I'm rather delayed in providing an update but wanted to confirm how I got good news from the RAC eventually!
Mid-January:
My reply to customer care during an ongoing discussion:
"Thanks for your email. I have since had a letter from (SR) in the Customer Relations Dept (ref no) which I'd like to respond to but I don't have a direct email address for that department so if you could forward this on to them that would be much appreciated.
The letter says that they will look at my complaint, and to let them know if I have any more to add, but I do because the letter states how the repair left me with a bill of £300 to pay because the RAC Warranty left me short.
However, in actual fact, due to all the to-ing and fro-ing from the RAC and never knowing where I stood, I've only actually just had the repair done in the past week and as the warranty expired in December, I've had to fork out for the lot! I have attached copies of the invoices and the SR is welcome to contact the garage to confirm this if need be.
Given that the RAC Warranty has turned out to be a complete farce, I have contacted a number of national newspapers and two of them are very interested in my story indeed.
So, I propose to the RAC, that if they want to avoid the bad publicity in the press that they reimburse me for both invoices (which cover the repair and the hour-long diagnostic which the RAC forced me to have!) and I will confirm that I will cancel all dealings with the press and also next time my breakdown cover is due, I will continue with the RAC, since at the moment, they haven't got a chance of me doing that and I will tell anyone who cares to listen.
I also have the parts which have been replaced in case you need those, and they are available to yourselves on full reimbursement, which is a total of £515.75."
Feb 22nd:
After some more to-ing and fro-ing and getting nowhere, I had to email RAC again, where they kept previously telling me that The Warranty Group (TWG) were entirely separate from RAC:
"I've just had a letter from (AM), Case Co-ordinator in the Customer Relations Dept - and again, it's got RAC all over the letter, so if this is actually from TWG then you are doing your level best to confuse your customers.
Her letter is, quite frankly, a disgrace. She says she has investigated my complaint fully, yet it's practically a carbon copy of the one I had about 5 weeks ago because she also says to let them know if I have any more to add, and yet again, her letter states how the repair left me with a bill of £300 to pay because the RAC Warranty left me short.
Erm... I already replied to explain why this is wrong at the time, yet it appears I may as well not have bothered because she's ignored every single last word of it!
Again, I said that due to all the to-ing and fro-ing from the RAC and never knowing where I stood, I had the repair done in January and as the warranty expired in December, I've had to fork out for the lot! I attached copies of the invoices at the time, and I have done so again today. Both SR and AM are welcome to contact the garage to confirm this if need be.
It appears that ignorance is bliss at the RAC/TWG/etc because none of you take the slightest bit of notice when a customer has anything negative to say about your company and/or service.
This only strengthens my case when it will come to spreading it to the press, as I explained last time. In fact, given how AM has clearly done zero work on my case in the light of the above, I think the very least the RAC/TWG/etc can do is refund me in full for the £515.75 I have had to spend.
I also have the parts which have been replaced in case you need those.
I would also like you to furnish me with the email address (not postal address - you can never trust the post) of RAC's CEO Chris Woodhouse, please. On the off-chance it's
[email protected], I have cc'd that address in here. Hopefully he will care what is happening at his company, if no-one else under him gives the slightest care.
"RAC Care"? No they don't!
I request a reply within 14 days of the date on this email."
March 10th - a reply from RAC:
"Your concerns have been passed to our Operations Director to investigate and send you his response.
He will be responding this week.
Apologies for the delay."
March 16th - email to RAC after their OD sent me a letter:
"Thankyou for your letter dated 12th March 2014.
To sum up matters, the RAC initially said that they would cover the heater motor (£109.44) and half-an-hour's labour (£22.50). Add VAT and it comes to £158.33.
In your latest letter, you say you will additionally cover the wiring loom, resistor, and just another half-an-hour's labour charge, totalling one hour's labour, bringing everything to a total of £299.75, including VAT.
In terms of the repair part of this, that leaves me short by the cost of 3 hours labour (£135.00) plus VAT which comes to £162.00.
How do you think that the entire repair can be carried out within a single hour? The fact that you've already agreed to the replacement of the wiring loom (£75.98 + VAT) and resistor (£19.37 + VAT) because, in your words, "they are both parts affected by consequential damage from a failed listed part", shows that you've agreed, and is therefore an admission of the RAC, that this is a necessary repair and so the full time quoted by (my garage) must be allowed.
Hence, I must request that you add on those remaining 3 hours of labour charge of £135.00 plus VAT, which is £162.00.
I would also like to think that with this additional obfuscation in your company's communications with me, it would be much appreciated if you could see your way to also refunding the diagnosis charge of £54.00 including VAT as a one-off gesture of goodwill.
I shall await your reply which I shall expect within two weeks of the date of this email, although I am due to renew my car's breakdown cover next Saturday, March 22nd, so if you agree to also pay for those remaining 3 hours of labour, and the diagnosis charge, my trust in your brand will be regained and I will renew the cover with the RAC."
Then, that Friday, just one day before renewal was due, I got confirmation by post from their OD that they would cough up the rest, so they paid for everything!
As such, I renewed with RAC for my breakdown cover, but I won't be going with their warranty ever again after that ball-breaking hassle.
It also saved me the hassle of having to deal with Jeff Johnson Cars who were a joke of a dealer.