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Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

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bungeejumper
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Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279447

Postby bungeejumper » January 23rd, 2020, 3:22 pm

Well, that's 45 minutes of my life I won't ever get back. The wife's upcoming RAC membership renewal (automatic!) came in at three times what Green Flag had quoted us, so it was a no-brainer. All I had to do was log into her online account and click the cancel button. Simple.....

Except there wasn't one. There were buttons to upgrade an RAC membership, to change user details, and to reach a couple of pretty useless FAQs, plus a cheery box telling us that an auto-renewal would take place in three weeks. But no way to stop that auto-renewal from happening. No way to cancel at all, in fact. Funny, that. :(

Back to the email, then. Aha, a phone number! Dialled it. Welcome to the RAC sales line, all calls may be recorded, and our agents may get a commission for whatever they sell you. Please be sure to answer all questions for your quotation accurately and precis..................

FFS! :evil: Get me to the cancellation department!

There's no such thing. Instead, a twenty five minute wait for a sales person, who refused to speak to the policyholder's husband (me) because he thought he had a better chance of wheedling a renewal out of my wife. Five minutes later, I was considered fit to handle the rest of the transaction.

Why were we cancelling? "Alternative provision from Green Flag."

How much were we paying Green Flag? "No idea. It's part of a package." (Okay, a small lie from me there.)

Why were we cancelling? (Again.) "Alternative provision from Green Flag." (Again.)

Long pause, sound of paper riffling. How much were we paying Green Flag? (Again.)

"Look pal, it's none of your effing business." (I might be paraphrasing my reply a little bit there. ;) )

Another long pause...... And finally, finally:

Okay, I'm putting in an application to terminate your membership from the renewal date. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

"Well, you could [insert horrible fate of your own imaginative choice], and then repeat for good luck. And again, and again, and again, until you finally drop dead into a stinking pool of slurry and finally put the phone down." Expletive deleted. Have these leeches no shame?

Thanks for listening. :|

BJ

Howyoudoin
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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279448

Postby Howyoudoin » January 23rd, 2020, 3:34 pm

What a horrible carry on.

I've had similar in the last couple of years with Sky to cancel broadband and with Virgin to cancel Wine. There was nowhere to cancel online, you had to phone.

I'm guessing that most companies are removing cancelling facilities from their website so that it's just too much bother for us to call. Trading standards should get involved I think.

In other similarly underhand practice news, I was called by Indesit this morning to confirm they had received my online registration for 12 months parts and labour cover for the new oven . . . . can you guess what came next?

HYD

bungeejumper
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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279451

Postby bungeejumper » January 23rd, 2020, 4:09 pm

Howyoudoin wrote:In other similarly underhand practice news, I was called by Indesit this morning to confirm they had received my online registration for 12 months parts and labour cover for the new oven . . . . can you guess what came next?

The best we had was from Hotpoint, who did their damnedest to inertia-sell me into an expensive extended warranty on a tumble dryer which hadn't actually cost me anything, because Hotpoint had supplied it to replace the one that they'd had to withdraw because it was a model that kept catching fire. Listen, creeps, if you're in the habit of programming faults into your stuff, don't expect me to pay you for the privilege of coming to sort things out if it does it again. ;)

BJ

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279471

Postby swill453 » January 23rd, 2020, 5:11 pm

Snorvey wrote:I think I'd just write/email to them saying you will not be renewing the policy when it is due and you will be cancelling the direct debit from that date.

FWIW, even if it's not an actual Direct Debit but a Continuous Authority on a credit or debit card, the law changed in 2009 such that your bank or credit card provider must stop payments if you request them to. And if they fail to do it then they must refund the money.

Scott.

bungeejumper
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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279482

Postby bungeejumper » January 23rd, 2020, 5:37 pm

Snorvey wrote:I think I'd just write/email to them saying you will not be renewing the policy when it is due and you will be cancelling the direct debit from that date.

Funny you should say that. I just cancelled the debit authority to my gas and electricity supplier, after they told me they were about to hit my bank account for the 14th instalment on a 12 month contract that had expired six weeks earlier. :| They were not happy, to put it mildly, but it sure as hell focused their minds. The result was that I was fast-tracked for a final calc that resulted in a nice quick rebate. Sometimes direct action works really well!

BJ

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279520

Postby AF62 » January 23rd, 2020, 8:53 pm

Snorvey wrote:I think I'd just write/email to them saying you will not be renewing the policy when it is due and you will be cancelling the direct debit from that date.

I'll bet they call you then.


I cancelled a couple of phone contracts recently. You no longer have to call them but can just text them and get the PAC by return.

However five minutes later I had two* phone calls from them trying to persuade me not to leave.

*Two because EE are thick and didn't realise that both phones were on the same contract.

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279521

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 23rd, 2020, 9:09 pm

Ah you just reminded me - Sky have bumped my broadband up to £30 from ~£20 and I need to go through the rigmarole of phoning them up to 'cancel' and letting them offer me a 'special' £20pm deal for a year, again...
I'm quite happy with the service, just not worth >£30 for bog standard ADSL with no extras. I did set a reminder but it got missed among all the work crud so I've paid £30 for several months - that's £20 extra, or six pints. Well, four in London/Reading if you shop around

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279562

Postby EssDeeAitch » January 24th, 2020, 4:41 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:that's £20 extra, or six pints. Well, four in London/Reading if you shop around


10 in Newcastle, if you go to certain Weatherspoons.

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279570

Postby swill453 » January 24th, 2020, 7:34 am

EssDeeAitch wrote:
AleisterCrowley wrote:that's £20 extra, or six pints. Well, four in London/Reading if you shop around


10 in Newcastle, if you go to certain Weatherspoons.

In London last week the beer ranged from £2 for a pint in a Wetherspoon's in Ealing, to seven quid for a little bottle of Punk IPA at the Sky Garden.

(I didn't actually buy the latter.)

Scott.

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279581

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 24th, 2020, 8:53 am

There wasn't a Wetherspoons in Ealing when I lived there - which building have they taken over ?
( I was normally in the Wheatsheaf/North Star/Feathers aka Town House ???)

Beer back home in Shropshire is typically £3.20 - £3.40 a pint for 'real ale', 'spoons being a bit cheaper

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279587

Postby swill453 » January 24th, 2020, 9:05 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:There wasn't a Wetherspoons in Ealing when I lived there - which building have they taken over ?
( I was normally in the Wheatsheaf/North Star/Feathers aka Town House ???)

Dunno what it used to be, obviously, but it's on the east side of town https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/The ... authuser=0

(The £2/pint was admittedly a beer festival, but there was a good choice of ales)

Scott.

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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279588

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 24th, 2020, 9:10 am

Ah yes, there was a bar there in my day (1995-2001) - I don't recall the name
Yikes, looks like the Townhouse/Feathers is now a MetroBank - presumably with 'luxury apartments' above

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Cancelling an RAC membership - sticky as superglue

#279595

Postby AleisterCrowley » January 24th, 2020, 9:32 am

Aha , the 'spoons was The Hogshead , then Slug and Lettuce apparently


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