My Coach Net experience tonight.

[ferndaleflyer]

Short story: I tow a Smart car on a dolly. Tonight while loading I ran the front wheels over the front of the dolly. Coach Net denied to help me saying it was an “accident” and was not covered. A towing service wanted $200 to help. Oh well, a nice young fellow stopped and helped me and In about 5min we had it on the dolly correctly. So much for help from Coach Net.

[Dtank]

JoeH wrote:

Scottiemom wrote:
We had a bad experience years ago with just one flat tire on our 40' Phaeton. Eventually we got someone to come out and slap a used tire on it as we had no spare. We drove 22 miles to a Boulevard Tire dealer in Florida and boondocked in their parking lot. They fixed our tire in the morning. They said they do not do business with Coach Net and it has to do with the way CN pays those vendors. I am not sure what they require but the way it goes, they are frequently left waiting on their money. They had previously dealt with them but no longer. They said they would have dispatched a truck to us immediately and it would have taken maybe 45 minutes and cost $75. As it was the bill was well over $300, plus the $75 we paid out of pocket the next morning to have the necessary repair done.

So it isn't always that there is no service available, it's that there may not be a service willing to jump through the hoops with CN.


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REPLY TO POSTS - (sorry about being "inserted" in the middle) of same!

:B...:R


Many/most tow operators (the folks the "Motor Clubs" contract with),
have contracts with several of the "Motor Clubs".

Unfortunately, the above is true. When "we" could visit the tow operators forum (without "affiliation"), this was a common complaint.

Soooo - if you are a tow operator and have other service contracts with businesses who pay their bills promptly - who gets the best response? How about a local police agency - who wants a road opened quickly?

Suggest anyone who wants an Emergency Road Service that performs well, contact US Rider. Yes - it's intended for equestrians - BUT you do *NOT* have to own a "hay burner" -or- be towing/driving a horse trailer. It's the only ERS that will tow a trailer with live animals!

Only caveat is the ERS subscriber must be with the vehicle/s requiring the service -and- they do not provide service for commercial horse transporters.

I found that out when I questioned their services, as explained in their brochure. I received both a US Mail reply, an e-mail, and an invitation to speak (by phone) with the director of the service.

Can you do the same with your ERS provider?

Dtank..

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Dale

Exactly, When I finally got towed ( a company that was no longer on the coach net call list) , I talked with the driver. He said the same thing. Coach net uses the lowest cost providers and then jerks them around with payments. So you get the bottom of the barrel if they happen to show up

[JoeH]

Scottiemom wrote:
We had a bad experience years ago with just one flat tire on our 40' Phaeton. Eventually we got someone to come out and slap a used tire on it as we had no spare. We drove 22 miles to a Boulevard Tire dealer in Florida and boondocked in their parking lot. They fixed our tire in the morning. They said they do not do business with Coach Net and it has to do with the way CN pays those vendors. I am not sure what they require but the way it goes, they are frequently left waiting on their money. They had previously dealt with them but no longer. They said they would have dispatched a truck to us immediately and it would have taken maybe 45 minutes and cost $75. As it was the bill was well over $300, plus the $75 we paid out of pocket the next morning to have the necessary repair done.

So it isn't always that there is no service available, it's that there may not be a service willing to jump through the hoops with CN.

Dale

Exactly, When I finally got towed ( a company that was no longer on the coach net call list) , I talked with the driver. He said the same thing. Coach net uses the lowest cost providers and then jerks them around with payments. So you get the bottom of the barrel if they happen to show up

[Scottiemom]

We had a bad experience years ago with just one flat tire on our 40' Phaeton. Eventually we got someone to come out and slap a used tire on it as we had no spare. We drove 22 miles to a Boulevard Tire dealer in Florida and boondocked in their parking lot. They fixed our tire in the morning. They said they do not do business with Coach Net and it has to do with the way CN pays those vendors. I am not sure what they require but the way it goes, they are frequently left waiting on their money. They had previously dealt with them but no longer. They said they would have dispatched a truck to us immediately and it would have taken maybe 45 minutes and cost $75. As it was the bill was well over $300, plus the $75 we paid out of pocket the next morning to have the necessary repair done.

So it isn't always that there is no service available, it's that there may not be a service willing to jump through the hoops with CN.

