Sheffield mum blasts RAC after 'nightmare' car recovery from South Wales causes sleepless nights

Kerri Newton, aged 39, from High Green, has claimed her car returned to her with more issues than it had when it left a garage in Wales, though the breakdown company is asking her to prove the faults occurred while the vehicle was in its possession.

Mrs Newton said: “Why do I have to prove the car was damaged in their care when an RAC-approved garage has said it wasn’t like that in their care.”

Mrs Newton and her family were about to head home from a holiday cottage they rented in Wales, when they discovered her car had broken down.

An RAC responder informed them the car would need to go to a garage, leaving the family unsure how they would get home.

Eventually, it was decided the RAC would pay for train tickets to get Mrs Newton and her family home that day.

The journey took nearly 10 and a half hours, and included a total of five trains, two taxis and a bus, before they reached their home.

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The garage in Wales determined Mrs Newton’s car had an issue within the engine, which would take hours to diagnose and so recommended the car be sent back to Sheffield so repairs could be carried out closer to home.

The car’s journey back to Sheffield would involve a number of RAC-linked recovery companies, the first of which collected Mrs Newton’s car on Monday, August 1, and it didn’t arrive home until the following Friday.

Mrs Newton said: “We were told we’d be updated every step of the way and we didn’t hear anything. On occasions where I rang them, they didn’t even know where the car was.”

Mrs Newton says the only time she knew who had her car was when she found the right movers herself, after being told her car was in Derby by the RAC.

When the car arrived back on Friday, August 5, Mrs Newton noticed a number of issues the Welsh garage told her weren’t there when it left them.

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She said: “I am now presented with a broken gear box, non-functioning brakes, a scratch from the front wing the whole way to the rear of the vehicle, someone had been through by car as the center console was open and items were on my passenger seat, damage to my son’s bike which had been laid in the back of the car – all of which was reported to the recovery driver.”

Mrs Newton has said she has been in hospital due to the stress caused by the ordeal.

She said: “I haven’t slept properly since due to the monetary side.”

The RAC has reportedly told Mrs Newton she will have to prove the new issues were caused in its care.

A spokesperson for the RAC said: “We’re looking into Mrs Newton’s claim and will cover the cost of any damage we find we’ve caused when bringing her car back to Sheffield. Due to the nature of all the concerns raised, it’s going to take us some time to investigate thoroughly, but we’re keen to resolve it as quickly as possible.”