I was appalled by the “service” I was recently given by road assistance and recovery company CAA, when I was left to wait for three hours in the scorching sun.

I was about to leave Xgħajra on the morning of Thursday, 16 August and my car wouldn’t start, so I called CAA just after 9am and was told that I would have to wait for about an hour because they were busy. I agreed to wait. An hour-and-a-half later I made my second call to see if the tow truck would be turning up any time soon, and was asked to wait a little longer. I asked whether the problem was that there was only one tow truck available, but the woman who spoke to me replied in the negative.

This was getting ridiculous, and when I called again just before 11am I asked to speak to a manager, but the woman refused to put me through, or give me the contact details of any of her superiors.

Twenty minutes later I was on my fourth call – unbelievable! I vowed not to renew my subscription with the company when it expires on 5 October, and on my fourth call at 11.44am I was finally given the name of the manager to whom I could speak to make a complaint – Stephen Grech.

The tow truck finally arrived at midday, and the mechanic established that there was a problem with the battery. He was gone within a few minutes, but I had missed half-a-day’s work and was sweating profusely.

Despite having been told that I would receive a call from manager Stephen Grech “on Monday” (20 August), he has not got in touch with me since, and I now have a subscription with another roadside assistance company. So much for all CAA’s slogans, saying that their “dedicated team of professionals offer you reliable, efficient and professional help when you need it most!”

Conrad Bondin

Xghajra