RAC has damaged our car and is taking no responsibility

[TheRACDamagedOurCar]

We broke down in Scotland while on holiday

RAC patrol advised not to drive the car as suspected turbo failure or timing chain failure.

Diagnostic codes and symptoms pointed to turbo failure

Car engine was still turning over, there was oil in the oil place etc.

30 days later and the car finally got recovered to our garage in England (which was a huge battle, terrible customer service and communication, and it went missing along the way)

It arrived with massive scratches on one side
Flat battery
Hydrolocked engine needing full replacement due to catastrophic failure
No oil
One mile increase on the odometer

Laypersons who have knowledge of the model have suggested that this is consistent with the car having been driven following turbo failure. (Failure causes oil to sit in cylinders, turning the engine over or driving causes oil to be sucked into engine and killing it)

it’s our position that the car needed significant but affordable (£3k) repairs but due to the negligent recovery process whereupon they didn’t even know where the car was and it went through at least 3 sub contractors, those repairs have been magnified into a car that now needs full engine replacement and is not economically viable to repair.

RAC has ‘investigated’ and said that no, because the technical team have looked at the original diagnostics and spoken to original patrol and said it already had catastrophic engine failure, that the engine was cutting out (it wasn’t and I have a video) and that it was the timing chain. They are closing the complaint and we have to go to ombudsman.

there are no timing chain fault codes
it was not hydrolocked before they took custody

they have ignored the battery, scratches, and odometer change.

does anyone have any advice or has anyone been in a similar situation?

Or has anyone gone to the financial ombudsman about anything?

Do you have a dash cam in the car? Can you use this to prove it was driven after you?

I dont know if all recovery services do it now but when I broke down recently they took photos all round the exterior of the car on pick up and drop off. It might be worth finding out the RAC usually do this and if so ask to have the pictures.

No dashcam and we wouldn’t have been able to leave one in the car anyway we had to remove all personal belongings

photos of the odometer at recovery and delivery though - that to me proves it was driven

they recovered it when it was dark but did take photos and did not record any damage on the part of the car which has been scratched

their subcontractor has explained why the battery is flat but RAC customer care is ignoring that part of my complaint

No experience of issues with car recovery companies but I would 100% refer this to the Financial Ombudsman

RAC also damaged our car on recovery (didn’t load it and asked me to steer behind on a pole and then suddenly turned smashing up the front wing of our car. They went radio silent on us (after admitting liability in person) we claimed though our car insurance and you should be able to aswell (claimed off them so no fault to us) if you can prove it’s been driven (odometer) whilst in their possession, and have written proof of the condition as it left you possession and when it turned up at the garage you can start a claim. It wasn’t quick or easy but the insurance handled everything and it was all fixed and returned swiftly - just took ages to close out the case. Good-luck. I

Ps it’s the Motor Ombudsman you will need. They have lots of past cases on their website (won and lost) so you can search to see if something similar has been reported before and the outcome of the complaint

I had to contact the motor ombudsman and unfortunately it’s a 9 month wait to even get a case handler assigned.

i would take them to small claims, although that is also likely to be 6months + for a court date. Put your case into chat gpt now to get an idea of the kind of evidence you’ll need so you can make sure you collect it as you go along

RAC are horrific.

I didn’t have so bad an experience but tell people all the time to avoid them at all costs.

I hope you get sorted OP.

Yes, had to report insurance to ombudsman and they found in my favour.
Use to have roadside recovery through insurance and they totally cocked it up. Fortunately a complaint to the insurers resulted in me getting a full refund for costs associated with car hire.
Why did it take so long to recover your car and how could they loose it? Try complaining to RAC and financial ombudsman if you don't get anywhere.

I'd try contacting The Guardian consumer support. Your experience reminded me of some of these: RAC was supposed to get my broken-down car home. But it’s lost it (2023); A botched RAC rescue turned our French road trip into an ordeal (2024); and An RAC call-out ended up with me losing my beloved Rolls-Royce (2023).

Nothing totally similar but the motor ombudsman seems to generally side with the RAC and it’s a very high burden of proof they want which we can’t afford (forensic mechanical investigation)

chat gpt thinks we will win in court but also chat gpt thinks the sun shines out my arse so 🤷🏼‍♀️

also the fear is we will be liable for legal fees, the losses are greater than 10k depending on how you calculate it

I’ll try contacting my car insurance but they say online it doesn’t cover mechanical failure

RAC has closed our complaint stating the technical team
found no evidence they worsened any faults with the car. They did not address the scratches battery or odometer change. They also haven’t sent us any documentation or reports despite us putting in an SAR over a month ago

No idea why recovery took so long
it was misplaced because subcontractors subcontracted again. And communication internally is appalling

Also it shouldn’t matter but I have autism and this has been the most nightmarish thing to deal with, so much uncertainty, we can’t repair or sell the car so feel very trapped, and it’s caused so much stress I’ve started having panic attacks and been put on ADs

I know that seems daft but honestly we must have spent an hour a day on average dealing with them, chasing things, explaining the situation again and again, begging someone to call back etc.

they make it very hard to get in touch and we’ve been passed between at least four departments.

Might be worth contacting Which, they’re pretty good with this sort of thing.

You can go to the financial Ombusdman, they deal with certain Breakdown cover issues

Good luck, I feel for you. I won’t bore you with my RAC story because it’d take me about 2 hours to write, but a breakdown 300 miles from home turned into something beyond a nightmare because of them. I honestly think they were trying to make us suffer.

Anyway, all the best with your claim. They’ll lie like the utter bastards they are, though. Make sure you leave bad reviews in every conceivable place

sorry this is who i meant. poor chances of success looking at the decisions.

fucking trustpilot took down my review even though i sent copies of all paperwork in! RAC has since sent an invitation to review to my husband, so will write it all there. VERY tempted to contact the press

ill try this thank you