Om this week Mcc news of the week someone is trlating there issues on getting recovered by yhte RAC . Aparantly they would not recover them as they had been taking part ina motor sport event.
Can you recomend another organisation that will come up with the good when you need them.
Dave
Some years ago, when RAC motoring services parted company with the MSA and the preferential service for licence holders ceased, the AA set up their on ‘motorsport’ scheme. It was cheaper, they’d pay your nominated club (Bristol in my case) a few quid, and they would pick up from any sort of motorsport, even a race track.
ReplyDeleteQuite how you go about joining now I am not sure – it doesn’t seem to be well publicised. So much so that when I rejoined this year, I enquired to make sure I was still part of that scheme, which they confirmed. I have never had to be recovered since being a member, so have not tested it out.
It might be worth making a few enquiries. I used to have a phone number of the person who administered the scheme. I know it’s in an old set of committee minutes, so could be found with a bit of effort if you don’t get anywhere.
I was going to sound out Simon about this following the News of the Week bit from Bill, but I imagine he will see it here!
Mark
With the AA, you're the member, not the car,(or 'bike), so you are always covered even if you're not the driver. I think the RAC is quite similar however they do tend to use contractors for the actual recovery of vehicles, where as the AA are more in house, and the AA in my experience quite amicable. I have been attended (started after a battery went flat) The AA lad was very polite and said we require any car used off road to get within 100 yards of a good road surface, but i have always been terrible at judging distances he laughed . I Think the AA are more likely to recover a car used in motorsport.
ReplyDeleteMy copy of the RAC Terms & Conditions, dated March 2010, and entitled “Important Changes to your Terms of Membership” includes the following:-
ReplyDelete“General exclusions – point 1 bullet 7
Vehicles which have broken down as a result of taking part in any motorsport event or off road activity (including, without limitations rallies or stock car racing) which takes place off the road and / or is not subject to the normal rules of the road. However, Vehicles participating in any event (such as a treasure hunt, touring assembly or navigational rally), which take place on, and comply with the normal rules of the road, will be covered.”
So the question is, do we comply with the normal rules of the road or is our's an off-road activity? My personal opinion is that Bill was unfortunate to be caught by a patrolman “on the make” who saw an opportunity to make a few bob for his mate, and that in 99% of cases recovery would be enacted without query.
Do not forget in all this that RAC Breakdown has nothing to do with the RACMSA anymore, and is now owned by ARIVA, a company better known to most by its old name of Norwich Union Insurance. …and we all know what insurance companies are like! I am fairly sure that if we asked for “formal clarification” then the answer would be a resounding “NO”. As things stand at the moment, the average patrolman, having arrived at the problem, is only too happy to resolve it in a manner that will not have the member complaining about him to his superior. He is not interested in the detail of big company politics, and the subcontracted recovery crew just want to do the job and take the money.
If in doubt, take your numbers off, and tell 'em you're on your way home from the event. Which is kind of true.
After The Edinburgh this year the axle on my Dellow broke on the way from the finish to the hotel. Limped to the hotel in Buxton and went to the MCC supper.
ReplyDeleteCalled the RAC next morning after breakfast The nice lady said she would send an engineer. I explained that it was an old car that I knew very well, that he wouldn't be able to fix it and could she skip that step and send recovery. She said she would see what she could do. 20 minutes later a recovery company from Manchester phoned and said they would be there within the hour.
A f*****g great15t covered lorry arrives with a bed that came right out and went flat to the road for loading. All part of the service the man said. We didn't want your valuable Classic Car to get dirty on the way home!
Michael
on the 2 occasions ive broke down on the exeter and LE with the skoda the AA have recoverd me with no questions other than ,cant understand why its so busy tonight,the only time i had trouble was at taunton dean with a prop shaft on a transit the guy said it was comercial and not covered ,but after refusing to get out of his truck he relented and brought me home,some months later it was quite pleasing to be called out to a artic with fridge stuck fast in a narrow lane driven by the same driver (agency drivers we love them thay give us lots of work)
ReplyDeleteRe the AA,yes you are correct its the driver and not the car that is covered. Two or three Exeters ago my pal with a Dellow was recovered from the car park of the Anchorage Hotel in Babacombe. This was all done because his passenger was an AA member. Its a good deal.
ReplyDeleteStuart Harrold
I am a member of the AA. Up to about 10-15 years ago there was no mention of non recovery of competition vehicles. They then introduced an exclusion, that they did not recover vehicles from "motor sport events". This includes rallies, trials, autotest, etc. They did however recover from official track days, and road legal navigational rallies.
