Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Britannia Rescue drop the ball big time
#1
Britannia Rescue left me out in the cold last night - literally.

What a bunch of useless shite bags they decided to send out to 'rescue' me, no clue, no morals and couldn't give a fuck about me and the missus.

Basically we decided to go to the old pub we used to go to as our friends were kind enough to come to the area we moved to for a drink a couple of weeks ago.

Rather than pay £15 in a cab each way (bloody trains are off at weekends at the the moment) I took my aging Mondeo and chose not to drink, parked up outside the pub at 21:30 and left at 24:00 when it shut - car wouldn't start, plenty of battery just wouldn't catch and wasn't even trying to fire.

Knowing is was pretty terminal I rang Brit Rescue at 00:30 and was told a roadside assistance vehicle would be sent and the eta was 'hopefully' within the hour. So we waited.

We noticed that it was getting very cold and neither of us was dressed for sitting in a cold car, pub was shut and only the the local drug den late house was open until 1am, no way would we have gone there even if we could get in.

True to word at 01:25 a full 55 minutes later the wagon arrived, engineer gets out, takes a quick look and announces that the car has run out of petrol as the gauge is low, now way says I, it goes much lower than that but he insists and then wastes half an hour driving us to a 24 hour garage to buy a petrol can and 5 litres of fuel, goes back to the car, puts it in and it does the same.

He then gets out his easy start, takes off the air filter cover (after I show him where it is and how to undo the clips) and squirts some down, turn key, car starts and stops,  engineer announces 'it's a fuel problem mate'

I'm thinking 'that's funny I told you that when you pulled up' but said nothing other than 'So you're going to tow us home then?' at which he goes back to his wagon and starts doing something.

By now were are both freezing cold again (warmed up after the trip to the petrol station in the wagon) so we get back in our car and wait, he comes to the window and asks me to sign a sheet of paper, I ask him what it for and he says its to confirm the visit so I say 'Can we deal with this at home we are both freezing cold' and he then tells me 'It will be quicker for me to call the breakdown truck rather than set up the tow bar so I've ordered it'

I ask him to tell me why he can't take me and he says it will be quicker to get the breakdown truck and its on its way now, so I sign the sheet and he says it will be 20 mins and fucks off. By now it is 02:30.

Half an hour later I ring Brit Rescue again and tell then we are in real trouble, we are both stupid cold and where is the truck, had a moan about the engineer leaving us when he could have towed us himself and the guy says he'll call me back.

5 mins later he calls back and says the tow truck the engineer called can't make it so he has ordered another one and it will be there within the hour - this would mean that we had now been in the cold from 00:30 to potentially 04:00 he also tells me that the engineer reported that he couldn't tow us as we have an Estate car with a tow bar fitted so it would scrape the ground on his tow bar, no mention of it being quicker to get the low loader out.

So naturally I go into one and tell him this not acceptable and he needs to get us assistance quickly as we were both suffering from the cold, it really was fucking freezing last night, frost had already started forming everywhere and we had both had to wee down an alley, so not in the best mood.

He keeps saying their policy is within the hour so that's all he can tell me, I point out that if I hadn't rung him I would be sitting there waiting for a tow truck that wasn't coming, he had no answer for that one and assured me that one was on it's way, so we decided to wait, it's now about 03:10

10 minutes later Plod turns up and asks what we are doing, we tell them the story and they help us push the car off the main road (single yellow line) into the pub car park (it was full when we got there) so we are at least safe from harm and parking tickets if it's still there in the morning.

At quarter to 4 I decide enough is enough so I ring Brit Rescue and ask where there truck is, now this is the bit where I finally lost it.

The fucking useless, brain dead fuckwit tells me he's just (fucking right, coincidence or what) had a phone call from the truck driver to say he can't make it and he will have to order another truck which means the 'within the hour' ETA starts again.

After I finished hollering down the phone and the guy was more informed about his legitimacy than he had ever been, I told him to stick his tow truck up his arse where his brains obviously were as no way would we fucking survive another hour in sub zero temperatures and hung up.

We left a note in the car and called a cab.

What a fucking shower of shite Brit Rescue are and what's annoying is that they never used to be, they are now using local cowboy, couldn't give a shit, mouth breathing, teeth sucking, know nothing, money grabbing spanner monkeys and I for one will not be renewing my subscription to them and I am demanding a refund of this year's subs and telling them they are arsehole lucky I'm not suing them for being put at risk by them.

