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“Avoid like the plague!”

written by spendrey on 26/08/2014

I've been with First Call for two years, based on price! The first year was great, mainly because I didn't need to call them. The second, however, I have needed to call them twice, and on both occasions they've arranged recovery but at my cost. To be totally open, the recovery cost was less than if I'd phoned the local recovery specialist direct, but still, I thought the pint of a recovery firm was to recover you?!

The most recent situation was engine failure on the M4, and my wife, sister-in-law and two kids were present. When they called for recovery the agent said "please try and start the car", my wife refused on the grounds you could see a hole in the side of it. The agent then said, "how can we be sure it won't start?". Come on! There's a hole in it!!

So, the car was recovered to our home and I had to pay a 'release fee' so the family could exit the recovery truck?!

The previous recovery was less stressful as I was the driver. Drove a nearby farm track and dropped into a pot hole, bending a steering component. It turns out I'm not eligible for recovery because the car was "involved in an accident"... no it wasn't, I drove over a pot hole! Still, they arranged recovery at my cost again. They also wanted to have evidence of servicing, not sure the relevance of this for a steering problem?

Net/net, I probably spent about the same as if I'd bought a proper policy from the AA or RAC, but I'd have had a lot less hassle if I had!