Breakdown Cover - Rant!

[DHallworth]

I've had AA membership now for 3 years. The original guy caught me off guard when I came out of B&Q one Sunday afternoon and it seemed like a good idea so I signed up at a discounted rate for the year as a special promotion.

Last year I got the renewal through and it was about £50 more then it would of been for a new customer so I rang them up and they price matched the special offer I'd of had should I have been joining again.

This morning the renewal landed on the doorstep and upon opening it the price has jumped up to £244, up from the £130 I paid last year.

I've done a bit of shopping around this morning and found that the RAC are offering the full package, Roadside, Relay and Home Start for £119. Out of interest I went to the AA website and found that they are offering the same package at the same price as the RAC, £125 cheaper then I was quoted for the renewal.

I rang the AA and asked them why as an existing and loyal customer who had one call out this year they are trying to take the proverbial and they dropped the price from £244 to £160.

Companies that do this really hack me off. They rely on people not reading the paperwork and paying the higher price yet if you call them on it they will reduce the price. Admiral did it to me with my insurance this year on the Range Rover and the 407 Coupe. When I challenged them they dropped the price by over £100! I still ended up leaving mind you as Direct Line were over £100 cheaper again.

In the end the AA still wanted £40 more from me to renew as an existing member then they did for a new member so I've cancelled my membership.

According to the "membership consultant" I can't rejoin as a new member for 6 weeks after leaving however the website has just accepted my application for a new membership.

Just makes you realise you get nothing without asking/challenging people these days.

David.

[Xaccers]

That's why I gave up on the AA plus their poor service in MK and joined GEM.
Saved a packet and got a £20 M&S voucher for the wife.

[DHallworth]

I was sorely tempted to leave as well to be honest, but I only ever use them for recovery home if I'm down south. My sisters car broke down at Manchester airport and they managed to break the wiring loom before deciding to recover the car back to Glasgow!

If I'm in the XM or the Activa I usually tell them it's not mendable at the side of the road and they send a truck instantly anyway.

David.

[Northern_Mike]

The AA have generally been ok for me over the years down in here in the South East. They tried the p**s-taking trick with me in September at renewal time so I'm with the RAC now after 20 years with the AA.

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[citronut]

my misus has RAC personal cover which costs her £10 squid a month, and what ever car she is in// with whoever the car will be covered,

no home start though,

[addo]

Xac - I think they got the better of you in that swap.

[evilally]

Yes, I got fed up with it and cancelled. Check out AutoAid, I have similar cover for £39 a year. You pay the cost of recovery up front and then claim it back. Seems to work well according what I've found on Google.

[Northern_Mike]

I did have another option for a while when divorce made me poor. I drove round in cars that weren't worth having recovered. I had a ZX which the water pump failed and threw the timing belt off at "motorway speeds" just south of Sandbach services on the M6 in the outer lane. I coasted as far as it would go, which was about 200yds short of the entrance to Sandbach. Plod towed me off the motorway once the fire services had attended. I left the car in a car park space with the keys in, took the battery, stereo and tax disc. Alerted the authorities as to why it was there, then called a local scrappy to go and get it the next day. He even gave me £100 for it when I dropped the log book off a few days later.

[ACTIVE8]

Yes, I got fed up with it and cancelled. Check out AutoAid, I have similar cover for £39 a year. You pay the cost of recovery up front and then claim it back. Seems to work well according what I've found on Google.

Thanks for that, will have to check it out, it appears the A.A. are taking the oui with us as well, so I think I won't be saying yes to them this time!

[taffy]

dont go green flag they pissed me off..
i hit a speed bump(not fast as it was a big one) and my wheel came off..they wouldnt come and pick me up cause it was a speedbump...i said whats the difference in hitting a pot hole to which they wouldnt discuss so i cancelled straight away..i think aa and rac are onlyones that cover u in someone elses cartoo

[citronut]

dont go green flag they pissed me off..
i hit a speed bump(not fast as it was a big one) and my wheel came off..they wouldnt come and pick me up cause it was a speedbump...i said whats the difference in hitting a pot hole to which they wouldnt discuss so i cancelled straight away..i think aa and rac are onlyones that cover u in someone elses cartoo

we used to use Green flag for quite a few year with no real problems, apart from there premiums were on the up,

we found there service very good when we had to use them,

there break down trucks are from local garages to were you break down ( i mean the car breaks down )

[rabenson]

I get my cover via Adrian flux insurance - costs around £50 per year for full European breakdown / relay / homestart. Only called them out once in uk and once in France and both times were brilliant