Dale

[Rice]

Lantley wrote:
If I can't count on Coachnet when I am in a jam, why even have roadside assistance? Why pay if I end up on my own anyway?

I think roadside assistance was more relevant back before everybody had the entire internet in their hands at all times. Back then it would have been a big PITA find a tow on your own, and being able to make one call and get it coordinated by someone else was a big benefit.

The roadside assistance companies were a middleman who made your life easier--you just had to make one call, which very well would have been at a pay phone some distance away. The alternative was to get to a pay phone and hope there's a phone book and start calling each tow company in the yellow pages.

But nowadays, it might be better to cut out the middleman, because you can locate and contact local tow companies while sitting in the driver's seat, and when you call them you can quiz them yourself about whether they know what they're doing, and if they can't do what you need, they might know someone who can.

Obviously Coach Net's (and all the other roadside assistance companies--they all do the same thing) business model isn't getting their customers the quickest tow possible; what they do is put out a bid to see if anyone will accept the job at that price, without even knowing whether the tow company can actually do it.

It's doubtful you'll get worse service doing it yourself than that. It'll cost you more, but maybe actually not if you're not paying Coach Net premiums and are mentally pocketing them toward future towing. Not to mention the mental anguish of paying someone to do something for you and having them fail.

I have roadside assistance on my insurance policy, for $21/year. I have $21 worth of expectations from it, and will suffer only the mildest mental anguish if I end up having to do everything myself anyway, including paying for the tow myself if they refuse to reimburse it.

Then again, I haven't had to do that, so my tune might change when paying an enormous towing bill. But putting a mental $249/year into my towing fund will go a long way toward defraying that.

[Bedlam]

I had issues getting someone out to change a an inside dual even though I had the spare, wrench and jack. I ended up doing this my self while another roadside service company was trying to track down a provider for 12 hours.

[Cptnvideo]

With the exception of mandatory insurance and $1000 deductible collision insurance, we are "self insured". We don't buy extended warranties, etc. These companies are in business to make money, so the premiums they charge must cover everything they must pay out including employee salaries plus make a profit.

[Bobbo]

Lantley wrote:
While I understand your point. GS and coachnet advertise that they can provide 24 hour RV roadside assistance. There are no maybe or if's in the advertisement. The ad does not say we can provide a tow truck if we can find one!
The fine print may have a disclaimer,but that is just salt on the wound when your stranded on the side of the road.
When Coachnet failed to find me a tow truck. I was not in dire staights because I was not too far from home and my RV was in a safe place. The whole situation could have been much worse.
Nevertheless it was a wake up call to not rely on Coachnet.
If I can't count on Coachnet when I am in a jam, why even have roadside assistance? Why pay if I end up on my own anyway?
I've come to realize first hand that GS and Coachnet are just a charade.
Sure they may help you if they can, but they will also leave you stranded if they can't. It's simply the luck of the draw with no assurances or guarantees.

LOL. There was once a Dilbert cartoon where Dilbert had to spend a week in the marketing department for an orientation. The first day, the marketing manager told him "What you see here may look like outright criminal fraud. But, it's not, it's only marketing."

Don't rely on the ads. Read the fine print.

Also, your complaint applies to every one of the roadside services providers, not just Coach Net, even though that is who you are currently angry at. (You left AAA out of your post, and I find them even more problematic than Coach Net or GS.)

JRscooby may have the best solution for you. Eschew all roadside assistance policies and put some money into an emergency fund, then DIY.

[JRscooby]

joshuajim wrote:
It’s interesting that when a semi is involved, the police manage to get a wrecker capable of towing 80,000# almost immediately. Hmmm

One major difference; LEO calls for a tow does not reduce their profit.
The services contract with tow companies for a cut-rate price. But the customer, who is having a bad day already, feels like he has been paying for premium service. Then often when the tow driver shows up, he knows he is working cheaper than normal, he has to deal with rectums that feel their not getting what they deserve. He may face less grief if he reports truck trouble, lets the call go to another.
Only time my TV broke down I managed to get off the shoulder. We looked up, and called a non-emergency number for the Highway Patrol, asked them what was the best tow service in the area. Then we called them, used some of our emergency fund for tow.
I would bet, if I could prove, that if most people that maintain their vehicles, put monthly service payment into a emergency fund they could pay for tow, and get better service.

[Walaby]

I only had one experience and it was a good one.

My tow vehicle (Ram 2500) water pump froze up and ripped the serpentine belt. Stuck in the absolute middle of nowhere and 60+ miles from home, in the rain.

I knew where I was (since I drove through there often) but it was hard to describe to operator. She literally was able to find me based on landmarks and "I think I passed road named something about 5 miles back). They called tow truck, and also called me back after a period of time to verify if they were there or not. They hadn't showed up yet so she called again, called me back and said they were about 10 mins out. Sure enough, 10 mins or so later they showed up. Put my truck on the flat bed, hooked my RV to their ball hitch and away we went.

Truck driver backed my RV into the driveway for me, and then unloaded the truck from flatbed.

CN said they would tow to nearest dealer, which was in my home town, so they covered towing me home.

Worked out great then. Not sure how it would work out now though, since I have a fiver.

Unfortunately, with services like this, for every positive story, there's an equal number of negatives. Sorry your experience was the ying to my yang.

Mike

[Lantley]

Bobbo wrote:
Coach Net, just like Good Sams and AAA, is limited to the services that are available in the area. Not only that, but the services in the area may be unwilling to work with your provider if they feel the provider won't pay enough. It is not like the provider has these services under contract, ready to go. They have to search for them and contract with them at the time you need the service. Rural area? Few providers. Busy time period? Busy providers. Also, the percentage of providers who have the proper equipment to tow a very large RV is fairly small. If you have a big rig, your wait times will probably be much worse than someone with a modest rig.

I think all of the roadside service insurers are decent, but you can't expect miracles.

(However, I have heard that if you have AAA, but are in an area that doesn't sell AAA RV roadside, then you don't have roadside insurance.)

While I understand your point. GS and coachnet advertise that they can provide 24 hour RV roadside assistance. There are no maybe or if's in the advertisement. The ad does not say we can provide a tow truck if we can find one!
The fine print may have a disclaimer,but that is just salt on the wound when your stranded on the side of the road.
When Coachnet failed to find me a tow truck. I was not in dire staights because I was not too far from home and my RV was in a safe place. The whole situation could have been much worse.
Nevertheless it was a wake up call to not rely on Coachnet.
If I can't count on Coachnet when I am in a jam, why even have roadside assistance? Why pay if I end up on my own anyway?
I've come to realize first hand that GS and Coachnet are just a charade.
Sure they may help you if they can, but they will also leave you stranded if they can't. It's simply the luck of the draw with no assurances or guarantees.

[Bobbo]

Coach Net, just like Good Sams and AAA, is limited to the services that are available in the area. Not only that, but the services in the area may be unwilling to work with your provider if they feel the provider won't pay enough. It is not like the provider has these services under contract, ready to go. They have to search for them and contract with them at the time you need the service. Rural area? Few providers. Busy time period? Busy providers. Also, the percentage of providers who have the proper equipment to tow a very large RV is fairly small. If you have a big rig, your wait times will probably be much worse than someone with a modest rig.

I think all of the roadside service insurers are decent, but you can't expect miracles.

(However, I have heard that if you have AAA, but are in an area that doesn't sell AAA RV roadside, then you don't have roadside insurance.)

[joshuajim]

It’s interesting that when a semi is involved, the police manage to get a wrecker capable of towing 80,000# almost immediately. Hmmm

[Grit_dog]

More proof that optional “insurance” policies often aren’t of a net benefit to the customer.
It sucks but virtually noone will sue a corporation over $100 or $1000, so they have that going for them…

[LMHS]

I've had to use Coach-net. My experience was very good. I know what a tow in our area costs due to the "deadhead fee". When a tow can (and often does) costs over $1k, Coach-net pays for itself. Finding someone who can tow my 23,000lb bus is difficult to do. But I expect that because the tow trucks in our area that can tow something like my bus are few (as in 2 trucks with different companies over 100 miles apart). And the driver of the one we used is constantly on the road in a 1000 mile radius of his "base". These specialty tow trucks are in high demand and are few in number. Often commercial vehicles get priority over recreational vehicles.