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RCR renewals...


Hartlebury lad

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I have had a renewal notice this morning from RCR. Although i have reasonable ability to deal with boat problems, I find the bit of peace of mind for longer distance cruising, especially on rivers, worth it should disaster strike!

Maybe not this year though. Standard email asks if we have had peace of mind whilst cruising, blah de blah, and to do the same again this year.

We have barely done any cruising since last March, and this year is still uncertain to say the least.

It's funny how they seem not to have noticed or mentioned this, in what must have been a very profitable year for them in this aspect. Stick, or twist?

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I suppose they need peoples renewals to enable them to survive. Speaking personaly and its not fair on their business mine lapsed and I am not renewing until I know we can go further afield which will probably now not be this year as I am on a great mooring with many benefits. I wont go ccing again though without rcr cover, they have been great in the past.

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Save the money, use a local fitter if and when you need one and have less aggravation from RCR telling you that you need a new engine/gearbox/alternator/starter motor/heat exchanger/prop shaft/kerfuffle unit/howitzer bearing etc. when its just a flat battery. 

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This was an issue raised last year, when there was little opportunity for much cruising. But if people don’t renew, they may not be there when cruising does get going again. For this reason we renewed last year, and will do so again this year. Look on it as supporting a local business, and with a bit of luck as things improve, they may return that loyalty with an extra 5% increase on the no claims discount.

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One problem with boats remaining unused for long periods, is that there are a lot of things which can seize up, stiffen, or otherwise fail when regular use would either prevent them from failing or else demonstrate symptoms at an early stage. In my case it was a diesel seal which failed during Lockdown 1, allowing a thankful of diesel to drip into the bilges. RCR agreed that a diesel leak constitutes a breakdown, and were excellent in arranging for a mechanic to visit us; not only did he fix the leak but also cleaned up the bilges and took away the contaminated diesel for disposal. I shall definitely be renewing my subscription to them.

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I've had mixed success with them, but as it tends to the positive I'm renewing whatever the plague situation. I got a fair bit of cruising last year and expect to be out again in Spring so will be glad I've got it.

Not sure my standard Lister diesel in the oil problem counts as a breakdown, sadly.

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1 hour ago, rgreg said:

Good luck with that when you're stuck in the middle of "nowhere" on a wet Sunday afternoon. 

Exactly^^^^^^^^     . I called RCR out twice for my first boat. The first call out was for a burst oil pipe and that didn't go too well although that wasn't the fault of RCR. In fairness they did give me a years free membership because of that kerfuffel. The second time I had to call them out was for the starter motor on the same boat and they were quick and efficient for that call out.

 

I know some people say that RCR are rubbish but that is not my experience. And, as said if you are in the middle of nowhere RCR can be a godsend. Canal mechanics are getting few and far between especially up here in the North so RCR are an excellent fall back in my opinion. I shall most definitely renew my membership when it comes up.

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36 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Completely agree. as someone who has cruised extensively between Ripon and Bristol and all points between I find for the peanuts cost they are invaluable for peace of mind alone. My drive plate failed with zero prior warning just after coming through a lock off a fast flowing river onto a canal cutting. It was early afternoon on XMAS eve so I rang the number knowing full well I would get no reply. It rang for a few seconds and a lady replied!! I gave symptoms and she said I would be contacted by mechanic later, yeah right I thought. Thirty minutes later he rang and agreed it was drive plate and asked if I didnt mind waiting tomorrow ( xmas day ) and he would come boxing day morning with plate and fix it. Lol I thought and agreed, he turned up after driving 100 plus miles boxing day and left 1 and half hours later with my new drive plate fitted. Zero cost iirc or some miniscule amount for turning up or something, I didnt even pay for the plate it was covered. First class and worth every penny.

Gotcha!   You are the satisfied "client".

 

Doesn't make up for the dozens ripped off.  Or the misinformation and incorrect "repairs" by some of the inept staff.

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I renewed in October with no hesitation on the grounds that:-

 

   -  it keeps them on business, should I ever need to use them;

   - I don't have the wealth of knowledge and experience needed to reliably diagnose, let alone fix, the majority of faults that might crop up;

   - I don't actually know any 'local fitters', let alone which of them might be competent and which less so.

 

It's all a peace of mind thing, like most insurance.

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57 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Completely agree. as someone who has cruised extensively between Ripon and Bristol and all points between I find for the peanuts cost they are invaluable for peace of mind alone. My drive plate failed with zero prior warning just after coming through a lock off a fast flowing river onto a canal cutting. It was early afternoon on XMAS eve so I rang the number knowing full well I would get no reply. It rang for a few seconds and a lady replied!! I gave symptoms and she said I would be contacted by mechanic later, yeah right I thought. Thirty minutes later he rang and agreed it was drive plate and asked if I didnt mind waiting tomorrow ( xmas day ) and he would come boxing day morning with plate and fix it. Lol I thought and agreed, he turned up after driving 100 plus miles boxing day and left 1 and half hours later with my new drive plate fitted. Zero cost iirc or some miniscule amount for turning up or something, I didnt even pay for the plate it was covered. First class and worth every penny.

