National Breakdown operates as a nationwide recovery broker from its Bradford office, taking calls and dispatching local subcontracted recovery firms such as SC Recovery Services and Rosebank Recovery to roadside jobs across the country. Reviewers who get through quickly and receive an on-time, clearly priced callout are consistently positive about the friendliness and speed of the attending drivers, with several praising fast turnarounds from breakdown to being back on the road. However, a recurring theme among the less positive reviews is long or extended waits on the roadside, including waits of several hours with poor updates on a revised ETA, and being asked to pay extra on top of the quoted price once a local recovery vehicle became unavailable. As a towing service in Bradford, National Breakdown holds a 4.8-star average from 3,504 Google reviews.
Reviews
4.8 / 5 · 3504 totalI spent 2 hours waiting by the side of the road. As a vulnerable disabled female this roadside wait was terrifying, leaving me to agree to anything on the phone to get it resolved as quickly as possible. Once they confirmed payment and triggered a driver the solution was quick and on time and so I would not hold it against the local garage but the time to actually trigger a recovery was disappointing. Additionally I was presured into paying an additional £80 because the local recovery was unavailable. The recovery truck that came had quick and easy access to me and he expressed his dismay at the amount I was charged compared to how much gets passed onto them. If i ever need this help in the future I will ensure I use a local garage with a recovery truck even if it means more research. Really appreciate rosebank recovery who arrived earlier than what national recovery said and quickly and calmly loaded the vehicle and helped me leave it at a garage.
My car refused to start in a multistory car park on one of the hottest days of the year. I don't have breakdown cover. I waited on hold for RAC and Green Flag, and national breakdown picked up quickly, were clear about the price and the wait. Mechanic turned up much faster than predicted and was friendly and helpful and enabled me to get home. Of course you pay a premium for not having cover, but that's the gamble you take by not having cover.
After I had called for assistance, within 5 minutes, I had recieved an ETA from the agent. Upon arriving the agent identified the problem and set about temporarily repairing. The temporary repair in place, the engine was checked electronically and mechanically and deemed safe. Throughout my time waiting, the main office and agent were in continual contact. A very good service, thankyou very much.
Staff were friendly and helpful on the call however, when the roadside assistance arrived after 3.5hours waiting on the motorway with 2 young children they were shocked at the length of time we had waited. We got a flat tyre on the motorway and by the time we pulled onto the hard shoulder, got out the car checked what happened and checked insurance policies we called for assistance at 5pm, we were advised it may take around 1.5hrs before someone can get to us but they would try to get someone out as soon as possible as we have 2 young children with us but, this was fine. Got a text to say ETA 7pm. We got a call back at 6:45pm advising that we needed to pay extra for the specific tyre we required, okay that's fine has to be done. We were advised we would get an update via text on the ETA. No update was provided. We called back at 7:15 for an update and we were advised it would be a further 1.5hrs wait. Absolutely unacceptable!!! The told oh no it's only going to be 45 minutes actually and they're sorry that we didn't get an update on this new ETA. Grant, the man that came to change the tyre couldn't believe how long we had waited he told us he was only called at 6.20pm then waited another 30 minutes before he was confirmed to dispatch to us. He arrived at 7:55pm and he had us sorted and back on the road in 15 minutes. His service was spot on! We feel really let down by the communication that lead to a long wait on the motorway in poor weather conditions with 2 young children.
Staff were friendly and quick to answer my call. Very helpful. The necessary proof of travel dates ( as we were in Europe), and the payment link for the excess took time to negotiate before our ‘claim’ was activated but we fully understood this was necessary. The man who turned up was very helpful, kept in touch re time frames and offered advice to assist us after our breakdown had been dealt with. Overall we were very pleased with the service.
Recovery arrived around specified time, loaded up car no problem even tho was in an awkward place and went straight off to garage. Very pleasant chap. Great service. 👍
Broke down in works lorry. Rang the number. The guy on the phone was very good explaining everything. The recovery truck arrived very quickly too . Nice guy. From first phone call to recovery 2 hours max. Excellent service