Greenflag Mayday - a cautionary tale
Having been members of GreenflagMayday for a number years and having cause to use them a couple of times they have until now proven to be an excellent service, on time, courteous recovery agents, care taken with vehicles etc. I have in the past paid compliments to their service.
However, things have changed, read on and see what you think, maybe I've missed something.
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Level of cover is their top package (just over £130 when recently renewed, Includes getting the van along with the car either to a holiday destination (if pre-booked) or back home if it's a return journey etc...
August came and we travelled 200 miles to our Holiday destination in the South of England, the tow car, the caravan and another car (we prefer to have use of two cars when that far from home)
3 days before we were due to travel home the Tow Car developed a major fault when on site, oil pressure said low/stop, the fault is probably an oil feed blocked/oil pump ceased, certainly not fixable at the roadside, contacted the dealership they said 'do not start the car until it's been diagnosed, it sounds like a major fault with the oil pump/feeder .
As it was so close to the end of the Holiday and a bit of faffing about with Greenflag we booked them to recover the vehicle and the Caravan back home on the evening before our holiday was to end, so no real time loss.
Greenflags appointed agent promptly turned up in the 1 hour window, winched the tow car on to the back of the truck, hitched the Van to the rear of the truck. After speaking to the agent he stated he was running out of hours and would be changing over the van/vehicle at a service station 90miles further up the road. We gave him the keys to the car and the Caravan and requested that at 'no point in the journey should the car be started unless it was absolutely essential but instead where possible please use the winch.
The Agent set off as did we, we went a different direction in the spare car to fuel up. Later on we decided to stop at the services where the recovery 'relay' was to change over, by the time we'd had a coffee our Car/Van arrived at the services. Spoke to the agent, he said 'yeah, just have to wait for the other guy to turn up'
We took our leave and travelled home the other 110 miles arriving home at 3am, during the course of the morning we'd received automated updates from greenflag telling us a tehcnician would be with us by such and such a time, we took this as the relay agents picking up the vehcle/van and each time they did we'd get text.
In all we'd gotten 4 messages from the time we left the van at the first services...although we got home at 3am we didn't expect the towcar/van to be there, we expected it would be delayed due to change overs
Now comes the first issue, we mistakingly left our house keys in the Caravan safe, so we were sat outside home and resigned ourselves to waiting for the van. At 3:34am we get an automated message to say technician will be with you by 4:43, such is life but the children were asleep, we were outside home so we surfed our phones, no big deal and essentially our fault.
At 5am with no vehicle showing we called Greenflag for a status update, .after them putting us on hold they returned 10 mins later to tell us that the Car/Van had just turned up at another services some 70 miles from us and had been placed in a secure compound until 7am ...a driver had ran out of hours, there was no one else that could take it (whats the point of the relay?) and they wouldn't know until 7:30am as to when we would get our vehicle/van back?
At no point we were not told any of this via text messages, to make matters worse the servivces it was at was nowhere near us and was not on the jouney home, it was altogether off route and in essence between 12am when we last saw our vehicles at the first services it had travelled 85miles but in an altogether non relevant route...had it travelled 85miles towards us from the first services it would have been just 22 miles from our home but instead it was 70miless away in a different direction.
Greenflag stated they would phone us at 7.30am to let us know what was going on, I had to remind them that we'd been home since 3am ...without our house keys (our fault) with one of us requiring morphine medication at 7am etc. .To say nothing of our fridge in the caravan slowly defrosting given the leisure battery would have been drained.
With no house keys and no idea what time our van would be back with us and although tired from driving 4 hours at 5:30am we drove a further 80 miles round trip to a family member where we picked up our spare house keys and then drove back home.
Greenflag phoned at 7.25am and said that they had gotten an update and our vehicle/van would be with us by 10am, Given we'd been up all night, a good amount of it driving and we were going to have to wait another 2.5hrs for the vehicle/van....well you can imagine how tired we were, but thankfully we'd been able to put the children to bed so sat up and waited for Greenflag to arrive which they did a little after 9am.
We took delivery of the car and the van but minus the caravans main door key (explained further down)
But here is where it gets worse and where I consider GreenFlag/Mayday to have acted in an altogether irresponsible & unprofessional manner, they broke just about every rule book and placed us in an impossible situation, it could have gone so very very wrong.
