RAC Europe beware What the big print giveth, the small print taketh away
I had the misfortune to break down on Saturday 11th April 2015 late afternoon while driving in Germany. Luckily I had RAC Europe 5 star cover, and even more luckily I managed to drive to a service station. On calling the rescue team, I was given the choice to be rescued within an hour or check in to a hotel and be rescued next morning. Since I was sitting right outside a motorway hotel and it was approaching 8pm. I asked if I was covered for the cost and was told yes.
At 7am the recovery truck arrived. As soon as I saw the driver I named him Walter Mitty (see the scene with the sherpas) because after speaking two words he realised we didnt speak German, and started waving his arms around. He switched on his phone and began a long conversation, I presumed to his girlfriend, but no, it was the call centre. Then he suddenly began speaking broken English and passed us the phone.
I was told I would be taken to an industrial estate near Burgau (village near Munich) and that it was quite isolated. Walter Mitty was a tyre man, not a mechanic and since it looked like my gear box was gone, I would have to wait until Monday for the car to be taken to a Mercedes garage yes, Mercedes cars do breakdown, dont believe the hype.
I am going to cut the story short and include my correspondence with RAC Europe upon returning to the UK. It should give you a proper idea of what happened.
On the question Should I, or should I not pay for European cover? I say you should, but just do it with your eyes open i.e. dont believe what they say at the moment of sale, dont believe what the call centre says. My case was a little special as my partner was travelling with me, for the company, and had to fly back on the expected day of arrival in Southern Italy.
The story goes: the reason Walter Mitty became friendly is because he had a tattered A-class Mercedes to loan us (God knows at what price) but I could see the Deutch-Mark sign in his eyes (yes Germans have not yet evolved the Euro sign. As far as the claim is concerned we should have been rescued first then booked into a hotel, even though we had been authorised doesnt count. We should not have accepted the rent/loan car for journey continuation, instead we should have opted for a taxi to a hotel even though the car was not meant (nor able) to continue any journey. Anyway, we were not covered for the next night hotel on Monday morning when Mercedes told us the gearbox needed replacing (2800 euro) and it would take the best part of a week. The call centre organised a hire care capable of leaving Germany (insurance) - a Toyota verso, never heard of it before, as ugly as sin but did the job and very roomy to boot. No sat navs, so had quite a few adventures but that is another story.
As my partner had missed her flight back I called the centre and was told they could not book a flight for her and we had to do it ourselves, but I was covered for up to 125 for a budget flight, any extra would be on us.
We got nothing, zero, zilch! As I said to customer services we were quite happy with the service we received in Germany. There was the small problem the car rental people calling 3 days later to say that the car had only been booked for 3 days, bring it back now please yeah, how?! I was 12hrs away. The call centre re-booked but told me once my car was repaired I had 24hrs to bring it back, so I assured them I would pay the difference. Anyway the car was ready Thursday; I collected it Friday and had to spend one more weekend in Germany.
In a nutshell, dont accept a hire car until you know for sure you need it or youve no hotel. Make them rescue you no matter what time, and make them arrange transportation and pay for the hotel. Dont expect to actually be able to claim the £150 towards the cost of your repairs if you do, you are dreaming.
Love you all, have a nice trip!
I had the misfortune to break down on Saturday 11th April 2015 late afternoon while driving in Germany. Luckily I had RAC Europe 5 star cover, and even more luckily I managed to drive to a service station. On calling the rescue team, I was given the choice to be rescued within an hour or check in to a hotel and be rescued next morning. Since I was sitting right outside a motorway hotel and it was approaching 8pm. I asked if I was covered for the cost and was told yes.
At 7am the recovery truck arrived. As soon as I saw the driver I named him Walter Mitty (see the scene with the sherpas) because after speaking two words he realised we didnt speak German, and started waving his arms around. He switched on his phone and began a long conversation, I presumed to his girlfriend, but no, it was the call centre. Then he suddenly began speaking broken English and passed us the phone.
I was told I would be taken to an industrial estate near Burgau (village near Munich) and that it was quite isolated. Walter Mitty was a tyre man, not a mechanic and since it looked like my gear box was gone, I would have to wait until Monday for the car to be taken to a Mercedes garage yes, Mercedes cars do breakdown, dont believe the hype.
I am going to cut the story short and include my correspondence with RAC Europe upon returning to the UK. It should give you a proper idea of what happened.
On the question Should I, or should I not pay for European cover? I say you should, but just do it with your eyes open i.e. dont believe what they say at the moment of sale, dont believe what the call centre says. My case was a little special as my partner was travelling with me, for the company, and had to fly back on the expected day of arrival in Southern Italy.
The story goes: the reason Walter Mitty became friendly is because he had a tattered A-class Mercedes to loan us (God knows at what price) but I could see the Deutch-Mark sign in his eyes (yes Germans have not yet evolved the Euro sign. As far as the claim is concerned we should have been rescued first then booked into a hotel, even though we had been authorised doesnt count. We should not have accepted the rent/loan car for journey continuation, instead we should have opted for a taxi to a hotel even though the car was not meant (nor able) to continue any journey. Anyway, we were not covered for the next night hotel on Monday morning when Mercedes told us the gearbox needed replacing (2800 euro) and it would take the best part of a week. The call centre organised a hire care capable of leaving Germany (insurance) - a Toyota verso, never heard of it before, as ugly as sin but did the job and very roomy to boot. No sat navs, so had quite a few adventures but that is another story.
As my partner had missed her flight back I called the centre and was told they could not book a flight for her and we had to do it ourselves, but I was covered for up to 125 for a budget flight, any extra would be on us.
We got nothing, zero, zilch! As I said to customer services we were quite happy with the service we received in Germany. There was the small problem the car rental people calling 3 days later to say that the car had only been booked for 3 days, bring it back now please yeah, how?! I was 12hrs away. The call centre re-booked but told me once my car was repaired I had 24hrs to bring it back, so I assured them I would pay the difference. Anyway the car was ready Thursday; I collected it Friday and had to spend one more weekend in Germany.
In a nutshell, dont accept a hire car until you know for sure you need it or youve no hotel. Make them rescue you no matter what time, and make them arrange transportation and pay for the hotel. Dont expect to actually be able to claim the £150 towards the cost of your repairs if you do, you are dreaming.
Love you all, have a nice trip!