Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against RAC FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H purchased a roadside assistance motor insurance policy from RAC that included a price match guarantee offering 10% refund if cheaper cover was found within seven days. Mr H attempted to claim the refund using a renewal quote from a rival company dated six weeks before his RAC purchase. RAC declined the claim, stating the quote did not meet the requirement of being found within seven days of purchasing RAC cover and lacked required information. The ombudsman upheld RAC's decision, finding Mr H did not meet the basic promotional requirements and that RAC's agent had provided clear information about what was needed to validate the claim.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman interpreted RAC's advertisement to require that a consumer take out cover with RAC and then find cheaper cover on the rival's website within seven days. Mr H did not meet this requirement as he had a renewal quote dated six weeks previously, not obtained within seven days of purchasing RAC cover. The ombudsman found RAC's agent provided clear information about requirements and fairly declined the claim. The ombudsman rejected Mr H's argument that like-for-like policies were impossible, noting RAC provides equivalent policy lists and the rival can cover cars.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website