As stated previous, we left our keys for the towcar and the van with the first agent, you'll recall we met him at a services at the end of his relay part and where he was waiting for the next driver to turn up, NOT SO, after speaking with Greenflag just after they dropped our vehicles with us at home at 9am and when chasing them up on the phone re the missing caravan key they went off to find out what had happened and when 'we' called them back close to 10am it turns out that the first agent had left our towcar and caravan on the services car park and gone home, this was our car and our caravan that we trusted in the hands of Greenflag but where it had been left unattended/unhitched and not in any compound (the service station in question doesnt have one) and left the keys on the rear tyre of the towcar....SAY WHAT!!!!
The one place you do not leave a caravan unattended is on a motorway services....we don't even do that when we're travelling, there is always one of us with the vehicle while the other grabs a coffee or whatever and yet here GreenFlags left half of our life in the van insecure, no hitch, no wheel clamp, exposed to whomever and with the keys for everything on the rear wheel of the car.
Thankfully nothing untoward happened (apart from a dent appearing on the van that we know nothing about), but this is not the service we signed up, it goes against just about every security precaution going and in the eventuality of our caravan and it's contents going missing we would have had no valid claim with our caravan insurers, no hitch lock, no wheel clamp and the keys readily available to the thieves.
Add this to the already shoddy service of relays not working out, or vehicle arriving home much later than expected and where it had been left in an insecure state at one services and then in a secure compound at another but one that was altogether off the beaten track (by 70 miles) and with no explanation offered by greenflag as to what went wrong with the relays....well understandably we're pretty angry.
The keys for the caravan and the Towcar were on seperate rings , the main caravan door key is on it's own clip on the caravan keys but it's easily sperated for convenience reasons, that key has not arrived back with the van, so we're having to change the barrel, the freezer had defrosted leaving water on the caravan floor by the fridge door (we usually leave a towel at the bottom of the fridge just in case the leisure battery expires and as was the case here due to the first agent requesting the motor mover be used to pull the van from it's pitch), there is a dent on the van (not major but it's a definite dink and larger than the average stone chip,it wasn't there when we last saw the van and no recovery agent had marked it as such on their jobsheets.
Further to that and worringly is the car that we requested not be driven had by the time we got it back a further 2/10ths of a mile, it is impossible to drive without ignition on so pushing it around a car park would not have applied, it seems that whoever picked it up at the second services or maybe the third relay or even the fourth..who knows) has driven it/started the engine and as such there is now a very noticeable clattering from the engine bay, something there wasn't when we parked it up when it first broke down, it sounds like the turbo has given up, this is the first thing that gets it should the oil pump cease/feeder pipe blocked and the car driven like it.
We have registered all of this as a complaint with Greenflag, not sure who else to raise it with but may take legal action against them. At this point in time I will not name the recovery agents involved ( I know who they are)
We get how a relay works, we get that sometimes drivers run out of hours, we get that it's not an exact science for when you get your vehicle back but do not get why the alleged professionals of Greenflag acted in the way in which this particular breakdown recover appears to have gone.
We would suggest that anyone choosing Mayday/Greenflag as their breakdown recovery think long and hard as to if they want to place their money with them, not just their money but some of their life also (caravan and it's contents) and if you do choose to spend your money with them and you do have cause to trust them to bring your vehicle/van back home on a relay then try and make sure (if you're not travelling with it) that you know where your vehicle is at all times and further to that, Greenflag are not altogether good at getting back in touch with you, so when they say they're going to and you then don't hear from them, then chase them.
On a personal note, when you're away for a few weeks and your vehicle breaks down, the idea of breakdown cover is to provide peace of mind that when things are outside of your control the professionals take over and look after your interests, in this instance these alleged professionals (Greenflag/Mayday) have failed an on an magnificent level.
We left home and spent 3 enjoyable weeks on holiday hoping to return home batteries recharged and ready to drop back into reality but instead we came home to a malestrom and a shed load of stress and to add insult to injury we paid for that stress both financially (renewal fees)/caravan locks/ cleaning up the caravan and possibly an aggravated fault on the tow car) along with perso nal stress of having to deal with it all when we first get home.
