Mayday recovery advice

Houghta
Houghta Forum Participant Posts: 45
edited May 2017 in Caravans #1

Hi there I am after some advice before booking mayday premium,

does it cover you if your caravan breaks down with the likes of a puncture or suspension failure etc on your drive enroute or on site or is it only your car that is covered and if your car breaks down they will also transport your caravan

does it cover your car when you are not caravanning

 

thanks

 

Comments

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,830 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #2

    I don't like to summarise what any insurance cover includes. That's risky!  But the  MayDay policy booklet is on line for you to read. There are three levels of cover and several possible add-on options. You can choose from all those. 

  • GazandBez
    GazandBez Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited May 2017 #3

    Hi

    We are members of Green Flag rescue and have been for 5 or 6 years. We pay for premium cover. Each year when the premium has become due for payment I have sometimes questioned (to myself) whether it is a necessity .........earlier this year, I received proof that it is! We were en route to the Peak District from the Midlands when the engine management light came on and we lost significant power in the car. We had travelled just about 10 miles only into our journey. Green Flag safely transported our outfit to our destination. It was a Sunday and by the time we arrived there all the local garages were closed. We were assisted both by the site manager and driver of the pick up truck to manually pitch our caravan. The next morning a pick up truck arrived to take our car to the garage. The service that we received was fabulous and would have cost us an absolute fortune if we didn't have breakdown cover. In answer to your other queries I believe that you need to be at least half a mile, maybe a mile away from your home address with the caravan on. You are covered for punctures in any wheel on car or caravan or car only if you are not hitched up, obviously along with other situations that may cause you to break down, or if your car/caravan is involved in an accident. 

    Phew! Think I might ask Green Flag for a sales job. lol! 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #4

    RAC Arrival via C&CC provides the same sort of cover as Mayday.

    At present, you can join Arrival direct with the RAC and get a free year's membership of C&CC.

    Each year I ring the RAC and query the cost of renewal and each year I get a large reduction.

     

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited May 2017 #5

    I have home start with my mayday policy.

     

    I checked with a guy selling RAC breakdown. He said yes the include caravanclub membership with Arrival - then he checked and the offer had finished, That was about 3 weeks ago.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #6

    It's still on their website, Easy. 

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #7

    I have the personal cover and Green Flag have even brought back my motor cycle a couple of times.

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited May 2017 #8

    Makes it a good deal then I would have thought. Not a C&CC member but may well join next year as some of their sites might be useful on our tours. Will stick with Mayday though as I have been pleased with them.

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited May 2017 #9

     Should you have a fault with the caravan such that it cannot be towed they will repair if possible (eg flat tyre) or recover caravan to a site and later to another destination whether that be home or dealer. The same with a car. Be aware however that if the car breaks down and has to be taken to a garage that they will take you back to site if required and then deliver the car to the garage but it is up to you to get to the garage to recover. I had a problem with a noise on the power steering a few years ago. Called mayday to the site, they checked it out and dismantled far enough to find a pinhole leak in the PS cooling pipe. Part had to be ordered. hey returned to the site two days later when the part was available. I had to get a taxi some 15 miles to collect.

    I know that I am covered at home. 


    With regard to the car. I had a front spring coil snap on the front suspension earlier this year which ripped through the centre of the tyre. Green flag recovered me home and collected me when I contacted them to confirm a time a couple of days later to take the car to local garage. 

  • Jonny100
    Jonny100 Forum Participant Posts: 3
    edited August 2018 #10

    Can it be true that i am paying in excess of £280 for RAC Arrival, but a quote for what appears to be comparable cover with Mayday costs £134?

    Am i missing something?

    I know i've been lazy over the last couple of years and not shopped around, but i think it's time for a change this year

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2018 #11

    Just ring the RAC, Jonny. I got around 50% off by doing that.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited August 2018 #12

    cough cough .... it's very dusty here. Yet another original post that's more than a year old

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,149 ✭✭✭
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    edited August 2018 #13

    It seems like only yesterday……

  • bando81
    bando81 Forum Participant Posts: 21
    edited August 2018 #14

    Don't assume that you are going to get service from Green Flag if you break down .

    Last week they sent a local  breakdown company to us when we broke down .  Tech could not sort out the problem .  Guy who came to transport our caravan back home thought he was picking up a trailer .

    Spent  7 hours in lay-by !!     

    Will not be using them again 

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited August 2018 #15

    As per the other thread you commented in .... most recovery services use local garages. A caravan is a trailer, perhaps the actual size of the trailer was lost in communication ....  send 3 & 4 pence etc etc

    My experience of using May Day has been positive

  • twocals
    twocals Forum Participant Posts: 117 ✭✭
    edited August 2018 #16

    We pay £127 mayday for two cars both with home start, pretty good we think.

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited August 2018 #17

    My renewal arrived last week. Personal cover for both of us plus my daughter & her car .... £134 ... same as last year.

  • lornalou1
    lornalou1 Forum Participant Posts: 2,169
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    edited August 2018 #18

    Premium covers the car even on driveway. 

