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First Call said it would only send a tow truck if I paid £100 up front
Back in June, my Peugeot started making a grinding noise from the off-side wheel area and so I called my breakdown recovery company, First Call GB, with which I have its most expensive recovery package. I was asked several questions about the state of the car and its service record. I told the person that I get my car serviced regularly and that the car was actually booked in to my local garage to have a minor leak from the gearbox fixed next week, although this in no way affected the running of the car.
I was then put on hold, and when the person returned, I was informed that First Call would only send a tow truck if I paid £100 up front, as I was "knowingly driving a defective car". When I protested that the minor oil leak had nothing to do with the breakdown this met with deaf ears.
Unwilling to pay, I called my friendly mechanic. He didn't have a tow truck but came out to see me and diagnosed that the front suspension spring had snapped. So I called First Call again to tell it, but itsaid I still had to pay the £100 up front, and that I "might" get the money back if I submitted an invoice that showed the breakdown was unrelated to the gearbox leak.
Disgusted with this attitude, I found a local firm to recover my car, and wrote to First Call asking for my premium back – I had only just renewed the policy. It has since refused to return my money despite a complaint. I notice from looking at the internet that I'm not the only unhappy First Call claimant. MC Foxton, Leicestershire
As you say, First Call GB seems to have a number of unhappy customers who have posted their experiences online, although yours is the first complaint we have had about the company. The Review Centre website shows 130 reviews from customers, and it doesn't make happy reading. The company scores 1.3 out of five (one is the minimum), although it should be noted that such websites tend to attract unhappy clients. Happy ones don't tend to post their experiences as much, although plenty of rival breakdown companies get much better scores on the same website.
We rang First Call's managing director, Rod Dale, to ask about your experience (and the Reviewcentre results) and had what can only be described as a tetchy conversation. He defended his company's stance, and said its terms and conditions clearly state that motorists will not be covered if they fail to service their cars properly in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, or if they drive a car that has a known problem. He said that this was common across the recovery industry, although we haven't come across the AA or RAC demanding to know when your car was last serviced before they send out someone to rescue you.
Dale said his firm's terms and conditions have been fully approved by the financial authorities. He also said he would be happy to show us letters of commendation from plenty of happy customers. However, because he didn't want an unhappy client, he has now agreed to refund your £58 annual premium as a gesture of goodwill.
Since our conversation, Dale threatened to take us to the Press Complaints Commission, although it's not clear on what grounds.
In the meantime we would invite other First Call breakdown customers to contact us with their experiences of making a claim – good or bad.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Brignall & King, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number
Miles Brignall
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