted in a while because I’ve had nothing to say until this week but now I have to vent!
So, as you may know, I’m caring for two disabled adults and one of the things I have in place is RAC membership. I was persuaded to change my membership from the AA by a RAC salesman who explained that the RAC would sort us out if we had an accident.
This is from the RAC website “If you're involved in an accident, we'll come to your rescue regardless of who's at fault.”
Two days ago the wife dodged a cyclist and clipped a traffic island resulting in two flat tyres. So she calls the RAC and after three hours they turn up, take one look at the damage and say that it is a road traffic accident and they are NOT going to help!
So after spending over £4000 on membership since 2006 they leave a disabled woman sobbing at the side of the road and drive off. This is now 9pm in London and she is on her own. By the time we had a taxi sorted to get her home it was 10pm.
The next day we called the insurance company and they said that they would have to car taken to a garage for repairs but I would have to take the wheelchair out because it may be a week or two before we get the car back and, no, we are not getting a replacement car.
Today I went over to look at the damage and retrieve the wheelchair and any belongings from the car. The only damage was two flat tyres.
While I’m looking at the damage a traffic patrol car pulled up as he had already spotted the car and was wondering if it was abandoned. When I explained the situation he lent me another jack so I could get both tyres off and gave me a lift to a local garage and back.
The car is now back home and although the alloy wheel looks like it may need replacing there is nothing wrong. Total cost for fixing it myself, £175 for taxis, tyres and a packet of wet wipes.
We’re living in strange times when traffic wardens are the good guys and the people who are there to help take your money and shaft you.

Rant over, I’ll sit quiet again.

[Arzosah]

My sympathies to you and your wife! That sounds appalling ... is there any Ombudsman you can complain to?

Thinking of posting on here, by the way - I'm wondering if you've posted in the past about particular prepping aspects of caring for disabled adults? I know there are other people on here in your situation, I just think sharing information in that area could be really beneficial, for you guys but also for those of us *not* currently in that situation. But thats the least of your concerns, of course

[Seminole]

Shocking, but unforunately not surprising. A sign of the times. May I ask how old was the AA bloke who turned up?, I ask as it seems to me that anyone under about 40 these days is highly likely to be a selfish git who would not go above and beyond the bare minimum of effort if he saw someone dying in front of him...more likely to take a selfie with the bleeding casualty in the background and post it on his facebook page.
If it's any concellation the AA are no better these days.

[jansman]

Was it a sub contract recovery firm,rather than a patrolman?

[oldman]

Hi Arzosah, I doubt complaining to an ombudsman, if there is one, will do any good as I'm not going to get my time back. There is often an RAC man outside my local Tesco, You will find me standing next to him telling everyone what happened, it will make me feel better at least.
I will do something on prepping as a carer, at least from my experience, if nothing else it will help me get a better idea of what I have to do.

No Seminole, he was a 40ish bloke but this came from the office above. I even phoned the office myself and was told that we were not covered even though the paperwork says we are.

I was a real RAC van Jansman.

In future I will be putting the money aside rather than giving it to these clowns.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Must admit I couldn't fault the rac when my car dropped its cam sensor....


I've just dumped the rac and gone aa and saved over £100!
I'm lucky enough to be able bodied and car savvy locally if I broke down I'd ring a local place


Sadly the insurance will probably screw you next year to boot as even though you didn't clame you've had a accident ...


I Cary a local tyre man's card in my car as well


https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/ ... cover-2018

[yorkshirewolf]

We've had RAC for several years and have the individual 'driving any vehicle' membership.

Had a few call outs over the years and they've always been good, sometimes had a bit over an hour wait, but better than getting fleeced by a recovery service in desperation.
With the 'any vehicle' membership we have it even covers me on my motorbike, though I did check that, and get confirmation, which leads me to my point:

This is where reading the small print and knowing what is and isn't covered pays off, and whether it's the small print on an insurance policy or a breakdown policy, sorry to say it, but that's your responsibility.

However, with misleading claims on websites and TV adverts it is easy to assume your membership covers you for lots of things that your policy doesn't, when we first used RAC it was part of an insurance policy and all we were told was: 'breakdown cover is included' but it turned out the cover only extended 15 miles from where we lived! the breakdown we had was literally 15 and-a-half miles, so a friendly farmer offered to tow us half a mile down the road, luckily, the RAC saw sense and came out anyway, but since then I always check, check and check again, what we're covered for.

I always bear in mind, these companies aren't there out of the good of their hearts, they're there to make money, and if they can get out of something they will, but knowing exactly what you're covered for and whats in your policy, gives you legal protection and recourse if they fail to provide whats in that policy.

[korolev]

I don't understand why the RAC wouldn't help out. I have Brittania Rescue and have had them out 4 times in the last 20 years, twice for breakdowns and twice for accidents; never had any question of not being covered.
At present I have full personal cover for me and the Mrs plus my son's car is a named vehicle so anyone driving it is covered.
Costs about £140 a year but for the reassurance I get I think it's worth it.

(actually I think they're now called LV)

[Quill]

Must admit I couldn't fault the rac when my car dropped its cam sensor....


I've just dumped the rac and gone aa and saved over £100!
I'm lucky enough to be able bodied and car savvy locally if I broke down I'd ring a local place


Sadly the insurance will probably screw you next year to boot as even though you didn't clame you've had a accident ...


I Cary a local tyre man's card in my car as well


https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/ ... cover-2018

Car insurance companies love to screw you over, I've got a horror story about Bell insurance in particular. In Feb I got told that I had been involved in an accident and had a claim number. This was news to me so I rang them and asked what was going on. Someone had hit this woman's car in London in July 2017 with a red peugeot. I lived in the midlands at the time and I drive a black toyota. Lady on the phone seemed to accept that and told me to just take some photos to prove that it wasn't a red peugeot and it'd be resolved quickly enough. Sent the photos over that day, thought that was that.

Come April I get my insurance renewal quote through the door, it was triple what it was last year because I was involved in an ongoing claim. Got told that I can't swap to another insurer while the claim is ongoing but that when it was resolved I'd get a full refund of any overpayment.

Kept chasing them up until they finally accepted in August that I wasn't involved. Told I'd receive my compensation in September's claim. All they did was reduce my payments to their original level. 11/10 customer service. Filed a complaint with them and the ombudsman. Got £115 back from Bell, but still waiting on the Ombudsman to contact me.


TL:DR Someone in London can't read number plates correctly and my insurance charged me £600 for the privilege. The whole thing I've taken from this is how important it is to have a rainy day fund for when this crap happens.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Well having left my mate stranded for just over 9 hours to be recovered the RAC slips well down in my estimation

I'm now with green flag as the AA doubled my renewal quote