  • Heethers
    Heethers Forum Participant Posts: 641
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    edited August 2018 #19

    Twice l have been recovered by green flag plus two roadside assistance, never a problem, been a member for 7 years

  • Boff
    Boff Forum Participant Posts: 1,742
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    edited August 2018 #20

    On the few times that we have used Mayday.  We have had good service.   The last time we used them it was to recover my daughters Kia picanto, which is definitely not a tow car, after it suffered total clutch failure. They recovered it to the Garage of her choice.   We used to be in the AA and the service was variable sometimes very good, sometimes not.    The very first time we went away in our first caravan, we suffered a blowout on the van.   Calling the AA they were going to recover us home.  Fortunately they sent out a local rather than an AA truck.  He also sold tyres, he sold us one and saved our trip.

    But: Should you be the unfortunate position of breaking down when you are towing the caravan.   Please be forewarned about this.   You won’t get through to a dedicated Mayday call centre, you go through to Greenflag.   There is a good chance that they won’t know about double journey cover ie if necessary to you to your destination and then home again.   This happened to us 10 years ago on the way to our main holiday.   The call handler denied this as being an option until I argued it, in the event the fault was minor and easily fixed and we were on our way again.  

    More seriously friends of ours had their holiday ruined because they weren’t offered double journey and it was only when we told them did they complain.  They did receive a reasonable amount of compensation, but they did loose their holiday.

    Sorry for the above being in bold, but it is important to know what your cover is.  For me the double journey cover is one of the main reasons to  buy Mayday cover

     

  • Milothedog
    Milothedog Forum Participant Posts: 1,433
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    edited August 2018 #21

    My cars manufacturers cover ran out on the 1st of August so I took out the premium personal cover for me and my Wife. £134 this covers everything and eventuality including my motorbike and any vehicle we are passengers in.

     

    I worked in the recovery/roadside assistance industry many years ago as a second part time job. Even back then the RAC & AA  contracted work out when they were busy so even if your a member of either service you may not get a patrol attend who is employed by them.

    Green Flag however don't own their own vehicles or employ patrol men at all, they just act as an agent, that was the case back then anyway and I believe is still so.smile  Any vehicle you see liveried as "Green Flag" is still just a sub contractor to them. 

     

    As a foot note, back then many companies were not too bothered about taking on extra work from the RAC or AA because it was chargeable at a lower fixed rate than the company would normally charge directly. It was often the case the company I worked for  would only do it if they had a vehicle idle, so better to have it earn something rather than pay the driver to sit about.  

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2018 #22

    I have used Mayday a number of times in the last 15 years. With one exception I have been pleased with call out times. On that occasion I had left car headlamps on when going for a long walk with friends on a cold November day. I realised when we returned and walked past the car to go for a meal. As the call out response had always been good I did not bother to call until later when friends were going. On that occasion it was over an hour. I was not too upset sat with coffee in a warm pub and did get compensated enough to cover our coffees and cake wink

    When we had problems with the intercooler for the turbo just after leaving the Bunree site we were offered a two part journey as we were booked in for a night or two at The Ranch, Maybole. We elected to go straight back to Chester area as we were just breaking the journey there and having used the site as a stopover on the journey North were not keen on the site anyway.

    In February this year whilst solo I had a front coil spring snap and shred the tyre. We were taken home on a low loader and the car collected a few days later and taken to the garage when I had arranged the repair, 

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2018 #23

    Green Flag however don't own their own vehicles or employ patrol men at all, they just act as an agent, that was the case back then anyway and I believe is still so.

    Not entirely the case. Christmas Eve (2015 or 16?) call out in Southport was a Greenflag liveried breakdown vehicle. Speaking to the chap he said that a number of local firms had lost their breakdown/recovery trade from GF as they were using more of their own vehicles. Certainly on at least 3 occasions in the last 7 years it has been a liveried GF vehicle. 

    I suppose that it largely depends on the area and there being enough call outs to warrant running GF vehicle

  • Milothedog
    Milothedog Forum Participant Posts: 1,433
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    edited August 2018 #24

    Is it ?  wink

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited August 2018 #25

    It may also be that Green Flag "franchise" their services as do so many companies and as part of the deal they carry the "franchise" colours

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited August 2018 #26

    It may well be so JVB. I would not expect a liveried vehicle in the likes of Kinlochewe for example.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited August 2018 #27

    In those circumstances it would probably be a sub contractor,

    The cc and the c&cc use large companies for their electrical work but they also sub contract to smaller firms if not viable to be in remote areas

  • Milothedog
    Milothedog Forum Participant Posts: 1,433
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    edited August 2018 #28

    Absolutely, Its a very interconnected industry.  For example: Land Rover Assist is run / operated by the AA for JLR.  

     

    If you read the small print about Green Flag it states they are an Introducer owned by Direct Line. 

  • Milothedog
    Milothedog Forum Participant Posts: 1,433
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    edited August 2018 #29

    Purely out of interest I had a dig around on TinTerNet and found this cool

     

    Meanwhile, Green Flag has also consolidated its service provider network so that it now has five covering most of England and Wales. The service providers have invested in new Green Flag branding on behalf of the business, added Mr Bowman. “It’s a new business model but at the same time we think it throws out massive advantages for the customer. There’s much greater control both for ourselves as well as the top five over the service we are able to deliver.” Around a decade ago, there would have been around 300 service providers.

    Read more at: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/green-flag-waves-in-new-era-1-5423336