Greenflag/Mayday you have failed.
Comments
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What a horror story we have been with Greenflag/Mayday for 10 years but have not as yet had to call on there help,we decided to go with them after all the good reports on various forums, hopefully this is a one off and although unfortunate for you and this does not become the norm.
We hope that some good comes out off this for your selves and they (Greenflag) do the right thing and offer some explanation and compensation for the stress you have had to put up with.
I imagine there are plenty of members like myself awaiting the out come of this fiasco so we can determine who to use in the future so please keep us all updated
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Blimey, what a horror story, impressed with your reasoned and calm recounting, not sure I could have been so clear! Best of luck for the next steps. I am hoping that this is a one-off as the service does seem to have an otherwise good reputation though I should say that I used to have Green Flag for car breakdown many years ago but was not impressed so switched to RAC, who have always been great.
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Although a bad experiance it would be interesting to know what form the the relay would have taken , if as is normal you had been with the relay, as I understand that driving hours are "diferent" if conveying the driver and passengers ,as we have been brought all the way from Blackpool to Hertfordshire with just comfort stops by the same driver,
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What a horrible experience for you - I hope the car is OK or that you get satisfaction from them - disgraceful. One reason I haven't used Greenflag for quite a number of years!
Nothing to do with Caravans but my daughter broke down on her way home about 1 am - she called me to warn me - she had walked a couple of miles to a phone box (pre mobile days) in the dark in winter. She didn't come home and didn't come home - but since I knew she had called the Greenflag I hoped she was ok! 7 am she showed up rescued by someone totally different. Greenflag had apparently been unable to find her so they had gone home! I called them and said they should have called our home number as she might have been in serious trouble and I knew where she was but they said they didn't like to disturb people out of hours I said to put it in my details that I wished to be disturbed in event of future trouble. I kid you not "Oh Madame we would have called you at any time if she had been dead" came the reply from the other end.
Apparently some people manage to restart their cars and vanish - but you can see why I don't believe in them either!
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Mayday did suggest to me on one occasion that I drive my car firing on three cylinders only whilst towing a caravan.
Got 2 miles further up the motorway and engine let go completely.
I did get a tow car off them, but learned that a certain brand and model of car won't tow satisfactorily.
Still with them, as they did sort it out with a tow car and then transfer of original vehicle to local garage and they then pick up the loaned car.
Better the devil you know perhaps?
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As far as I am aware recovery vehicles are not totally exempt. The driver that recovered us from Fort William the 350 miles home was just within his hours by the time that we arrived home after an 8 hour drive + 45mins break. We were not his first call out.
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Well they certainly used it in my case (relay)
To further update, I spoke to mayday on Wednesday to get an update as to what went on.
I called them at 15:50 to be told the person dealing with the complaint (Helen) was currently on another call and she'd call back very soon.
At 17:10 I called back to speak to 'Helen', they kept me on hold for 18 minutes before eventually putting me through to her.
Helen was actually quite pleasant, she said she would be in touch later after making a few more enquries, we scheduled a call for 9pm and Helen duly called at 9pm with an update.:
She had seen a jobsheet or at least information left from the person who first picked up the vehicle/caravan, there was reference to the keys for the vehicle/van being left in a glove on the rear tyre of the car. She had wanted to speak to the person but they were not available.
The reason for why the 2nd relay took the car to a services off the beaten track was they too were running out of time so unlike the first agent this one ended up taking it to a secure compound at a second service station (all of which I have already logged), why they took it 85miles one way when 85 miles my way would have mean't the van was just over 20 miles from home rather than the eventual 70 that it ended up.
Helen had not at that point been able to track down the missing key (academic now as I've since changed the locks on the van so as to give me back 2 main caravan keys but it's annoying as now I have more that one key for the locks on the van)
Helen stated that on thursday once her requests for all the jobsheets had been sorted that another member of the team would call me back on Thursday with an update (it gets passed on to another member of staff I think) again a call was scheduled for 9pm.
It is now friday at just gone 9.30pm, no call was received Thursday or indeed today Friday.
You could be forgiven for thinking that at the very least given the already abysmal behaviour MayDay/Greenflag have thus so far given tthat they'd have called back on Thursday when they said they would or indeed today Friday even if to say 'still waiting on further information'
So, almost a week on, still without a single answer to any of what transpired.
