I was collecting my daughter from university when I left the radio on and flattened the battery on my trusty Toyota RAV4 car. I called the RAC and, after a long wait, a patrolman arrived.
When he found I was not going to commit to buying a new battery he became less interested. Then, as he made a long personal call with his phone tucked under one ear, he put the recharging leads on the wrong way round and blew the electrics.
Having taped up the wiring he said I was safe to drive the 100 miles home. Next day, my local RAC patrolman said I should not have been told that, and in fact the car was not safe to drive. The fuse box was burned out, the ABS system ruined, and other damage had been done.
The car has now been sitting unused on my drive since 13 June, though the RAC has provided hire cars. The firm has not denied liability, but we are no nearer a solution.
I wanted my super-reliable car to be repaired, but the RAC says it will cost more than the £1,800 it has decided the car is worth. It says it is coming to pick up my replacement hire car next week – which will leave me carless.
SC, Maidenhead
This is interesting, partly because SC seemed to be holding out for the RAC to fix her car, although it would cost substantially more than it was worth. The delay appears to have been caused, in part at least, by this. That said, 10 months is a long time and it must have cost a fortune in hire car bills.
Once you had accepted that your car was, in effect, a write-off, it was simply a case of getting the RAC to make you a reasonable offer to pay for a replacement. Having looked on Autotrader I suggested £2,200 was closer to the value of your car. The RAC has agreed to pay £2,700, which is a fairer outcome given all the hassle. It adds: “We have also arranged for SC to keep the hire vehicle for another two weeks while she looks for another car. We have also given her a year’s complimentary RAC membership. We would like to point out that this case is highly out of the ordinary and does not reflect our usual high level of customer service.”
A solution that should have been reached months ago.
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• This article was amended on 4 April 2017. The picture caption previously said that the AA carried out the repair. This was incorrect.
