Breakdown Services Don't Get Done Get Dom

'My name's Dominic Littlewood

'and I'm passionate about taking on your consumer battles.

'In fact, taking companies to task has become my goal in life.'

I'm looking for about £20,000 to sort this out once and for all.

'Big or small - no company is excused from my quest to ensure

'that you get what you're entitled to.'

Have to wait for them to ring me back... Oh, so frustrating!

'Whether it's getting your money back...'

It was just unacceptable as a customer to be told no.

'..or taking on your contract conundrums...'

The response I got was not satisfactory

because they failed to give me the information I asked for.

'..I'm on your side.'

'On today's show,

'the motoring organisation that left one of its customers high and dry.'

I just still cannot believe that they would come out

to a 19-year-old lad who has broken down

and decide that their position was

that they were just going to drive away and leave him.

'We show you how to navigate the knotty world of insurance.'

Always check the small print and always check that you are getting covered, basically!

'And the battle that boiled over for one energy provider's

'long-suffering customer.'

I was getting really frustrated

and annoyed that I had been paying these monthly instalments

for them to repair my boiler and they weren't doing it.

I'm taking on your consumer problems to make sure you don't get done!

If you saw a crime, an accident or a fire,

you'd know who to dial, right? 999.

But what about if it was one of those other emergency services?

You know, like your house flooding, getting locked out,

or even your car breaking down.

Well, from plumbers to locksmiths to car recovery services,

there's somebody out there to cover every eventuality.

But I've heard from someone whose emergency service

DIDN'T live up to its reputation.

'Meet Mark Endacott.

'He lives in York with his girlfriend,

'but makes frequent trips down to Devon to visit his family and

'he's written to me about a problem

'he's had with his breakdown service.'

They'd always been there when it had been something local,

within ten miles they'd bring us back no problem,

but as soon as it's the big one, the one that you actually WANT them for

and NEED them for, that's when they let us down.

'That day in March 2012, 19-year-old Mark was driving down to Devon

'to help out on the family farm.'

It's a sheep farm, so I've got to come down

and help Dad with the lambing cos it's pretty full-on.

'It can involve a lot of night shifts,

'being up at three/four o'clock in the morning sometimes.

'It's a lot of work.'

'The journey from York to Mark's village of Spreyton, near Exeter,

'is over 300 miles and takes around five hours.

'Mark set off at lunchtime, hoping to be there for early evening.

'But no sooner had he hit the dual carriageway,

'than he ran into difficulty.'

I got about 300 yards down the A64 when I realised that I'd lifted off

the accelerator, but the car was continuing to speed up

and me engine was just going crazy,

it was revving up at 5,500rpm, maxing out.

So I pulled off onto the hard shoulder,

put my hazards on and turned the engine off

and the engine continued to rev even when I pulled the key out,

which was also quite worrying!

'Eventually the engine stopped with a bang...'

'..leaving Mark stranded on the hard shoulder.

'But at this stage, he wasn't unduly worried.'

At that point I was very glad to know that... "It's all right,

"I've got an RAC card in me wallet, I've got the number there,

"I can ring 'em and it shouldn't be too long

"before I'm back on me journey."

'Mark's dad Roy had taken out a family policy with the RAC,

'which included everything from Home Start and Roadside Assistance

'to the promise that if your car couldn't be fixed,

'the RAC would take you and it to a destination of your choice

'anywhere in mainland UK.'

We took out the package that provided all the bells and whistles

that would just mean that if anything went wrong,

they would bring whoever it was and their car home safely.

So that just gave peace of mind to parents who were just

concerned with 17-year-olds out on the road.

'Mark put in a call to the RAC and two hours later a mechanic arrived.

'Unfortunately, his prognosis for Mark's car wasn't good.'

He asked whether I'd put oil in the car and I hadn't,

I'd checked the oil level, it was fine.

And then he... He proceeded to tell me that

he thought there WAS too much oil in the car and that as such,

the engine had run off and the turbo had broken,

all the turbo fins gone through the engine

and destroyed the engine, really.

'The mechanic decided the best course of action would be to take

'the car to a local garage in Leeds to see if they could fix it.'

'Unfortunately, the garage concluded that the engine was beyond repair

'and that Mark would need a new one to complete his journey.'

So I said to the RAC patrol guy, "OK, well, what can I do, then?

"Are you going to take me home? Can I take me car home?"

And he advised that I ring the RAC and speak to them.

