MG’s letter last week about RAC battery charges struck a chord. I called the RAC after my daughter broke down in our Nissan Micra far from home on a rainy night. The diagnosis was battery failure and a new one was duly fitted for £93. The service was prompt and she was able to get home. However, I did query the cost. Replacement batteries are available locally for £50–£60.
The RAC’s answer was that if she had been able to find a comparable one – albeit in a strange town – it would have matched its price. I said this sounded like a very clever form of customer exploitation. I heard nothing more until I got a final demand for £93.
MS, Milton Keynes
• In August I called the RAC when my 14-year-old car refused to start. I was told my battery needed replacing and one could be fitted there and then for £106. I said I would find it difficult to afford it and believed my local garage could supply one for less.
The patrol man said not to worry as the RAC had a “price match promise” and I should contact customer services if I got a cheaper quote.
My garage quoted £55.30 including fitting and VAT. However, I was refused a refund as this identical battery carried only a three-year warranty.
I feel duped and I hope you publicise this to stop it happening to other unsuspecting customers. GW, Glossop
Flat or failed batteries have long been the number one reason for calling out the likes of the RAC and, as a result, the patrols have offered to fit a new one – charging not much more than they would have paid at the local garage. It now seems some bright spark at the RAC has clearly decided that more money can be made out of members if the patrolmen are able to sell batteries at a marked-up price. The RAC fits around 100,000 batteries a year and a decent Micra battery typically costs £40-£50 – so, at £93, a tidy profit is likely to have been made.
An RAC spokesman told us that the company charges a “very competitive price for premium quality, high specification batteries”.
“Prices are the same regardless of whether they are bought in a breakdown situation or online in the RAC shop, and are benchmarked against major competitors to ensure value for money.
“Batteries are fitted free to members and come with a five-year, no quibble guarantee for 365 days a year. A faulty battery will be changed free of charge on the spot under warranty.”
In MS’s case it has said the demand stands. In response to GW it has now had a change of heart: “Our RAC patrol wrongly referred to a price match promotion which had finished some time before [GW’s] breakdown. In light of this mistake, and it subsequently not being clarified when the concern was raised, we would like to match the price the member was quoted for a lower specification battery by refunding the difference.”
This is the latest of a string of letters we’ve been sent about the RAC in recent months. In most cases the member has complained they felt overcharged.
Is this case of a private equity-owned firm trying to maximise every penny it can make out of its members already paying an expensive (typically almost £100 a year) membership, or a perfectly reasonable charge for delivering a service at the roadside? You decide.
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