Also when I went to the car today the bastard started without problem, so I took it straight round a garage I know and told them the story and they reckon it is the petrol pump letting go but will run a  few tests to check before replacing it.

So with aching bones all day where I was so cold last night I've pretty much been in a bad mood all day, then I have to nip out and pop into a petrol station to fill up the bike only to be shouted out over the tannoy 'Will the Customer at pump 5 remove their helmet or they won't be served with fuel' I have to say I stomped in there after sticking just a tenner in and asked the smug fatty behind the counter why I had to remove my helmet, the answer was 'its for security sir, we have to see your face'

My reply 'So what if I was wearing a hijab or a burkha then, would you ask me to remove that' the answer was 'I don't make the rules sir' so I go into one a little bit and say its got nothing to do with security, it's just discrimination against bikers as we're all criminals, then stomped off, I'm not proud but I had the hump.

Interestingly enough when I commented about the burkha I got a couple of grunts of agreement from behind me in the queue, no other bikes in the station at the same time so must have been cagers.

Reply
#2
I'm in the rac and so far not called them out, joined because on checking the cover I had with my insurance was something like 1 hours roadside and a tow to the nearest garage max 15 miles? plus my son-in-law has converted his transit into a camper van.
so I've gone for the cheapest car and bike insurance to cover some of the cost.
Hope I don't ever need it but you know if you leave the bike at the side of some road chances are it will walk.
Reply
#3
Hard shit mate,, i would of exploded way way before you,,,and they will not of heard the last of this.
I know its only the internet but they are real people ! ain't they?
Reply
#4
Very sorry to read about your nightmare experience with" Rescue?" Service!!!
Imagine that most of us could be in your situation as there are only so many companies operating breakdown/recovery services and many jobs must be farmed out to small local operators. I havent been a member of AA/RAC for years but have had breakdown/recovery as an add-on to my car & bike insurance for last 10 years. Only had to call them out once for bike-dealt with promptly/professionally.
BUT when I was working & driving a Merc Sprinter remember occasion  4-30pm mid-winter & bloody freezing I had just done last delivery approx 55 miles from home(Bham) and  key broke in ignition lock. Wont bore you with details but I sat in that van for hours (phone calls back & forth to my company/rescue service) and was eventually recovered & got home 10pm after a 15 hour day.
Its so easy to get in a car & turn the heater up but its a different story when the engine wont run & the temp drops-I carry some warm clothing in very cold weather & keep enough fuel in tank!
At least you had your missus there to keep you warm Wink !
Reply
#5
For the last couple of years i've had an old hi-viz coat in the boot just in case. Every time i'm issued a new one the old one goes in a family members car boot. thankfully never needed?
Sent from my villa in the South of France.

[Image: 73337.png]
Reply
#6
I had a serious mechanical faliure with my bike a couple of years ago. Knew something was big wrong instantly. Kill switch hit, coast to a stop, ring AA.
When the bloke eventually turned up, he wouldnt even entertain the idea of loading it onto the back off his wagon until we had tried to start it.
I told him something serious had gone wrong, thought it might be the cam chain tensioner, and trying to start it might make it worse.
No dice. So turned it over for a couple of secs before it just jammed up solid. On the truck and off we go.
Got home and checked it over, sure enough the spring in the cam chain tensioner had snapped. 9 bent inlet valves :eek
Thing is, it didnt jam up until he made me turn it over, so were the valves already fooked by then or did trying to start it finally do for them?
Guess I'll never know but still pisses me off :grumble
On the flip side, my old FJ 11 got knicked about 20 years ago. Plod rang the next day to say it had been found and recovered about 8 miles away.
Went to the recovery yard to pick it up and they charged me £50 for the recovery. When I asked them where it had been found it was only about 300
yards from their place :eek
AA brought me home for £27 yearly subscription. If the twating Plod had rung me first I would have saved 50 quid. Arseholes. And theres no excuse for getting it off the road asap cos I would have been there within 20 mins.
Its better to ask a stupid question than make a stupid mistake.
Reply
#7
Here follows my long tale but it does have a funny ending.


