AA left me stranded for 3 hours - Any advice?

[kandi]

Hi, I'm just writing a letter of complaint to the AA for leaving me (a little lady) stranded on my own in a hot car with no access to water (or services!) on a rural road for 3 hours.

I've got full AA membership and my car overheated this afternoon.
I called them and they said someone would be with me in 1hr and 20 mins.
After 1.5 hours they called to say no-one was on their way and it would take another 1.5 hours for their nearest technician to get to me!

I couldn't wait that long (TMI but apart from being hot, tired and grumpy - AF was with me and I couldn't risk it!)

I eventually made it to the service center - stopping every 5 minutes to let the engine cool down.

This is on their website: "FAST repairs – we arrive within 40 minutes and fix your car within 30 minutes, on average"
PAH !

3 HOURS - what am I paying membership for?!

There's nothing in their terms to say what happens if they don't attend a breakdown.

Just wondered if anyone else has been left stranded by the AA?
or if anyone has any advice before I send my letter to them?

Much appreciated xx

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

its not their fault it was hot or you had no water

the website says on average

i dont think its worth bothering

you need to ask why your car over heated? poorly maintained?

[ozvaldinho]

Consider yourself lucky, they normally prioritise "little ladies" like yourself at the expense of fat hairy blokes like myself. I'd probably have been there all day...

The AA are top guys, but like all services, they can get very busy. A lot depends on just where you break down. I've had responses in less than 5 minutes before.

That said, I've heard of worse delays. A skint student pal didn't have petrol money to get home from uni...he 'broke' his motorbike so he could get a towtruck home and the RAC left him all day by the roadside in the rain. A passer-by noticed him on her way to work in the morning. When she saw him still there on the way home from work in the evening, she took pity on him and went to buy him some fish and chips.

We mainly use the RAC at work, and they have occasional glitches too. That's life, I'm afraid.

[anewman]

Guess there's nothing stopping you writing a letter of complaint, but I wouldn't expect anything more than an apology and maybe a good will gesture out of them. I guess the key issues really are that you are a woman, they estimated 1 hour 20 minutes and didn't make an attempt to call you to notify it would be much longer.

As said above, I wonder if there's a chance the car has not been well maintained or properly serviced causing it to break down. Many people think if it isn't broke, don't fix it, then wonder why something has gone wrong later.

Being impatient and driving the car in that manner is more likely to cause damage than anything else. The water is there to circulate heat for a reason.

[Conor]

I guess there were people who were a higher priority than you such as a woman with her kids....

As olsvaldhino said, be grateful you're not a bloke - you end up at the bottom of the list.

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

always makes me laugh when women bang on about equal rights....

[vikingaero]

I guess there were people who were a higher priority than you such as a woman with her kids....

As olsvaldhino said, be grateful you're not a bloke - you end up at the bottom of the list.

The point is that if the "woman" getting priority is your mum, sister, grandmother etc then you are happy for that the happen. The worst cases are the women who pretend they are at risk when in reality they have broken down outside whilst visiting their mates.

[banger9365]

i agree with you put there has to be a order ,females will allways get priority over a man (so they should)put when you start adding kids,oaps that need medication,diabled drivers and things like that they no longer become priority in the day time put in the night things may change again

[jhp]

they estimated 1 hour 20 minutes and didn't make an attempt to call you to notify it would be much longer.

:confused: But the Op said they did call her.


"After 1.5 hours they called to say no-one was on their way and it would take another 1.5 hours for their nearest technician to get to me!"

[reduceditem]

If I was you I'd be kicking up a right old fuss about it....and I'm a bloke.

3 hours for a single woman in a remote rural location is outrageous.

Phone them up and go ballistic...I'd be expecting free annual renewal or AT THE VERY LEAST an upgraded membership and apology.

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

by your own admission it was a rural location

[Voyager2002]

Three hours is nothing. Consider yourself fortunate that you received same-day service.

Yes, by all means write a letter of complaint. They have a rubbish bin that needs filling.

[reduceditem]

''priority service if you're in a vulnerable situation''

....that's right of their website. Let's review:

A single lady on a rural road is left waiting for 3 hours. I'm astonished people think this is ok. It is shocking service...and if it had happened to your own mother or gran you'd all be up in arms about it.

[whatatwit]

Did the AA actually get to your car and more importantly did you tell them that you and your car were on the move?

They may have arrived at your given location to find you gone, or as if you told them you had got the car moving, they decided you were no longer in need of help and went to rescue one of the hairy blokes. :D

[Road_Hog]

i agree with you put there has to be a order ,females will allways get priority over a man (so they should)put when you start adding kids,oaps that need medication,diabled drivers and things like that they no longer become priority in the day time put in the night things may change again

Then should they pay a premium for that?

As someone has already said, if they want equality, then surely they should take the rough with the smooth?

Also if a man pays the same rate, surely he should receive the same level of service, or does the equality only relate to the positive benefits, like equal pay?

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

''priority service if you're in a vulnerable situation''

....that's right of their website. Let's review:

A single lady on a rural road is left waiting for 3 hours. I'm astonished people think this is ok. It is shocking service...and if it had happened to your own mother or gran you'd all be up in arms about it.


the thing is nothing bad happened and the likelyhood is it wont

If she was that worried she could of run a friend or the police

I bet the same females that moan about being stranded are the same that will happily walk through a city centre at night alone

[RedBern]

the AA is a rubbish service - my husband once had a breakdown in really bad weather a few winters ago - went through what looked like a puddle and it was about 2 foot deep and knackered the engine. He explained he and my 2 sons (who were about 14 and 12 at the time) were returning from a kayaking trip and were cold and damp and in a rural location with nowhere to go to get warm. The AA left them for 2 hours before they rang ME at home to ask how to find them - they were in the Brecon Beacons somewhere and they'd sent a van to north Wales to a village with a similar name but which wasn't on the main road out of Brecon as they'd been advised! By the time they got home there was a real risk of hypothermia - which they acknowledged, apologised and, as I recall gave us something off the following year's membership - which we told them to keep and went with the RAC...

I'd say complain - it isn't acceptable that a lone female traveller should be left in a rural location waiting for a breakdown vehicle - neither is it acceptable for an elderly person to be left, or a disabled person (hairy blokes are fair game :) . The AA should have more breakdown vehicles to ensure they can keep their promises

[Soubrette]

Then should they pay a premium for that?

As someone has already said, if they want equality, then surely they should take the rough with the smooth?

Also if a man pays the same rate, surely he should receive the same level of service, or does the equality only relate to the positive benefits, like equal pay?

Being treated equally does not mean being treated the same.

Otherwise we would have equal numbers of male and female top managers/top earners etc. However, in general woman choose to be the main carer of children within a relationship and the payback is..well less pay and seniority for most women because of this and the assumption that this will be the case.

In general men are stronger and are less likely to be attacked in a situation such as described by the OP.

Of course some women are very ahem amazonian and some men very delicate but unfortunately generalities rule.

I'm looking forward to your posts advocating that 50% of all footballers must be women as you are obviously such a strong advocate of equality :p

Sou

[Road_Hog]

I'm looking forward to your posts advocating that 50% of all footballers must be women as you are obviously such a strong advocate of equality :p

Sou

My reply would be, from what I have seen, 50% of them are, already women, from the falling over ballerina cry baby antics, Alice bands et al, that are known as the Premier League (players).

I'm a Rugby Union man myself.

[chilli_dog]

i know an AA man, there vans are monitored by sat nav, if they are not on a job, if they pick up a breakdown they have to be mobile within 10 mins to it. They are stretched!!

[timcrips]

yeah ive got an idea, move to the RAC and tell them thats why. How poo 3 Hrs. Thats sucks

[scbk]

You get what you pay for with big breakdown companies. People decide who to take out a policy with on price alone. For the AA to be cheap, they cut corners. They've laid off patrols. They let their patrols break the law.

http://www.gmb.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?PrintFriendly=True&NodeID=97149

http://gmb.live.poptech.coop/Templates/PressItems.asp?NodeID=96776


If you want fast service, just phone up a local garage

[Debaa]

Hello, my name is Deb and I work within the Complaints Department for the AA. I happened to have read your post and thought I would offer a helping hand to resolve your complaint. If you would like to contact the AA on email address customersupport@theAA.com (customersupport@theAA.com) , quoting ref 3092357, we will be more than happy to investigate and provide a response.

[kandi]

BLIMEY !

OK - here's what I have to say...

