RAC lost my car!
Discussion
Written on behalf of a friend who isn't a Pistonheader, and is too lazy and stupid to ever become one:
16th December 2017, at 3 am in the morning:
Driving down the M1 southbound,near Luton, the vehicle I was travelling in, namely a Vauxhall Zafira broke down. I managed to get the vehicle to a nearby service station (Moto service station) and parked up awaiting rescue. It was evident that the alternator had gone due to the red battery sign showing up on the dashboard and the fact the vehicle refused to start with a now flat battery.
So I called the RAC and told them I was stranded with a friend, in a freezing cold car, at the Moto service station. The RAC were really busy that night, so weren't able to arrive for quite some time. I knew this wasn't going to be fixed at the side of the road (I'm an MOT tester so know cars fairly well) so decided to get a lift home and leave the keys for the car with the petrol station staff for the RAC man to retrieve, and once he's diagnosed the problem, he would call a low loader out to take it back to my garage. I called the RAC up and explained my situation and told them the keys were behind the counter and to ask a member of staff for them. I explained where the car needed to be dropped off and where to drop the keys off too. The car was far too cold to sit within and so I was off home.
Fast forward the next morning. 17th December 2017.
I called the garage where I work to ask if my car was parked outside. The lads had a look around and replied that my car was nowhere in sight. So I called the RAC up and asked ''Wheres my car''?
The RAC spokesperson said "we're terribly sorry, but the driver who was towing your car had finished his shift so he took it to a storage yard and someone else was supposed to take your car in the morning and drop it off at the garage" "we'll get this sorted today. Call back tomorrow on the 18th if there are any problems"
18th of December: Still no sign of my car so I asked whats going on? RAC "We're really sorry, we've lost your car. We can't find it. We'll give you a courtesy car for the meantime"
The RAC then drop off a lovely new Pug 5008 2017 plate vehicle.
Fast forward to 30 December:
RAC "Sorry, but we never recovered your vehicle at all." "We must have accidentally thought that we recovered it" "It must have been stolen. Please call the police and report this"
So I went to the service station, thinking PERHAPS the cars still there and its true, they didn't recover it.
So off I went, to see if my car was still at the service station near Luton. Nope.
Were the keys behind the counter? No.
Did the petrol station tow the car away thinking it was dumped? No. "Only if a car has been parked for months" the lady at the counter said.
Next step: Police station
Hello Officer, my car has been stolen.
"No, the RAC has lost your car. This is a civil matter"
The last step:
RAC "Hi sir. We didn't recover your car. Your cars been stolen. We want our courtesy car back"
ME: "No. That courtesy car is the only proof that I have that you admitted you lost my car and I wont give it back till you find my car! Who would steal a broken down car? You've lost my car and refuse to admit it!"
RAC: "We'll report the courtesy car stolen unless its returned to the hire company"
ME: "I'm going to sue you!"
1.Where do I go from here?
2. If the courtesy car is reported stolen, is it really stolen? Will I get in trouble for driving it?
3. Wheres my car?
Thanks ya'll.
On behalf of a fat friend, from Keemaklan.
16th December 2017, at 3 am in the morning:
Driving down the M1 southbound,near Luton, the vehicle I was travelling in, namely a Vauxhall Zafira broke down. I managed to get the vehicle to a nearby service station (Moto service station) and parked up awaiting rescue. It was evident that the alternator had gone due to the red battery sign showing up on the dashboard and the fact the vehicle refused to start with a now flat battery.
So I called the RAC and told them I was stranded with a friend, in a freezing cold car, at the Moto service station. The RAC were really busy that night, so weren't able to arrive for quite some time. I knew this wasn't going to be fixed at the side of the road (I'm an MOT tester so know cars fairly well) so decided to get a lift home and leave the keys for the car with the petrol station staff for the RAC man to retrieve, and once he's diagnosed the problem, he would call a low loader out to take it back to my garage. I called the RAC up and explained my situation and told them the keys were behind the counter and to ask a member of staff for them. I explained where the car needed to be dropped off and where to drop the keys off too. The car was far too cold to sit within and so I was off home.
Fast forward the next morning. 17th December 2017.
I called the garage where I work to ask if my car was parked outside. The lads had a look around and replied that my car was nowhere in sight. So I called the RAC up and asked ''Wheres my car''?
The RAC spokesperson said "we're terribly sorry, but the driver who was towing your car had finished his shift so he took it to a storage yard and someone else was supposed to take your car in the morning and drop it off at the garage" "we'll get this sorted today. Call back tomorrow on the 18th if there are any problems"
18th of December: Still no sign of my car so I asked whats going on? RAC "We're really sorry, we've lost your car. We can't find it. We'll give you a courtesy car for the meantime"
The RAC then drop off a lovely new Pug 5008 2017 plate vehicle.
Fast forward to 30 December:
RAC "Sorry, but we never recovered your vehicle at all." "We must have accidentally thought that we recovered it" "It must have been stolen. Please call the police and report this"
So I went to the service station, thinking PERHAPS the cars still there and its true, they didn't recover it.
So off I went, to see if my car was still at the service station near Luton. Nope.
Were the keys behind the counter? No.
Did the petrol station tow the car away thinking it was dumped? No. "Only if a car has been parked for months" the lady at the counter said.
Next step: Police station
Hello Officer, my car has been stolen.