I live in hope that they come to me with some answers/action/solution but it will get to a point where I'll cease contact and take my own action back at them at the same time as bringing this issue to the attention of as many motorists/caravanners that I possibly can so that can perhaps make a more informed choice as to whose hands they want to place their vehiicle/caravan/belongings with in the event of a Roadside Recovery.
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J, I'd demand to talk to someone in authority first, as in a supervisor. They're giving you the runaround. Most complaints need to exhaust the company's own grievance procedures before further action. Stick to the rules don't give em ammo to shoot back at you. Keep at it kiddo, you'll get there
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PS-it took me near 6months to get money back from 'morethan' insurance, it took that long going thru the same fun & games you are
the Insurance Ombudsman got involved on my behalf, I got it sorted eventually.0 -
Updated Sat 26th June
Called them today, they stated they'd call me back....
No call back (not sure why I expected them to) so placed another call late on at 7:20, but they were closed , so stayed on the line, eventually got through to someone who said she's have a look at the file...and come back to me (keeping me on hold)
A few minutes later she came back to me, first apologising for my not have been called back and then informing me that it looks like they were still awaiting documentation but in the meantime it looks like the original team dealing with it will by Bank Holiday Monday have ran out of time to deal with it and I'll be now passed on to the Customer Relations team and they will call on Monday.....right.
I don't expect a call on bank holiday monday but by the close of business on Tuesday if nothing is heard then on Wednesday I'm going have to be a little more pro-active.
Does anyone know where their head office is? First person I asked and they gave me the Carvan Club address, 2nd one I asked gave me a Leeds address, 3rd one I asked was reluctant to give any address.
Thats it for now...
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Thanks for that, not sure if thats actual an office where their management can be found but we'll give it a whirl.
I'm so glad I've recorded all the calls made to Greenflag.
Nothing back on the promised ban holiday call back but didn't really expect it, we'll see what the morrow brings.
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Sorry to hear your grief.
Have you at any point involved the club legal dept with this saga.?
After all the club actively promotes Greenflag and Mayday. Not good for their reputation.
Hope you get some satisfaction soon.
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Clearly you have had a thoroughly bad experience and that demonstrates that when things go wrong they can go very wrong. My own experiences with Green Flag have been very good a tyre failure on the M6 on my motorhome was fixed by a wheel change, work which was extremely dangerous in that environment. and an airlock in my diesel car but both of these thing were relatively routine and involved a response by one operative.
Organisations such as Green Flag (other brands are available) mainly use contractors such as third party garages and local rescue firms to provide services. So in a long distance recovery I imagine more than one firm of contractors may be involved. No doubt Green Flag prescribe service standards and perhaps procedures but since these are third parties they wont be undertaking direct supervision of the "workforce"
I read recently in a trade journal which a garage kindly provided at their reception that competitive forces in the industry meant that Recovery organisations in general (and I am not saying Green Flag specifically because I dont know) were squeezing the rates which they paid contractors to a point where the the work offered was only marginally worthwhile. Indeed the article speculated that the business model was not sustainable in the longer term. If that is correct then the number and/or quality of contractors available may decline.
None of the above excuses the experience you have had but the complexity of the arrangements and market forces may mean that problems are more likely with long distance or complex cases as opposed to straightforward ones.
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Horror story!
You can Google Companies House and get some info re addresses and data on the directors etc.
Another avenue if you don't get anywhere with the usual routes is to involve your MP. He/she is there to work on your behalf and big companies don't like MPs getting involved.
You could try getting hold of the CEO email address - may have to pay. You will only get through to their secretary but they don't like getting involved either. Below their pay grade.
Good luck.
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We are very sorry to hear of your experience and we will be in discussion with Green Flag about this particular case. You have registered your complaint with them, which is the correct procedure. They will investigate and respond to you and we will be kept informed.
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With cases like this we will often deal with offline to review and resolve any issues directly with the member and please be assured we take feedback from our members very seriously. This case was back in 2017 so quite some time ago however if the OP is not satisfied with the Club's response please feel free to contact us directly to investigate.
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As I am about to renew my breakdown recovery insurance I would be especially interested in the final outcome of this ...
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