Name: RAC
Rating: 1.43

“THE WORST COMPANY EVER!!!!!! I been with them for about 7 years. I had personal cover and business cover for three vans. I’ll give you only 3 (but I have more) examples of how bad experience I had with them not a while ago, so you can decide to choose another company, but not RAC!!! 1st situation was with my personal cover for my BMW x5. There was a situation when my x5 stopped and I called RAC patrol. He arrived 60min (that’s fine) and said that there is a problem with fuel pump and it needs to be replaced. I said that I want it to recover it to my garage. He said, I will check if I can fix it. He did something and started the engine and told you are good to go.. I asked him if it is safe to drive? He said yes, it’s good to go, you can drive, even he told me before that I need a new part. What you think? – After 5miles, car stopped again!! I called them again and they sent me another patrol! After long discussion with patrol and telling them that if he start this car it still can’t be driven. Okay, he called a truck to tow my car to the garage with eta of 1 hour. What you think? Truck arrived after 7 hours!!! I called them more than 10 times every 30 min and they keep telling me that it should be soon. After about 6 hours, I received a call from separate recovery company and they informed me that truck is on the way, I asked them why it took so long and they told me that they just received my order… What?? So where my order was for last 6 hours??? I called RAC and asked for manager to explain me this and he was very sorry etc, etc… and offered my as an excuse some amazon vouchers. Do you think I got them??? NO, I didn’t… 2nd situation was with my business van. It broke down at (alternator problem) about 180miles away from my depo. I called RAC to tow it. They sent a patrol to inspect the van and told that they will send a recovery to tow it. Then story starts: We been told that truck should come within 90min, after 2 hours I called again and they told me to wait and they will come back to me because they will transfer some info to somewhere else. After another hour they called us and you know what they said??? That they won’t come tonight, because OUR RECOVERY TRUCK TOOK ANOTHER CAR.. Can you BELIEVE THAT!?!?1?... So, my driver been sitting in the van until the next day, in the middle of nowhere without food and drink, just a small bottle of pepsi… NEXT day; they sent patrol AGAIN!! Patrol checked the van AGAIN and decided that we need a truck to recover it :D And they sent a truck. Truck arrived after another 2-3 hours and took the van, BUT he was unable to deliver to final destination, so made only 1/3 of the way and dropped us to another service station, because distance was too far.. Then guys been waiting for another truck for another hour and GUESS what??? Another truck arrived and he also told that he won’t deliver us to the final destination… So he delivered us another 2/3 of the road and we been swapped to another truck which delivered our guys to the final destination… From the time we called RAC for help to destination driver spend in the van 26 hours!!! You can think and imagine if it is normal or not… 3rd situation, which happened 2 days ago was my final and let me decide to leave this company. On one of my vans we had smashed tyre and damaged rim ON THE M42 MOTORWAY. I called RAC urgently to inform that we need an urgent recovery, because my van and driver is on a busy motorway and in dangerous position. Also, I explained that tyre blow down on 60miles per hour and it completely smashed and rim damaged, so we need recovery truck not a patrol, because it is not fixable on the road, especially on the motorway.. And what you think? :D They sent me a patrol to check the vehicle!!! HE came and decide that we need the recovery truck…. I called office again and asked if they do understand that we are in dangerous location and van need to be moved out from there immediately… They assured me that truck is on the way. Truck arrived after 3 hours 15 minutes and guess what??? Truck was suitable for small cars, not for vans :D When he saw our van, he just sit in his recovery and left with no words and no information about what is going to happen next… I called RAC again, been waiting for 30min in the queue, when they answered and I explained the situation, they transferred me to someone else and cut the line… So called again, been waiting for 20min and they assure me that other truck is coming… Another truck came after 2,5 hours and took the van.. So, you can think by yourself if 7 hours breakdown on motorway and messing customer around all the day is normal??? I don’t think so… According my opinion, I would not recommend this company to anybody… I tried to be patient and do not complain by thinking, maybe this time something was not by the plan in the office and next time would be better, but… It is not about the plan, it is about the company management I guess, because it is happening again and again…”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Over 12 hours and counting waiting for Rac recovery truck. Had 10 months baby with me. Baby and I had to get taxi home (NOT offered or paid for by RAC). Over hour at a time waiting to get through. Kept saying from 6 pm with in 2 to 3 hours. Then around 8.30 patrol came when it should have been recovery. He said recovery would be 1 hour. Nothing. Rac said by 2am. Nothing. Being fully aware baby there in hot weather. Then they said by 7 am nothing. Then by 10am. Still waiting. Absolutely disgusting, avoid like Ebola. They are liers. Finally managed to get hold of the outsourcing company at 7 they said we've just got the job from Rac. A total bunch of wankers. I would rather wipe my backside and flush the money than give it to Rac. No care or concern for the safety or welfare of the customers. Also "surprisingly" all negative feedback on waiting times has been removed from there website. (it was my birthday)”