If peace of mind is a high priority (it is with me) then RCR are useful for an insignificant fee.

 

My experience is that they get it right in the end but that the end is not always particularly near the beginning.

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21 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Gotcha!   You are the satisfied "client".

 

Doesn't make up for the dozens ripped off.  Or the misinformation and incorrect "repairs" by some of the inept staff.

When you say "the", that would suggest there is only one.

 

To date, there are 9 satisfied clients here, 1 example of a kind of bad experience, and nobody who has said they wont/wouldn't renew.

 

I'd suggest you have another go at counting.

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4 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

When you say "the", that would suggest there is only one.

 

To date, there are 9 satisfied clients here, 1 example of a kind of bad experience, and nobody who has said they wont/wouldn't renew.

 

I'd suggest you have another go at counting.

The beauty of rcr is that they come wherever u are and bring the parts needed. I was 150 miles away from my car when my drive plate went on Xmas eve. OK changing the plate isn't hard but it was cold and how would I have got the bits? I would also have got mucky when I didn't need to and if their diagnosis is wrong then they would have sorted whatever was needed. Money well spent. 

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14 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

When you say "the", that would suggest there is only one.

 

To date, there are 9 satisfied clients here, 1 example of a kind of bad experience, and nobody who has said they wont/wouldn't renew.

 

I'd suggest you have another go at counting.

I suggest you stop being insulting and shut your loud mouth. I am entitled to my view as you are but I don't insult you.

 

There is a very good reason why the crown and government do not insure, I use the same reason for not using RCR

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1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I suggest you stop being insulting and shut your loud mouth. I am entitled to my view as you are but I don't insult you.

 

There is a very good reason why the crown and government do not insure, I use the same reason for not using RCR

I strongly suspect not: the reason that the public sector do not insure all risks is because of their size. They have sufficient assets to be able to cover the consequences within the total premium they would otherwise have to pay. The maths is fairly simple: insurance is not about removing risk as much as about smoothing it out over a range of risk situations and for everyone to club together to meet those claims that do materialise. On a sufficient sale, if the actuaries have got it right then you will be saving the admin and profit elements of your premiums.

 

I doubt very much if you have the advantage of scale but, as I do not know you other than what you reveal on here, that assumption may be wrong. However, for your statement to have any value you would need to add that caveat.

Edited by Mike Todd
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1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Gotcha!   You are the satisfied "client".

 

Doesn't make up for the dozens ripped off.  Or the misinformation and incorrect "repairs" by some of the inept staff.

I had two gearbox failures. RCR contributed £1000 a time to the rebuild each time without a quibble. They also fixed a weird gearbox problem which neither me or the engineer understood, but he sorted it anyway, and a new starter. They did once leave me stranded with a bust fuel pipe and their service guys' behaviour got RCR banned from my mooring.

All in all, I'm ahead of the game so far.

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1 hour ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I suggest you stop being insulting and shut your loud mouth. I am entitled to my view as you are but I don't insult you.

Mmm! I think you just did :( 

 

What you said sounded factual, rather than being an opinion. Given the content of the thread, it wasn’t correct, and seemed to be more about finding an excuse to have a go at RCR, (insult RCR?).

 

BTW: of course you are entitled to your opinion. No argument with that :) 

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19 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

I strongly suspect not: the reason that the public sector do not insure all risks is because of their size. They have sufficient assets to be able to cover the consequences within the total premium they would otherwise have to pay. The maths is fairly simple: insurance is not about removing risk as much as about smoothing it out over a range of risk situations and for everyone to club together to meet those claims that do materialise. On a sufficient sale, if the actuaries have got it right then you will be saving the admin and profit elements of your premiums.

 

I doubt very much if you have the advantage of scale but, as I do not know you other than what you reveal on here, that assumption may be wrong. However, for your statement to have any value you would need to add that caveat.

Your first paragraph is correct, also the premiums and the insurer's profit would be excessive on the risks insured and an unnecessary drain on the exchequer.

 

I do look at the risk of breakdown as being slim as I maintain my boats myself to a high standard. Being capable of tending my own mechanics, electrics, gas and plumbing I have an aversion to employing another of dubious or unknown ability.

 

I prefer to be able to cover all possible breakdown costs  from my own resources.  I tend not to have any breakdowns, certainly none that cost any real sums in any case.

 

Many of the experiences of others of my acquaintance when relying on RCR encourage me to continue to despise the often underhand methods of business and unskilled staff which they employ. 

