Motorists have been warned about calling a motoring organisation if their vehicle has broken down. Drivers could face a hefty fine trying to get help
Drivers could be landed with a £100 fine if they make a phone call after their vehicle has broken down.
They have been warned about calling for help, after an elderly driver was told to seek online help when his car broke down. Vehicle assistance organisation the RAC has changed to reporting motoring incidents online cut waiting times on the phone. An 85-year-old man had to walk home and ask for help online after losing a wheel from his car and being unable get through to the organisation on the phone. He waited 15 minutes on the phone before being given an automated message which suggested he log the problem via the website. The Daily Record reports the man said: “If you’re sitting in a car with traffic going past at 90 miles an hour on a motorway, that’s not the sort of response you want.”
He added: “One of [the call handlers] actually just told me to go online and cut me off. If they don’t answer their phone and I’m stuck on a motorway, how on earth do I get in touch with them? And I think that is the big problem facing not only me, but a hell of a lot of other drivers. You know, we don’t all have smartphones.
“I tried to ring them, and I think I was on the phone for 15 or 20 minutes [with] no response, and then the phone line kept coming back to say ‘the easiest way to get in touch with us is online’. So I waited, and then I eventually went online.” The driver had to shell out £100 to tow the car, reports Birmingham Live. An RAC spokesperson commented: “We’re sorry Mr Rayner thought the only way to log his breakdown was online. This isn’t the case we offer members the choice to call or go online. In fact, over half of all breakdowns are reported to us by phone.
“While many of our members prefer to go online as it allows us to locate them more easily and keep them regularly updated on when we will arrive we appreciate this isn’t the case for everyone. This is why we have fully staffed call centres in three UK locations that take tens of thousands of member phone calls every week.”
Drivers, meanwhile, have been issued a warning as a number of motorists could face a charge of £600 after vehicle tax changes next year. The fee could impact drivers of electric vehicles (EV) warns tax experts at Tax Natives, as the DVLA is set to introduce changes to how they are taxed from April 1 2025. Next year, all electric vehicles priced over £40,000 will incur a new surcharge which Tax expert Andy Wood says will “fundamentally alter the current tax structure”.
Currently, many EVs benefit from a zero-rated Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) – more commonly known as car tax – which is aimed at encouraging greener transport options. But rising car prices mean a substantial number of models now fall into the “luxury tax” category. This is defined by a price exceeding £40,000.
