RAC - would you ask for compensation and what would you expect to get?

[Kingfisherfly]

Lone woman breaksdown on a motorway and manages to limp to the services (so not stranded at the side of the road).

Case logged with RAC 9:45 Friday evening. She is finally "rescued" 2:15 Saturday afternoon.

That’s terrible. But what was the chronology of events? Did they send a tech and then decide on recovery? Were you somewhere remote. Were they in contact the whole time?

To be clear, broke down on a motorway but managed to get the car to a service station so you weren’t on the side of the road? You were in a car park with access to toilets, warmth and food and then rescued less than five hours later? What does contract say in terms of retrieval times?

No, the first time she saw anyone was 2:15 next day. Contact is via an app, which kept moving the ETA futher on. (It wasn't me).

I tried to edit my post but it didn’t work a miscalculated the maths. It all depends on her contract with them.

No rescued 2:15 the following afternoon. 16.5 hours and all night.

I broke down on a country lane, 5 hours later I got a call from them to say someone is on their way, be with you in 20 mins. Thankfully I found a pub, I also informed them I’m on my own and vulnerable due to my M.S and the unpredictability of it.

I don't think there is a contract time as such but their bumf says they aim to reach you within 60 mins and thst lone women are prioritised.

Do you want compensation because you’re out of pocket? Or because you’re annoyed at the rubbish service? Also, do they guarantee to get to you within a certain timescale?

Did she keep calling them back , I know it shouldn’t be necessary .

I had a similar experience and filled in a complaint form. They offered me £30.00. It wasn’t really about the money but more about them acknowledging they had left me in a very vulnerable situation very late at night / early morning. I accepted it (it was a cheque!) and gave the money to charity. I will not be renewing my membership as I had a similar situation, this time with DH in his car and at around midnight was told it would be around 5.00am. As we’re both in our seventies I found that unacceptable.

You don't get to speak to anyone. It's all on an app.

It's not me. I'm just wondering what you should expect when an insurance you've bought to help you in this situation doesn't.

And yes, she is out of pocket, she was on her way to an event at 3pm on the Saturday and missed it.

When I worked in a breakdown centre, ‘lone woman’ was alone beside the road. Not in a service station. That would have been a normal call.

And a 16 hour response time?

I had an internet fail, so hence my disjointed posts. But the same - she was in a relatively safe space with amenities. But again, it depends on what her policy cover says. Is there a commitment to rescue within a certain time? I don't have a national policy - the two times I have broken down I have sought local help and they are so much better. Take you and your car to the nearest garage and - in both my cases - drop you to the local train station (and one even waited to check the train came - what a sweetheart!) and I was stranded on the side of mountains. Longest was about 12 hours, but I have water and food in my car.

It is sometimes unavoidable. But 16 hours is a lot. First step would be to ask why.

16 hours is pretty poor. I would expect an apology, an explanation and a refund of my membership fee. I wouldn't expect compensation.

I wouldn’t expect her to get a penny out of the RAC after my terrible experience with their insurance back when I was younger. They quoted me £50 a month then immediately jacked it up to £2000 a month (I only earned £800 a month) alleging I hadn’t provided proof of no claims because they refused to accept my proof of no claims or escalate it to a manager. I called about 20 times to sort it and mysteriously all the managers were in a meeting every single time. They were so rude about it and never sorted it so I ended up cancelling it and getting insurance elsewhere. I would never buy anything from them ever again and I’m not surprised they didn’t prioritise your friend. I also hope she doesn’t get a ticket from the services for parking for so long.

But the lone woman isn’t vulnerable at services. Yeah the time was long but children, vulnerable llone women.broken down on the side of a motorway are prioritised over someone with food, drink, toilet, safe and comfortable place to be.

This is the problem with insurance like this. When you pay ahead they have little to lose. If you paid cash to a random mechanic with a pick up truck every 10 years or so you break down instead of yearly breakdown cover, you’d break even and the local mechanic would likely be far quicker.

or Green Flag. My mechanic dad recommends them.

I changed from rac for this exact reason. Its worth googling which breakdown company has the most recovery trucks in your area. Also ask people local to you who they recommend

I’d expect them to pay the parking fee for the services as they usually charge beyond a couple of hours. To compensate for any refreshments she bought etc. and then something for the inconvenience of waiting so long. 16 hours is ridiculously poor.

OK so maybe not a lone woman, but that's a ridiculous amount of time for anyone to wait for recovery?

The big companies like AA and RAC rely on their own fleet, which has limited capacity. I switched to a small company which calls out local firms, works really well.

I’ve heard similar stories about RAC and it’s a totally unacceptable amount of time to wait for recovery. I’d try for compensation based on the fact that you wouldn’t have bought cover with them if they’d advertised you’d have a 16-hour wait for them! Who would?