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Posted 5 years ago

“7.5 hrs stranded and still waiting. It is very difficult to get through to anyone. Called back to check on progress but gave up and hung up after 45 minutes waiting for someone to answer the phone.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Have been waiting over an hour so far (still waiting) for my call to be answered. One thing patrols being busy but not answering calls within an hour is very poor service!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“6 and a half hours so far, still waiting. Lots of broken promises. Appalling communication, poor organisation. They seem to have given up even pretending to be an emergency service.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Wish there was a no star review Currently 15 hours into the breakdown in a classic VW camper that is now requested to be taken to the garage for fixing after failing during a road trip. Currently stuck at the side if a busy road in central London with no facilities or food and drink. Requested a low loader flat bed at 4pm on Friday and after repeated calls (one way from us with no updates from the RAC) where they said it would be a 6 hour wait at 11.30 pm a contract crane lorry arrived and the driver agreed that it would be too risky to take us due to low bridges in the area and the age of the vehicle Multiple calls to the RAC followed only to be told that as "we" refused the recovery (which we didn't) it was now classed as a new call-out and it would be a further 6 hours Still waiting at 6.30 am but now been promised a RAC operated flat bed at 8.30am as the driver starts at 8 Potential for a 16 And a half hour wait for recovery Apparently was told during the night that they planned for a wet bank holiday weekend and didn't have enough staff on Madness doesn't even cover it They need to pull their finger out if they want my custom again”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Broke down 49 miles from home and it took 9 hours in total untill I walked through the front door. Recovered to within 25 miles of my home address to be dumped at a services and wait another 5 hours to be finally recovered home. Any update I got were by me ringing them dispute being told on numerous occasions that someone would contact me. Useless.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE Left stranded on the A1 for 8 hours AVOID!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Shittest company I’ve ever had that’s all I’ve got to say!!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“If any of my facebook friends are RAC members then I hope you never have an experience like this! My parents have had the worst service I can possibly imagine from one of the market leaders in roadside assistance, 5 hours passed after an initial call to the RAC before they received any help! The help was in the form of a tow truck (not even a mechanic) to finally get them home! My mum is a type 1 diabetic who needs not only medication for short term care but long term too after 5 hours she was not expecting to have to administer this in a car park! The industrial estate they had to pull onto when the car lost power was dark and isolated by the time someone finally got to them! Unacceptable! The RAC's defence was that they were short staffed! They have clearly over subscribed a service they cannot provide if that's the case! The numerous times they called the RAC they were advised they couldn't get hold of the mechanic so continuously emailed him to see if he was en-route, surely modern day technology has moved on from this? Rant over but I for one will never positively speak of this company again, I urge anyone who is thinking of taking breakdown cover to overlook the RAC!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“completly agree that the service we asked for was made-up.we asked for 365 days cover for europe,as we work abroad for some of the year.we were told,and have it recorded that we had 365 days cover.when i broke down on the barcelona ring-road,they told my wife they would be there in a short time.5 hours later,they decided that we were not covered[only for 3 months now]and just left me there! we are now taking our case[as i assume many others are]to the ombudsman,to try and get our money back,as we were mis-sold a policy.since then i have joined the AA,where i get 365 days euro cover,with multiple recovery,very nice AA.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Absolutely rip off!!! My call got transferred 4 times!! Only to be then told I will have to pay for them to help me I had to tell 4 different people my exact location obviously lack of communication between themselves. Finally the guy arrived to tell me the cost will be £500 to pull my car back afew inches I was stranded with my kid in the car pitch black dark it's disgusting very appalling luckily a mate came to the rescue. The r.a.c wanted to take advantage of vunerable situation absolutely appalling!!!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Absolutely rip off!!! My call got transferred 4 times!! Only to be then told I will have to pay for them to help me I had to tell 4 different people my exact location obviously lack of communication between themselves. Finally the guy arrived to tell me the cost will be £500 to pull my car back afew inches I was stranded with my kid in the car pitch black dark it's disgusting very appalling luckily a mate came to the rescue. The r.a.c wanted to take advantage of vunerable situation absolutely appalling!!!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“The first time I had to have a recovery from the RAC I waited 5 hours to someone just to attended. Car was wasn't drivable and needed a recovery truck. After multiple recovery ETAs being pushed back I finally had someone arrive at midnight. I was 52 miles from home. I broke down at 6pm and finally got home at 4am. The second time I broke down at 10pm. I was told 90mins. I had my 8 year old daughter with me. RAC told me 90 mins. An hour later I got a call and they told me “we don’t have anymore one available tonight”. No one available? What kind of service am I paying for? The only option was to send a contractor to me, which didn’t arrive until 3am. My daughter was cold, scared, and distraught with the wait. This is the worst service I have ever ever ever experienced.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I'm currently sitting on the side of the m25 in a live running lane with my vehicle broken down I contacted the RAC well over an hour ago and still no patrol no recovery vehicle all I've got is a bunch of sorrys and being told I've got to wait another 2 hours! How can this be acceptable with artic lorries coming up behind me doing 56mph... Safety is meant to be there main concern and yet I'm in a vulnerable position and dangerous yet that don't care whatever you do don't ever join the RAC!”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Amazing service off of the gentleman that came to our rescue. After breaking down on the A52 on our way to the Peak District for a family holiday, we couldn’t have asked for a more helpful and friendly recovery driver. He arrived pretty much at the time we was told he would and the service he provided was excellent. Even though he couldn’t fix the car at the side of the road he went above and beyond, to make sure we were able to carry on to our destination. This included getting a hire car for us, taking our car to a RAC approves garage. Absolutely Amazing service from this guy... soo helpful.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“5 hour wait for them to turn up today. Ridiculous”

