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?

I have a partial response back, only three days late so not worth mentioning.

there is a lot missing though without explanation. It’s also incomprehensible

Is it a Ford with an eco boost engine?

If so wet belt failure is extremely common leading to engine seizing up. Only option is a complete replacement. If this is the case it was inevitable and nothing the RAC did or didn’t do would affect that.

It is not

What make and model was it?

Have you spoken to your insurance provider? Wouldn’t they be well placed to advise what next steps to take with RAC?

I do t know much about cars but could the odometer not have roll onto the next mile simply by rolling the car onto the flatbed?

I would contact one of the consumer rights champions - I think the guardian has one.

I have and they have advised civil claim under consumer law / breach of contract and said they cannot help as it’s mechanical failure while in third party custody

Even if an error is common that doesn’t mean their duty of care can be disregarded and in any case that doesn’t explain the broken undocumented chain of custody, the battery, the scratches, the increased mileage, or the 30 day recovery.

wet belt failure has never been mentioned and I don’t know what that is.

Sorry missed the second part

apparently the engine has to be engaged and also this car was not meant to have any self movement at all precisely due to the risks

the car had to be moved by hydraulics and dollies - it’s one of the reasons the recovery initially failed

What evidence did you need for ombudsman to find in your favour? Would you mind maybe DMing me and telling me more? This is the advice I’m really after

Sally Sorts at the Daily Mail. She takes on RAC few times. She gets most things sorted

I’ve just googled this and disagree re inevitable.

If a car is showing symptoms of this and is defined as do not drive and on its way to repair, but then it is driven, that driving could easily turn a nasty repair into total failure which was avoidable with repairs.

That isn’t my car or repair issue, but the situation is parallel.

I need to find a direct contact for her team

Do you have evidence that it was not scratched when they collected it? You mentioned earlier that they had taken photos but it was dark - have they included these photos in the SAR response and if so are they useable?

Or are they claiming it was not scratched when they returned it to you? Do you have evidence that it was, or could you ask the garage it was delivered to for any documentation they have, and/or a statement?

The motor ombudsman has a page here on technical reports - they say:

... if your case is reliant on us making a decision about whether the vehicle is faulty, if a problem should be repairable under warranty or if an accredited business has failed to take reasonable care and skill with their diagnosis, repair and/or servicing, then it’s likely we’ll need something from you to prove your case.

You can go through our full process without providing technical evidence, if you wish. However, if one of our team asks for it and it’s not provided, then we may not be able to find in your favour.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/consumers/independent-vehicle-reports/

This is reasonable - they can only make a decision on the evidence they are given by you and by RAC. It will cost but it will be a small amount compared with the value of your claim, and if they uphold your complaint you'll be awarded costs back.

I see from your other thread that you're waiting to hear if your legal cover will take your case so it would seem sensible to wait for that decision before you proceed. If they agree in principle they'll want to get a report done anyway before moving forward and the legal insurance should cover the cost.

Be prepared for the legal stuff to move at a snail's pace and be extremely stressful. For now I would focus on sorting the transport situation (keep receipts for all additional costs from being without your car!) and also go through the SAR response with a fine toothed comb. Take your time with this - there's likely a lot of repetitive, boring and irrelevant detail in there but there might also be something - even just a sentence or two - which you can use to show they are in the wrong. Do challenge them if there's stuff missing that you asked for, there's a template letter on the ICO link I posted earlier. I wish you the best of luck.

Go to the ombudsman and if they don’t side with you then appeal. We did and won on appeal (not a motoring issue though). Good luck.