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38 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Your first paragraph is correct, also the premiums and the insurer's profit would be excessive on the risks insured and an unnecessary drain on the exchequer.

 

I do look at the risk of breakdown as being slim as I maintain my boats myself to a high standard. Being capable of tending my own mechanics, electrics, gas and plumbing I have an aversion to employing another of dubious or unknown ability.

 

I prefer to be able to cover all possible breakdown costs  from my own resources.  I tend not to have any breakdowns, certainly none that cost any real sums in any case.

 

Many of the experiences of others of my acquaintance when relying on RCR encourage me to continue to despise the often underhand methods of business and unskilled staff which they employ. 

OK as far as it goes but RCR do cover more than just the call outs. However, if your resources are such that you feel happy to cover any of the part replacements yourself, both cost and supply, then it is a reasonable decision. But that is not the position of nearly all other boaters who do not have the comprehensive skill set that you believe that you have. In which case you should make it clear that your opinion of RCR is only valid for someone who is boater and a skilled mechanic.

 

You should also indicate what methods of business you consider to be underhand, again so that others can understand the basis of your opinion.

 

As for the skill of the staff it is manifestly libellous to suggest that all of their staff are unskilled as that is tantamount to accusing the company of misrepresentation in their contract with the boater.

 

I am sure that any organisation will have both some staff with blank spots in their knowledge as well as some who do not maintain the standards expected of them. The acid test is not so much that all and any of the staff of an organisation are perfect but what does that organisation do in the even of a failure (as well as some indication of how frequently that occurs). It is a while since I needed to call on their services but when I did I was impressed when chatting to them to hear of the extent to which the company sends them on training courses to develop their skill sets and that quite a number start from scratch. In general the reaction was that they were a good employer.

 

Your critique might make more sense if all other 'local mechanics' were fully skilled. I have had some pretty poor service from some individuals - although in one case it was a newcomer who claimed some very high level training which turned out to be relevant to very different scale of equipment than on a narrowboat and the company concerned dealt with the matter quite well. Sadly they were not a large enough business to rectify the mechanic's shortcomings by re-training.

 

If you had said that because you rate your personal skills and knowledge in all aspects of canal boat equipment above that of anyone else such that you do not see the need to employ those of lesser skills then you would have a logical case but you spoil it by making such extreme allegations about RCR that could potentially get you into legal trouble.

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2 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

I suggest you stop being insulting and shut your loud mouth. I am entitled to my view as you are but I don't insult you.

 

There is a very good reason why the crown and government do not insure, I use the same reason for not using RCR

I would suggest you practice what you preach. But then again that is not your way is it?

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17 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

OK as far as it goes but RCR do cover more than just the call outs. However, if your resources are such that you feel happy to cover any of the part replacements yourself, both cost and supply, then it is a reasonable decision. But that is not the position of nearly all other boaters who do not have the comprehensive skill set that you believe that you have. In which case you should make it clear that your opinion of RCR is only valid for someone who is boater and a skilled mechanic.

 

You should also indicate what methods of business you consider to be underhand, again so that others can understand the basis of your opinion.

 

As for the skill of the staff it is manifestly libellous to suggest that all of their staff are unskilled as that is tantamount to accusing the company of misrepresentation in their contract with the boater.

 

I am sure that any organisation will have both some staff with blank spots in their knowledge as well as some who do not maintain the standards expected of them. The acid test is not so much that all and any of the staff of an organisation are perfect but what does that organisation do in the even of a failure (as well as some indication of how frequently that occurs). It is a while since I needed to call on their services but when I did I was impressed when chatting to them to hear of the extent to which the company sends them on training courses to develop their skill sets and that quite a number start from scratch. In general the reaction was that they were a good employer.

 

Your critique might make more sense if all other 'local mechanics' were fully skilled. I have had some pretty poor service from some individuals - although in one case it was a newcomer who claimed some very high level training which turned out to be relevant to very different scale of equipment than on a narrowboat and the company concerned dealt with the matter quite well. Sadly they were not a large enough business to rectify the mechanic's shortcomings by re-training.

 

If you had said that because you rate your personal skills and knowledge in all aspects of canal boat equipment above that of anyone else such that you do not see the need to employ those of lesser skills then you would have a logical case but you spoil it by making such extreme allegations about RCR that could potentially get you into legal trouble.

Waffle and rubbish.  There are many cases of deliberate misleading boaters and obtaining money by continually selling engines that  were unusable, declaring gearboxes are faulty when they are not.  Then the displaced parts have been sold to the next mug. I have personally inspected some of these supposedly refurbished painted junk parts.

3 minutes ago, pete.i said:

I would suggest you practice what you preach. But then again that is not your way is it?

I really do not care.

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