If you are thinking of travelling to France in the near future you should take note of a new warning about European Breakdown Cover, Rescue My Car can reveal.

Recent reports from our own customers has brought to light a change in the way the French authorities are beginning to deal with European breakdown issues.

According to those to have broken down while in the country the Police there are now the ONLY authority now allowed to dispatch recovery vehicles to a public road.

That means you must be prepared to have the cash to pay for a breakdown recovery initially before then claiming back a refund through your European breakdown insurance policy.

Police will often answer your breakdown call and get a local recovery agent to pick you up and repair your car, either at the roadside or a local garage. They will require payment for any work carried out so make sure you get a receipt from them as you can then easily reclaim that money through your European breakdown cover policy.

The police then arrange for the car to be recovered locally and the motorist is then charged by the recovery firm, which often does not have any connection with their UK breakdown cover provider.

Police dispatching procedures are one of the many pieces of road legislation that are different in continental Europe. For more tips on what you need when driving in European countries follow this link to our European driving tips article.

For more European breakdown cover advice, or to take out a policy call us on 0800 0199519.