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Posted 5 years ago

“I'm not even sure where to begin really... The whole disaster started on a Thursday 01/08/2019 evening just after work when I found out that my car wasn't starting. Hence I rang the RAC Emergency Breakdown Cover to come and see what's wrong with my car. Since it was around 5pm they have advised me it will take roughly 1-2 hours tops and that was fair enough as I thought that is right having in mind all the traffic after a regular working day. Just after the phone call, I've decided to ring my friend who is a mechanic and see if he could come faster and have a look at the car. Unfortunately, he was in Birmingham at the time and was just heading to Huddersfield as he had a business meeting there. He said he would come as soon as he can if the recovery hadn't shown by then. After waiting for a good 2 hours (it was already 7pm) I rang them again to see where the recovery is and they have advised me the same thing that it will be another 1-2 hours. Slightly unhappy I've asked what's the deal and why am potentially going to wait for 4 hours since my first call, however, the customer support wasn't able to tell me the reason but only that they're busy. After 3 hours of waiting (it was already 8pm) and still no sight of the recovery truck my friend came and started inspecting the car. After a careful inspection, my friend diagnosed that the fuel pump was gone and advised that it is very unlikely a recovery truck will have one to replace. So I rang again to see where the recovery is, and I was advised AGAIN it will take another 1-2 hours before someone is going to come to me. So we waited and after 2 hours expired (it was already 10pm) I rang again, to see if someone is coming to help me at all and RAC has promised me someone will be with me within 1 hour tops. I was already waiting for 5 hours... After one hour have passed I've rung them again, at this time I've waited for 6 full hours and no one came. I was told they're too busy and they have no idea when the recovery is going to come, therefore I wasn't given any timeframe whatsoever which meant I may probably need to wait for another X amount of hours before someone shows up. Eventually, they have connected me to one of their contractors who were supposed to come and the conversation goes something like this: - Hello (contractor) - Hi, how far are you and when would you be able to have a look at my car? - Who dis? (yes, I've got a real professional) - I'm a customer of RAC and they've forwarded me to speak to you directly? - Oh, well, first off they shouldn't even do this... - Okay...well, they did and they said you would come within an hour and you're not here? - They shouldn't even tell you when someone will come as they don't know what I'm doing. - What are you doing? - I'm mad busy in Bradford, got a few other jobs to do before I can come to you - Oh ok, so you're not going to go to me now? - No, I've got other jobs and then I'll come. The rest is not important as I've thanked him and said I will be filling in a complaint to RAC myself. So the story is this, I've waited for 6 and a half hours and I've received no help. Not even once someone from RAC gave me a call back to update me on the situation as probably there wasn't anything to update on as no one was even coming my way anyway... I've asked my friend to take me home as I had to go to work the next day so did he and it was simply pointless to wait for this to be resolved by RAC. If I knew I would be waiting for 6 and a half hours I would have gotten into a taxi and went home while giving my friends my car keys so they would fix the car for me. However, I did not, therefore I've lost an entire evening, received no help whatsoever and what's most important haven't received a call the next day so someone could at least say sorry! The worst possible customer service and service, in general, I've ever experienced, if I can call this a service that is.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“Horrible service. My car broke down due to transmission failure on the motorway at around 8 PM and the recover came after 10 hours. Initially, they said 90 minutes. A rescue officer came to check the vehicle and he said your car need to tow truck and he is initiating the request for it. When we asked for the timeline he just simply said 'I don't know ' and left. We again waited for their call but finally called them back after an hour. Initially, they said that the truck will come after 2 hours but after that, they kept on extending the time. Every time I call to check the status after the given timeline they kept on extending it again for 45 minutes. We were helpless standing and waiting on the motorway for the rest of the time, eventually, I reached home around 7 AM.”

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Posted 5 years ago

“This company is dreadful, one of our company vans broke down, so we called RAC, they charged us for it, and it has taken me over 2 weeks to get a copy of the VAT receipt for our accounts. I am still on the phone to them, and still waiting for it. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. They are so useless. I'm not sure how they are allowed to do this. It is legal requirement to provide a VAT receipt, and they are not doing it. Considering getting the police involved as they are acting illegally!!”

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Posted 5 years ago

Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Own Driver, Courier
Average Delivery Time	Next Day
On-time Delivery	Greater than 21%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders	Greater than 76%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week
Customer Service	1.3 out of 5
Returns & Refunds
Refunds Process	Difficult

RAC Reviews