I got my annual RAC auto renewal through today.

I kept basic Roadside cover going even though we had, until recently Fiat Assist.
I've only even called them out twice in 13 years.

The auto renewal came in at £72.99 for the same Roadside cover!
£15 of that was an admin and arrangement fee.

On the RAC site, the same cover is £34.99, discounted from £39.99 with no admin or arrangement fee.

I rang Members Services and they explain the quote was indeed correct and that it was computer generated.
"Hmm, so that's where the £15 goes? I've never had to pay my computer!"

They failed to explain why this is added or why the quote, without this fee is still £23 more for a loyal customer of 13 years.

So check your auto renewals everyone and any trouble with RAC, let me know, I seem to have the head of memberships direct email address and I think the chief exec's too!

I had same with the AA ,my renewal was £418,I rang and chose the option I want to leave the AA after , a 15 minute delay,must of been a lot of people leaving, they offered to reduce the premium to £99 if I did not leave .!

The RAC are bar stewards. They are no longer owned by the Royal Automobile Club, but are owned by a private equity group. All the comparisons of breakdown services reckon they are poor value for money (as is the AA, for that matter). The good old days, when their patrolmen would salute you if you drove past displaying one of their badges, and when they weren't intent on selling you a new battery by the roadside, are long gone.

What's to stop them trying to auto renew next year at the higher rate again, or even higher?

There is something about this practice that's really starting to bother me.
It might have to do with the way they think I'm some sort of dimwit and I'll not check or that I'm lazy and can't be bothered so I'll pay £23 and more for the privilege.

But I think it's the fact if you do ring them, they'll drop the price and let you pay what it actually should be in the first place, it goes against all my sensibilities!

The actual process of auto renewing must be cheaper than processing a new customer, they aren't even sending out a new plastic card and they have the direct debit already set up for payment, so they aren't setting up new or processing other forms of payment, so I can only think the £15 is a rip off fee.

So what they are saying to me is "we think you're a mug of a customer".

I've cancelled my auto renewal and will cancel the DD at my bank tomorrow.

I've also emailed Honest John letters with this and copied in RAC's chief exec and Head of Membership, I guessed the right email addresses first time, as I got out of office replies!

I thought for a while about taking an offer they might tempt me with, but I've thought better of it and I'll decline anything they offer to keep me unless they can promise me they won't try and treat me like a mug in future with further renewal ploys.

This sort of thing might be considered common practice these days, but not everyone does it.
I insure through Swiftcover, each year my renewal comes through with last years price on it, so I can see if there is any increase in price or any alterations to the policy and they've never tried to add in any extras.

Auto-renewal is a modern curse, designed to trap (and fleece) the unwary. I have a particular beef with those firms that, when you first transact with them, automatically sign you up for auto-renewal unless you choose to opt out of it. I reckon that type of practice breaches consumer protection law. And they even have the cheek to say that auto-renewal is for OUR convenience, when in reality it's just a way of preventing/discouraging us from shopping around for the best deal, and stinging us with renewal premiums that are massively more (a) than we paid first time around, or (b) that we could obtain elsewhere in the market.

I've got a bit of an update on this.

Seems my emails to RAC's chief exec has been noticed.

Someone from RAC customer services has rang and, er told me I'm wrong to compare the two quotes!

I should not be comparing my £72.99 auto renewal quote (personal cover) with their £34.99 online price (vehicle cover).

So fair's fair, I'm in the wrong, I hold my hand up :shrug:

I'm told, what I should have compared was my £72.99 personal cover auto renewal quote to their normal personal cover price, which is £58.

WTF! It's still £14.99 more than it should be!

But they just won't see sense, they offered little to explain why this increase over their normal personal cover price exists and nothing was offered to explain the £15 admin goes except "BS", they just kept repeating I wrong as I was comparing two different products.

As this quote for quote likeness wasn't explained properly when I originally phoned with my complaint, they offered me a £10 voucher.

I told them to stick it as even with the voucher, I'd still be £4.99 worse off!


I also got a nice reply from Honest John letters.
Which was basically a repeat of what Gar074 wrote, they are a private equity group that try and rip off it's customers, they use terms like member and club to make you feel better at having your pants pulled down.

Anyway, RAC are out of my life and I've been looking around at a replacement service.
Been reading up on reviews etc and for a few more quid than the rip off RAC quote, I can get full personal cover, breakdown, local and national relay, home start etc with GEM, they look favourite at the moment.

I get revolving breakdown cover every year via my broker (around £55 year for everything exc European cover). I have been with Equity Red Star for 2 years running for Breakdown, normally changes every year. I'm also reasonably quick witted enough to find a landline number that would be free on my mobile. Unlikely I wouldn't be on a motorway, but still.

If you work for any 'body' that is public sector, or has been in the past, or are related to any one who is, look up Britannia Rescue (from LV= insurance) but via what used to be called CSMA (the Civil Service Motoring Association), now called 'Boundless'.

£40 a year, £76 for European cover. And by paying for 'personal cover' I and my wife are covered in any vehicle we are in (even if as a passenger), and by putting my son's car as the 'nominated vehicle' that covers all three of us (uk only and without home start) for about £70

Thanks, I did check that deal, but their national recovery plus personal is £90, a little dearer than I found with GEM.

GEM seems to top out on all the reviews and motoring press tests, so it looks like they will get my business, I'm just searching through all our NHS discount schemes to see if I can get it cheaper!

It's probably worth noting in my search for cover, not all cover is the same.

Personal or vehicle based.

Trailer cover, most will recover the trailer, but some don't actually cover the trailer for breakdowns.

Seems the biggest differences are to do with flats and tyres.
Quite a lot will tackle a wheel change for you if you have a spare but won't be much help if you haven't.
I've three cars, soon to be four and none have a spare, if they did I wouldn't tackle a change on the hard shoulder with a crappy jack anyway!

Hi,
Please feel free to take a look at our breakdown offering if you wish.
https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/breakdown/
Regards,
Dan.