purplebargeken Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Jeeesus, that was scary looking! Just glad no-one, no furries and no recovery driver were hurt. When I say recovery driver, I mean not punched and impaled on a nearby lamp post by an irate AS member. Good luck with legal action against their arses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vantman Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Surely this is equipment failure rather than recovery driver error? Craig the Princess, cobblers, mat_the_cat and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partridge Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Just seen this thread...eeek!I will be very happy to go to court over this. I am sure they will try to claim the van was in some way to blame. They wanted to take her away and 'store it safely' in C&S's yard. Yeah right, as if.You mean 'leave out in the rain and reverse into it twice and somehow manage to put a fuck off scratch down one side.' Glad nobody was hurt though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuboy Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 ohh foook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cms206 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Shit a brick!In fairness I've used the RAC three times in ten years and every single time was a recovery job, carried out by two different contractors - 911 Recovery twice (60-plate Mondeo turbo shreddage, 760 Turbo brake meltdown) and AutoTec (who have recovered me dozens of times in buses - 740 saloon failure to proceed) - and never had a single issue with any of them, top service and on the occasions where a van was sent out first they were there within an hour and the wrecker followed within an hour of that. Looks like you've ended with a contractor issue and I'm sure the RAC will deal with it. brickwall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 TBH Craig I never looked at it like that. A LWB Luton could now gross 4.1 ton legally. All the more reason to send a much bigger vehicle. The second truck was a 12 tonner.My main problem with this is 1 how badly the RAC performed before the C&S truck failed2 the actual failure and how that was handled3 how the RAC are handling the case nowthanks for the kind words and spelling correction! I am now preparing for another day on hold to the RAC cobblers and Louise2cv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STUNO Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I'm reading this as if the while thing was planned by the recovery truck driver. Doing some (hopefully ) educated guessing something went wrong with Fred's Transit. RAC was called. Recovery truck arrived and was confronted by the biggest Transit he had ever seen. He was there so he made the mistake of loading it. Something on the recovery truck broke, leading to the photo opportunities.I can understand Fred getting very worried over the situation and the two Dogs. The driver paniced a wee bit as he was on a busy road and watching his income slide away and tried wrongly to solve the problem in a way that would have probably made things even worse. Fred was right to call the brigade in to secure things and move the van properly.I don't know how the problem was fixed and the vehicles separated,. Transit has obviously suffered twisting damage of some sort which in the cold light of tomorrow may be bad or not so bad. RAC have been contacted by Fred and after a bad start will investigate.Hope you have had some sleep by now Fred and the dogs have setled down.But I do predict that RAC will find Ms. Fred to blame for breaking down, hereby causing the whole thig. Your fault so f*** off. My opinion from here is as said earlier, the vehicle was much bigger than expected and the driver did not call for a bigger lifter. cms206 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I reckon you're right about the problem being the RAC's, and to be fair I bet they sort it out for you without too much trouble. I can't knock them myself, in my experience they've been brilliant the vast majority of the time. Be polite with them on the phone and give them the facts in a calm, reasonable manner. cms206 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 At this stage, the ongoing problem is I have no direct number for customer 'service'. I have either an 0800 (40p/min from my mobile) or an 0333 number that often cuts off in around 10 mins. All of this adds to my frustration and anger. At no point has anybody called me since the incident. Even if the promice to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny69 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Bit of a bonus for your case that it hit the papers though Fred. Gives you a good leverage point against the RAC (or C&S) and the press have take some damn good pictures of it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat_the_cat Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Surely this is equipment failure rather than recovery driver error? Was the Transit loaded? If not then I'd guess it'd be under 2 tons, which I'd have thought should be well within the capability of a 7.5 tonner. IF that's the case then there's little the driver could have done to prevent it. You'd expect the RAC to have checked whether it was loaded or not and sent out the appropriate contractor... Still, me speculating over things doesn't help - hope that it's resolved quickly and to your satisfaction. Banger Kenny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruffgeezer Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Rac customer service: 01603 605206 You still have to go through the recorded message so.have your membership details handy. eddyramrod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Wow thanks ruffgeezer! There was very little hn the van, we offloaded to finish the job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickwall Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Shit a brick! In fairness I've used the RAC three times in ten years and every single time was a recovery job, carried out by two different contractors - 911 Recovery twice (60-plate Mondeo turbo shreddage, 760 Turbo brake meltdown) and AutoTec (who have recovered me dozens of times in buses - 740 saloon failure to proceed) - and never had a single issue with any of them, top service and on the occasions where a van was sent out first they were there within an hour and the wrecker followed within an hour of that. Looks like you've ended with a contractor issue and I'm sure the RAC will deal with it. 911 are excellent bunch. I once broke down and a guy just appeared in a van to a keep me company whilst he was on his break until the recovery