Garry Edwards
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My car broke down yesterday, Green Flag were supposed to recover it but still hadn't after 5 1/2 hours. I want to email a complaint to them but they don't publish their complaints email address - perhaps they get too many? So, snail mail it is. Here's the relevant part of my letter, as a warning to others.
I needed breakdown recovery yesterday, because the clutch had failed on my car, and I telephoned you at about 15.45. I gave your operator my What3Words location, which she said was perfect. She told me that I would be recovered by John Macadam & son, who would text me with their ETA.
I then found and phoned a garage that can repair my car. They told me that they would be open until about 1830 and that the recovery driver could drop my car off there, about 5 miles nearer than my destination. As they would be open for about another 2 ½ hours, this was the obvious solution, as there should have been plenty of time.
John Macadam didn’t text me, and I rang Green Flag again at 17.49. The operator confirmed that the job had been passed to Mcadams and that he would chase them. They rang me at 17.48, said that they would be there soon and would text me, and I received a text stating that the recovery truck was due to arrive by 19.30. It didn’t, but Macadams rang me at 1927 to say that there had been a delay and that I would be recovered “in about half an hour”. I spoke to a helpful woman there and told her that I am an insulin-dependent diabetic and was becoming concerned because I should have eaten half an hour earlier. She told me that she understood completely and would keep a close eye on my recovery and would keep me informed. She didn’t.
I carry a couple of biscuits in my car in case a situation like this arises, I ate them and my blood sugar level then improved a bit.
I received a voicemail message from someone called Hassan at Macadams asking me to ring him, which I did at 2043. Hassan wasn’t available and I spoke to Ian, who told me that the problem was due to their driver being unable to unload his previous recovery but that this would be completed in about 8 minutes and the driver was only 22 minutes away, so I should expect him at about 2115, and that the driver would ring me when he was about to set off. He also said that Hassan would ring me, but of course he didn't. I repeated my health problem to Ian, who said that he would get the driver to buy some food on the way – by this time my blood sugar level had dropped and was approaching a dangerous level but I thought that I could last another half hour. Like all insulin-dependent diabetics I carry a supply of Lucozade, in case of emergency, and this helped, but all that it can do is to temporarily stop me from losing consciousness, I still needed food. By this time my focus had changed, my car still needed recovery but it was my health situation that needed to be remedied urgently.
Finally, the driver rang me at 2119 and said that he would arrive in between 40 and 60 minutes. I told him that I didn’t believe him (because Ian had told me that he was only 22 minutes away, only one or neither of them could have been telling me the truth) and I told him to cancel. By this time I was in a dangerous health situation, I phoned a friend, who reached me in 25 minutes, gave me some food and towed me to my destination.
This standard of “service” is appalling, it placed me in danger and has also cost me money because if the breakdown truck had arrived in a reasonable time my car would have been taken to a garage that was on the way to my destination. I now have to pay them to recover it.
I appreciate that Green Flag appears to have acted correctly and that the cause of all of the problems seems to point to Macadams, but of course, my contract is with you and you are responsible for the actions of your own contractors. I await your reply.
I needed breakdown recovery yesterday, because the clutch had failed on my car, and I telephoned you at about 15.45. I gave your operator my What3Words location, which she said was perfect. She told me that I would be recovered by John Macadam & son, who would text me with their ETA.
I then found and phoned a garage that can repair my car. They told me that they would be open until about 1830 and that the recovery driver could drop my car off there, about 5 miles nearer than my destination. As they would be open for about another 2 ½ hours, this was the obvious solution, as there should have been plenty of time.
John Macadam didn’t text me, and I rang Green Flag again at 17.49. The operator confirmed that the job had been passed to Mcadams and that he would chase them. They rang me at 17.48, said that they would be there soon and would text me, and I received a text stating that the recovery truck was due to arrive by 19.30. It didn’t, but Macadams rang me at 1927 to say that there had been a delay and that I would be recovered “in about half an hour”. I spoke to a helpful woman there and told her that I am an insulin-dependent diabetic and was becoming concerned because I should have eaten half an hour earlier. She told me that she understood completely and would keep a close eye on my recovery and would keep me informed. She didn’t.
I carry a couple of biscuits in my car in case a situation like this arises, I ate them and my blood sugar level then improved a bit.
I received a voicemail message from someone called Hassan at Macadams asking me to ring him, which I did at 2043. Hassan wasn’t available and I spoke to Ian, who told me that the problem was due to their driver being unable to unload his previous recovery but that this would be completed in about 8 minutes and the driver was only 22 minutes away, so I should expect him at about 2115, and that the driver would ring me when he was about to set off. He also said that Hassan would ring me, but of course he didn't. I repeated my health problem to Ian, who said that he would get the driver to buy some food on the way – by this time my blood sugar level had dropped and was approaching a dangerous level but I thought that I could last another half hour. Like all insulin-dependent diabetics I carry a supply of Lucozade, in case of emergency, and this helped, but all that it can do is to temporarily stop me from losing consciousness, I still needed food. By this time my focus had changed, my car still needed recovery but it was my health situation that needed to be remedied urgently.
Finally, the driver rang me at 2119 and said that he would arrive in between 40 and 60 minutes. I told him that I didn’t believe him (because Ian had told me that he was only 22 minutes away, only one or neither of them could have been telling me the truth) and I told him to cancel. By this time I was in a dangerous health situation, I phoned a friend, who reached me in 25 minutes, gave me some food and towed me to my destination.
This standard of “service” is appalling, it placed me in danger and has also cost me money because if the breakdown truck had arrived in a reasonable time my car would have been taken to a garage that was on the way to my destination. I now have to pay them to recover it.
I appreciate that Green Flag appears to have acted correctly and that the cause of all of the problems seems to point to Macadams, but of course, my contract is with you and you are responsible for the actions of your own contractors. I await your reply.