'Mark's family policy clearly stated

'that if the car couldn't be fixed, the RAC would take the driver

'and the car to a destination of the driver's choice.

'So Mark assumed that they would take him down to Devon.

'But when he called the RAC to discuss this,

'he was in for a shock.'

They were saying that because the patrolman had said

it was oil too full, it was driver error,

they didn't have any responsibility to do anything with me.

'They also said that it would take ten hours to get the car to Devon

'and that this would exceed the permitted hours

'for the driver of the recovery vehicle.

'But it didn't end there. Because Mark's car was an older model,

'they didn't think it warranted being taken all the way to Devon

'because it wouldn't be financially viable to repair it

'once it got there.'

'At a loss as to what to do, Mark called his dad,

'who couldn't believe what he was hearing.'

I said that's NOT the way it works, we have a policy that says

it'll bring you home, it doesn't matter how long it takes,

if they have to do it in stages with convoys of different people

driving at different stages, it really doesn't matter.

'Mark repeated all this to the RAC patrolman, but to no avail.'

No matter how much I told the RAC that, they turned around

and told me, "No, it's driver error, there is no contract here.

"It's driver error, it's your fault, we don't have to take you anywhere."

'And then the patrolman did something

'which stunned both Mark and his dad.'

Eventually, it got to the point where the RAC patrolman left.

So I rang Dad and just said to him...

"The RAC patrolman's just left me here, he's gone.

"I'm just sat here in this garage with these garage folk, I'm..."

"I'm left, I'm stranded here."

And I said to him, "You have got to be joking!"

He said, "No, he's just driven off and left me here."

'As the garage had to close for the night

'and had no room for Mark's motor,

'it was left on the road along with Mark.

'Fortunately, Mark had a friend who lived nearby.

'He gave her a call and she came and collected him

'and took him back to York.'

'The following day, he took a train down to Devon,

'paid for by his dad at a cost of £102.

'Unsurprisingly, Roy was fuming.'

This was for specific instances like this,

where we needed the driver and the car

to be brought to the destination of your choice

and it just didn't happen.

'Roy got straight on the phone to the RAC.'

I contacted the RAC and spoke to them

and explained what had happened and they said,

"Oh, well, if you fill in a complaints procedure form

"we'll investigate it."

So I filled in all the paperwork, sent it all through to them...

..and didn't hear anything.

'A week later, Roy sent them another e-mail

'and another one the day after that.

'And eventually he got a response,

'but it was far from what he was expecting.'

There was absolutely no recognition

that anything had gone wrong with this.

They didn't acknowledge that they'd made a mistake

in leaving the son by the road

and according to the complaints procedure,

everything had been done by the book.

'And as far as Roy was concerned, that just wasn't good enough.'

Here's me, the little guy, being turned over by the big organisation,

they haven't delivered on what they were supposed to,

I thought, "Actually, I think Dom might be the person

"that could really help me here."

I'll tell you what, we have got one very unhappy customer here

because he's been a member with the RAC

and been paying them money for 18 years now.

'Roy complained to the RAC 21 months ago

'and STILL hasn't had any satisfactory resolution

'to his case.'

I think it's time I put an e-mail in to them.

'The RAC is one of the largest motoring organisations in the UK.

'It has over seven million members and prides itself on offering

'customers peace of mind when they're out on the roads.

'Which is exactly why Roy signed up.'

They seemed to be offering the best deal at the time

and they'd got a good reputation, so we went with them.

'Why do the RAC think people should sign up to their service?

'Well, here's their advertising campaign from summer 2013.'

The RAC advert promises you peace of mind and a helping hand

when you're out and about.

'This summer, we want you to get where you're going.'

From Leeds to Devon? Not if your name's Mark Endacott.

'That's why every RAC patrol

'is equipped with over 500 parts and tools

'and one qualified mechanic,

'so we can fix four out of five cars at the roadside.'

Unless, of course,

your car is too old.

'We don't just tow you to a garage...'

And leave you there?

'We bring the garage to you.'

Unless the breakdown was your own fault.

'Join today and get two months' membership free.

'Motorists, we salute you.'

'More like ABANDON YOU in Mark's case!

'I would say that peace of mind is the last thing Mark Endacott got

'from the RAC, and they certainly didn't get him

'to where he was going.'

'So I need to ask the RAC a few questions.

'I want to know...'

'Now, I've put all this in an e-mail,

'so let's see what they come back with.'

Phones, cars, houses, even our health,

there's an insurance policy out there that will cover

every aspect of our lives,

but they don't always come up trumps when we get dealt a bad card.

'And that's why, as consumers, it's good for us to be aware

'that the devil is in the detail.'

With my cat they said, "Your cat's got a broken front leg in the past,

"so we're not going to insure your cat's front leg,"

which to me, seems ridiculous.

So always check the small print

and always check that you're getting covered...

well, for every leg, basically!

'Insurance can seem quite daunting, but it's up to us, as consumers,

'to check that we've got sufficient cover.

'And I've got just the person to give us the lowdown

'on where you stand with your insurers.'

We help customers access suitable insurance for them,

so they might be struggling,

maybe they were in a nonstandard situation,

they've got a medical condition and they want travel insurance,

they've got convictions

and they want some motor insurance...

So we can help match them up with a suitable broker

who's a specialist in that area, so they can have a solution.

I am constantly receiving your e-mails

complaining about insurance companies and it's no surprise!

When you take a look at some of these policies,

you'd need a PHD to fill one in!

I think people can suffer from information overload,

so they get policy booklets and where do they start?

Do they want to read the entire thing?

So they... Also we have problems as well when people buy online,

we think the problem's magnified

because they just go click, click, buy

and they don't always check that that policy's suitable for them -

how much is the excess, what are the exclusions?

So it's very important that they do check and they speak to someone

and they check they've got the right policy for them.

Now, here's an interesting one for you.

I've been contacted by a lady called Sue

who had to cancel her holiday

because she was admitted into hospital.

Now, Sue did have travel insurance, but they refused to pay out

cos it turns out that Sue had had tests for her condition

in the previous 12 months.

But Sue didn't think she needed to tell them

because the tests came back as negative.

Sadly, Sue, you were wrong.

Every insurance company is different,

but commonly, most insurers will say,

"Have you been to the doctor in the last 12 months?

"Have you been to hospital in the last 12 months?

"Are you on any medication? Is it stable?"

So those scenarios, whatever the situation,

they'll want to know about it.

They probably won't charge any more if it's just something fairly basic,

but it is very, very important

you disclose anything within those time periods.

'The advice is clear - be completely upfront

'and transparent with your insurers, as it will only be you

'who ends up losing out by leaving out the details.'

It's not just Sue who's contacted me,

it seems a lot of you are missing out on payouts

because YOU'VE failed to tell your insurance company

something which would affect a claim.

They call that "nondisclosure".

It used to be the case that insurance companies would ask

the policy holders to disclose any material fact

that a prudent underwriter would want to know,

but, of course, do consumers know what those facts are?

So now there's been a change to consumer insurance law

and that means that the insurance industry will ask

the exact questions they need to know answers to.

So nothing should be missed.

Providing the customer answers honestly and positively,

then all the information will be there

and their claim should be paid.

Good news for all of us, but I wonder where it leaves Laura.

Laura contacted me after being involved in a car accident

and she had to have operations because of fractures.

Laura put a claim in to her insurance company,

but they said serious injury is only covered

if it involves the loss of a limb.

'So, if like Laura, you're not happy with

'the response of your insurers, what's the next step?'

Complain to your insurance company that you're dealing with,

try and work it out.

If that doesn't happen, look in the back of the policy booklet

and you can formally write to the chief executive of that insurer,

they'll have about eight weeks to reply

and if you're still not happy you can go to the

Financial Ombudsman Service.

It's free for customers and they will come down

and they will look in detail at it, they're very customer friendly

and any decision they make will be binding on the insurance company.

So if they say to the insurer, "You have to pay," they have to pay.

Some great advice there and by following it,

you can make sure that your insurance cover works for you.

First of all, when you're applying for insurance,

answer all the questions honestly and accurately.

Secondly, make sure the policy's suitable for you,

that it covers all the limits and areas that you want it to.

And then finally, make sure you're aware of its limitations

and its exclusions,

what doesn't it cover?

And remembering those should mean you don't get done.

'I've been looking into a complaint made against the RAC

'by Roy Endacott and his son Mark.

'Roy had been a loyal member of the RAC for 18 years,

'taking comfort from the notion that they would always be there

'should he or his family run into difficulty out on the roads.'

Just having the RAC available to call out wherever you were

in the country, was just a comfort to know.

'But now his trust in them has been seriously eroded

'after his 19-year-old son was abandoned

'on his way from York to Devon.'

I just still cannot believe that they would come out to

a 19-year-old lad who has broken down and the car is obviously

NOT going to get him to his destination

and decide that their position

was they were just going to drive away and leave him.

'Thanks only to a friend, Mark managed to get home to York

'and then got a train to Devon the following day.

'But his car was left sitting at the side of the road,

'outside a garage in Leeds

'and the family were eventually obliged to scrap it.'

I think we got £180 for a car with four new tyres

and a tank full of fuel on it... that probably, the tyres

and the fuel, would have been more than the 180 quid!

So it really didn't do us

any favours having to scrap it in that way.

'I want to get to the bottom of what went wrong here.

'So I e-mailed the RAC a couple of days ago

'to get their side of the story and, hey presto,

'I've got a response.'

Pete Williams from the RAC has e-mailed my office

and said that Mr Endacott cancelled his agreement in May 2012,

so they thought the problem would be put to bed.

He then said, "Does he want it reopened again?"

I said, "Yes, course he does!"

So they've now said they're going to have another look into it.

I've got a good feeling about this one.

'There are 44 million licensed drivers in the UK.

'And last year we travelled over 300 billion miles on UK roads.

'Perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a few of us also broke down.

'There were 212,000 breakdowns last year on motorways alone,

'meaning the recovery service were kept busy.

'So with this many vehicle users and this number of breakdowns,

'how common is it for customers

'to be let down by their recovery service?'

Hi, Emma.

'I'm going to ask someone who should know.'

Emma, you're a motoring consumer journalist,

so you hear about all sorts of problems.

Have you ever heard about one of the big breakdown recovery services

ever NOT getting somebody down when they WERE covered

and then refuse to get them home?

Well, I'm sure it does happen, but I have to say,

this is not something that we come across very often at all,

I think it's very rare.

I think in the main, the rescue and recovery business

is very reliable, and, you know,

you pay for peace of mind and usually get it.

But, of course, there will be instances where people are let down,

as is the case in any industry.

Can you think of any acceptable reason why that wouldn't happen?

No, not really.

If you've paid for a certain amount of cover, then you should get it.

Really what you need to do is just make sure you know

what your policy covers you for.

I think that's the main mistake a lot of people make,

is that they think they've paid for more cover than they actually have,

so just read the terms and conditions,

know what you're buying and then relax.

'Following that chat,

'I'm wondering whether there was anything in Roy and Mark's

'terms and conditions that might justify the RAC

'leaving Mark at the roadside.'

I've pulled up an online version of Roy's RAC policy document.

And it clearly states here that he does have

At Home, Roadside, Recovery and Onward Travel

for him and his family.

So what exactly does all that cover mean?

Well, their definition for Roadside is, quote:

"We'll fix your vehicle at the roadside,

"as long as you're over a quarter of a mile away from home.

"If we are unable to fix your vehicle,

"we'll tow you up to ten miles to a destination of your choice,

"local garage or a place of safety."

So, box ticked, he's got that.

Recovery means:

"We'll take you, up to seven passengers and your car

"to a chosen destination anywhere in mainland UK."

Again, box ticked. He's got that.

Onward Travel means:

"We'll ensure that your travel plans are not seriously interrupted

"if your car cannot complete the journey.

"We will provide you with

"a replacement vehicle for up to three days,

"or overnight accommodation or alternative transport costs."

Now, we know for a fact that Mark wasn't given the option

of where he was going to be taken to,

he was simply dropped off at a local garage.

He was told that they wouldn't take him all the way back to Devon

because it was too far, his car wasn't worth it,

plus the driver would have gone over his ten-hour shift.

He also wasn't offered a replacement vehicle

or an overnight accommodation, or alternative transport costs.

So, there is a discrepancy between what the RAC

are promising here in their policy document

and what the Endacott family were actually offered, which is not good.

'So, where do Roy and Mark actually stand here?

'The London Association of Recovery Operators is a trade organisation

'that represents recovery companies, including the RAC,

'so they should be able to tell us

'exactly what kind of service customers can expect.'

The recovery industry has changed a great deal over the last 25 years.

Cars have become a lot more reliable,

less volumes of traffic out there.

This has then led to inconsistencies of work to recovery operators,

which has impacted on their business

and their availability to provide a service.

'What are the most common call-outs?'

Feedback from our members tell us that the

most common causes of breakdown are flat or faulty tyres,

flat or faulty batteries, followed by accidents and misfuels

and electrical faults, starter motors and alternators.

Roughly 10% of breakdowns are caused by human error.

'Mark Endacott was told his breakdown was due to human error,

'but should that mean he's left stranded?'

If the customer has full breakdown cover,

then he is entitled to have the car moved to the garage of his choosing.

'But that didn't happen because Mark was also told his car was

'old and beyond repair.

'Now, I didn't see any exclusions in his policy to cover this.'

The age of the car shouldn't impact on...

On the ability for the recovery operator to do the job.

As long as he has the relevant cover

or is willing to pay for that service, it shouldn't be an issue.

'That's exactly what I thought. So, what about those driving hours?

'I mean, after all, it is a long way between Leeds and Exeter.'

There are laws that will regulate the amount of driving hours

that a recovery operator will be able to work

and this will very much impact

on the service that the consumer receives.

'These laws come from the EU

'and they give the maximum daily driving time as nine hours.

'But despite these laws, Mark does say that companies can use

'a relay system to transport vehicles and provide a courtesy car

'to the customer to make sure they get from A to B.

'Well, that clearly didn't happen in this case.'

They've been called upon, in a breakdown,

to deliver on what the premium was paid for.

And they drove off.

I still cannot believe they would do that.

'Nor me.

'So what does Mark advise

'if you have a complaint against your service provider?'

If the customer is not happy with their breakdown cover,

they should talk to their service provider,

just to make sure they are entitled to that full service.

If they don't get any joy with the call handler,

talk to their manager or supervisor.

'That's all well and good, but in Roy and Mark's case

'they had no joy getting a response to their complaints

'with anyone at the RAC,

'and I'm convinced they didn't get the service they should have.'

Time to call the RAC and find out what's gone wrong in Roy's case.

They're probably just going to be saying, "I'm ever so sorry, it shouldn't have happened,"

which is fair enough, we all make mistakes, but then I'll say,

"Well, hang on, what are you going to do about it?"

DIALLING TONE

'I get through to his voice mail, so I leave a message.'

Hi, Pete, good morning to you.

It's Dominic Littlewood calling from the BBC.

I wonder if you'd be kind enough to give us a call back, please.

'I'm sure he will, but if he doesn't,

'I'll just try him again a little later on.'

Now, one of the things Mark was told was that his breakdown

'was due to driver error, something he's always denied.

'But what kind of driver errors DO cause breakdowns

'and what can you do to avoid them?

'I've come to meet mechanic Jim Piercy at his garage

'in southeast London.'

Hello, Jim, nice to meet you. Thanks for agreeing to see me.

I want a bit of advice.

A lot of the time, people keep driving and driving

until they do break down and then it causes panic stations.

Show us what people should be doing, then.

The first thing they should be doing is checking their oil level,

which is... On most cars now, the dipstick will have a colour on it.

Yeah.

You take the dipstick out, you clean it first.

Make sure it's bone dry and once it's bone dry,

you put it back in the dipstick hold,

all the way down and straight the way out.

-Yeah.

-And then you can see the oil onto the crease,

which is the mark that shows this is OK.

Now, the person I'm trying to help out

was told the reason his car had broken down

was because it had TOO MUCH oil in it.

Does that sound like a genuine reason?

Yeah, that's just as bad as having not enough oil in it

because with too much oil, it burns the oil,

the oil goes into the catalytic converter and it soots it up

and it stops it from running.

So it's important not to go under or over?

Yep, just as important, yeah.

If you go under, of course, what's the worst-case scenario?

Engine failure. Engine'll seize, it's a throwaway.

OK, what are the other important things, then?

One people would worry about is the water, the coolant.

-We used to have a radiator with a cap on...

-Yep.

..it doesn't exist any more, does it?

No. Usually they're an expansion tank and they've got a screw on top

and they should, or most of them do, carry a warning.

-Never remove it when it's hot.

-Right.

-Because they build up pressure.

-Yeah, OK. Like a volcano?

And it's steam, yeah, added pressure

and if you try to take it off, you'll just...

-The water'll go, pffft, over the top, dangerous.

-You'll burn yourself.

But once it's chilled - you should do it in the morning before you start off on your journey -

just unscrew the cap.

-You're not just filling it with water.

-Or antifreeze.

Or antifreeze, it should be a mix, usually around about a 50-50 mix.

'And Jim has one more simple piece of advice to help us

'avoid the dreaded breakdown.'

Get your car serviced once a year.

'Well, I have to say, it's encouraging to know

'that some of the more minor vehicle malfunctions CAN be avoided

'if you just spend a little bit of time

'keeping on top of basic maintenance.

'Now, I need to get back onto the RAC.'

'Morning, press office.'

Oh, hi, good morning, is Pete Williams there, please?

'Speaking.'

Oh, Pete, hi, good morning, it's Dominic Littlewood from the BBC.

'Hi, hi, how are you?'

I'm all right, thanks, Pete,

I haven't caught you at a bad time, have I?

-'No, no, it's fine.'

-Ah, brilliant.

Pete, I think you were half expecting my call.

You're obviously quite familiar with the story, I think, aren't you, Pete?

'Yes, I am.'

Just want to know...what went wrong with Mr Endacott.

'Yeah, basically, you know,

'we reviewed the decision that was made back in, sort of...

'Whilst his first approach to us was in March,

'I think the actual breakdown was 12 March, was it?'

I've got 19 March.

-'19 March, right, OK.'

-Yeah.

'Obviously we reviewed how we'd handled the breakdown and the call

'and we'd stood by that decision.

'Obviously, now, you've come back to us,

'we've reviewed it and actually, we don't agree,

'we don't feel we served Mr Endacott appropriately in that instance.'

'This is good news, hopefully we might get somewhere.

'Pete goes on to say that they're looking into

'what they can do to rectify this.

'But I still want to try and get to the bottom

'of why this happened in the first place.'

Pete, can I just ask you one or two questions?

When I read the story about this and heard all about it,

what slightly concerned me -

it's an older vehicle, it's a Y-reg car -

would there be a difference in this breakdown

if it was a newer, more expensive or even a sort of...

you know, a high-end vehicle?

'I don't believe so.

'I can't understand why that would be any different,

'but I can certainly ask the question of our operational team

'and the customer service guys.'

The other thing I'd like to ask is what's the procedure

if the destination journey is going to be a long one?

So more than, say, 12 hours or 300 miles.

Do you have a certain cut-off point where a driver can't drive

or won't drive, for whether it's legal reasons

or just your own guidelines, or something?

'There is an awful lot of legislation

-'around the mileage a driver can travel.'

-Yeah.

'Also, obviously, it's dependent on the level of cover somebody has.

'If it's a recovery to home

'and you're talking about hundreds of miles,

'then we would actually have to

'engage a proper recovery vehicle driver and they would be using tacho

'and meet the laws of the road in terms of driver hours.

'But there shouldn't be a limit on the distance they would travel.'

So if something goes over hours, what would happen then?

Would they then be put in a hotel?

Would they then just be dropped off at a local garage?

'Yeah, we have an Onward Travel level of cover,

'there we'd potentially put the driver on a train

'and recover the vehicle in time as well.

'And there we can use a couple of recovery drivers.

'It might be that they meet sort of halfway at Birmingham

'and the vehicle's then relayed on another vehicle,

-'where they're starting afresh on a new tacho, so...'

-Yeah.

'Let me get the insight from the guys who deal with this

'on a day-to-day basis and I'll come back to you.'

If you could clarify that it'd be very interesting.

'Absolutely, OK.'

Smashing. Nice talking to you, Pete, I'll wait for you to call back.

Thank you, then. Bye-bye.

Right, I eventually got to speak to Pete from the RAC,

I put a few questions to him and I've asked for some money back.

Nothing greedy.

He said he's going to give me a call back this afternoon,

so, that's about... three hours away, let's see.

When the unexpected happens, it's nice to know that

you've got peace of mind and help is at hand.

And there are loads of home emergency policies out there

to protect you when things go wrong.

But I've heard from a lady whose boiler insurance

left her out in the cold.

'Jean Bailey, from Buckinghamshire, had a battle that boiled over

'with her energy supplier E.ON.

'It all began in her previous home in Staffordshire.'

I lived in the house for 24 years,

but the boiler I had only installed nine, ten years previous to that.

'Jean had the boiler serviced every year

'and when she switched her energy supplier three years ago,

'for that extra peace of mind,

'Jean took out a boiler service contract with E.ON.'

Initially, the monthly contract was about £20.

I set up a direct debit to pay for the monthly instalments.

The contract, as far as I was aware,

covered spare parts, service, everything.

'And for two years, everything was cosy with the boiler,

'but then in mid-November...'

When I got up in the morning the house was cold,

so I realised that it hadn't come on.

