A FAMILY who were left stranded by the side of motorway for over 24 hours have hit out at the RAC.
Lee Embleton said he was moved to tears after the family was forced to spend the night by the side of a motorway after their Transit van broke down.
The family endured a night of misery after their van broke down[/caption]
Wendy and Lee Embleton, from Backworth, North Tyneside, broke down at around 6.30pm on a Friday evening and were towed away at 9.15pm the following night.
The couple, who were with their teenage son Lucas and two French bulldogs, feel they were left abandoned by the RAC and Richford Motor Services, the third party company.
Lee said: “I’m a grown man and it brought me to tears. I let my wife and my son get some sleep but I was up all night just waiting and looking out the window as soon as I heard a car.
“I was looking and hoping it was coming. I felt like I was on a desert island. It was just horrendous.
“We were physically and mentally drained. The caravan’s not suitable for off-grid, it does require a hook up, which is why we felt a bit stranded. I’m not happy about staying with RAC at all given what’s happened.
“We have worked hard to save up and to get away, it’s really heartbreaking. Especially for my son who was looking
forward to getting away.”
The family were towing a caravan at the time and had planned to meet other members of Wendy’s family in the national park,
during their nine-day summer break.
However the turbo on the van stopped working while they were on the motorway near Bramley in West Yorkshire.
They said they only managed to get home because a worker from Richford, who was told to take them to the nearest service station, went above and beyond what he was asked to do and drove them all the way back home.
Wendy said: “We were on the side of the road with a caravan, it was ridiculous. I don’t know how they can treat people like that.
“We called RAC and told them what had happened and they said they could get back in touch with us when they knew someone could come and have a look at the van.
“They used a third party, Richford, and they came out at half two in the morning.
“The worker realised it was the turbo that was broken and said it needs to be towed. We were up through the night waiting and constantly watching for anyone coming to pick us up.”
A spokesperson from RAC said: “We’ve apologised to the family for the time it took us to get them home.
“We have an excellent record of providing a very high standard of service to our members, but on this occasion we sadly fell well short of that.
“To say sorry for the stress and inconvenience, we’ve agreed a suitable gesture of goodwill with Lee which he’s happy with.”
Richford Motor Services, which are based in Derbyshire, chose not to provide a comment but said delays are common within the reakdown industry at this time of year.
They had been looking forward to a dream holiday in the Peak District[/caption]
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