ReplyDeleteI did a trawl of a lot of recovery firms, eg AA, RAC, Greenflag, Brittania, etc. and without exception, none of them covered vehicles involved in Trials.
Since then I broke down on the Lands End. 3am Easter Saturday, freezing cold, in a car park in Lynmouth, broken cam belt.
Luckily a phone box in the car park. Rang the AA, explained I had broken a cam belt, replaced it with a spare I had, but had no compression so the valves must be bent. Was expecting a lot of aggro as to why I was replacing a cam belt at that time of night, but nothing. The AA chap said that I obviously knew what I was talking about and therefore would not waste time sending a patrol out, but would get the 3rd party recovery out to me. This duly arrived and recovered me home via the recovery garage.
Whilst at the garage I asked about the AA and their recovery policy. The boss man said that if he sent one of his wagons out to recover a vehicle, and they refused to recover it because it was trials car, the AA would not pay him. As far as he was concerned he did not ask questions, he wanted the money.
I have only heard of a couple of cases of the recovery firms applying the small print.
I would suggest the following if broken down:
Remove competition numbers
Clean vehicle
Drag car/bike/combo to nearest road
Ring recovery and talk as if you are an expert and they do not need to send out a patrol, but send the recovery wagon out to save them time and effort.
When recovery arrives, grovel if required
Stay between vehicle and recovery person as much as possible, so he/she does not see state of vehicle.
What john said! I'm with Direct Line who resell for Green Flag. I chose them over the AA/RAC as they only use local 3rd party agents, who are far more interested in getting paid for doing a recovery than for any small print.
ReplyDeleteMarch Hare 2009, Edlesborough Section, the steering column (non-u/j variety) snapped on my VW Beetle. Despite describing the same to RAC operator, said operator insisted on sending out a patrol, rather than recovery. Patrol confirmed nothing could be done roadside, and called recovery, saying he would stay until recovery arrived since I was in dangerous position [immediately just off the Section approach track, having taken best part of a hour to reverse off, with passenger Nigel deftly kicking front wheels every 2-3 metres - but that is another story!]. I had removed competition numbers, but general appearance of the car, trials spec. and by then dirty, should have aroused suspicion, but no "awkward" questions were asked, even whilst waiting with me about 1 hr for recovery to arrive.
ReplyDeleteMaybe T&C's are now tighter, but I suspect much is at the discretion of the respective patrol.
Ilkley Trial 2009,Watergate Section,the gearbox went on my Liege.I phoned the AA from the escape road of the section.Patrol man arrived and towed me back to the car park of the rugby club to collect my tow car.No questions asked about what i had been doing.
ReplyDeleteBig shout out to John Plant who followed up his post by breaking his ex - Carl Talbot at the West Suffolk PCT on Sunday in order to test out the RAC. John got the Anglia onto the lane just outside the venue but in full view of the proceedings so the Patrolman would be in no doubt what had gone on!
ReplyDeletePatrolman came in about an hour followed by recovery truck an hour later.
Foolhardy? - Maybe! - Particular circumstances, however: 1) Venue having been dry, car was clean, and carried no evidence of recent 'off-road' activity, 2) four-up, accompanied by wife, Irina, and young(-ish) sons Robbie and Jamie, gave credence to a family outing. Furthermore, with absolutely no footbrake, and impaired handbrake, venturing further appeared unwise:
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, unlike 23 months ago, and the last time I used the RAC, the patrolman asked questions - and to which my answers were less than complete - but along the lines indicated in Simon's post above] Q: Are you competing here? A: Spectating [i.e having retired and now spectating!] Q: Do you take part in this kind of thing? A: Have done so, hence my interest. - A clean conscience of having not lied - but fortunate with the questions! The patrolman seemed satisfied, or at least disinclined to question further, and a contractor recovery duly summoned.
The 'danger zone' over, the driver for recovery contractor, Torch Towing, Manningtree, was interested in collecting a fee, (mentioned during conversation as £9 per call-out, plus 25p per mile), rather than asking questions that could be construed as querying eligibility - but nevertheless remarking "That's a sturdy towing-eye you have and a hefty sumpguard. Do you use this in competitions?"
Difficult to assess whether questions posed by the patrolman - a local who lived in Hadleigh and aware of the venue's use - were based upon the more restrictive RAC T&C's, or whether out of general interest, given that I was in full view of proceedings as remarked upon by Michael above.