Many years ago when I was a young high flyer I commuted to London along the M4 every day in my Datsun 280ZX. Like a poor man's E-type but even had one of the original car phones. Anyway it had a problem with the alternator where it would suddenly start discharging, you could see the ammeter flick over to minus charge, then you had about 2 miles before it would grind to a halt.
I had picked it up from a garage in Maidenhead that morning after they assured me the problem was fixed and charged me ££££££££££££


On the way into London I thought I saw the ammeter needle flick over to minus but it got me to work.
Now comes the fun.


On my journey home I got onto the elevated section of the M4 westbound and the problem reoccurred.
Being a young high flyer I immediately used my phone, it was an operator connect service, and asked her to contact the Maidenhead garage asap as it was their fault and I knew they had a 24 hour tow truck service.


Stuttered about another mile and came to a very dark, very cold halt on the hard shoulder. Naturally I had not had the forethought to close the electric windows and the phone was now also dead. BOLLOX.


Walked to the nearest emergency phone and explained my problems to the indifferent turd on the other end.
All he kept emphasising was that "I MUST STAY WITH THE VEHICLE"
I was probably about midnight by now and getting colder.


An hour later, and getting a bit pissed off, I walked back to the emergency phone to check progress and was told "STAY WITH THE VEHICLE"


As I walked back to my car I saw the tow-truck pull up alongside, check that "NOBODY HAD STAYED WITH THE VEHICLE" , ignored my frantic waving and fucked off.


So, back I march to the phone point where I was told to "STAY WITH THE VEHICLE" and they would call another rescue vehicle.


Back I went, dejected, abandoned, freezing cold (only in shirt sleeves) and growing increasingly agitated.


Another hour passed and as it was now about 0230 I reached breaking point.


Back to the phone where I was told................. etc.etc.


AFAIK the conversation went like this............


"Listen you prick. Its all very well for you sitting in a nice warm office with your feet up on the desk (sound of feet being removed from desk) drinking a nice hot mug of coffee and telling me to STAY WITH VEHICLE but I am cold, tired and fucking fed up with STAYING WITH VEHICLE. So I am now going to fuck off home and you can keep your fucking help service and my fucking car and BOLLOCKS to you."


Now as I returned to my car to get my housekeys two things happened.
1)  A police traffic car passed me on the other carriageway and glowered across at me, and
2)  I realised that the emergency phones are answered directly by the Police traffic car drivers.


There then followed one of those comic Fawlty Towers kind of exchanges when two very unhappy looking policemen climbed out of their car and climbed into florescent jackets and sarcastic patronising conversation mode.


"Good evening sir. Are you the gentleman I was speaking to on the emergency telephone?"


me..............errrr, ahem,  yer but no but.


Now my dear old dad was a copper and always  impressed on me to be civil to Plod as in any argument there could only be ONE winner.


In fairness to them, after I had passed the attitude test, they were extremely helpful.


First they jump started me, then drove behind me in case of further problems. After about 2 miles the bastard car started discharging again and they pulled alongside and told me turn all my lights off!! I shall always remember the incredulous looks of oncoming motorists seeing me not only driving with no lights but with a fuck-off big police car up me chuff.


Finally they got me home and I asked them in for a drink. They pointed out politely that they DID NOT drink and drive and exchanged knowing looks as I quickly downed a large scotch.


So there we are in my kitchen swapping tall tales at about  3am when there comes a voice from the top of the stairs.......................


the Kraken awakes.




"Oh............. you've decided to come home at last then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


3 expressionless faces exchange looks


"What's your pathetic excuse this time ??????????"  sounds of footsteps descending stairs and my heart rate rapidly increasing.




It enters the kitchen, resplendent in nightie and curlers.........................




Oh, hello dear, these............




"FUCK OFF. I am fed up with your pathetic stories. I don't know why you bother coming home at all. But I have to hand it to you. This time you've excelled yourself with these two pantomime policemen. Well I don't believe YOU and I don't believe THEM so you can all FUCK OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Now for my part I have never been so embarrassed but those poor two guys. How they got through the front door two abreast and without hooting with laughter I shall never know.

I often imagine that they would have stopped around the corner and cried with laughter, then told and retold the story for years to come.
I used to not give a foc, then I discovered Red Bull and now I don't give a flying foc !!!
Reply
#8
You just couldnt make it up could you!? :rollin :rollin :rollin :lol
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: