Green Flag

Have you complained to them directly? 

Green Flag use local companies, so Green Flag is only as good as the company they use in the area you break down in. I've found May Day/Green Flag to be pretty good on the occasions I or my family have needed them.

Not totally correct. About 5 or more years ago they started using more of their own vans and staff in many areas. I have personally been very satisfied with them.

Used them the other day, when the car cut out as we were about to go to collect the van. When I phoned, as we were still at home, they enquired re the urgency. When I explained that we were supposed to be going away, they prioritised it and somebody was with us in about 40 minutes. Very satisfied with that.

https://www.greenflag.com/://www.greenflag.com/

HOW WE OPERATE
Green Flag is different from the AA and the RAC.

We don't have a fleet of branded vans, but efficiently utilise a nationwide network of over 2,300 vehicles and mechanics* to rescue our customers when they break down.  We manage each and every breakdown from operational centres, sending help wherever it’s needed across the UK.

We think this is a smart way to provide a breakdown service, and our customers reap the rewards. We rank highly in a range of UK Customer Satisfaction surveys, results which are supported by our ReeVoo scores. To top it off we won Best Direct Breakdown Insurance Provider at the Your Money Awards. Again

I have had 7 call outs at least in the last 10 years. Turbo oil intercooler thingy, Tyre, coil spring, exhaust bracket weld, flat battery, chipped disc, adjusting slipping alternator belt. Not in that order. 4 of the 7 were the Green flag liveried vehicle. Speaking to a garage owner in Southport who replaced the disc (probably 5 years ago) he said that a few garages, including him, had lost out because Greenflag were using more of their own drivers. I suspect it depends on areas. Of course they may have changed back. Last time I called them out it was a GF van that arrived at Edinburgh site in April or May this year.

Hi Stuart,

Dave Smith here - I'm the Product Manager at the Club for external partners, which includes our relationship with Green Flag. I'm sorry to hear that you've had a poor experience with MAYDAY in this instance.

May I ask that you raise a complaint with Green Flag please? They (and the Club) do take complaints of poor service very seriously, and all complaints are rigorously investigated, in order to try and resolve customer issues, and to improve their service. This also enables the Club to monitor levels of complaints - which are, in actuality, very low indeed.

Raising a complaint is simple - please call 0800 400 654, select option 2, then option 3, and you will be put through to a complaints handler. Make sure you let them know you are a MAYDAY policy holder and they will kick off the complaint process.

Best regards,

Dave

I have had to use green flag twice in about 10years. First time local contractor arrived within 30 minutes - excellent service. Second time about 18 months ago was a disaster. It took  more than two hours for an operative to arrive. Worse was that he knew very little about vehicles. My TD5 Defender refused to start but he wanted to spray “quick start” into the turbo until I advised him it was a diesel, and the turbo doesn’t work until the engine is running. I asked for a tow to my home which was about 3 miles away, but he stated that as it was a 4 wheel drive, it couldn’t be towed ! (There is no problem towing a manual defender using the proper procedure) I then waited for a further 8 hours for a recovery truck to arrive, which was sent from London to me in Wiltshire. Like the OP, green flag lied to me on the phone throughout the 8 hours saying a truck “was on its way”, “would arrive shortly”, “was only a mile away”. Until I made a formal complaint on the phone did they start to tell the truth that the truth was being sent from 50 miles away and was stuck in heavy traffic on the M4. I made a strongly worded written complaint and subsequently received some financial compensation. Although I’m still with GF, mainly for the caravan recovery,  I sometimes worry what will happen if I am in a remote location with the van.