RAC underperforms [IMHO]
Discussion
I was just pulling out of the car park from Oulton Park [after the TVR track day] when the wife phoned. She'd left the lights on in a car park [foggy in the morning] and the battery was flat. I told her to call the RAC. As her mobile battery was not fully charged, I chased up the RAC on her behalf as I drove home. Calls to the RAC are not freephone numbers, and on my first call I was on the line within their call-holding system for over 14 minutes. When I got through I was told that a patrol was '2 miles away' and would be there in '5-10 minutes'. Called wife half an hour later and still no patrol, so called RAC again. This time I was 19 minutes on call waiting, plus a further 8 minutes while the operator tried to contact the patrol. Eventually, patrol turned up over 2 hours after the call was reported. This was wife with the 2 kids [OK, they're older kids, not toddlers] at 5:00pm on a Saturday. Lucky it wasn't cold or dark.
A word of warning therefore. If you have less that 20 minutes talk-time on your mobile [battery or pre-pay], don't count on getting through to the RAC...and be prepared for a long wait. If it takes 2 hours plus for them to get to a woman with kids in a station car park, then how long could it take them to get to a male stranded in the middle of nowhere?
I was leaving Oulton Park [Cheshire] when I got the call saying she couldn't start the car. I was north of Carlisle when the patrol arrived!
I did speak to the RAC and suggested that the service was poor, and got a standard 'nothing we can do'. I suggested as a minimum an apology might by nice, but no, just more 'not our fault/nothing we can do'.
I should add that the patrol that arrived was very good [so the wife says] - it's just a pity it takes 19 minutes on hold plus a 2 hour wait to see them.
WB
A word of warning therefore. If you have less that 20 minutes talk-time on your mobile [battery or pre-pay], don't count on getting through to the RAC...and be prepared for a long wait. If it takes 2 hours plus for them to get to a woman with kids in a station car park, then how long could it take them to get to a male stranded in the middle of nowhere?
I was leaving Oulton Park [Cheshire] when I got the call saying she couldn't start the car. I was north of Carlisle when the patrol arrived!
I did speak to the RAC and suggested that the service was poor, and got a standard 'nothing we can do'. I suggested as a minimum an apology might by nice, but no, just more 'not our fault/nothing we can do'.
I should add that the patrol that arrived was very good [so the wife says] - it's just a pity it takes 19 minutes on hold plus a 2 hour wait to see them.
WB
quote:
If it takes 2 hours plus for them to get to a woman with kids in a station car park, then how long could it take them to get to a male stranded in the middle of nowhere?
-in excess of 5 hours from the first call to being dropped off at the garage....just 28 miles away!
They got confused about my car in the process and sent the wrong type of recovery vehicle
Also, according to independent inspection, in the process of fault finding they'd buggered the ignition wiring Wrote them a letter and got a 'sorry' back, no compensation, no freebies, nowt.
At renewal time they were shocked to hear my comments over the phone about prices and performance. A couple of days later I received a letter saying my previous renewal notice 'indicated the incorrect price' and 'there would be a discount of 12 GBP applicable to any re-application'
I've obviously switched company :twofingerstotheRAC:
>> Edited by Pete_w on Monday 5th August 12:11
Absolutely concur,
30 minutes of warm mobile pressed against my head listening to er.. i forget.
However the contracted guy turned up in good time, but couldn't get his tow thing under the car, so he phoned his mate who turned up 45 minutes later with a flatbed - this was after telling the RAC girl 'It's very low - so I would call a flatbed if you could please.'
Whilst in the truck I got a call from someone in bolton asking me where the car was.
Bristol...
Muppets - very funny though as ..I was not about to give birth ..I didn't have an important meeting ..my girlfriend(s) were not with me
etc
Oh and the bloke was soooo fat he couldn't reach the tow bar!!
30 minutes of warm mobile pressed against my head listening to er.. i forget.
However the contracted guy turned up in good time, but couldn't get his tow thing under the car, so he phoned his mate who turned up 45 minutes later with a flatbed - this was after telling the RAC girl 'It's very low - so I would call a flatbed if you could please.'
Whilst in the truck I got a call from someone in bolton asking me where the car was.
Bristol...
Muppets - very funny though as ..I was not about to give birth ..I didn't have an important meeting ..my girlfriend(s) were not with me
etc
Oh and the bloke was soooo fat he couldn't reach the tow bar!!
Don't the RAC support congestion charging, tolls, no new road building, siphoning drivers taxes into defence and all other anti-car policies?
For a group that was set-up to protect the motorists interests, surely we should all boycott them in view of there current policies.
