green flag recovery arrgh!!

[Lisajt]

Just to let off a little steam here.

We have Mayday cover with green flag which is meant to cover a trailer as well as a caravan.

We bought a car which we had to collect on friday which we were towing on a trailer. We had a blow out on the m25 and rang for recovery. The trailer had suffered badly during the blow out and the electrics would not work. It was very lucky that my husband didnt lose it and we had no accident.

When I spoke to greenflag they said that they would take our trailer home but we had to leave behind the car which it was carrying!! When I requested to speak to the supervisor she was very rude and likened our car to a horse. SHe said that if we had a horse in a trailer we wouldn't expect them to recover a horse!

In the small print it says nothing of them not recovering cars which you have on a trailer. I am going to complain to them in writing and to the caravan club who we bought the cover through.

Has any one else had any problems with them?

THe recovery firm could not believe their attitude and that they wanted us to leave a 5 grand car on the side of the road but would happily recover the broken trailer!!!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

In fairness to those on the other end of the phone they are probably only paid a pittance. You pay peanuts so you employ monkey's. Don't be so hard on them Lisa, they cannot be expected to use their brains and come up with something logical ... heh! heh!

I suppose it's like saying we will recover your car and the driver but not the kids in the back.

 

[Lisajt]

In fairness to those on the other end of the phone they are probably only paid a pittance. You pay peanuts so you employ monkey's. Don't be so hard on them Lisa, they cannot be expected to use their brains and come up with something logical ... heh! heh!

I suppose it's like saying we will recover your car and the driver but not the kids in the back.

Thats exactly my point. I paid for a service which they did not provide. After being stuck around for hours it really made me angry. After that we had to carry on towing the trailer with the car and not going over 30 the whole way home (home is gloucestershire)!! Lucky for us the recovery man helped to fix the trailer and make it safer as best as he could when green flag told him the only thing he could do was replace the blow out or take the trailer to our hom.

 

[stubob]

Yes

We had Big problems with them last year when we had a snake and wrapped the caravan round the car.

First we were told that we weren't covered to be recovered after an accident !

Then we were told we would have to pay for specialist recovery equipment (the caravan had to be loaded onto a truck)

Under duress we had to agree to pay but aAfter intervention by the Caravan Club they eventually waived the fees (

 

[rayc]

I cannot see any recovery organisation giving a carte blanche guarantee to recover a trailer plus any load it is carrying?

What if it was two horses? It would take a substantial recovery truck to carry the horsebox and the horses with a very high centre of gravity. What if it was a load requiring special procedures, chemicals etc?

Lisa's experience is thought provoking - best to study the small print. Lisa, What does it say about trailers and their loads?

Ray

 

[Surfer]

I thought that the breakdown cover was specific to caravans / caravan trailers and not just trailers on their own.

 

[ThePlotter]

My daughter had problems with them when returning to her cat on a foggy afternoon the lights would not work (she is deaf ) so text me and I rang Green Flag who refused to come out as it was daylight and lights are not needed in the day,I pointd out in no uncertain terms that it is illegal not to have lights working at all times both day and night and even more so in fog after going up the line they came out,cover was switched.

My friend used them when in France he had major car trouble he had serious problems with them as replacement vehicles were not there when they should have been and his van came back over a month later.

 

[RogerL]

Mayday does have a condition that "The weight of the caravan or trailer when loaded is not more than the kerb weight of the insured vehicle"

 

[Bigfoot]

Well I've had cause to use them twice. Once on my son's motorbike, (yes I'm an ageing greaser) I broke down and got recovered no probs. The next time SWMBO was driving the X-Trail & Van following me in our Willys jeep when the X-Trail injection pump passed away. They picked us up within the hour,car and 'van, took the van back to storage and then delivered the car to the garage. 1st Class I though 'til I realised the git had nicked the D shackles off my towing eyes. Still worth the money!

 

[Royston]

Well i have had reason to use them twice first time car on the drive refused to start 20 mins greenflag where there, found out that the battery was shorting out internally,They started the car with jump leads and followed me down to a local car seven fitted the new battery in away that I would not loose the code in the radio.

Second time this time away in Scotland the power stearing became very noisy and stiff,again about 20 mins Green flag operated from a local garage.Found out that a internal seal had gone, faced with being towed all the way back to Essex free which ment we would loose a fair bit of our futher extended holiday, or have the power stearing repaired bye the garage.

Within 24 hrs of reporting to Green Flag I had my car returned complete with a brand new power assisted stearing rack pack.

Half the price my local garage would have charged,So I have nothing but praise for them

Royston

 

[BobT_5041460]

We had a puncture on the M6 between junction 6 & 7 last year while on our way North with the caravan.

When we contacted Green Flag for assistance they asked why I could not change the tyre myself.

I explained that we were on the busiest part of the M6 & there was no way I would attempt to change a wheel on that part of the road.

To their credit they had a breakdown lorry to us within 15 minutes & the service we received from the garage was first class.

My vehicle was put on the back of the lorry and my caravan hitched on the back.

While the garage was changing the wheel, Green Flag phoned to see if everything was to our satisfaction.

This was the first time I have had to use them and I have no complaint with their service.

 

[Bob5]

Hi,

I have been covered by Green Flag for the last year,(Without any callouts), but when the renewal came up, it said I was covered for towing a caravan, but with "Limitations".

I rang to see what these limitations were, and was told that there was a caravan length limit of 7 metres. I pointed out that my caravan is 7.25 meters long, and she replied that "In that case, I would'nt be covered". Other limitations were width and height, but these were OK.

I have checked other breakdown covers, and most others seem to have a length limit of 7.5 meters, so I have changed to one of these.

So, take care, a lot of caravans these days (Twin axles?), are more than 7 metres overall length.

 

[gypsy]

Green Flag, and Mayday green flag are different, there is NO restriction if you are with Mayday green flag through the Caravan Club, I have been with Mayday many years, so I rang this morning to confirm if there were any limits on length, and I was told No.

Shiba.

 

[bigbilly]

I originally joined Mayday (through the CC) because they were the only recovery company that would recover a caravn/trailer when the towcar was OK.

They were superb last year when I was a passenger in a friends car returning from a trip to Ireland with a boat on a trailer when the trailer axle broke. Both the trailer and boat were recovered very effectively.

The only complaint I have is that you cannot get shortterm extensions for use in Europe without going through Greenflag.

But do check that you are covered for trailer only recovery - you may be surprised !!

Bill

 

[GrahamSouthBrum]

We had friends in Green Flag who broke down near Bristol when their Landrover Defender blew its engine.

Green Flag towed them & their caravan to Cornwall & then brought them back to Coventry at the end of their 2 week holiday.

 

[Guest]

I used them for the first last year because my clutch went on my car and it was a double journey, I had a lot of ring back from the operator to make sure everything is being done.