truck appeared. we sat around smoking and joking for a bit and I got a nice cuppa. I've got to know a few of them and they are a good guys. Auto-tec lent me a spanner. cms206 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 There was a thread about this on a recovery forum. It turned into a C&S slagging off fest so had to be taken down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panhard65 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I think the main problem is the fact that you just can't get hold of anyone to complain to. Most companies have gone the same way and it is hard to work out who to go to for good service. I ditched the RAC after they left me on the side of the road from 7pm when I broke down to finally sending a truck at 11.30. Not good when you are in a 60 year old car in the middle of nowhere. Then when the truck does arrive he tells me he can't recover it just try and fix it. Which would of been ok except he had no parts and very few tools. Luckily it was only a broken throttle cable and he managed to bodge it using the cold start cable. I also had a contractor bend his lorry through incorrect loading. I had my Hotchkiss shipped from the south of france and the muppet loaded it backwards so all the weight was at the end of the bed. By the time he got here his lovely alloy bodied tilt and slide truck was looking rather lopsided as it had twisted at the end. Operator error really which looks like what happened here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickwall Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I might have let loose about the dogs though. I'm touchy about me dog. fordperv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 RAC control asked what was being done about the dogs. I replied FUCK all. I did ask if the call was being recorded first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavcraft Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Can understand why you're frustrated but the person you rang at the RAC wasn't the person who made a poor attempt to recover you, so I'm not convinced swearing is really the way to go about it. Stay calm, stick to the facts and be polite, you'd be amazed what a difference that can make when you want something back. saucedoctor, cms206, trigger and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig the Princess Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Can understand why you're frustrated but the person you rang at the RAC wasn't the person who made a poor attempt to recover you, so I'm not convinced swearing is really the way to go about it. Stay calm, stick to the facts and be polite, you'd be amazed what a difference that can make when you want something back. This. In the heat of the event it is understandable and really not a problem but in future dealing with them I would be as reasonable and polite as possible, but take no shit and get timescales for the process and chase them to stick to these. Cavcraft 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 You dont understand. That WAS while the van was dangling off the truck, with 3 fire engines in attendance and the whole area rammed cos the road was closed. You try not to swear in that situation.59 MIN 32 SEC ON THE PHONE TO THE RAC AND STILL NO WISER!! 20 min of that was on hold. That was today, and not one curse word was uttered brickwall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moog Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Try Social media. Twatter and facebook are normally always monitored. Put link to story. I wouldn't be surprised if they get back to you asap Banger Kenny, Craig the Princess and saucedoctor 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig the Princess Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 That was why I put In the heat of the event it is understandable and really not a problem It does seem like the RAC are dealing with it very poorly, http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=10473 cwoodhouse@rac.co.ukMr Chris Woodhouse - Chief Executive eddyramrod, saucedoctor and brickwall 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Craig thats perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 This all looks horrible Fred. Ask yourself what resolution you WANT. Be clear with them what it is that you want. Ask them if they can provide it. I guess they wont be able to or will give you the run around. Note all times of calls and numbers that you called FROM. "Customer services" usually have the power to appologise or offer a token gesture of goodwill. As lives were in danger because of the actions of RAC and their contractors, I would be taking legal advice, and if appropriate, legal action rather than fucking on with Customer Services. Companies "Legal" departments will usually only respond to legal procedings. And Customer Service departments are just minimum wage monkies like me who can only empathise. Good luck with it! Craig the Princess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigger Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 To be honest that doesn't look very good, I'm guessing it's a mechanical failure of the truck bed that's caused it to go rather than driver error? something that could have happened to any company?, The fact it's a Luton van just makes it look even worse mind. Hope you get a resolve from the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Just composing an email to the CEO now. Let's hope he doesn't give me the run around too. STUNO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooSavvy Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Calendar Shot 2015..... Err, a mite unsympathetic.... methinks TS morris_ital_lover, Partridge and Craig the Princess 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredTransit Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Here's the after pic, showing the damage to the springs..... BTW they drove her to me mechanic like that, not a pleasant trip! tooSavvy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felly Magic Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Mrs broken down on the A14 near Bury St Edmunds, RAC contacted at just after 1900, said recovery would be an hour to 90 mins, still nothing, she's getting scared now, and she's run out of credit on her mobile. Breakdown cover is via our insurers, deffo going to fire off one hell of a snotty email in the morning to them, and the CEO of the RAC for leaving someone in an iff situation for so long. Yet again its a 3rd party contractor that has been given the job. I suspect the RAC only use utter cretins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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