AA

[daviemck2006]

Another rant. Letter in from the AA saying my renewal is due. I have basic cover plus relay, home start, roadside, and breakdown repair. I was paying £17.63 a month which I thought was ok, given that I have used it 3 times, got the c2 towed to citroen and £500 towards the bill, I got shaun's fiesta towed home 35 miles, and I got a new attery for the c5 which is now in Kerri's Astra. New renewal price £29.55 per month! One phone call later to customer service saying stuff it i'm leaving and it is down to £18.21. I still very nearly left as had I been the kind just to accept their story that I was on a discounted starter rate and now it's up I would have been ripped off. I hate companies who do that. But, I have agreed to stay as due to my health I cant really fix cars at the side of the road, and need the security of getting the car home if it does break. Quite a bit of this is for the breakdown repair insurance, which has paid off twice for me over the year, so well I shall keep it for just now. It only covers one nominated car, so it will transfer onto whatever I buy to replace the c5.

[elma]

Could always swap to Rac or Greenflag. I play them off against each other once a year. They should offer conference call bartering to speed things up.

[CitroJim]

Try Britannia Rescue Davie.. With my CSMA discount I pay 88 quid a year for all my cars and any cars I'm a passenger in...

[evilally]

Yes, precisely why I got fed up with the AA and left. 40% price hike come every renewal, despite having never used a breakdown service in my life. They gave me the same story about "introductory offer" which is nowhere to be seen on the original paperwork. They rely on customer apathy to hike the premiums up to obviously uncompetitive prices, not a very ethical way of operating in my opinion, so I told them to stuff it last time. I'm now with Autoaid which offers a fairly comprehensive policy for £39 a year, you pay the cost of recovery up front and claim it back, seems to work well according to internet.

[MikeT]

Pro-tip: AA will allow you to join after you've broken down and honour an immediate request for assistance. By buying cover only when actually needed it, it's costs me just two years cover for my entire motoring life as I cancel come the renewal price-hike.

[citronut]

my missus pays RAC £14 a moth, this is personal cover not linked to any car no matter on the cars age, covers any car she is with/in,
also European cover for the year,

without the European cover it costs £11 a month,

most comanies will not give European cover for cars over 7 years old

[daviemck2006]

My cover is for me in any vehicle I am in, and breakdown cover which pays garage bills up to a maximum of £500 per claim for one nominated vehicle as long as it is a breakdown you call the aa out for. It paid off last year when they paid 1/2 the repair to the c2 and a new battery into the c5. I've decided to stay with that this year. I'm never really far from home but, knowing my luck I would break down when on the motorway on the way to Carluke! So I'll keep the relay for that.

[KP]

Every year i hit quidco and make a nice payment back. Think it was just over £100 this year for Roadside & Relay.

Strangely when i input the number plate from any of my collection for their warranty jobby thingy they have a hissy fit and the quote doubles!

Last year i got £30 back and this year the way it worked out i got it off straight away

[macAU]

So many businesses apply this 'Lazy Tax' - they send out a renewal for their services at a higher price than they might offer a direct enquiry. They depend on the customer being too lazy or apathetic to 'shop around'

Even more annoying is the tendency to offer specials to 'new customers' and exclude existing ones. So much for rewarding customer loyalty.

[Northern_Mike]

Even more annoying is the tendency to offer specials to 'new customers' and exclude existing ones. So much for rewarding customer loyalty.

Yes. We had this just recently with our TV and broadband supplier.

I simply cancelled their services. Lo and behold, my wife, who hasn't got my surname, rang up shortly afterwards, said she was moving in the day my services would cease... and took up their new customer deals....

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[dnsey]

There's usually room for negotiation.
I recently upgraded my broadband service, and was, unsurprisingly, quoted a higher price.
A polite request resulted in my obtaining the new customer introductory offer (6 months free, and £50 cashback) with no trouble at all.

[CitroJim]

So many businesses apply this 'Lazy Tax'

Admiral are shockers for this. Always call them and have a haggle. It's amazing how much then comes off...

[wheeler]

Pro-tip: AA will allow you to join after you've broken down and honour an immediate request for assistance. By buying cover only when actually needed it, it's costs me just two years cover for my entire motoring life as I cancel come the renewal price-hike.

That's true but you pay a surcharge if you need to join when you are already broken down & if you take out relay It only covers the first 50 miles if you need to use it straight away, there is a mileage charge of around £2.50 per mile after the first 50 miles, not cheap if you are on holiday 400 miles from home.

[Trainman]

I got RAC through the CCC and it was £40 for the year, Home Start, Roadside, Recovery, onward travel etc.....

[daviemck2006]

Is that for one nominated car, or for yourself in any car Steve? I have the full works for myself in any car, and garage bills insurance cover for one nominated car.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk