Call Sign’s phone has
been burning of late with drivers
calling up to complain about the recent
review of their breakdown policy by the
RAC.
First to alert us to the situation was Martin Hizer (M47),
who told us that according to
information he had heard, as of March
2004 the RAC were no longer offering
breakdown cover to taxis in the same way
they do to cars. Martin was followed
closely by Terry Dodd (W15) and
then an absolute avalanche of other
drivers as the news filtered through.
According to Martin, drivers of taxis
would have to get a "Small Business
Service" cover at a much higher rate in
order to get the same level of breakdown
cover that a car would get. Terry’s info
was much the same. So what is the
situation?
The RAC
The RAC confirmed
that as of last March, the Terms and
Conditions of RAC consumer membership
coverage excluded vehicles used for hire
and reward – so it isn’t just London but
taxi drivers from the whole of the UK.
The change of policy is not backdated,
so RAC customers who renewed before the
changes were implemented (ie February
2004) will be able to complete their
one-year membership under the old terms,
but when renewing in February 2005, will
have to transfer their taxi breakdown to
the Small Business Service – and that’s
what has sent DaC driver’s blood
pressures soaring!
Complete Taxi breakdown coverage now costs £157.That fee will cover
you for up to 3 call outs. Beyond that,
call outs will be charged at £79.50 each
time with a towing charge beyond 10
miles as shown in the "Pay on Use"
service detailed below.
But it’s the "Pay on Use" service that
has raised the ire of DaC drivers even
more! This starts with a very reasonable
£9 registration fee. If no call outs are
made then the fee is a bargain, but it’s
when a call to the RAC becomes necessary
that the charges rise very steeply.
Each call out is charged at £79.50 inclusive of a 10-mile tow.
Then, from the 11th mile and onwards
each "recovery mile" will be charged at
£1.50 per return mile. Most breakdowns
from within London to a garage should be
covered with just the £79.50 callout
charge. However, what if you broke down
|
 Martin
Hizer: "RAC no longer covering cabs as
they do cars."
did last year before discovering that a
powerful
at Coventry Station as several DaC TX1
drivers transmitter was preventing the
remote signal sent by their key fob
button from connecting with the
immobiliser and stopping the cab from
starting? Fortunately, the problem
was spotted and the cabs were pushed
away from the transmitter and
immediately restarted. But had they
needed a tow, at exactly 100 miles to
Whitechapel – heart of Taxi
breakdownland – that would add £135 to
the £79.50 call out, causing a Coventry
breakdown to set you back £214.50 – and
of course the vehicle has yet to be
repaired at the garage!
The RAC added that the change was necessary because membership at
the consumer level is aimed at the
private individual and not those
operating a business. They also added
that distinguishing the consumer from
the business customer would "…enable the
organisation to maintain competitive
subscription rates for each sector, as
well as continuing to provide excellent
service at the roadside."
The AA
Call Sign asked the AA whether they had
changed their Terms and Conditions? A
spokesperson told us that if you have a
normal personal membership, then your
Taxi is covered provided there are no
passengers in it. If the patrol vehicle
arrives and you have fare-paying
passengers in as against family or
friends, then you would not be covered
unless you have their business users
plan. If they arrive and there is just
you and your broken down Taxi, then you
are covered with a personal membership,
which generally covers the driver for
any vehicle rather than a specific one.
The choice is yours… |
