Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there may be a possible delay in the handling and resolution time of your case. We’ll let you know if your case is affected by this.
We recognise that when looking to buy a used vehicle you want to buy with confidence and peace of mind:
Confidence:
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In who you're buying from
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That the car’s safe to buy (both mechanically and in terms of history)
Peace of mind:
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That there’s someone to turn to if you have a problem with the car
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That there’s someone to turn to if you have a problem with the seller
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That the car’s under warranty with third party support
As the UK's leading motoring organisation we're regularly asked by car buyers how they can purchase a used vehicle with confidence. We want to put car buyers in contact with dealerships that shares our ethos for quality and exceptional customer service. That's why we set up our network of RAC Approved Dealers.
Buying a car from an RAC Approved Dealer guarantees that every car purchased from one of our Approved Dealers comes with the following:
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All Approved Dealers will ensure every vehicle available for sale has had an RAC 82 point Approved Vehicle Preparation Standard check carried out detailing any work that needs to be completed. The dealer will provide a certificate confirming the vehicle has passed the RAC 82 point Approved Vehicle Preparation Standard.
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The dealer will ensure a “Vehicle History Check” is carried out for vehicles sold. The Vehicle History Check will include the following information: if the vehicle has been reported stolen, if the vehicle has been an insurance write off, if there's outstanding finance on the vehicle, any history of previous vehicle registrations, vehicle mileage validation.
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Each vehicle will be provided with a minimum 3 months RAC Warranty.
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The dealer will provide details of what is covered and not covered under the Warranty.
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The dealer will offer you at least 12 months complimentary RAC Breakdown Cover (Vehicle based cover Roadside, Recovery, At Home), including Accident Care, for the vehicle sold.
We visit our RAC Approved Dealers at least six times a year to check their vehicles are prepared to our standards.
RAC Approved Dealers
Assurant (previously named The Warranty Group) manage our network of RAC Approved Dealers, this means that our ADR service is managed by Assurant and all of the ADR officials are also employed by Assurant to manage this on behalf of the RAC.
All RAC Approved Dealers adhere to the RAC Used Vehicle Code of Practice. This is the first used vehicle code of practice to be approved by The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) giving consumers confidence and peace of mind.
How do I make a complaint?
If you’re unhappy with the service received from an Approved Dealer, or a purchase you’ve made from them, you must contact them in the first instance to give them the chance to resolve the matter for you.
You should detail your concerns and let them know what you’re looking for them to do to resolve your complaint. Once you’ve raised your concerns with them, they have up to eight weeks to confirm their final position to you.
What if I’m still unhappy?
If you still feel they haven’t resolved the issue, or if you haven’t received a response from them, the RAC can provide an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service to you. Our ADR service is completely impartial and has been approved by CTSI. It can assist with disputes that may arise between a consumer and one of our Approved Dealers.
Our ADR service is also free to consumers. For more information on our ADR service, please see the RAC Used Vehicle Code of Practice.
You’ll need to make sure you contact us within 12 months of receiving a response from the Approved Dealer. In the unlikely event you haven’t received a response from them, you’ll need to make contact with us within 12 months of raising your concerns with the business.
To contact us, you’ll need to download and print the enquiry form, fill it in and either post it to us or scan it and email it to us. We’ll need full details of your complaint, including confirmation of what you’re expecting from the Approved Dealer to resolve your claim against them. You should also provide copies of all invoices and supporting evidence that you’d like us to consider, including a copy of their final response to you.
Please see our Scheme Rules for further information.
You are able to obtain legal advice or be represented by a third party if you wish.
Download dealer enquiry form
Your form should then be emailed to us with your supporting information to [email protected]. Alternatively, you can post your claim to us at the following address:
RAC Approved Dealers
The Warranty Group
The Aspen Building
Floor 2
Mitcheldean
Gloucestershire
GL17 0AF
The sharing of documents is not a standard requirement; however, it can be routinely done as a method of "good practise". You should therefore be aware that all documents must be shared, if requested, by either party.
What happens next?
Once we’ve received details of your complaint, one of our case handlers will assess the information you’ve provided to ensure the business is accredited to the RAC Used Vehicle Code of Practice.
If we’re unable to provide our ADR service, we’ll confirm this to you, along with the reasons, within five working days.
Once we’ve confirmed we can provide our ADR service to you, we’ll let you know within five working days. Our next steps will be:
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Review all the information and evidence you’ve provided
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Obtain a report from the Approved Dealer
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Reach a decision based on the available facts
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Confirm our findings to both you and the Approved Dealer
If we feel the Approved Dealer has acted incorrectly, or is responsible for your claim, we’ll issue recommendations to them in an effort to bring your complaint to an acceptable resolution.
If we feel the Approved Dealer has demonstrated a good level of service and followed the RAC Used Vehicle Code of Practice, then we’ll explain our reasons for this to you.
In some instances, we may not be able to reach a decision. If this is the case, then we’ll confirm this to you as soon as we can.
You should also be aware that our outcome could differ to any decision made by a court.
How long will it take?
We’ll keep you updated with the progress of your complaint and let you know as soon as we’ve received all of the information from the business to complete a full review.
Once we’ve received all the information we need to reach a decision on your case, we'll notify you of the outcome within 90 days, unless there are exceptional circumstances. In these instances, we'll let you know when you can expect to hear from us.
If your vehicle is off the road, we’ll do our best to prioritise your complaint as long as this is made clear to us at the outset.
If you wish to withdraw your complaint, then please let us know. It’s your right to withdraw from the ADR process at any stage.
Can you help me?
We can only consider complaints against a business that adheres to our Used Vehicle Code of Practice. .
All Approved Dealers are located within the UK, but you can still use our ADR service if you’re not a UK resident as we do accept cross border disputes.
We’re unable to offer our ADR service if:
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You’re not a consumer (any services provided by an Approved Dealer to a business would not be covered)
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Your claim exceeds £10,000.00.
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A legally binding decision has already been made regarding your claim
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You’ve already accepted a full and final settlement offer
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Another ADR provider has already issued their findings
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You’re claiming personal injury
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Your claim relates to any criminal activity
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It’s been more than 12 months since you received a final response from the business (or 12 months since you raised a complaint with the business if no response was received from them)
What authority do you have with an Approved Dealer?
We’re able to issue one or more of the following recommendations to an Approved Dealer:
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An apology and explanation
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A refund
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A goodwill gesture
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An offer of repairs
How do I know you’re impartial?
All of our ADR officials are employed on a permanent basis by Assurant to ensure our ADR service is completely impartial.
We currently have one ADR supervisor and two ADR case handlers.
Our Used Vehicle Code of Practice is approved by the CTSI Consumer Codes Approval Scheme and audited by them to ensure our Approved Dealers are compliant with our code. Our ADR service is also approved and audited by CTSI to ensure impartiality.
View ADR annual report