RAC Motoring Services / RAC Group review: RAC breakdown

Dear RAC Complaints Team,

I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding the wholly unacceptable treatment and level of service I received from RAC following a serious breakdown on 23 June 2026.

I am extremely disappointed and appalled by my experience. I pay for what I consider to be a premium breakdown service from a premium, long-established and trusted motoring brand. I do so precisely because I expect that, if I find myself stranded in a dangerous or vulnerable situation, RAC will provide a prompt, safe, professional, compassionate and properly coordinated response.

On 23 June, when I genuinely needed that service, my experience fell drastically below those expectations.

Serious braking problem on the motorway

At approximately 5:30pm, I experienced a serious problem with my vehicle while travelling on the motorway.

I was travelling in the fast lane when my brakes became resistant and I experienced significant difficulty slowing and stopping my vehicle. This was an extremely frightening experience. I was fortunate that I managed to manoeuvre the vehicle across the motorway and onto the hard shoulder without being involved in an accident.

Having reached the hard shoulder, I contacted RAC immediately.

At this point I was alone, frightened and stranded alongside live motorway traffic following what appeared to be a potentially serious braking fault.

I reasonably expected that the location and nature of my breakdown would result in an urgent response.

Instead, I was left on the motorway hard shoulder for approximately five hours.

As the hours passed, it became dark and cold. I was alone on the side of a motorway and increasingly frightened and vulnerable.

I was approached by strangers while waiting

A particularly frightening aspect of being left there for such a prolonged period was that I was approached by unknown individuals who attempted to encourage me to use their patrol/recovery services.

I did not know these individuals. I had no way of knowing whether they represented a legitimate organisation, whether they were authorised to approach me or whether it would have been safe to accept their assistance.

I do not seek to make allegations about their intentions because I cannot know what those intentions were. However, the fact remains that I was alone, in darkness, on the side of a motorway and was being approached by strangers while waiting for RAC to arrive.

I found this extremely intimidating and frightening.

I had already experienced a potentially serious braking failure. I was cold, distressed, alone and waiting for the organisation I trusted and paid to assist me. I was then placed in the position of having unknown people approaching me and encouraging me to leave RAC's recovery arrangements and use their services instead.

I felt exposed and extremely vulnerable.

I should not have been left in that position for approximately five hours.

This is precisely why the length of the delay cannot simply be considered an inconvenience. The longer I was left there, the longer I remained exposed to the risks associated with being stranded alone on a motorway hard shoulder.

I would like RAC to take this into account when considering the seriousness and impact of the delay.

RAC knew about my medical circumstances

This situation is even more concerning because I specifically informed RAC that I have multiple sclerosis (MS), required access to medication and needed to be treated as a priority because of my circumstances.

RAC therefore knew that I had additional needs and that a prolonged delay could have a greater impact on me.

Despite this, I remained on the motorway hard shoulder for approximately five hours.

I require RAC to establish from its telephone recordings and case notes exactly when I disclosed my medical condition, what information was recorded and what action was taken as a result.

Was I classified as a vulnerable or priority customer?

If I was, I would like RAC to explain what practical difference that classification made, given the length of time I remained stranded.

If I was not, I require an explanation as to why not.

I repeatedly asked RAC to register a complaint

During this ordeal, I repeatedly told members of the RAC team that I wanted what was happening to me to be registered as a formal complaint.

I was told that this was not something they could facilitate and that I needed to access the RAC website and submit a complaint myself.

I find this response extraordinary given the circumstances in which I was making the request.

I was not sitting safely at home with access to a computer.

I was stranded on a motorway hard shoulder. It was dark. I was cold. I was frightened. I had already been approached by unknown individuals offering alternative recovery services. RAC knew that I had MS and required medication, and I had already been waiting for an unacceptable length of time.

Yet, when I repeatedly told RAC that I wanted to make a complaint about what was happening, rather than somebody taking ownership of my concerns, escalating them internally or arranging for an appropriate person to contact me, I was effectively told to go onto a website and deal with it myself.

At that moment, navigating an online complaints process was the very last thing I should have been expected to do.

At the absolute minimum, I would have expected the RAC representative to record that I wished to make a formal complaint and arrange for the appropriate department or manager to contact me.

I would therefore like RAC to listen to the relevant telephone recordings and establish exactly what I was told when I repeatedly attempted to complain.

Five-hour wait followed by further delays

After approximately five hours, assistance eventually arrived in the form of an external contractor arranged by RAC.

I was then transported approximately 1.5 hours away to a lay-by/service area, where I was informed that another recovery vehicle would be required to relay my vehicle onwards to a garage.

This did not resolve the situation.

I was required to wait again for several more hours for the next stage of the recovery.

There appeared to be no effective end-to-end coordination of my breakdown. Instead, I repeatedly had to telephone RAC myself to establish what was happening.

I did not arrive home until approximately 1:00am

After waiting for several more hours, I contacted RAC again to complain about the situation.

I was eventually informed that, under the level of cover I had purchased, I was entitled to a taxi home.

I therefore travelled home by taxi and did not arrive home until approximately 1:00am.

This was approximately seven and a half hours after I first contacted RAC at around 5:30pm.

By the time I arrived home, I had experienced a frightening braking problem, spent approximately five hours stranded on a motorway hard shoulder, been approached by unknown individuals, been transported approximately 1.5 hours away, waited again for onward recovery, repeatedly telephoned RAC for information and repeatedly attempted to have my concerns registered as a complaint.

My vehicle was still not recovered

Before leaving, I was instructed to leave my vehicle key at WHSmith so that the next recovery driver could collect it and continue the relay of my vehicle to the garage.

