Parents with 14-month-old baby and three dogs are stranded in countryside 100 miles from home for 24 HOURS waiting for an AA recovery truck

• Charlotte and Dale Leach-Le Planche of Staffordshire took a holiday in mid Wales
• They travelled with baby Florence and three dogs but their car had a malfunction
• The young family spent over 24 hours stranded while waiting for the AA to assist
• Eventually, Mrs Leach-La Planche’s parents drove 100 miles to bring them home

A couple were ‘disgusted’ after they and their baby were left stranded in a remote area for 24 hours waiting for the AA to assist after their car broke down.

Charlotte and Dale Leach-Le Planche of Alrewas, Staffordshire, had enjoyed a holiday with their 14-month-old daughter Florence near Llanidloes, mid Wales, when they decided to head home on Sunday, August 14, at 6.30pm.

But their Ford C Max suffered an engine malfunction, leaving them stuck in the Welsh countryside in soaring temperatures. 

Ford Assistance contacted the AA and they were told they would be waiting three hours for a recovery truck.

However, it would not be until 10.30pm the following day that the family and their dogs Molly, Sprocket and Milo would get home to Alrewas. After waiting 24 hours for a solution, Mrs Leach-La Planche’s parents had to rescue her family from the roadside.

Mrs Leach-La Planche, 26, an admin assistant, said they felt ‘vulnerable’ and were ‘stranded without basic necessities’. 

Dale and Charlotte Leach-La Planche and the baby daughter Florence were stranded in mid Wales for over 24 hours waiting for help after their car had a malfunction

She added: ‘Without the generosity of the people who ran the cabins we’d been staying at, we’d have starved and had to spend the night sleeping in our car in the middle of nowhere with our baby and three dogs.

‘It seems like all the departments just didn’t talk to each other. Something’s not right here. This situation simply shouldn’t have happened.

‘How do they think this is acceptable? This is disgusting – there’s a huge safeguarding issue… they need calling out immediately.’

A mechanic arrived at 9.40pm and said the problem could not be fixed there and then, while a recovery truck couldn’t get there until the following morning. As it began to get dark and the baby was hungry, the couple had to ask bosses of the holiday cabins they were staying in to take them in for another night.

They were told the AA would call with an update at 10pm or 8am on the next day. When no phone call came, Mr Leach-La Planche, a farmer, had to call his boss at short notice to say he was not coming in.

Their dogs Molly, Sprocket and Milo were with them as they waited for the AA to send a recovery truck

Mrs Leach-La Planche rang the AA at 9am and was told a breakdown truck could not reach them for four hours. She said: ‘By now, we couldn’t stay in the accommodation, so we’re still by the roadside.

‘They said they may have a hire car if we drove an hour and 40 minutes’ drive away – how were we meant to do that? We were eating cold soup out the tin as our only food at this point.

‘The recovery driver turned up at 1.30pm, but said if he recovered the car, we’d be abandoned. There wasn’t room in the truck for us…

‘The recovery man, who was brilliant, ordered a different recovery to include us all and said it would arrive in six hours – around 6pm at night – but it never arrived. 

‘They then offered us a taxi, but we couldn’t guarantee it would take the dogs and our belongings.

‘They said our car would be collected within 72 hours and we had to leave our keys on top. Did they expect me to leave my dogs and all my stuff in the car on its own with the keys just left on top of the car?’

The couple founded themselves stuck in a remote location in searing heat and had to rely on the kindness of a holiday cabin firm for overnight accommodation

The debacle continued when, at 4.30pm, the family were told a hire car was available, but was far beyond the allowed budget and would need approval from Ford Assist, whose offices closed at 5pm. The approval was not given in time.

Mrs Leach-La Planche said: ‘We’d have had to wait until Tuesday morning to sort it. They couldn’t understand why that wasn’t okay and got very grumpy when we said we weren’t about to do that.’

At this point, the couple began to feel desperate and called Mrs Leach-La Planche’s parents to come and get them. She said: ‘It was starting to get darker and the AA were telling us they couldn’t do anything to help us tonight. A woman called Karen from the AA called – she was so understanding.

‘She said they’d give us £150 in a cheque. She was apologising and we were crying over the phone.’

The couple have made a formal complaint against both the AA and Ford Assist. They said they were left ‘disgusted’ by how they were treated.

The car has since been recovered to the dealership. The AA has now apologised.

An AA spokesperson said: ‘We have investigated the incident and are deeply sorry to find that the customer experienced an unacceptable delay for service and onward travel, with poor communication, which fell below our usual high standards.

‘We have found there were communication failings with the customer in our own teams, as well as with the external company we liaised with to arrange the hire car. 

‘Unfortunately, issues with the hire car were exacerbated by the remote location of the breakdown.

‘We have been in contact with the customer to apologise and provide compensation for the inconvenience caused. We will also ensure they are reimbursed for the costs incurred from their overnight stay. 

‘We would like to extend our apologies once more to the customer and we will be reviewing our internal processes to ensure it does not happen again.’

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