Saga Breakdown.

pamjon

pamjon

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For the first time in 20+years of traveling abroad we seem to had our fair share of problems all in one go. We have been with Saga Breakdown Insuarance for longer than I can remember. We didn't realise that Saga have changed from the AA to the RAC. (Saga has always been the cheapest we can get). We had two blow outs within 4 days on the back tyres. The first time not a problem, they came and put the spare tyre on and I was on my way. Bearing in mind if you have read my previous thread I was on my way to visit my wife in hospital. The second blowout was an hour after I had picked my wife up out of hospital. I rang the breakdown up yet again and I got this woman (sounded like a jobs worth) . The first thing she asked my was "is the vehicle petrol or diesel" the second thing she asked me is "what is the mileage" then she said that they may have to put me on the back of a breakdown truck. After every question she asked I answered I have blown a back tyre what has that to do with that. I realised that they have a script that they have to go through. At this point I was so wound up that I gave the phone to my wife, luckily we were on a Lidl carpark. She asked my wife what length we were, my wife read to her the sizes that we have written on the visor of the cab because of when we see signs saying nothing larger that 2.5 metres can pass this way for example but these sizes were very exagerated and the woman turned around and said that we were too long and we weren't covered. ( Our length is 7mtrs) At this point my wife told her that they had already been out once to us within 4 days and there had been no problem so therefore they had set a precedence and that she also needed to get to a chemist to get her prescription from the hospital. The woman said that as they had already been to us once they would honour it and that perhaps I could go and ask Lidl for the number of a taxi to get me to a chemist.
In short we were on the Lidl carpark overnight, all ended well in the end.
The only reason I am posting our experience of what happened is that when we had time and were not stressed out we looked at the Saga book and under frequently asked questions it asks " Do any size restrictions apply to my motorhome?", the answer is No.
I am posting this so members can be aware of possible problems because of the RAC.
And yes, we have sent a letter of complaint to Saga concerning the RAC.
PJ
 
Looking at the current policy documents Saga cover is restricted to vehicles 7m in length or less, 2.25m width or less, and 3.5t or less.

Is your 'van within those limits?
 
I did have RAC membership briefly and had the misfortune to call them out. The questions are interminable and so pointless, but they excell themselves when asking your position. I gave them them road number, my direction of travel, the next junction number and the co-ordinates and they still kept asking where I was. When it came to renewal they, more or less, doubled the premium so I left. They then called me to say they would beat my new suppliers despite being offered the chance earlier. Too big, too corporate to be user freindly I'm afraid. I'm with Autoaid now, very cheap and when I called them they were with me in 40 minutes.
 
Autoaid cover the driver for any vehicle under 3.5 tonne. I was very surprised at how good the service was for the price, which includes homestart.
 
Had cause to call out breakdown when we were on our way to Scotland.
We are, and have been for the past 7 years insured inc breakdown with CaravanGuard.
Our exhaust had broken off and we were in a service station restricted to two hours parking.
After a phone call, a breakdown van was with us within 30 mins, and wired up the exhaust, until we got to Stirling and had a replacement fitted.
Our van is 4.5t and 7m long, and during the conversation it was mentioned that we may have to be loaded onto a flatbed :)
 
antiquesam said:
I gave them them road number, my direction of travel, the next junction number and the co-ordinates and they still kept asking where I was.
Click to expand...

Many years ago we limped into the main RAC west of England depot, they wouldn't touch the car until they had a job number, but let me use their office phone, it went like this.
RAC: Where are you?
Me: At your west of England main depot.
RAC: Can you tell us the town and road?
Me: Just off the new A30 dual carriageway, on the old A30 that leads into Oakhampton.
RAC: Do you know the name of the road?
Me: No, but your main west of england depot is here.
RAC: Can you give us any other info on your whereabouts?
Me: We are on the road west out of Oakhampton that leads to services on A30, we are parked in your main west of england depot, they say they need a job number from you to look at the car.
RAC: We'll try and send someone out to find you, can you give us any other info which might help them?
Me: I'm parked with about 20 RAC recovery trucks around me.
RAC: can you give us any other info.
At which point I handed the phone over to RAC office manager.
 
Several years ago,we had a breakdown with 4.5ton motorhome.We were insured directly with RAC.
They came out said they couldn't recover it until they could get a larger truck to bring it home.We were provided with a courtesy car so we didn't have to wait for them.
On another occasion they sourced spare parts for us.
No complaints
 
As you can see from our document from Saga Breakdown, Saga says length and age is not a problem.
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P1030984.JPG
 
Ha on the other foot I was the AA patrol looking for a car late on Xmas eve the information I got from member on mobile phone was!
Parked under a large oak tree in a lay-by on a dual carriageway heading from stansted airport towards Newcastle, my reply thankyou sir is there any other identifying information that would help me, ah yes a lorry just drove past with Grantham written on the back, we divided the area into 8 patrols and found him less than an hour later👍 That was in the days of team work not number crunching
 
I gave Europ Assistance my exact lat / long location when I broke down in france last month, pinpointing my position to a few yards, got a call from breakdown truck telling me he couldn't find us :(
 
Touch wood - been with RAC 30+ years, have called them out no end of times in that period and never had any problems.
 
yeoblade said:
I gave Europ Assistance my exact lat / long location when I broke down in france last month, pinpointing my position to a few yards, got a call from breakdown truck telling me he couldn't find us :(
Click to expand...

Not everyone is that clued up on Lat / Long and the differences. We met one guy who was complaining that his book of Aires was totally useless as all the Lat / Long we’re wrong. He was just entering them the best he could in his SatNav. I did try to explain that you actually have to convert one format to the other using software or maths not by just missing out the degrees symbols.

As an example

47°18′10.96″N 05°25′14.58″E was being entered as N47.181096 E05.251458
 
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QFour said:
Not everyone is that clued up on Lat / Long and the differences. We met one guy who was complaining that his book of Aires was totally useless as all the Lat / Long we’re wrong. He was just entering them the best he could in his SatNav. I did try to explain that you actually have to convert one format to the other using software or maths not by just missing out the degrees symbols.

As an example

47°18′10.96″N 05°25′14.58″E was being entered as N47.181096 E05.251458
Click to expand...
Aaahh !
 
The Saga, Saga continues!!
Spoke to Saga today, as I wanted to know how I stood and if I needed to find someone else.
The man I spoke to was very good and said that the RAC had obviously gone on their conditions and not Sagas. As I paid my money to Saga it was Sagas terms and conditions that applied.
The reason we stay with Saga is that the contents cover on the Motor Home is excellent. We get fully comprehensive Insurance plus breakdown for £340 and I do believe this price is fixed for another 3years.
PJ
 
Our complaint to Saga and subsequently the RAC , has had a result through our persistence.. Although the RAC eventually did their job when we had our second blow out it was not without problems. We have just received a £50 cheque from the RAC in compensation.
PJ
 
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