Battle with the AA

[easyasit]

Hi all

A few in addtion to Matt Kendalls story regarding orange i thought i might advise you of another battle i am in the process of fighting.

I have been a loyal customers of the Automobile Association. you know the one whose slogan is "To our members we are the fourth emergency service"
This is also the same company that would not help the family of the dead man becuse his membership had expired.

We i now cross swords with them.
I have always maintained the highest membership cover with the AA, including home assistance, and the repatriation cover. If you break down and your car will NOT go, they will take you and up to 8 ppl to whereever it is you are going.
A few weeks ago, i had a puncture on my car, it caught me on the M25.
Realising also that my spare was no good as i only changed this the previous day. I contacted the AA for assistance.
This was a Friday at around 8pm.
Feeling assured in myself that i had the max cover i conbcted them, and epxlained the situation to them about the spare.
They sent out a recovery truck but told me i would have to pay for this service. On the grounds that i diod not have a servicable spare.

I argued this case with them but to no avail.

some fo you might think this serves me right, but its not the point, i pay for the service. Also given that some makes and models of cars do not even carry spare tyres this also seems to amount to discrimination.
For the record the charge was over £200

I have been unable to email the complaint, so lets see what happens wen i contact the Directors of the company.
I will keep you posted.

Al

[Ravenfire]

OMG that is disgusting. Do they specify this in their terms and conditions though? I would definitely take it higher. Good luck

Toni

[creacom]

I have always maintained the highest membership cover with the AA, including home assistance, and the repatriation cover. If you break down and your car will NOT go, they will take you and up to 8 ppl to whereever it is you are going.
Al

Thats a tough one Al.

By law we are required to carry a spare tyre that is fit to use in case of emergencies. So they will argue that you were breaking the law.

Im not saying you are wrong and can understand why you are annoyed.

Just one point that made me laugh - Why do they guarantee to take up to 8 people to the destination ?! Surely you cant get 8 people in a car in the first place ? :lol:

Jacqui

[creacom]

Infact after a quick check I will have to correct myself.......

By law you are not required to carry a spare tyre. If you choose to, it must be within the regulations for pressure, tread etc...

Ive just checked my breakdown insurance policy and it states that I have to carry around one, which I do. If I dont have it then they will charge me for it if I call them out for a puncture.

Jacqui

[Cornish Steve]

Ive just checked my breakdown insurance policy and it states that I have to carry around one, which I do. If I dont have it then they will charge me for it if I call them out for a puncture.

Jacqui
Sounds like an opportunity for an entrepreneur. Offer a rider to the AA's policy. You'll cover the cost of towing if a customer suffers a puncture and has no spare tyre available. Who'd object to paying an extra £20 a year for this?

[easyasit]

i will need to read the terms and conditions of my policy i think in greater details.
But i am still going to kick up a stinker about this as NOT all cars carry a spare as specified. In many cases it is because there isn't the space to :-)

As with you i did think i had broken the law so i stayed quite, not i know its not a legal requiement i can argue the case :-)

As for the party of 8 ppl, well to be fair it could be a minibus u were drving that broke down.
Their recover vehicles only carry up to 8 ppl, this is why :-)

Al

[fastfences]

Hi Al,
This may seem a little 'callous'; but you took a gamble (by not repairing spare) and lost. This is no different than having had your home insured at the top cover for 15 years, then forgetting to renew and your home burns down 2 days later. Can you blame them? It is a 'business' not a community service.

with cheers and respect, Nigel

[creacom]

i will need to read the terms and conditions of my policy i think in greater details.
But i am still going to kick up a stinker about this as NOT all cars carry a spare as specified. In many cases it is because there isn't the space to :-)
Al

I agree that you need to read the terms and conditions and see what your policy includes. We always learn the hard way with that !

Does your car have the space to carry a spare tyre ?

[easyasit]

i can see where you are all coming from
Not so sure i understand fastfences comments of "Not running a community service" i pay a fortune for the pleasure of their service.

just seems a bit rich being charged the earth for a service i pay for.

Al

[Claire B]

Ive just checked my breakdown insurance policy and it states that I have to carry around one,
Jacqui

I'm being very silly here but what would they do if you carried a square one?

sorry, it's been a long week and the children are finally in bed, so I have started on a bottle of good red wine :D :D

[Cornish Steve]

I'm being very silly here but what would they do if you carried a square one?
Did you ever watch Carry On Cleo? I seem to remember Kenneth Connor riding a bike with square wheels. I used to love those movies as a child, until they started getting too smutty.

[creacom]

just seems a bit rich being charged the earth for a service i pay for.

Al

Well, you probably dont pay for the service of replacing and supplying a spare tyre thats why you need to read the small print.

Thats how they make money. They have to include clauses and rules about somethings. Otherwise they wouldnt make a profit. I think Nigel was trying to get across that point too. They need to have rules about the limits of their services.

Can you imagine how many tyres they would need to carry around with them eachday if we were able to call them out as standard eachtime we got a puncture ?! We would have to wait days for them to pick us up from the roadside because everyone would be calling them !!

Good luck with your battle anyway.

Jacqui

[Urban Space]

Hmmm I second what Nigel said, it's just one of those things that happen. They've got a policy to stick to, you need go through the t&c's with a fine tooth-comb before going further.

I can't wait to drive; sounds like a barrel of laughs! :lol:!

Liam

[creacom]

I guess that if your car doesnt have the allocated space either in the boot or under the car to carry a spare tyre you might have room to contest. But I would imagine that pretty much every car has that thesedays.

[visagephoto]

I was an AA member years ago, and one night while in town and the car was parked, my two front tyres were mysteriously punctured?. I called out the AA and their rescue van took my two front wheels off for repair, leaving me with a servicable spare in the boot. All it cost me was the garage puncture repair costs, therefore. . .

What if you get two punctures at the same time?

If you get a puncture and have no spare, puncture another tyre, they can't argue that you should carry two spares, and the cost of the extra puncture repair won't be anywhere near £200.

Or couldn't you argue that your spare had been used to replace a previous puncture on the same journey?

[Jayne]

I had two punctures at the same time, one at the front and one at the back. Therefore having a spare wouldn't have done me any good. I was lucky as I wasn't far from home and my hubby came to my rescue :D

I'm with the RAC and they are lovely. I would never use the AA as my hubands used them and they took ages to get there. Last time I called out the RAC, they were there in less than 20 mins. With the RAC too, it's you who are insured against breakdown, not the car.

I'd phone them and say that you had two punctures within half an hour of each other, see what they say! I know they have T&C, but to me, good customer service would be to bend the rules a little now and again.

Jayne :D

[easyasit]

you see jayne as per usual you know just what to say

Its good customer service, to know when to bend the rules. doing what is right rather than what is
The whole point to my post.
and why i prob will still fight it, just to see how far i get :-)

Al

[Tazuk]

I wouldn't have bothered and just called quickfit or auto tyres it cost me £75 for call out, fitting and tyre on the roadside.

[Hayles]

Your helicopter has tyres.....?

Wow, all terrain then :lol:

[Hedgehog Toys]

THe problem is that you stated you told them the situation with the spare, if you had just called them out to change a puncture then they guy in the van would have just taken the wheel and had a repair done , because you told them you knew about the duff spare they obviously thought...ah ha.. poorly maintained car lets charge him !!!! Thats the way they work i'm afraid.

[Tazuk]

Its an all purpose chopper, swiss army knife of the skies

[Andriy]

just seems a bit rich being charged the earth for a service i pay for.

Al

Well, you probably dont pay for the service of replacing and supplying a spare tyre thats why you need to read the small print.

Thats how they make money. They have to include clauses and rules about somethings. Otherwise they wouldnt make a profit. I think Nigel was trying to get across that point too. They need to have rules about the limits of their services.

Can you imagine how many tyres they would need to carry around with them eachday if we were able to call them out as standard eachtime we got a puncture ?! We would have to wait days for them to pick us up from the roadside because everyone would be calling them !!

Good luck with your battle anyway.

Jacqui


So, what is the point to pay for those services?

