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QDOS Breakdown is an emerging brand within the UK and international motoring industry.
QDOS Breakdown is a fairly new breakdown cover provider. Only beginning their breakdown recovery operations in 2011, they’ve quickly emerged as a competitor to other breakdown recovery businesses in the country and could offer the best UK breakdown cover.
With QDOS still not an established brand within the breakdown cover industry, it may be unclear for many if they should trust this brand and if they provide a level of service that matches or even competes against the AA, Green Flag, and RAC.
Here’s an impartial review of QDOS, detailing their services, prices, and product quality.
QDOS Breakdown is a breakdown recovery service able to help cars, motorbikes and vans, and fleets of vehicles.
Being able to easily cover multiple cars makes them an interesting breakdown cover option for business owners, as it can make admin a lot easier.
QDOS Breakdown is a sub-section of the QDOS Insurance services group, which has been acting as an insurance intermediary since 2007. They first started to offer breakdown cover in 2011.
Being new, the brand is focused on forging a reputation as a dependable breakdown recovery service.
QDOS’s unique selling point, according to them, is how they’ve put the customer first. Providing a good quality of care is their number one mission statement, and they have in the past utilised feedback from questionnaires to better tailor and improve their products.
They do seem to be a business that listens, taking suggestions on board to improve their quality, which many people will appreciate.
With QDOS Breakdown, you can expect to see the common services that you usually see offered by other companies that specialise in roadside recovery. On their base plan, you’ll be able to get roadside assistance. This is where a mechanic will come to your location to fix your car if you break down on the side of the road.
What’s good about QDOS is that there are no excess or callout charges, meaning that in addition to your yearly cover, you won’t have to pay any extra, even if it’s for repeat problems. This isn’t the case for all breakdown cover providers, which is a huge advantage for the emerging brand.
It’s said that 4 out of 5 vehicles are fixed on the roadside when using QDOS Breakdown, meaning that there’s no need to tow them to a garage to repair them there. This is a good rate of success and means that when you are seen, you’re likely to have the issue sorted there, which improves convenience.
QDOS Breakdown also offers additional services that you can add to your plan. One level you can add to your cover is Home-Start assistance. This is essentially the same as roadside assistance, although you’ll be able to call for help if you can’t get your car started from your driveway. You do not get this in the standard level cover, and it can be useful if you have a flat battery and need it to be replaced or jump-started.
You can also add European breakdown cover to your plan, again for an additional price. This means that if you break down while travelling in any country in Europe, you’ll be covered and be able to get roadside assistance without having to pay extra.
Like other companies, you can choose if you’d like personal cover, where you’re covered in any vehicle, or vehicle cover, where anyone using that vehicle is covered. When choosing personal cover, you can cover a driver and add up to 7 passengers to that policy.
Another thing that makes QDOS standout is that caravan and trailer cover is included for free on their standard policy, providing that you’re only getting UK cover. This is great for local holidayers and could be a feature that gives this brand extra value when compared to others.
You can also add national recovery, which is where you can get towed to any garage in the UK of your choice, and you can also get Onward Journey cover. This is where you get a hire car or public transport for free if your vehicle needs to stay in the garage for a while.
QDOS states that their roadside assistance can take up to 1 hour to arrive, which is comparable to some of the other leading services.
However, when looking at customer reviews and stories, many customers have had to wait a lot longer in the past, suggesting that the service may not be as reliable as intended.
The annual price of persoanl QDOS Breakdown cover starts at £59.99 for a year per person. This is a lot cheaper than some of the options available, allowing you to make massive savings.
The more you add to your policy, the more expensive it’ll cost. For example, when adding Home Start assistance to a roadside recovery policy, it may increase the price of your cover by £10.
It’s also worth noting that vehicle cover is usually a bit cheaper than the personal cover. So, if you’re in a family that shares one vehicle, it may be cheaper to get cover for that one car than getting cover for each driver, especially if no one drives another vehicle.
When getting personal cover for one driver and adding all the additional extras, such as national recovery and onward journey cover, the total price quoted is £85.99 for the year. This is less than other options, making it a good budget choice.
However, it’s worth noting that if you’re looking for European cover, you can only get it when getting a policy to cover your vehicle; you can’t get it for personal cover.
The QDOS company does not just provide breakdown cover. As mentioned earlier, QDOS started as an insurance intermediary in 2007. This means that you can also get other types of insurance products from this brand.
One of the biggest other options the QDOS insurance group offers is gadget insurance. Here you can get your expensive electronics covered, meaning that if they’re damaged or stolen, you’ll be able to get them protected. With this policy, you’ll be able to get discounts on subsequent gadgets, which means you can get better value for money on your policy.
At the moment, QDOS has a good reputation among customers, boasting a 4.3 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot. This score actually makes it better than the likes of the AA and RAC, according to reviewers, despite being a much cheaper option than both.
However, when looking deeper into the reviews, 25% of reviewers rated it as bad. This means that one in every four people seems to have had a bad experience with the brand, meaning that you should be a bit more cautious when using it.
Among the negative reviews, a recurring complaint was the wait time, with some saying recovery could take as long as 7 hours.
Another common complaint regarding QDOS Breakdown is that communication can be pretty poor. Many previous customers have stated that getting support from their customer service team is challenging, as a lot was passed from person to person without getting assistance, even for routine issues.
Although some negative reviews against QDOS can make it appear less trustworthy, on the whole, it seems to be a very good service and has cultivated a good reputation within the UK.
What you see is what you pay for with QDOS, and there are no hidden fees. In fact, QDOS do a good job communicating exactly what you get with their service. They have a comparison table on their website detailing what you can get with them and what you can’t get that their competitors offer. This can make it really easy to compare the different brands and find the right fit for you.
If you’re happy not having some of these more specific features, then QDOS can be a great option, especially if you want breakdown cover on a budget.
It’s worth bearing in mind that when you first get a policy with QDOS, you won’t be covered for the first 48 hours. This is actually standard with many providers and is done to deter fraudulent claims.
It does mean that you can be in a bit of a predicament if you get into issues during this time period. This is why it’s essential to get your breakdown cover sorted early and not wait until your car shows signs of problems.
QDOS claim to be an emerging force in the motoring industry, and after reviewing it, this could be the case. They offer good services at their cheapest price plan and give you the ability to build a comprehensive cover for a good, fair price.
Despite being one of the newest breakdown cover providers in the UK, it’s risen quickly to become one of the best and is definitely one you should consider.