Or maybe we are and that's why they can't afford to give you a decent service!
For a group that was set-up to protect the motorists interests, surely we should all boycott them in view of there current policies.
Or maybe we are and that's why they can't afford to give you a decent service!
quote:
Join Britannia. can't fault them, brilliant service.
Couldn't agree more.
Last time I called RAC the patrolman had to borrow my tools and then slagged me off as he felt I could have done the job myself, true but that was not why I paid my subscrption and I was not wearing overalls, (a nice strapless black number actually but don't tell anybody).
To redress the balance a bit...
I once called the RAC from a car park in Ascot, where the clutch on my Mk. 2 Cavalier (I know better now, so stop laughing!
) had reached the end of its useful. Got the usual "We'll be there ASAP madam, etc. etc." so off I went to the office, 5 minutes' walk away.
When I got in, there was a message on my desk: "The RAC called - they're waiting in the car park, where are you?"
The longest I've ever had to wait for their initial visit was about 40 minutes. 3 hours for a low loader!!
I once called the RAC from a car park in Ascot, where the clutch on my Mk. 2 Cavalier (I know better now, so stop laughing!
) had reached the end of its useful. Got the usual "We'll be there ASAP madam, etc. etc." so off I went to the office, 5 minutes' walk away. When I got in, there was a message on my desk: "The RAC called - they're waiting in the car park, where are you?"
The longest I've ever had to wait for their initial visit was about 40 minutes. 3 hours for a low loader!!
Got to say I've never had too many problems with them - normally get the first visit within the hour (yes I have called them a few times!!) and the low-loader within the hour after that. But the last times was about 5 years ago (grabbing hold of a HUGE piece of wood...) so they might've changed.....
I had largely good experiences with them. However, for some reason, I'd got placed on their fleet scheme. This meant that they'd pick me up from anywhere, take me anywhere, and drop the car off somewhere, and my call was answered instantly on an 0800 number. All came for free with the car insurance.
Which was nice.
>> Edited by Marshy on Tuesday 6th August 10:35
Which was nice.
>> Edited by Marshy on Tuesday 6th August 10:35
Must be Sunninghill Marshy, Ihave to say we have also had excellent service.
Our Chimaera blew the radiator on my in-laws drive last new years eve, RAC came out within the hour but couldn't fix it, and the garage I used was closed until the 2nd Jan. Not a problem says he, we will consider the call not closed, you call us back on the 2nd and we'll send a flatbed to pick the car up and take it to the garage when it's open. Excellent service.
Our Chimaera blew the radiator on my in-laws drive last new years eve, RAC came out within the hour but couldn't fix it, and the garage I used was closed until the 2nd Jan. Not a problem says he, we will consider the call not closed, you call us back on the 2nd and we'll send a flatbed to pick the car up and take it to the garage when it's open. Excellent service.
Hmmnn RAC 
They administer Audi Assit that you get when you buy a brand new Audi. I was in one of the first, if not the first Audi TT in the UK. We hit a badger in it in the middle of nowhere (Fawsley Hall in Northants should you know it) and it ripped off a load of important looking hoses at the bottom of the engine.
We called Audi Assit telling them very explicitly that it was a quattro i.e. 4WD so they could book a low loader as there was no way it was moving again. 3 hours later an escort van + dolly arrived, so we sent that back straight away. After another 2.5 hours a low loader finally arrived and took us home.
I'll be using the AA from then on.
Matt.
They administer Audi Assit that you get when you buy a brand new Audi. I was in one of the first, if not the first Audi TT in the UK. We hit a badger in it in the middle of nowhere (Fawsley Hall in Northants should you know it) and it ripped off a load of important looking hoses at the bottom of the engine.
We called Audi Assit telling them very explicitly that it was a quattro i.e. 4WD so they could book a low loader as there was no way it was moving again. 3 hours later an escort van + dolly arrived, so we sent that back straight away. After another 2.5 hours a low loader finally arrived and took us home.
I'll be using the AA from then on.
Matt.
I've been a member with the RAC for about 16 years. During that time the cars I've had have included a couple of not always completely mechanically sound MGBs and a Healey 3000 used as daily drivers. As a result I've been a fairly regular user of the RAC! I'd guess that on average I've used the RAC at least twice a year. During that time I've rarely had any problems with their service - maybe twice in all that time have I experienced a long wait, and on quite a few occasions they've turned up much quicker than expected (within half an hour). I don't ever recall being put on hold for very long in their telephone queues.
Main gripe is that their rates have become increasingly more expensive so I have been thinking of changing for that reason.
Main gripe is that their rates have become increasingly more expensive so I have been thinking of changing for that reason.
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