Commercial vehicle assistance


Terms and conditions

Unless a duly authorised representative of You and Us agrees otherwise in writing and before this Agreement is entered into the following shall apply:

  1. RAC Commercial Assistance is available in the Territory to Drivers of Commercial Vehicles. Services are provided on a Pay-On-Use basis and there are no registration, membership or renewal fees. On approval of Your application, We shall at Our sole option issue You with a credit limit from time to time OR We shall require You to make advance credit card payments for services You request from time to time.
  2. Whilst We shall use reasonable endeavours to agree with You a plan of action for roadside repair or recovery of the Commercial Vehicle before arranging or during Our attendance or the attendance of any Contractor, You agree that this may not always be practicable and that in such cases We will nonetheless have Your authority to act as Your agent and appoint any Contractor or make other arrangements on Your behalf, subject only to the restrictions set out below.
  3. For the avoidance of doubt, where it is necessary to make arrangements for the load continuation, recovery, onward travel or the accommodation of passengers (including the Driver), We will make reasonable efforts to contact You to agree arrangements with You, in default of which, You authorise Us to incur charges of up to £500, which You agree to pay on demand.
  4. We shall invoice You and You shall pay Us, for any service We arrange or provide including the Services, except that You are responsible for paying the Contractor the costs of any workshop repairs (unless We and You have agreed otherwise in advance in writing).
  5. Where You make an advance payment by credit card or otherwise, You agree that the advance payment is only an estimate of Our charges and You are responsible for paying the actual charges of the Service(s) You receive, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. If a refund is due, We will credit Your credit card account with the refund within 30 days of the date on which the Services were provided or within 30 days of the date on which We receive the final invoice from the relevant Contractor (as the case may be).
  6. If You have not settled any outstanding invoice by the due date and/or have exceeded Your credit limit, We have the right at Our sole option to:
    1. withdraw services from You; and/or
    2. to require You to settle any outstanding amount owed to Us by means of a credit card payment; and/or
    3. to request an advance credit card payment for any Service You may request.
  7. Charges will be as set out in Our Rate Card from time to time and We have the right to revise Our charges from time to time upon giving reasonable notice of at least 30 days and to amend these Terms and Conditions at any time.
  8. When You ask us to provide Services, if You so request We will give You details of Our charges per the current Rate Card and an estimate of the likely cost of such Services. You acknowledge that because of the variable nature of the Services We are unable to give You a binding estimate or quote and You agree to pay on demand the actual charges of the Services provided.
  9. You may be invoiced in a number of parts. We will endeavour to invoice You within 30 days of UK assistance and 90 days of European assistance but You agree to settle in full any and all invoices whenever issued in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
  10. The RAC General Terms and Conditions and the RAC Commercial Assistance Terms and Conditions and Rate Cards all apply to Services provided under RAC Commercial Assistance. In the event and to the extent of any conflict between the RAC General Terms and Conditions on the one hand, and the RAC Commercial Assistance Terms and Conditions and the applicable Rate Card on the other, the RAC Commercial Assistance Terms and Conditions and the terms of the applicable Rate Card shall prevail. In the event of any conflict between the RAC Commercial Assistance Terms and Conditions and a Rate Card, the terms of the relevant Rate Card shall prevail.

