TONY HETHERINGTON: Tow-truck driver bashed my broken-down car but RAC won’t pay up

By Tony Hetherington, Financial Mail on Sunday

Updated: 07:20 EDT, 7 July 2014

Flyde Motor Company office in Southport: RAC Recoveries had subcontracted the towing to Fylde Motor Company, which subcontracted it to a self-employed truck operator

J.R. writes: I am caught in a merry-go-round involving the RAC. I called the company last December to get my broken-down car to a local garage in Southport, Merseyside.

My car was then damaged by the tow-truck driver while he was lowering it down the ramp from his truck, with me and the garage owner watching.

I found RAC Recoveries had subcontracted the towing to Fylde Motor Company, which subcontracted it to a self-employed truck operator. All I know is that his name is Martin.

I am insured with the RAC but, though the accident was not my fault, I was obliged to pay a £476 excess. I now have an insurance claim listed against me, which has increased my premiums.

My wife’s insurance costs also rose as I was a named driver on her policy.

Tony Hetherington says: The pile of paperwork you sent me shows that you tried to get someone – anyone – to take responsibility and accept that whoever was to blame for the accident, it was not you. But you found yourself caught in a tangled web, with the RAC, its solicitors, Fylde Motor Company and your insurers, swapping letters but getting nowhere.

As part of your RAC membership you had legal expenses cover, so you had expected the solicitor, Minster Law, of York, to advise the RAC to pick up the bill for the damage and excess. After all, it was the RAC you called to get your car towed, and you did not choose to pass the job on.

But Minster Law told you that it had gone after Fylde Motor Company, which had refused to admit liability. The solicitor added that ‘a full investigation could not be carried out’, though it is hard to see why not. You were left as a member of an organisation that is supposed to assist drivers, yet on the face of it your claim was against the RAC and it could claim against Fylde Motor Company.

The solicitor engaged by the RAC under your legal expenses cover seemed reluctant to pick a fight with the RAC. Instead, it sent you a cheque for £476 to cover the insurance excess, saying it was ‘in full and final settlement of your claim’.

The covering letter made no mention of the bill for the repairs to your car. Your insurer, Liverpool Victoria (LV), confirmed that the repair costs were still outstanding, meaning the incident would carry on affecting your premiums.

I pressed the RAC on this. It said it was ‘working hard with all parties to help ensure a successful resolution’, but there were delays because of ‘the recovery driver taking an extended holiday’ that had held up investigations.

This was ridiculous. Legally, your relationship was with the RAC. I asked: ‘Shouldn’t it be for the RAC to meet Mr R’s costs or losses and then do its best to recover any outlay from other parties? Isn’t this what membership of the RAC is all about?’ Back came the RAC’s response. It had obtained LV’s agreement to treat the incident as a ‘no-fault’ claim.

In addition, the RAC is now offering you £100 as a gesture of goodwill. That’s more like it.
Of course, this means LV is out of pocket, unless Fylde Motor Company coughs up.

I invited Steven Weare, the boss of the Preston-based firm, to comment. He tried to play dumb, saying he had received no complaint from you and making it appear that he knew nothing about the incident. I made it clear that I had seen copies of his offers to settle the claim privately, without any admission of liability. I haven’t heard another word from him since.

But I hope LV is not left to foot the bill. That would be just as unfair as demanding that you meet the costs yourself.

Sorry, Postman Pat can’t deliver your lost shares

Postman Pat and his cat: Entertainment Rights dealt in the use of brands and images linked to children's programmes such as Postman Pat unfortunately, it was deeply in debt

R. G. F. writes: In 2008 my wife bought 2,000 shares in Entertainment Rights. She  later died and I transferred the shares to my name.

I have recently contacted three stockbrokers about the value of the shares and none had heard of the company. Has it been taken over, or are the shares worthless? 

Tony Hetherington says: Bad news, I’m afraid. Entertainment Rights dealt in the use of brands and images linked  to children’s programmes such as Postman Pat. Unfortunately, it was deeply in debt and, by early 2009, it owed £177 million to its bankers.

The company fell into administration in April 2009. Its assets were sold off for less than its debts, so there was nothing left for shareholders.

Entertainment Rights was dissolved in December 2010. If you need details, the administrator may be able to help: Deloitte LLP, PO Box 810, 66 Shoe Lane, London  EC4A 3WA.

Crooked boss banned from acting as company director for next 14 years

The boss of a crooked land investment company has been banned from acting as a company director for the next 14 years, just one year short of the maximum ban allowed by law.

Stephen John Wheeler, 58, of Bridgwater in Somerset, ran Century Property Group, which sold plots of land at more than a dozen locations around the country with the false claim that they were suitable for development.

Investigators from the Insolvency Service found that the company had raked in £10  million from investors, and in 2012 they won a High Court order to close it down.

More than £3 million left the company’s bank account without proper records to show who received it and why. I warned in March and August 2011 that local authority sources had said that Century’s land was unlikely to win planning permission for building.

Wheeler’s 14-year disqualification began last Wednesday. Separately, Jeanette Anne Chandler, 59,  of St Helens, Merseyside, has  been banned as a company director for seven years, also from last Wednesday.

The ban was for tax offences linked to her company NSS-Operations, but in 2009 I warned that she and her husband, Jack, were behind Carter Fairfax, a sales outfit that also marketed plots of land that were  an investment rip-off.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, Room 301, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.