RAC don’t seem to know where my car is after recovering it
RAC don’t seem to know where my car is after recovering it
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Discussion

mpit

Original Poster:

374 posts

200 months

Friday 17th February 2023
quotequote all
11 days ago, I came out to my car to find a puddle of brake fluid under it. A brake line had failed from corrosion!

I speak to my usual garage, tell them to expect my car and call the RAC to arrange recovery.

They eventually arrive 6 days later - Monday and take the car.

So you can imagine my surprise when the garage gets in touch on Tuesday to ask where the car is.

Since then I’ve called the RAC once a day trying to get some information and each time I’ve been told I’d get a call from a manager that day and to wait.

Information is rare, but from information I’ve gleaned across 6-7 calls - I’ve established that a contractor of their contractor took the car to a storage yard, the rac doesn’t know where that is and attempts to contact this contractor have been unsuccessful.

Beyond that, I’m completely stonewalled.

I’m not quite sure what to do at this point. Staff on the phone say they can’t put me onto a manager, managers never call back and even their twitter guys say “we’ve raised this with the team, there’s nothing we can do”

Am I being unreasonable to be close to losing my st after the car has been MIA for almost a week and the rac are refusing to engage with me about it?

Trevor555

5,488 posts

114 months

Friday 17th February 2023
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mpit said:
Am I being unreasonable to be close to losing my st after the car has been MIA for almost a week and the rac are refusing to engage with me about it?
You're not being unreasonable at all.

Alorotom

12,788 posts

217 months

Friday 17th February 2023
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I’d have gone ape on day 1 tbh - a week is frankly a joke!

anonymous-user

84 months

Friday 17th February 2023
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Report it to your insurance?
If losing a car is covered!

911Spanker

3,693 posts

46 months

Friday 17th February 2023
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I got truly shocking service from the RAC recently. Will never use them again - complete waste of time.

To lose your car is beyond a joke. Contact the CEO and demand answers.

CoreyDog

886 posts

120 months

Friday 17th February 2023
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You’ve stayed far calmer than I would. They lost your car…. Actually bloody lost it!

Anyway to escalate it? Surely they’ve got some form of complaints procedure to move it up the chain?

At what point would you consider it may have been stolen? No information forth coming, being vague, you don’t know where your car is? I’d be tempted to give them a deadline and threaten to report it unless they sort it.

CG2020UK

2,988 posts

70 months

Friday 17th February 2023
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Screw that I’d be ringing the police.

If they don’t know where it is and can’t give you it back then it sounds stolen to me.

e600

1,522 posts

182 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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Use the social media platforms to advertise the fact, the RAC may provide better response than you have been getting. Contrary to what Hollywood says not all publicity is good publicity

anonymous-user

84 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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The driver of the recovery truck - wasn't wearing a tracksuit and have a Romanian/Eastern European accent per chance?

Venisonpie

4,869 posts

112 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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I've experienced this a few times, it happens when the destination is not able to accept the vehicle and it ends up in a compound until the job is reassigned for completion.

You're now in the hands of a call centre who's staff range from ok to hopeless. It will take a lot of perseverance to get someone to properly look into it rather than fob you off as it means they might have to think.

You'll need to coach the person to firstly find out where it went, then get them to set up a new job request to make the second leg of the movement. The compound won't be in any hurry to chase the RAC as they're happily running the storage fee meter which will be billed to them (not you).

I had one lost for 3 weeks once so I empathise with you.

mpit

Original Poster:

374 posts

200 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
quotequote all
Venisonpie said:
I've experienced this a few times, it happens when the destination is not able to accept the vehicle and it ends up in a compound until the job is reassigned for completion.

You're now in the hands of a call centre who's staff range from ok to hopeless. It will take a lot of perseverance to get someone to properly look into it rather than fob you off as it means they might have to think.

You'll need to coach the person to firstly find out where it went, then get them to set up a new job request to make the second leg of the movement. The compound won't be in any hurry to chase the RAC as they're happily running the storage fee meter which will be billed to them (not you).

I had one lost for 3 weeks once so I empathise with you.
Well that’s just it.

They recovered the car from where it was safely parked at my home, at a time when the destination could accept it.

In fact, they’d called and asked the destination earlier that day.

Matt_E_Mulsion

1,746 posts

95 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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Who actually collected your car, the RAC themselves or one of their contractors?

mpit

Original Poster:

374 posts

200 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
quotequote all
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
Who actually collected your car, the RAC themselves or one of their contractors?
A contractor

Rough101

3,059 posts

105 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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Hit them hard on social media, all channels and maybe a local journalist will pick it up as well.

Losing it for a day is bad enough, I had this with another service, in my case though ‘lost’ was just an excuse for not having enough drivers/ vehicles to move it from the compound to the garage, as the driver told me when he rang to confirm it was with the dealer. In my case they had arranged a hire car anyway.

Venisonpie

4,869 posts

112 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
quotequote all
mpit said:
Venisonpie said:
I've experienced this a few times, it happens when the destination is not able to accept the vehicle and it ends up in a compound until the job is reassigned for completion.

You're now in the hands of a call centre who's staff range from ok to hopeless. It will take a lot of perseverance to get someone to properly look into it rather than fob you off as it means they might have to think.

You'll need to coach the person to firstly find out where it went, then get them to set up a new job request to make the second leg of the movement. The compound won't be in any hurry to chase the RAC as they're happily running the storage fee meter which will be billed to them (not you).

I had one lost for 3 weeks once so I empathise with you.
Well that’s just it.

They recovered the car from where it was safely parked at my home, at a time when the destination could accept it.

In fact, they’d called and asked the destination earlier that day.
Ah, that's worse. In which case ignore my paragraph one but the rest sadly might be the way forward.

vaud

59,659 posts

185 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
quotequote all
Try ops@rac.co.uk

mpit

Original Poster:

374 posts

200 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
quotequote all
Venisonpie said:
I've experienced this a few times, it happens when the destination is not able to accept the vehicle and it ends up in a compound until the job is reassigned for completion.

You're now in the hands of a call centre who's staff range from ok to hopeless. It will take a lot of perseverance to get someone to properly look into it rather than fob you off as it means they might have to think.

You'll need to coach the person to firstly find out where it went, then get them to set up a new job request to make the second leg of the movement. The compound won't be in any hurry to chase the RAC as they're happily running the storage fee meter which will be billed to them (not you).

I had one lost for 3 weeks once so I empathise with you.
So I don’t want to jump the gun, but this seems to have been great advice.

Called this morning, got a guy who actually bothered to look at it and I suggest he re-books from storage to the garage.

He calls contractor, finds out where it is, they tell him they’ve been waiting for a job from rac for onward delivery 😂

Apparently it’ll go within the next two hours.

The big yin

298 posts

71 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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Either report it stolen and give the contractor that picked it up details or contact

Mr Dave Hobday Chief Executive

Email ops@rac.co.uk

Telephone 01922 437000
Switchboard 01922 437000
Website https://www.rac.co.uk

Good luck.



vaud

59,659 posts

185 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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Don't report it stolen... consent was given to take the vehicle.

aturnick54

1,328 posts

58 months

Saturday 18th February 2023
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vaud said:
Don't report it stolen... consent was given to take the vehicle.
To take it to the agreed garage, not hide it in an unknown contractors storage yard for a week.