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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cold, wet and angry

87 replies

Wyldfyre · 13/08/2016 06:54

Stuck on the side of a busy motorway for three hours last night due to the RAC's definition of priority and their grasp of geography - I was originally told 40 minutes and the contractor they eventually sent came from a town over an hour and a half away. And they didn't send him until if been there a while and they sent him to a job before me as it was closer to the town he was coming from.
Having a rear wheel blow out at 70mph is scary enough, let alone when you have lorries thundering by.
To make things worse, it was raining and I didn't have a waterproof - having taken it out of the car (where I always keep it) on my day off so I could walk to the shops and forgetting to put it back. I also wasn't within walking distance of anywhere safe (about a mile from the nearest slip road but not in my opinion a safe route to walk).
Two police cars drove by, neither of which stopped to see in the lone and shivering woman was ok - so much for the motto "Keeping People Safe".
In the end, a guy who had been going NB when I first broke down stops to ask if I was ok when he passed SB two hours later and despite living miles away have me his phone number and said he'd come back and pick me up if the RAC failed to arrive. (So a little faith in humanity restored)

I broke down just after 6 and got off the motorway after 9pm.

WIBU to formally complain to the RAC?

OP posts:
HeffalumpHistory · 13/08/2016 12:55

RAC are utter shite!
Don't know anyone who's called them out and had a good experience. They have form for ignoring the vulnerable/lying that someone is on the way when they haven't even contacted the mechanic/pick up

Gribbie · 13/08/2016 13:00

"Ignorant and rather silly" - delightful! Beats being patronising imo.

It was a genuine question. We don't know how far off the road the car was, etc. All the OP needed to say was "no, too dangerous, nuts too tight, or whatever the reason was".

Jizzomelette · 13/08/2016 13:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bigsnugglebunny · 13/08/2016 13:01

Green flag came out to me on Xmas eve, and on xmas day in 2014 and the following year my premium went down! They are pretty great from my own experience.

I have never had RAC cover, but my mum did have it and it always took them an age to arrive.

cardibach · 13/08/2016 13:02

I left the AA a few years ago when they (deliberately) left me and my young DD stranded an hour from home late at night. I'd misfuelled, and their (small print) rules said that because i was 'my fault' they would only drop the car at the nearest dealership, not honour the relay I paid for. The mechanic who came argued with his despatch for ages but they wouldn't give in. I realise it was in the rules, but I had paid their completely extortionate fees for years without using them at all and there was no flexibility. I now use Green Flag who were brilliant when I had a tyre blow on the way to work.
I'm confused about this 'own fault' business with misfuelling, though - if the engine goes because, say, you forget to check the oil they help you. How is fuel any more the driver's fault than this?

BurningBridges · 13/08/2016 13:05

Another vote for Britannia Rescue here. My friends broke down the other day only about an hour from where we live. They waited 2 hours to be towed the services, and then another 4 hours to be taken home (they needed the car towed as well). They did have a child with them albeit a 10 year old but even so, 6 hours - what a joke.

Rosieposy4 · 13/08/2016 13:05

I was left standed on a country road with a baby and a toddler for 3 hours by the AA a few years ago so switched to the RAC,msounds like they are all fairly poor

StillDrSethHazlittMD · 13/08/2016 13:05

Gribbie I apologise for being a bit rude there, but really, every motoring organisation and the highway code recommends not changing a tyre on the motorway. The OP stated that she was stuck on the side of a busy motorway which tends to suggest the hard shoulder; most motorways' hard shoulder are the same width and there would barely be room to change the tyre on the driver's side without sticking your arse out in the slow lane. It really, really, isn't an option - not a sensible one, anyway.

trafalgargal · 13/08/2016 13:06

I was with the RAC as ex MIL worked for them and I got a family rate . When I switched to Green Flag I couldn't believe how much better they were (and usually cheaper too)

thecatneuterer · 13/08/2016 13:07

I'm confused about this 'own fault' business with misfuelling, though - if the engine goes because, say, you forget to check the oil they help you. How is fuel any more the driver's fault than this?

That's a point cardibach. I know that running out of petrol is chargeable and I suppose putting in the wrong fuel comes under the same category. Not checking the oil is probably more of a grey area. Incidentally the bill from the private contractor was only £110, compared to the £250 the RAC have billed us for not actually doing anything at all.

And I'm with Green Flag myself and they've been great.

loobylou10 · 13/08/2016 13:07

Really Helpful that Gribbie

SvalbardianPenguin · 13/08/2016 13:07

We used to have AA full cover and lost our car keys. We phoned them and they said that there was nothing that they could do to help. We're now with an alternative - not the RAC.

trafalgargal · 13/08/2016 13:08

Grubbie do you actually have a driving licence ?

Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost · 13/08/2016 13:10

We RAC to it. Erm no you bloody don't. The words trades description are ringing in my ears. If that's racing I'd hate to see what they're like when they're taking their time
As others have said. Cancel your membership.

Puppymouse · 13/08/2016 13:10

RAC left me alone for 2 hours with DD when she was only 4 months old. Thank God I was ebf so could feed her as I'd only popped out to walk the dog and might not have brought bottles with me. When the truck eventually turned up not only had the driver not been told I had a baby with me but he then refused to take us anywhere because he wasn't equipped or insured (my seat was locked in my car and keys lost.) I moved as soon as I could to Green Flag having been with RAC for about 15 years Angry

ilovecherries · 13/08/2016 13:12

Had a similar awful experience with the AA a few years back. Complete engine failure - had to cruise from the outside lane onto the hard shoulder with no power. Bloody terrifying. Had my then 6 year old with me. Took over three hours till the recovery vehicle came. Police stopped at one point, asked if I'd phoned for help, then drove off and left us again. We were terrified, soaked to the skin and exhausted. When the recovery vehicle turned up, the driver had brought his mate with him to keep him company (it was a 6 hour recovery). They swore, smoked and told dirty jokes the entire way - because he had him in the front, DD and I had to sit on the bench seat in the back. I think all the recovery companies emphasise how great and thoughtful they are, but on the day, they can all be shit. We're with Green Flag now, but have only ever had to use them for home start, so no idea how good they'd be in an emergency.

Original poster
Wyldfyre · 13/08/2016 13:12

I was on the hard shoulder, two foot from 33 tonne arctics thundering past - no way was I changing the tyre there. Due to my job I'm also very aware of how many crashes there are on that stretch of road.

There's also a couple of reasons I would have been reluctant to anyway, even if it hadn't been a motorway.
I have alloys and the spare wheel is a normal one. I've not changed one of those over before (never had alloys before) so would rather have help the first time.
I have a tailgate guard fitted for the dogs. Turns out the mechanic who installed it didn't read the instructions and didn't cut the fitting kit screws back to length - I can't get it out so can't get to the spare wheel.

I'm also reluctant to switch from the RAC. Normally they are brilliant - and they are definitely better than my experience with the AA (who are patronising gits).

My DF is a time-served mechanic so usually if I say I think it's X gone wrong, I'm in the right ball park. If I suggest checking a certain bit first, rather than the traditional elimination then RAC have nearly always listened.

OP posts:
TondelayaDellaVentamiglia · 13/08/2016 13:13

gosh I bet the OP just wondered why on earth her ickle carsy-warsy wasn't going brummy-brumm anymore....if ONLY she had thought to change the tyre herself, what a silly pickle she must be.

OR JUST MAYBE

she thought fuck that for a game of soldiers, I've already danced with Death enough this evening what with the tyre blow out and then made an informed, and sensible decision not to risk her life any further.

Gribbie · 13/08/2016 13:13

Apology accepted. life is so much nicer when everyone talks kindly to each other.

Gribbie · 13/08/2016 13:17

Yes I do have a driving licence. Have had it for 20 years, averaging 15k miles a year.

OP - thanks for a polite reply. Perfectly sensible not to change it in these circumstances.

PizzzaTheHutt · 13/08/2016 13:18

Definitely complain. We had a similar experience with the AA and did get some money back as compensation.

My husband and I broke down at 5pm on the motorway an hour from home. We Were left there until 9pm (despite being told we would be rescued within an hour), when we were finally towed to the closest service station and left there Confused.

We had to wait until 3am ( trying to sleep in the car and being told repeatedly someone would be there within the hour) until we were towed by a large AA van which took us to another service station. From there, we were put in a taxi and taken home.

We got in at 5.30am - a 12 hour ordeal!

Irelephant · 13/08/2016 13:18

Too be fair too grimmie I had no idea about not changing a wheel on the hard shoulder.

Not that I'd know how too change one anyway. My dad still does my oil and tyres etc and I'm 28.

Pleased your ok op it sounded terrifying.

Benedikte2 · 13/08/2016 13:18

I've always had great service from RAC after changing from AA. RAC workers have gone out of their way to be helpful, however the company was recently taken over - sort of privatisation and maybe it's ethos has changed? Hope not as its been a life line to me. After accident in Gloucestershire drove me and car back home to Herts -- too far out of way for one worker so took me in relays.
Have installed new batteries for cost of battery alone etc etc. Always cheerful and respectful.

Irelephant · 13/08/2016 13:19
  • gribbie sorry on my phone and can't type for shit.
AnyFucker · 13/08/2016 13:22

My very competent husband would not change a tyre when we had a blow out on the motorway.

When the breakdown guy came he said you did the right thing not to attempt it. He parked his big FuckOff truck behind with flashing lights to warn the thundering lorries and said that is the only circumstance under which he would do it himself

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