[coxadmin]

I'm with the RAC and I do know that they expect you to have a serviceable spare tyre - I don't know how they'd handle 2 punctures.

I had to call them out for a puncture at home and they asked if I had a spare - I told them I did but I didn't where on the car it was stored! We have a people carrier and there's no way I would have considered underneath the car! I just knew it wasn't in the boot.

[creacom]

just seems a bit rich being charged the earth for a service i pay for.

Al

Well, you probably dont pay for the service of replacing and supplying a spare tyre thats why you need to read the small print.

Thats how they make money. They have to include clauses and rules about somethings. Otherwise they wouldnt make a profit. I think Nigel was trying to get across that point too. They need to have rules about the limits of their services.

Can you imagine how many tyres they would need to carry around with them eachday if we were able to call them out as standard eachtime we got a puncture ?! We would have to wait days for them to pick us up from the roadside because everyone would be calling them !!

Good luck with your battle anyway.

Jacqui


So, what is the point to pay for those services?



Well there are a lot of other services that we pay for apart from spare tyres. Punctures are quite common and tyres are expensive so its either we pay a higher yearly fee for them to supply and change them or you do it yourself ! I would rather keep the lower fee and change it myself. But thats just my opinion.

Jacqui :D

[visagephoto]

Punctures are quite common and tyres are expensive so its either we pay a higher yearly fee for them to supply and change them or you do it yourself ! I would rather keep the lower fee and change it myself. But thats just my opinion.
Jacqui :D

When the AA, RAC, etc. attend a breakdown, you have to pay the cost of any parts and third party services required, your subscription only covers the service.

The cost of new tyres, or puncture repairs are paid by the driver, therefore the fact that they are expensive shouldn't affect your annual fees.

[creacom]

I know that. My point was that if this wasnt the case and if in a perfect world they covered the cost of the new tyre the annual fee would go up.

Jacqui

[DarrenC]

I have an easy solution.

Buy a mountain bike - you should see the pi$$ed off drivers when I'm flying past them during busy rush hour traffic :lol:

[Jayne]

I can change my own tyres, so wouldn't call the RAC out for that anyway! I didn't even call them when I had two tyre go at the same time. I'd be embarrassed to phone them to say I want them to change my Tyre, it's not like it's hard to do. I would only call them out, if I couldn't sort out the problem myself.

And I'm a woman, so if I can do it, anyone can (unless they have disabilities of cause or are two wimpy to lift a tyre :D )

Jayne :D

[Hedgehog Toys]

I have to agree Jayne, changing a tyre is relatively easy providing you are fit and able bodied. A lot of people call them out just because they are being lazy.

[SillyJokes]

Actually, I can't get the nuts off my tires and neither can top hat after the tyre people have put them on with a machine. They are too tight and the wheel changing kit they provide with the car is not strong enough and burrs the headd of the nut.

I think we have bought a special long handled thingie now that can actually turn them, but it's not standard issue.

[Cornish Steve]

It's all a matter of customer service. I admit that I am the most useless person on earth when it comes to practical matters. I have trouble changing a light bulb, let alone a tyre. If I am willing to pay a little extra for full service (i.e., tow me if I have a flat tyre and carry no spare), why not offer me the service? It's a great business opportunity: customer has need, customer is willing to pay, supplier can offer the service.

[SillyJokes]

You really don't know hte car insurance market do you Steve?

It is incredibly cut throat and price driven

[Cornish Steve]

You really don't know hte car insurance market do you Steve?

It is incredibly cut throat and price driven
You're quite right: I know nothing about that market. On the other hand, I know that I would buy such a service, so there's a market and there's a need. While most people may still take basic service to save money, I would pay the extra.

[creacom]

I agree with you Steve.

If I just go back to my last point, yes it is a very competitive industry but there is still room at the top end of the service. It would be good for some people to pay extra to have a spare tyre delivered to you and changed at the roadside. At the moment this is not included in the majority of most insurance policies. Thats why after reading the small print it is imprtant to make sure you have a spare in the boot or under your car. I imagine that all cars have this space now.

Also, make sure you read through the small print of your insurance docs.

Jacqui