RAC getting it so wrong
Discussion
After some advice and help if possible.
Out in Spain last week in my EP3 s/c type r. It has spoilers, a few stickers, plastic windows and buckets and harnesses, no cage.
Engine went pop, big time. I slid on my own oil and damaged the front corner.
as there were a few of us, we towed the car to the hotel, approx 20 miles from incident. We actually got knicked as towing is illegal in Spain.
Long story short, they picked the car up from the hotel, i flew home Saturday.
I received a call today saying the car is a rally car and was being used in a rally, which of course it is not and was not and they will not be repatriating it.
i obviously was none too pleased and asked repeatedly how they came to the conclusion it was a rally car and the chap on the phone, Oliver, hung up.
i have no idea where the car is etc.
Do i report it stolen?
i have tweeted, messaged and possibly emailed the chief exec David Hobday.
any help greatly appreciated.
Out in Spain last week in my EP3 s/c type r. It has spoilers, a few stickers, plastic windows and buckets and harnesses, no cage.
Engine went pop, big time. I slid on my own oil and damaged the front corner.
as there were a few of us, we towed the car to the hotel, approx 20 miles from incident. We actually got knicked as towing is illegal in Spain.
Long story short, they picked the car up from the hotel, i flew home Saturday.
I received a call today saying the car is a rally car and was being used in a rally, which of course it is not and was not and they will not be repatriating it.
i obviously was none too pleased and asked repeatedly how they came to the conclusion it was a rally car and the chap on the phone, Oliver, hung up.
i have no idea where the car is etc.
Do i report it stolen?
i have tweeted, messaged and possibly emailed the chief exec David Hobday.
any help greatly appreciated.
It's in there T and Cs and seems fair to me.
https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
Thesprucegoose said:
It's in there T and Cs and seems fair to me.
https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
What does it cover ? Just british made standard cars .https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
Thesprucegoose said:
It's in there T and Cs and seems fair to me.
https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
Can’t find this in the European sectionhttps://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
firesafetydave said:
Thesprucegoose said:
It's in there T and Cs and seems fair to me.
https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
Can’t find this in the European sectionhttps://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/breakdown/310314-drive-...
'' Not covered. ...2. Electric or hybrid vehicles, motor homes, kit cars, quad bikes, modified or imported vehicles;''
I would try shiply.
Out of curiosity, why would you take a stripped out car all the way to Spain if you have a few comfortable cruisers in your garage?
Many points mentioned re the modified Honda are illegal in Spain and the rac are in their rights not to recover it.
If you don't want problems taking a car into mainland Europe just take a standard car. What you may just scrape by ref the law in the UK, you definetly won't in other countries..
If you don't want problems taking a car into mainland Europe just take a standard car. What you may just scrape by ref the law in the UK, you definetly won't in other countries..
A1VDY said:
Many points mentioned re the modified Honda are illegal in Spain and the rac are in their rights not to recover it.
If you don't want problems taking a car into mainland Europe just take a standard car. What you may just scrape by ref the law in the UK, you definetly won't in other countries..
but i took the policy out in uk and there was no mention of thisIf you don't want problems taking a car into mainland Europe just take a standard car. What you may just scrape by ref the law in the UK, you definetly won't in other countries..
Monkeylegend said:
Put yourself in their shoes for a minute.
They go out to find a heavily modified car that looks like a race/rally car, has a blown engine which probably adds to the suspicion that it was being raced, so it is hardly surprising they have come to that conclusion.
put yourself in my shoes - i take out a policy in uk for European breakdown cover and repatriation. i call upon it and get told no - your car was used in a rally!!They go out to find a heavily modified car that looks like a race/rally car, has a blown engine which probably adds to the suspicion that it was being raced, so it is hardly surprising they have come to that conclusion.
do many, many cars not blow their engines every day?
9 times out of 10 are modified cars not maintained to a higher standard by enthusiasts?
firesafetydave said:
do many, many cars not blow their engines every day?
9 times out of 10 are modified cars not maintained to a higher standard by enthusiasts?
No and maybe.9 times out of 10 are modified cars not maintained to a higher standard by enthusiasts?
It's probably like the damaged cars that end up 3 miles from the Ring and asked to repatriate... they default to "no" based on a lot of experience and data...?
I'm not saying they are right, I just think you may have a lot to do involving ombudsmen, etc... what does your contract say?
firesafetydave said:
Monkeylegend said:
Put yourself in their shoes for a minute.
They go out to find a heavily modified car that looks like a race/rally car, has a blown engine which probably adds to the suspicion that it was being raced, so it is hardly surprising they have come to that conclusion.
put yourself in my shoes - i take out a policy in uk for European breakdown cover and repatriation. i call upon it and get told no - your car was used in a rally!!They go out to find a heavily modified car that looks like a race/rally car, has a blown engine which probably adds to the suspicion that it was being raced, so it is hardly surprising they have come to that conclusion.
do many, many cars not blow their engines every day?
9 times out of 10 are modified cars not maintained to a higher standard by enthusiasts?
Have they told you where they have left the car?
Shame you weren't in Belgium.
firesafetydave said:
Monkeylegend said:
Put yourself in their shoes for a minute.
They go out to find a heavily modified car that looks like a race/rally car, has a blown engine which probably adds to the suspicion that it was being raced, so it is hardly surprising they have come to that conclusion.
put yourself in my shoes - i take out a policy in uk for European breakdown cover and repatriation. i call upon it and get told no - your car was used in a rally!!They go out to find a heavily modified car that looks like a race/rally car, has a blown engine which probably adds to the suspicion that it was being raced, so it is hardly surprising they have come to that conclusion.
do many, many cars not blow their engines every day?
9 times out of 10 are modified cars not maintained to a higher standard by enthusiasts?
I would say it was extremely rare for an engine to blow. Doesn't the Civic EP3 engine have an incredible reliability record?
I would say modified cars are far more likely to have reliability issues in my experience. I don't think it would even be close.
Were you also close to a car rally taking place? Are they assuming you were taking part in a rally solely based on the appearance of your car, or were you in the area of an event?
Any pictures of the car to see what it looks like?
DoubleD said:
Towing is illegal in spain? What even with a proper light board?
I know that they are part of the E.U., but getting involved in the technicalities of driving over there drops you into some kafkaesque 3rd world nightmare.Registering a car in the U.K.: buy car, fill in name and address on V5, V5 appears in the post 5 days later.
Registering a car in Spain: buy car, oh you don’t have a Spanish NI Number. Go to Embassy in London, get number. Go back, buy car, ah, this address, can you prove you live there? No, simply actually living there is not enough. Do you have the deeds of the house? No? Rental agreement? No. No car for you then.
They have all sorts of bizarre regulations that are rarely enforced, but give the plod the opportunity to give you a good going over if they feel like it.
Wouldn’t a rally event require your car to meet specific safety criteria (FIA, or whatever) and wouldn’t you require some sort of racing licence? If you can prove you and the car wouldn’t be eligible for what they are claiming, it wouldn’t matter if you had broken down in the gateway to Rally de Catalunya.
I’m thinking inboard fire extinguishers, external battery cut offs etc...
I’m thinking inboard fire extinguishers, external battery cut offs etc...
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