Thanks to Deb - I wrote a letter of complaint last week but have received no reply - I'll forward the letter to the AA via email and see if I get a response from that. (somthing tells me I might be waiting for a while!)

I'd had my car for 2 weeks old when I broke down - its an 04 reg with 70,000 miles on the clock and a FULL Alfa Service History - (yes yes - an alfa romeo - i brought it on myself!!!) but it had only just been serviced and sailed through its MOT. So there - Boo to you for suggesting breaking down was my fault for not looking after my car!

I don't expect preferential treatment because I'm a lady.
Although I'm little I do like to think that I'm a bit of a "She-Rah" but I was on my way back from an exhibition at Brands Hatch - so I was all dressed-up - suited and heeled. Not ideal clothing to fight and certainly no hope of flight...
OK - so that's my fault - heels are silly and should I fail to run from an attacker then that would be my fault right?
Its not about being a lone female, location or the heat and lack of water,
Its about paying for a service and not receiving that service when its needed.
If my husband had broken down instead of me I'd be just as angry.
I'm glad that some people posted to support me in thinking that the service I received was unacceptable.

If they'd said right from the start that I'd be waiting for 3 hours then I'd have called someone to come and keep me company.
Its the fact that they told me a time and then called to say that they'd made a mistake and I'd have to wait another hour and a half.

And of course I told them that I wanted to cancel my call-out....
Although I was disappointed - I do have some morals - Just as I felt they wasted my time - I wouldn't have wasted theirs by letting an engineer come after I'd left.

Anyway - Like you say... I'm safe, my cars OK (needed a new radiator)
It'd be nice to hear back from the AA - an acknowledgement would be a good start.

They have been good to us in the past though.

If they offer me something - even an apology - then I'll probably stay with them.

And to the guy who said he laughs at women "banging on about equality"
Do you snicker at human rights too and those who fight against race discrimination? You should be ashamed.

And... something I didn't mention in my original post....

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a builder stopped to ask if I was OK.
Turns out he'd seen me just sitting there and wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help!

So there are some decent people in the world...
And even if I was angry at the AA - It was lovely to have a stranger look out for me. Milk of human kindness and all that!

Tony the Builder - THANK YOU

[hm71]

Just a footnote, we have had incidents around here where people have stopped and offered help when broken down, been very kind I'ill give you a tow home etc... and then tried to extort money from the towee. On one particular occasion asking for £200 and threatening the safety of the persons family etc.. these were all in our local paper 4 reported incidents. So I for 1 am happy to have my RAC service who have always been very prompt as I realise that although there are some good people in the world there are also some bad.
I hope tou get a good resoloution to your problem. when I learnt to drive 5 yrs ago my hubby put an emergency box in my boot, that has tyreweld, radweld, a battery jumpstarter, blanket & various other things, it has helped me on more than one occasion and think that really everyone should do it.

[TotallyBroke]

Although I'm little I do like to think that I'm a bit of a "She-Rah" but I was on my way back from an exhibition at Brands Hatch - so I was all dressed-up - suited and heeled. Not ideal clothing to fight and certainly no hope of flight...


If you were in a rural area then I don't see the danger that you think you were in. Muggers and rapists don't sit in bushes along country roads waiting on the off chance that a little lady will break down. The only danger I would be worried about would be having a sheep bite my backside if I needed a pee in their field.
It was only your radiator that was broke so if a mugger or rapist happened to drive by, you could get in your car, lock all the doors and phone the police.

Do you know the AA are crying out for female mechanics as some women will not have a male come out to them if it is dark!!!! I would love to do it but with a young DS the shift pattern would be hard.

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

BLIMEY !

OK - here's what I have to say...

Thanks to Deb - I wrote a letter of complaint last week but have received no reply - I'll forward the letter to the AA via email and see if I get a response from that. (somthing tells me I might be waiting for a while!)

I'd had my car for 2 weeks old when I broke down - its an 04 reg with 70,000 miles on the clock and a FULL Alfa Service History - (yes yes - an alfa romeo - i brought it on myself!!!) but it had only just been serviced and sailed through its MOT. So there - Boo to you for suggesting breaking down was my fault for not looking after my car!