I followed RAC's instructions.

However, because I was receiving inadequate proactive communication, I continued telephoning RAC myself to establish what was happening to my vehicle.

I was subsequently informed that WHSmith had closed and that the recovery would therefore have to take place the following morning.

My vehicle was ultimately not collected until approximately 9:00am the next day.

Again, this demonstrates what appeared to me to be a serious lack of coordination.

RAC instructed me to leave my key at a particular location for an onward recovery, yet the arrangements apparently failed to take account of the fact that the location would close before the recovery could take place.

Lack of communication and ownership

Throughout this incident, I repeatedly had to contact RAC myself.

I had to chase for information about when somebody would reach me, what was happening with the onward recovery, how I could get home, where my vehicle was and when it would finally be collected.

At a time when I was already distressed, frightened and exhausted, I effectively had to manage and chase the progress of my own recovery.

This is not what I expect from a premium breakdown service.

This was not the premium service I am paying for

I chose RAC and continue to pay for a premium level of breakdown cover because I believed I was paying for reassurance, safety and professional assistance from one of the country's best-known motoring organisations.

The value of breakdown cover is surely demonstrated at the moment when a customer actually needs it.

On this occasion, when I needed RAC most, I felt abandoned.

I experienced a serious braking problem while travelling in the fast lane of a motorway.

I managed to get myself onto the hard shoulder.

I contacted RAC for assistance.

I was then left there for approximately five hours.

During that time, it became dark and cold. I was alone and frightened. Unknown individuals approached me and attempted to persuade me to use alternative recovery services. I had no way of knowing whether it was safe to engage with them.

RAC knew that I have MS and required medication.

When I repeatedly attempted to make a complaint, I was directed to a website rather than being meaningfully assisted.

When recovery eventually arrived, I was transported approximately 1.5 hours away and subjected to further delays.

I did not arrive home until approximately 1:00am.

My vehicle was not collected until approximately 9:00am the following morning.

I cannot reconcile any of this with the premium service I believed I was paying RAC to provide.

I require a comprehensive investigation

I am asking RAC to conduct a full investigation into the handling of this incident.

Please preserve and review all telephone recordings, call logs, case notes, dispatch records, GPS/attendance timestamps where available, contractor communications, recovery records and internal escalation records associated with my breakdown.

In your written response, I specifically require RAC to address:

The precise time my initial breakdown call was received.
Why I was left on a motorway hard shoulder for approximately five hours following a serious braking problem.
What priority classification was assigned to my breakdown.
What information was recorded when I disclosed that I have MS and required medication.
Whether I was identified as requiring priority or additional assistance and what practical action resulted from this.
Whether the fact that I was alone on a motorway hard shoulder was taken into account when assessing the urgency of my recovery.
Why I was left there for long enough that darkness fell and I became cold, frightened and increasingly vulnerable.
Why my repeated requests to register a formal complaint were not facilitated.
What was recorded when I explicitly stated that I wished to complain.
Why I was directed to use the RAC website rather than my complaint being recorded or escalated internally.
Whether RAC considers it reasonable to expect a frightened and vulnerable customer stranded on a motorway hard shoulder in darkness to navigate an online complaints process.
Why an appropriate recovery resource could not reach me sooner.
Why I was transported approximately 1.5 hours away and then subjected to further delays for another relay.
Why there was such a lack of proactive communication throughout the incident.
Why I repeatedly had to contact RAC myself to establish what was happening.
Why I was instructed to leave my vehicle key at WHSmith when the recovery arrangements were apparently not capable of being completed before the premises closed.
Why my vehicle was ultimately not collected until approximately 9:00am the following morning.
Whether RAC considers the overall service provided to me to be consistent with the standards associated with the premium breakdown cover for which I pay.
Appropriate compensation and redress

I expect RAC to consider meaningful compensation and redress in light of the cumulative seriousness of these failures.

I do not consider this to have been simply a delayed breakdown recovery.

This concerned my personal safety and wellbeing.

I was left alone for approximately five hours on a motorway hard shoulder following a serious braking problem. It became dark and cold. I was approached by unknown individuals offering alternative recovery services, which made me feel even more exposed and frightened. RAC had been informed of my medical circumstances and need for medication. I repeatedly tried to raise a complaint and was told to use a website. The onward recovery was poorly coordinated, communication was inadequate, I did not arrive home until approximately 1:00am, and my vehicle remained unresolved until approximately 9:00am the following morning.

The cumulative impact on me was considerable.

I pay RAC specifically so that, if I am ever placed in precisely this kind of situation, I have the security of knowing that a trusted organisation will assist me.

Instead, I felt exposed, frightened and unsupported at a time when I should have been able to rely upon RAC.

I therefore expect RAC to explain what meaningful financial redress it proposes and whether it considers that I received the premium service for which I have been paying.

Formal complaint

Please treat this correspondence as an official formal complaint and provide me with a complaint reference number.

Given that I repeatedly attempted to have my complaint registered during the incident and was told to submit it through the website myself, I specifically require written confirmation that my complaint has now been formally logged.

Please also confirm that the relevant telephone recordings, call notes, dispatch information, contractor communications and recovery records will be retained and reviewed as part of your investigation.

I do not consider a generic apology to be an adequate response.

I expect a substantive written response addressing the individual issues I have raised, an explanation of what went wrong, what RAC intends to do to prevent a recurrence, and what compensation or other redress RAC proposes in recognition of my experience.

I look forward to receiving your acknowledgement, complaint reference and full response.

Yours faithfully,

Dee