Hi All,
I've come here because I've gotten nowhere with RAC's customer service and to ask for advice.
I broke down a while ago in the middle of a dual carriage way. Car died and refused to start again. I called the RAC, they told me it'd be a 45 mins to an hour because I was on a dual carriage way and was therefore a priority. After an hour and 15 I called and was told (by a stroppy CS adviser) that I was accidentally put on a side road and therefore not a priority. Someone was on their way, and after 2 hours, they arrived.
They diagnosed a faulty battery, and sold me one for £113.99 (the most expensive battery I had ever experienced!). I asked if he could just jump me and follow me to a shop half a mile down the road, and he said he could jump me but not follow me, and if I broke down again it'd be £60 before they'd help. Also, if I went and bought a battery, and it failed at any point in the future, RAC would charge £60 to come out for a breakdown. So basically, I had no choice but to pay the £113.99.
When I come home, I did some digging, however. The battery I have been sold is an "RAC 027". When I put my registration on the RAC website, however, the results come up as 079, which is £91.99 including RAC fitting. Moreover, this battery (manufacture red by Excide) is available for less than £50 elsewhere.
Is there any reason (other than a bit of extra commission) that the patrol sold me a more expensive battery than the car requires?
I tried contacting RAC to ask about this - and was given a load of nonsense about the fact that the RAC provide a 5 year warranty and whatnot justifies the price and that was "end of conversation" as far as they were concerned. From my point of view, as they are an insurance product, they have to act reasonably and with care, and fitting an incorrect battery to my car is not within care. If they didn't have the correct battery for my car, then they should have organised getting the correct one, or assisting me as I asked to the shop so i could get the correct one.
Any advice on how I can proceed? Needless to say I'm annoyed by the whole affair - and the stupid thing is, they've pretty much lost my renewal this year, and the extra they've ripped me off for with the battery is far less than they would have gotten from a renewal. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face!
Thanks!
I've come here because I've gotten nowhere with RAC's customer service and to ask for advice.
I broke down a while ago in the middle of a dual carriage way. Car died and refused to start again. I called the RAC, they told me it'd be a 45 mins to an hour because I was on a dual carriage way and was therefore a priority. After an hour and 15 I called and was told (by a stroppy CS adviser) that I was accidentally put on a side road and therefore not a priority. Someone was on their way, and after 2 hours, they arrived.
They diagnosed a faulty battery, and sold me one for £113.99 (the most expensive battery I had ever experienced!). I asked if he could just jump me and follow me to a shop half a mile down the road, and he said he could jump me but not follow me, and if I broke down again it'd be £60 before they'd help. Also, if I went and bought a battery, and it failed at any point in the future, RAC would charge £60 to come out for a breakdown. So basically, I had no choice but to pay the £113.99.
When I come home, I did some digging, however. The battery I have been sold is an "RAC 027". When I put my registration on the RAC website, however, the results come up as 079, which is £91.99 including RAC fitting. Moreover, this battery (manufacture red by Excide) is available for less than £50 elsewhere.
Is there any reason (other than a bit of extra commission) that the patrol sold me a more expensive battery than the car requires?
I tried contacting RAC to ask about this - and was given a load of nonsense about the fact that the RAC provide a 5 year warranty and whatnot justifies the price and that was "end of conversation" as far as they were concerned. From my point of view, as they are an insurance product, they have to act reasonably and with care, and fitting an incorrect battery to my car is not within care. If they didn't have the correct battery for my car, then they should have organised getting the correct one, or assisting me as I asked to the shop so i could get the correct one.
Any advice on how I can proceed? Needless to say I'm annoyed by the whole affair - and the stupid thing is, they've pretty much lost my renewal this year, and the extra they've ripped me off for with the battery is far less than they would have gotten from a renewal. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face!
Thanks!