RAC General Terms & Conditions

  1. These terms and conditions along with the RAC Commercial Assistance Terms and Conditions and the applicable Rate Card (together with any written and previously agreed variations to the foregoing) constitute the entire agreement between You and Us for the provision of RAC Commercial Assistance and the Services and replace any and all other agreements (whether oral or in writing) relating to the same. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to exclude liability for fraudulent misrepresentation.
  2. Any termination of this Agreement shall not affect Your liability for charges incurred up to and including the date of such termination. Your statutory rights are unaffected.
  3. Where specified in advance, You must ensure that valid Commercial Vehicle registration numbers are provided to Us in order that the Drivers receive the correct levels of Service. Additions and deletions to those Commercial Vehicle registrations must be notified to Us without delay. Where a Commercial Vehicle registration has been notified to Us You are liable to pay all charges for Services incurred by Drivers of that Commercial Vehicle.
  4. We will take legal action against anyone who uses Our Services dishonestly.
  5. If We provide Services to a child, an adult must accompany the child (a child is any person under the age of 16).
  6. We cannot work on the Commercial Vehicle if it is unattended. Should any Commercial Vehicle be unattended on Our arrival, We will charge You the relevant Pay On Use fee for our attendance and any other costs incurred unless You and We have agreed otherwise in advance in writing.
  7. It is Your responsibility to request details of the charges on each and every occasion where You request Services. By requesting such Services You will be deemed to have accepted the then current and applicable charges.
  8. We shall be entitled to take over and conduct in Your name the defence or settlement of, or to prosecute in Our name for Our own benefit, any claim arising out of the provision of Services and shall have full discretion in the conduct of any such claim, and You shall provide all such assistance as We may reasonably require in this respect.
  9. Unless stated to the contrary, all prices quoted by Us for the supply of the Services are exclusive of VAT, Insurance Premium Tax (if applicable) and any other national or local taxes imposed on the cost of supplying the Services or any part thereof which shall be payable by You at the rate prevailing from time to time.
  10. The amount payable by You for the supply of any Services shall be paid within 30 days of the date of Our invoice for the same and We shall be entitled to charge interest on any amount overdue at the rate of 3% over the Nat West Bank base rate from the date the payment was due until the actual payment both before and after judgment and shall be entitled to recover from You all costs and expenses incurred in attempting to obtain such payment. If the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies, We will be entitled to charge You interest at the rate applicable from time to time under that Act.
  11. You must promptly/without delay notify Us in writing if You change address or if there is any material change in Your financial circumstances or any change in details of Your bank account, which may be relevant to the payment of the charges for the supply of Services.
  12. Except as set out in this Agreement, We will incur charges for Commercial Vehicle parts only to the amount previously agreed with You except where We cannot organise completion of a repair without exceeding the agreed amount and/or You are not contactable.
  13. We will exercise reasonable skill and care in the provision of Services provided by Us. We will exercise reasonable skill and care in the management of Services provided by any Contractor. Our liability in respect of Services provided by Us shall be as set out in paragraph 14 below.
    1. We accept liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
    2. We will not be liable for any loss of profit or any loss of business, loss of contract, loss of anticipated savings or any indirect or consequential losses howsoever incurred by You as a result of the provision of the Services by Us or otherwise.
    3. Subject to paragraphs 1 and 14(a) and without prejudice to paragraph 14 (b), Our aggregate liability to You for any losses or damage arising from the provision of Services by Us or otherwise is limited in any calendar year to the greater of £5000 or the revenue received by Us from You under this Agreement during the previous calendar year.
    4. If We appoint a third party (including a Contractor) to provide the Services, You authorise Us to make such appointment on Your behalf and as Your agent. Accordingly, You acknowledge and agree that such an appointment shall give rise to a contract or other legal relationship between You and the relevant third party. Your remedy for any act or omission of the third party or any of their employees, agents or sub-contractors shall be against the third party or the relevant employees, agents or sub-contractors and not against Us. Except where the law provides otherwise, We shall not have any liability to You whether in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence) or otherwise in respect of any act or omission of any Contractor or any of its employees, agents or sub-contractors.
  15. You acknowledge that the charges payable by You under this Agreement have been calculated taking into account the amount of liability We accept under this Agreement as set out in this Agreement. If requested by You in writing, We may agree to accept greater liability than that set out under this Agreement but We shall then be entitled to increase the charges payable by You under this Agreement in order to reflect the greater liability requested by You and accepted by Us.
  16. We do not guarantee to provide the Services in the case of any Event of Force Majeure and any failure to provide the Services in such circumstances shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement on Our part.
  17. If the Service You require is not provided for under this Agreement or is excluded by this Agreement, We will try, if You wish, to arrange it at Your expense. We will charge You the applicable Pay On Use fee for Our attendance and We will charge you for the service provided.
  18. If the Commercial Vehicle should break down whilst towing a caravan or trailer We will recover Your Commercial Vehicle together with the caravan or trailer. However, if Your caravan or trailer breaks down in a way that means it cannot be repaired, We will be unable to recover Your caravan or trailer unless it can be recovered at the same time as Your Commercial Vehicle. If You require the broken down caravan or trailer to be recovered separately We can arrange for this service but You will be responsible for any costs incurred. We would recommend that You always carry a serviceable spare tyre and wheel appropriate to Your Commercial Vehicle, caravan or trailer.
  19. Any repairs effected to a Commercial Vehicle other than at garage premises shall be temporary only and sufficient to enable the Commercial Vehicle to journey to the nearest garage and You should have a permanent repair carried out prior to any further use of the Commercial Vehicle.
  20. We will not be liable in any circumstances for any infringement howsoever caused of any manufacturer?s or dealer?s warranty as a result of Services supplied.
  21. Each provision in this Agreement may be separated from each other provision. If at any time any provision is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable, this will not affect any other provision.
  22. If We delay or fail to rely on any right under this Agreement We may rely on that right later.
  23. A person who is not a party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise to enforce any term of this Agreement. You may not transfer your rights or obligations (or both) under this Agreement.
  24. You may not: set off or withhold any payment due to Us unless You have a legal right to do so. We may accept part payments marked as payment in full or in similar language without losing Our right to claim full payment.
  25. The law of England and Wales will apply to this Agreement unless You and We agree otherwise and any claims must be brought in the English courts.
  26. We are committed to providing You with an exceptional level of service and customer care. We realise, however, that things can go wrong and there may be occasions when You feel that We have not provided the service You expect. When this happens, You should contact Us at the following address so that We can try to put things right for You: Customer Care, General Manager RACCA, Cussons House, Bird Hall Lane, Cheadle Heath, Stockport SK3 0YT. Tel: 0161 495 7500.

Definitions

Below are certain words that have a specific meaning in this Agreement and wherever these words appear they have the following meaning:

"Agreement" means the agreement You have with Us, for RAC Commercial Assistance which includes these RAC General Terms and Conditions, the RAC Commercial Assistance Terms and Conditions, Your Rate Card(s) and any written and previously agreed variations to the foregoing, and any application You make whether orally or in writing and any current and applicable Rates Cards, all as may be varied from time to time.

"Commercial Vehicle" means any commercial vehicle registered in the United Kingdom and where in all cases the Commercial Vehicle conforms to the following specifications: weight exceeding 3500kg and not exceeding 44000kg; length exceeding 5.5m; and width exceeding 2.3m.

"Contractor" means a person not employed by Us for whom We have no liability and who provides breakdown or other services to You under a direct contract between you and that person under the Agreement.

"Driver" means any person authorised or holding themselves out as authorised by You to drive a Commercial Vehicle.

"Event of Force Majeure" means war, terrorist or military operations, national or local emergency, acts or omissions of Government, highway authority or other competent authority, compliance with statutory obligations or an obligation under a statute, industrial disputes, fire, lightning, explosion, flood, subsidence, severe weather conditions, acts or omissions of persons for whom We are not responsible (including, in particular, any telecommunications service provider) or any other cause whether similar or dissimilar outside Our reasonable control.

"Pay On Use" means charges payable pursuant to this Agreement for each Commercial Vehicle for which Services are requested and which will be levied on each occasion when You request Services.

"RAC Commercial Assistance" means the Commercial Vehicle breakdown and recovery management service (including, without limit, incident management, passenger and load continuation and ancillary equipment provision) provided by Us.

"Rate Card" means any document containing the prices/charges for Our Services, as varied from time to time.

"Service" means any service, the details of which are set out in this Agreement.

"Territory" the United Kingdom and the mainland of the European Continent (West of the Urals) together with neighbouring islands.

"United Kingdom" means England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey.

"We/Our/Us/RAC" means RAC Motoring Services of 8 Surrey Street, Norwich NR1 3NG (registered England 01424399) and its agents.

"You/Your" means the person or entity (including their employees and agents) who has applied to Us for the provision of Services under this Agreement and by whom all charges are payable.