I don't expect preferential treatment because I'm a lady.
Although I'm little I do like to think that I'm a bit of a "She-Rah" but I was on my way back from an exhibition at Brands Hatch - so I was all dressed-up - suited and heeled. Not ideal clothing to fight and certainly no hope of flight...
OK - so that's my fault - heels are silly and should I fail to run from an attacker then that would be my fault right?
Its not about being a lone female, location or the heat and lack of water,
Its about paying for a service and not receiving that service when its needed.
If my husband had broken down instead of me I'd be just as angry.
I'm glad that some people posted to support me in thinking that the service I received was unacceptable.

If they'd said right from the start that I'd be waiting for 3 hours then I'd have called someone to come and keep me company.
Its the fact that they told me a time and then called to say that they'd made a mistake and I'd have to wait another hour and a half.

And of course I told them that I wanted to cancel my call-out....
Although I was disappointed - I do have some morals - Just as I felt they wasted my time - I wouldn't have wasted theirs by letting an engineer come after I'd left.

Anyway - Like you say... I'm safe, my cars OK (needed a new radiator)
It'd be nice to hear back from the AA - an acknowledgement would be a good start.

They have been good to us in the past though.

If they offer me something - even an apology - then I'll probably stay with them.

And to the guy who said he laughs at women "banging on about equality"
Do you snicker at human rights too and those who fight against race discrimination? You should be ashamed.

And... something I didn't mention in my original post....

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a builder stopped to ask if I was OK.
Turns out he'd seen me just sitting there and wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help!

So there are some decent people in the world...
And even if I was angry at the AA - It was lovely to have a stranger look out for me. Milk of human kindness and all that!

Tony the Builder - THANK YOU

You do know what an MOT is?

[mspig]

My hubby works for the AA and being female on a rural road in the middle of the day is not a top of the list situation, those on the motorway(some who have not made it to the hardshoulder) would get more priority, those who have locked their keys in the car and have their babies sat in them have more priority(it happens quite alot), those stuck on crossings(pelican, puffin, zebra) would have more priority, those in dangerous situations. I could go on.

I'm not saying that you should of been left for 3 hours but they may of had a very dangerous situation they had to deal with which was put ahead of your situation.

Take a deep breath and calm down and put it down to one of those days.

[sarah_elton]

I'm with Green Flag. Never had a breakdown, but they do say that if they take longer than an hour to reach you they'll give you a tenner. That's better than a kick in the teeth, and I suspect incentivises them to reach most people in exactly 59 minutes. :D

Cover was just over half the price of the same level cover with The AA too. Unlike AA and RAC, they actually quote you, insurance style, based on age of car etc. When it comes to AA renewal, try getting a Green Flag quote as they may well be cheaper since you have a new-ish car (mine's a 2002).

[Reggie Rebel]

I'd be hacked off if I'd had to wait 3 hours as well regardless of gender and fighting ability.

[JonathanA]

I don't think anyone - male or female - would be happy to wait 3 hours to be recovered, irrespective of where they are or what their circumstances are. It must be down to a lack of available patrols in the area at that point in time, or a prior job taking longer than expected. I've never had occasion to use the AA, but have had to call out the RAC before - who arrived within 50 minutes - and we're now covered with Direct Line (who use Green Flag I think). When our car broke down on our driveway and we called them out, they were there within 20 minutes, and their service was excellent.

As with all companies, there will be good and bad experiences, the test now is what they do to restore your confidence in their service.

Hope you get it resolved.

[photome]

Not used the AA, but have called the RAC out a couple of times in last few years..last time was last week...and they have been there well within an hour

[vikingaero]

The breakdown companies have to predict demand for their services which is hard enough based on random events. But the bigger problem is that imposed by the wonderful European Union in making breakdown patrols subject to the Working Hours Directive. If a breakdown patrolman goes more than 60 miles from base then he or she is subject to the Hours restriction, enforced breaks, and the use of a tachograph in their vehicle. The EU have at a stroke disabled the OK system we previously had in the UK.

[Takoda]

RAC are good. Quick to arrive and very helpful. I'd switch if I were you.

You don't know what nutters might've been driving past while you were waiting there for 3 hours!

[Keith]

RAC are good. Quick to arrive and very helpful. I'd switch if I were you.

You don't know what nutters might've been driving past while you were waiting there for 3 hours!

You do realise it's an average time for recovery.

Last time I needed recovery.

I called at 7pm, RAC arrived at 11.35pm, then recovery arrived at 00.40am.

I considered sending a stroppy letter but then considered that I was the person that makes their times average.