This is a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of buying a used car from an RAC accredited garage, because in my experience, the RAC wash their hands of any liability if it all goes wrong. I purchased a car from such a dealer on the 1st September 2016, a car which had supposedly passed the RAC 82-Point Standard Preparation Checklist only the previous day, despite the fact that the car was in an appallingly unsafe condition and not even legally roadworthy. To cut a long story short, the dealer dismissed my complaints on the telephone, then ignored my letters of complaint, eventually forcing me to take him to court. I won my case with ease, but the dealer shut up shop and vanished without ever paying me what the court awarded.
However, the purpose of me writing this, is to warn others of the disgraceful and wholly unethical attitude shown to me from the RAC"s own complaints procedure, the sole purpose of which is to help its members/customers. Following my initial complaint to the dealer in question, i made a written complaint to the RAC, regarding the problem i had with this RAC accredited dealer. The RAC acknowledged receipt of my complaint in September 2016, but despite being able to prove how bad the car was, they did absolutely nothing. I sent further letters without any response, and by December 2016, i had still not heard anything from them. Given that the dealer in question remained in business for a further 8 months, meant that under their own complaints procedure, the RAC were supposed to have contacted the dealer, to find out what was going on. Such a procedure would give them the right to remove him from their list of accredited dealers if he failed to put things right. In my case, i had to spend over £2200 just to make the car safe. And if i remained unhappy with how the RAC handled my complaint, i also had the right to have it dealt with by an ADR.
The point is that the RAC completely failed to investigate my complaint in any way at all, a fact that they have been forced to openly admit to me themselves in recent communications. And yet despite admitting this failure, and therefore denying me any help with the dealer at the time it would have mattered, they flatly refuse to accept any liability for the financial losses i have suffered. I specifically asked to meet with Mr.David Hobday, CEO of the RAC, about this matter. I was told that he would be informed of my concerns, which i doubt very much. If he has been told, then the CEO knows that my complaint was never investigated...? The CEO would know that an RAC customer has been badly let down without any explanation. The CEO would also know that i was sold a car in a very dangerous condition, which the RAC did absolutely nothing to rectify or assist me with at all. SO MR.DAVID HOBDAY, CEO OF THE RAC, HAVE I BEEN FOBBED OFF AND LIED TO?........OR ARE YOU AWARE OF HOW BADLY I"VE BEEN TREATED?.......AND ARE YOU WILLING TO EXPLAIN SUCH UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR WITH ME IN PERSON............???
However, the purpose of me writing this, is to warn others of the disgraceful and wholly unethical attitude shown to me from the RAC"s own complaints procedure, the sole purpose of which is to help its members/customers. Following my initial complaint to the dealer in question, i made a written complaint to the RAC, regarding the problem i had with this RAC accredited dealer. The RAC acknowledged receipt of my complaint in September 2016, but despite being able to prove how bad the car was, they did absolutely nothing. I sent further letters without any response, and by December 2016, i had still not heard anything from them. Given that the dealer in question remained in business for a further 8 months, meant that under their own complaints procedure, the RAC were supposed to have contacted the dealer, to find out what was going on. Such a procedure would give them the right to remove him from their list of accredited dealers if he failed to put things right. In my case, i had to spend over £2200 just to make the car safe. And if i remained unhappy with how the RAC handled my complaint, i also had the right to have it dealt with by an ADR.
The point is that the RAC completely failed to investigate my complaint in any way at all, a fact that they have been forced to openly admit to me themselves in recent communications. And yet despite admitting this failure, and therefore denying me any help with the dealer at the time it would have mattered, they flatly refuse to accept any liability for the financial losses i have suffered. I specifically asked to meet with Mr.David Hobday, CEO of the RAC, about this matter. I was told that he would be informed of my concerns, which i doubt very much. If he has been told, then the CEO knows that my complaint was never investigated...? The CEO would know that an RAC customer has been badly let down without any explanation. The CEO would also know that i was sold a car in a very dangerous condition, which the RAC did absolutely nothing to rectify or assist me with at all. SO MR.DAVID HOBDAY, CEO OF THE RAC, HAVE I BEEN FOBBED OFF AND LIED TO?........OR ARE YOU AWARE OF HOW BADLY I"VE BEEN TREATED?.......AND ARE YOU WILLING TO EXPLAIN SUCH UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR WITH ME IN PERSON............???