Exclusive
BREAKDOWN
I was stranded for 15 hours in the middle of nowhere with no food or water when my car broke down… RAC did nothing
A DAD was stranded for 15 hours with no food or water after his car broke down and the RAC failed to send someone to help.
Fraser Scott was "in the middle of nowhere" 40 miles from home when he couldn't get his silver BMW to start.
3
3
The 34-year-old, who had been out for a walk around a lake in 26C heat, phoned his breakdown cover provider at 5pm and was assured somebody would come to his aid within four-and-a-half hours.
But he waited all night for help to arrive and didn't get home until 8.15am the following day - and that was without his vehicle.
Engineer Fraser, who pays for the top-end breakdown cover, said: "It was just horrendous.
"I couldn't sleep at all because I didn't want to miss any phone calls or anything.
READ MORE ON MOTORS
"I had nothing to eat and the water fountains were out of use so I was absolutely hanging the next day.
"I don't think the RAC got my car back to me until about 2pm - 21 hours after I first called. It was just a horrible ordeal."
Fraser, from Barrington, Somerset, visited Shearwater lake near Warminster, Wiltshire, to enjoy the sunshine on August 7.
He said he phoned the RAC at about 5pm and was told someone would be out "as soon as possible", but it could take 270 minutes.
Most read in The Sun
"I thought 'God, that's a long time but that's the worst possible time', so I waited," Fraser said.
Every half an hour the dad got a text saying, "we're really busy, we'll be with you shortly", but no one came.
At 10pm, after the 270-minute window had passed, Fraser called to find out what was happening and, again, he was told to "hold tight".
But by this point, he was starting to feel the effects of a few hours in the sun.
"It had been a hot day and I had walked around in the sun so I was so thirsty," Fraser said.
"But I was in the middle of the forest area and there were no shops, and the café was closed.
"I eventually found a water fountain but nothing came out.
"I was also wearing shorts and a t-shirt because of the heat earlier, but the sun had gone down so I was cold."
It was just a horrible ordeal.
Fraser Scott
Eventually, after more phone calls, somebody turned up at around 11.30pm - but he couldn't get the engine started.
The workman also refused to drop Fraser home, or anywhere near his house, as his shift was about to finish.
Fraser said: "I told him I was stuck, that I hadn't had any food or water for hours and that my 15-year-old daughter was home alone, but he just said he would sort a contractor to come and get me.
"He said I would get a text message and left, but an hour passed and nothing."
He battled through several more conversations with the RAC telling him it wouldn't be too much longer, but by 3am he had had enough.
"I told them my throat was hurting and I was exhausted but they were just rubbish," he said.
"They advised me someone was coming from Bournemouth and would be with me in about two hours, but that was too long.
"Eventually they said I should leave my key under the wheel arch and they would get me a taxi.
"Why didn't they tell me this hours and hours ago? Or I could have got someone to pick me up if I'd known it was going to take this long."
'ARE YOU FOR REAL?'
The cab was due to arrive between 3.50am and 4.10am, but it never showed up.
At 5am, Fraser phoned the RAC and they informed him it had been cancelled.
"I said, 'do you not think you could have told me?'" he fumed.
"They said they would get me another one but I said there was no point as the recovery truck would be here in a minute from Bournemouth.
"But they then said, 'sorry sir but there's not one on the way'. I was like, 'are you for real?'."
By 7am, Fraser received a call from a different taxi driver to say he had arrived and he eventually made it home at 8.15am.
But he had to miss work that day, and his car didn't show up for another six hours.
Fraser phoned to complain and was offered a £100 cheque as a gesture of goodwill.
"It seemed to me like it happened all the time," he said.
"You could hear my distress on the phone but they just fobbed me off.
"I was stuck in the middle of nowhere all night long, and I've got the top end recovery insurance, but they were just rubbish.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
A spokesperson for the RAC said: "We’re very sorry we weren’t able to get Fraser home sooner and that our patrol wasn’t able to fix his car as we normally do with four out-of-five breakdowns.
"This falls short of the high standards of service we provide to thousands of our members every day, so we’ve given him a gesture of goodwill to apologise for his experience."
3
Topics