So I would go downstairs and have a look

and the pilot light wasn't on.

In the evening it would probably be OK,

but the following evening it maybe wouldn't come on again.

That's when I realised there's something wrong with it.

I rang E.ON, told them what the problem was, and they said, yes,

they would send an engineer out.

'And almost a week later, help finally arrived.'

When the young lad came, he looked at the boiler,

but went upstairs to the linen cupboard,

decided that there was some wires or something needed to be replaced,

replaced them, tried the boiler again

and it did come on, so I thought the boiler was repaired.

The next morning the house was cold and I was not a happy bunny!

'I can imagine! But the same engineer came straight back round.'

He'd had a look at all the wires

that he had put in and one of them was loose,

so he repaired it, tried it again and it did come on and it was fine.

I think it was fine for about two days after that.

'Is that all?!

'The boiler went back to its old ways of intermittingly working!

'This became all the more frustrating

'as Jean was planning to put her house on the market

'and she couldn't do that with a busted boiler.'

I was getting really frustrated and annoyed

that I had been paying monthly instalments

for them to repair my boiler and they weren't doing it.

'And what followed was another engineer's visit,

'followed by a report, followed by a fourth visit!'

He stripped the boiler, put seals all around the boiler,

and it worked while he was there.

Three, four days after that, it started intermittently

coming on and off, and by this time I had had enough.

'I don't blame you.

'Four visits and no fix, it's not what you pay £20 a month for,

'that's for sure.

'Having put her house on the market, Jean took drastic action.'

I decided that I must try and get an independent contractor

to come out and repair the boiler.

I went on the internet, found this lad

and he said he would come and have a look.

I was aware that I would have to pay it out of my own money,

but I needed my boiler repaired.

'Enter plumber Gary Everson.'

The other contractor said that it actually wasn't her boiler,

it was the pump and the zone valve that was faulty

and they replaced both of them.

'So E.ON thought it was to do with her central heating system,

'not the boiler.'

As far as I'm concerned, the diagnosis was wrong.

It was the actual boiler at fault, not the central heating system.

The problem with Jean's boiler was intermittent,

it was the switch and the flume that was causing the problem.

When the independent engineer told me that there was two parts

that it could have been, I was so pleased that someone

could tell me there was a problem and that he could repair it.

'Gary came back the next day with the parts and the job was done.'

Once I had the parts, they were very easy to fit.

The job took me roughly around four hours.

That included the first visit and then the second visit.

'And from that moment on, the boiler worked and Jean sold the house,

'but she was still boiling at E.ON

'having paid them approximately 500 smackers

'and she now had forked out £306 for parts and labour to Gary.

'It does make you wonder what was the point of having

'the E.ON protection plan in the first place!'

I cancelled the direct debit,

I decided I wasn't paying for something

if I wasn't getting a service

and then I decided to write to them confirming that

and complaining that after four times

they did not repair the boiler.

'But the one thing Jean failed to ask for was a reimbursement

'of the cost of calling out the independent engineer.'

'E.ON allowed Jean to cancel

'and waived the £84 cancellation fee as a gesture of goodwill.

'I should think so, too.'

'But did Jean handle this situation in the best way?

'Let's see what Which? have to say.'

If you're taking out, for example, a boiler repair contract and

you're having repeated visits to try and fix a problem with your boiler,

then obviously that's pretty frustrating

and you're going to expect the boiler repair contract to cover you

to get the job done.

If that's not happening, then the best course of action

is to make a case against the supplier

of that boiler repair contract

and say that the work being carried out is not being done

to a level of reasonable skill and care

and that's under the Supply of Goods and Services Act.

So, if you made that point in writing to the company,

the onus does sit with them to make sure that

the contract that you formed

is being carried out with reasonable skill and care.

'So, ultimately, the law is on your side

'if the problem isn't getting fixed.'

'We wrote to E.ON about Jean's case and they told us...'

'We asked them about paying her back

'for the independent engineer's costs.

'They said that they had been unaware

'another fault had happened and...'

'So, no money then.'

Jean did what most of us would do

and she took matters into her own hands.

Now, sadly, she's been left out of pocket,

but I suppose on the flip side, at least she's finally warm.

'I've been trying to get some recompense for Roy Endacott,

'whose son Mark was let down by the RAC after breaking down

'a long way from home.'

I just cannot believe a patrolman would just drive...

If he'd said, "I'll take you to the station or where can I take..."

To just drive off and leave him there, a young lad on his own...

