The RAC left me stranded at the roadside for 13 hours after I broke down. A mechanic arrived almost three hours after I first called, and said my car would need to be recovered. I paid £195 for this. By 10pm I was still waiting with no updates. I called seven times and was promised callbacks that never came. After 12 hours, I was told no recovery vehicle had been ordered and that none was now available. A taxi was later dispatched to take me home at 11pm and my car was recovered the following day. I had to take the lost day as unpaid leave. I requested a refund of the £195 and compensation. RAC offered me £50 and closed the complaint.
JM, Newark, Nottinghamshire
The RAC’s reply to your formal complaint speaks volumes, although not in the way it intended. It patronisingly informed you that you had been warned it might be a three-hour wait for assistance. Which it was – for the first mechanic.
Your beef was the second 10-hour wait for a phantom recovery, which RAC’s letter failed to address. Its letter concluded curtly that the £50 was its final offer and response. It was its only offer and response, and took five weeks to write.
The RAC called you within two hours of my contact. Its statement to me makes no mention of the alleged failure to order recovery. Nor of its bungled response to your complaint. “Unfortunately, there was a high demand for recoveries at the time, which caused a delay,” it says. “Despite this, we should have kept our member better informed and arranged a taxi sooner.” You’ve now been refunded the £195 plus £100.
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