"No, the RAC has lost your car. This is a civil matter"
The last step:
RAC "Hi sir. We didn't recover your car. Your cars been stolen. We want our courtesy car back"
ME: "No. That courtesy car is the only proof that I have that you admitted you lost my car and I wont give it back till you find my car! Who would steal a broken down car? You've lost my car and refuse to admit it!"
RAC: "We'll report the courtesy car stolen unless its returned to the hire company"
ME: "I'm going to sue you!"
1.Where do I go from here?
2. If the courtesy car is reported stolen, is it really stolen? Will I get in trouble for driving it?
3. Wheres my car?
Thanks ya'll.
On behalf of a fat friend, from Keemaklan.
The RAC really are useless
I renewed in 2016 having received an e mail with the 2017 prices
Come 2017, I've not received any renewal notification so call to see what's going on
Apparently they renewed me a month earlier at a 135% increase. I asked where the renewal quote was as I'd not received anything and If I had I sure as hell wasn't going to pay that increase
Start complaints procedure..told they will respond within 20 days
26 days later they mail me to say it's still in process
Clowns
I renewed in 2016 having received an e mail with the 2017 prices
Come 2017, I've not received any renewal notification so call to see what's going on
Apparently they renewed me a month earlier at a 135% increase. I asked where the renewal quote was as I'd not received anything and If I had I sure as hell wasn't going to pay that increase
Start complaints procedure..told they will respond within 20 days
26 days later they mail me to say it's still in process
Clowns
slk 32 said:
The RAC really are useless
I renewed in 2016 having received an e mail with the 2017 prices
Come 2017, I've not received any renewal notification so call to see what's going on
Apparently they renewed me a month earlier at a 135% increase. I asked where the renewal quote was as I'd not received anything and If I had I sure as hell wasn't going to pay that increase
Start complaints procedure..told they will respond within 20 days
26 days later they mail me to say it's still in process
Clowns
Well, it's only the 3rd January and yet this has got to be a contender for the Most Irrelevant Reponse to a Post Award 2018. Well done.I renewed in 2016 having received an e mail with the 2017 prices
Come 2017, I've not received any renewal notification so call to see what's going on
Apparently they renewed me a month earlier at a 135% increase. I asked where the renewal quote was as I'd not received anything and If I had I sure as hell wasn't going to pay that increase
Start complaints procedure..told they will respond within 20 days
26 days later they mail me to say it's still in process
Clowns
keemaklan said:
(...)Next step: Police station
Hello Officer, my car has been stolen.
"No, the RAC has lost your car. This is a civil matter"(...)
RAC "Hi sir. We didn't recover your car. Your cars been stolen. We want our courtesy car back"(...)
RAC: "We'll report the courtesy car stolen unless its returned to the hire company"(...)
Surely they'll be told by police that it's a civil matter too? Or are police taking different view depending whether it's an individual who's unlikely to have big legal team behind them vs a big corporate with legal departments in each location?Hello Officer, my car has been stolen.
"No, the RAC has lost your car. This is a civil matter"(...)
RAC "Hi sir. We didn't recover your car. Your cars been stolen. We want our courtesy car back"(...)
RAC: "We'll report the courtesy car stolen unless its returned to the hire company"(...)
If it's no longer where they left it then chances are the RAC did collect it - who is going to nick a Zafira that requires a new battery first to get it moving? Very few, even if it was dodgy dave on the nightshift who you left the keys with. I would escalate it with the RAC as the did initially say it was collected. Might be worth trying to get the Service Station management onboard in the hope they provide CCTV of the evening.
ETA Also, how is the RAC too busy to attend at 3am on a Saturday morning?
But yeah I would have hung around with the car regardless of how long it took (I've been there, done that).
ETA Also, how is the RAC too busy to attend at 3am on a Saturday morning?
But yeah I would have hung around with the car regardless of how long it took (I've been there, done that).
charltjr said:
Sounds like a tall tale to me. If this actually happened then your friend would have been amazingly stupid.
Since all motorway services will have CCTV it should be pretty easy to sort out what happened to the car.
What's "amazingly stupid" about allowing the RAC to recover your vehicle?Since all motorway services will have CCTV it should be pretty easy to sort out what happened to the car.
RAC's response is very fishy.
If the car had indeed been stolen from the petrol station before being collected by the RAC, then the RAC should have record of an incident where an employee of theirs went to pick up the car but was told that it had aready been collected (presumably by a mysterious car thief dressed in a fake RAC uniform).
Similarly, an employee of the petrol station, having been told only to give the keys to someone from the RAC, would have memory of this incident. The petrol station must have given the keys to somebody after all, unless they are claiming that the keys were nicked from them.
If the car had indeed been stolen from the petrol station before being collected by the RAC, then the RAC should have record of an incident where an employee of theirs went to pick up the car but was told that it had aready been collected (presumably by a mysterious car thief dressed in a fake RAC uniform).
Similarly, an employee of the petrol station, having been told only to give the keys to someone from the RAC, would have memory of this incident. The petrol station must have given the keys to somebody after all, unless they are claiming that the keys were nicked from them.
Ahbefive said:
Pretty stupid not to stay with the car until it was collected.
Why?One of our staff left their car in a North London High Street for the RAC to recover after an accident at about 11.30pm Christmas Eve.
RAC managed to recover & deliver it to our office car park about 5am Christmas day.
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