I still don't understand it at all.

'I spoke to the press officer a few days ago and asked him

'some questions about Roy and Mark's case.

'He promised to get back to me with some answers to those questions

'and I've just received an e-mail from him.

'This is what it says...'

'He also admits that the RAC has many options for handling

'long-distance recoveries, including using several linked resources,

'and adds that...'

'Well, it's too late for that in the Endacotts' case

'because the car has already been scrapped.

'But in addition to their apology, the RAC is also offering Mark

'and Roy some recompense, and I'm on my way to Devon to tell them

'exactly what's on offer.'

Well, after a very long 3½-hour drive down from London

to Exeter St Davids, I've finally arrived at Roy and Mark's farm.

Very glad I didn't break down on the way, I've got to say.

However, I haven't really planned this one out very well

because it's soaking wet, there's puddles everywhere

and I've come dressed as if I'm going to a wedding reception.

-SHEEP BLEATS

-Pardon?

-Morning, Roy. Morning, Mark.

-Morning.

-Nice to meet you both.

-And you.

-How you doing?

-How are you?

Got to say, it's a total contrast to my normal day in the office, you know?

-I'm sure.

-I'm a London boy, a city boy.

I tell you what, though,

it was a long drive down just from London alone.

Took me about 3½ hours, was pouring down,

but I remember thinking at the time, "It's not the sort of road

"you'd want to be breaking down on and not have some sort of backup,"

and, of course, that's what happened to you, wasn't it?

Yeah, I know... It wasn't great not having a car

to get around with for a little while there.

There's also a lack of cafes. Is there one around here where I can perhaps get a cup of tea?

Shall we go indoors and have a cup of tea?

Ah, that's very kind of you, thanks very much, lead the way.

'Now, the main things Roy and Mark were after from the RAC

'was an apology and some compensation.

'So I'm hoping they're going to be happy.'

I've spoken to the RAC, they are embarrassed about this.

They have written to us, they have given you an apology,

which I'll pass on to you and they would also like to give you

a small token, it's £30 worth of high street vouchers.

You're not going to book six weeks in the Seychelles with that,

it's more a token just to say, "Look, sorry, here we go,

"have those and go and spend them on whatever."

Roy, again, they've apologised to you.

They are embarrassed about the situation, they'll learn from it.

What they're going to do for you is basically what you want -

your £205 premium that you've paid, they're going to refund that to you.

The train fare that you paid was just under £103,

they're going to refund you that money as well.

They also are going to offer you a family membership

free for the next year, the same level of cover

that you had before, they want to entice you back as a customer.

OK, that's great. I mean, that's all we ever wanted,

but just couldn't get through the door

to get them to... address any of that.

Would you consider going back to them?

Yeah, I would, I think, it's just the acknowledgement

that they got it wrong and I think the importance is

that this doesn't happen to somebody else.

Yeah, exactly, and I think bringing it to our attention has been

very beneficial because hopefully somebody in the future

in a similar situation - particularly if it's a young lady -

hopefully won't ever fall into the position that you found yourself in.

How do you feel about everything?

Yeah, I'm just glad I got an apology, really.

-That's...

-That was important.

That was what I wanted, was just them to say sorry

for stranding me up there.

-Just, that makes me a lot happier about the situation.

-Yeah.

And I'd just like to say thank you to you

because without your input,

we wouldn't have got any redress on this at all.

I thank you for bringing it to my attention because all we all want as consumers is good customer service,

-that's all we want, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-We've paid for something, give us what we paid for.

-Yeah.

Look after us, yeah, or lose us for ever, you know.

Right, I'm going to be off, back to London, it's a 3½-hour journey.

I don't suppose you've got a couple of lamb chops going spare before I set off?

MARK AND ROY LAUGH

What I like about this story is

Roy and Mark weren't being unreasonable,

they didn't want anything out of the ordinary,

they just wanted their out-of-pocket expenses back

and they wanted the RAC to get a wake-up call to make sure

that this sort of situation never happens to anybody else again.

And I think I've achieved BOTH of those.

I think Dom's really done a great job in getting the result

that we all wanted, which was just an apology,

we got compensation for both Mark's train fare

and the annual subscription,

and just the recognition

that this shouldn't happen to anybody else either

because I think that's the biggest thing of all

to come out of this,

that I wouldn't want any other parent to have their child

left by the roadside

and the patrolman to just drive off and leave them there.

That's got to be the best outcome of all.