Cost of AA renewal !! - long standing member

Sstripey

scooby75 wrote: »

I'm with Club Toyota. get the full lot - home start, europe, replacement car etc etc for £65 / year (up a tenner from last year but well worth it still).

I would have done that when I got my Yaris Verso in 2000, but I bought in Denmark (UK spec) to save £4000 at the time, and they wouldn't let me do Club Toyota. If they had, I wouldn't have had this annoyance with the AA!

Sstripey

opinions4u wrote: »

While you may be correct in what you have written in your tree destroying essay, the most likely outcome now is a skim of the first two paragraphs and a stock reply which, paraphrased, says "Sorry you're not happy. We can charge what we like. Take it or leave it".

Concise is king. As is taking your business elsewhere.

Got a result at last - not huge, but at least something, as the AA have refunded the difference between what I paid last August and the online price, so I will get about #65 back. It was a proper letter and not a stock reply.:)

alb1

Last year I paid the AA £55 (although I can't remember exactly what package I had). My renewal came through at £198!

Unsurprisingly I declined.

They then proceeded to phone me 6 times a day for about 2/3 months. I stupidly answered the first few times hoping they could do a better deal, but they wouldn't lower it anywhere near as much as I wanted. They got the message that I wasn't going to answer eventually.

Sstripey

alb1 wrote: »

Last year I paid the AA £55 (although I can't remember exactly what package I had). My renewal came through at £198!

Unsurprisingly I declined.

They then proceeded to phone me 6 times a day for about 2/3 months. I stupidly answered the first few times hoping they could do a better deal, but they wouldn't lower it anywhere near as much as I wanted. They got the message that I wasn't going to answer eventually.

Having read every post on this thread, it seems that the AA pick numbers out of a hat when it comes to renewals. I'm certainly going to be very picky next time mine comes up.

Stubod

.same here. Been with the AA for 25+ years..every year it goes up. Last year they wanted £165!! I phoned up and said that green flag could offer a similar service for £85....and the AA dropped the price to more or less match it. (I think i did have to give up a couple of options I didn't want anyway..like "gold membership).

I think it stinks that companies use their regular customers as cash cows...but it seems to be the norm. Once you get used to the idea that you have to have this battle every year with every provider then it does get easier to "play the game". (Exactly the same with House insurance....same provider for 25 years, every year a threatening to leave phone call has saved me hundreds...last year from £450 down to £250).

kingstreet

Comparison sites mean lower premiums for new customers and the insurers have to try to undercut each other with cut-down cover and lower premiums.

Without them, the market would re-balance and there would be less of a gulf between new business premiums and renewals.

IMHO of course.

GolfBravo

kingstreet wrote: »

Without them, the market would re-balance and there would be less of a gulf between new business premiums and renewals.

IMHO of course.

Without them Martin Lewis wouldn't make any affiliate commission, so there would be no moneysavingexpert.co.uk.

Without them he wouldn't constantly nag you to switch insurance/bank account/electricity/gas/phone/internet provider to earn his commission.

IMHO of course.

kingstreet

GolfBravo wrote: »

Without them Martin Lewis wouldn't make any affiliate commission, so there would be no moneysavingexpert.co.uk.

Without them he wouldn't constantly nag you to switch insurance/bank account/electricity/gas/phone/internet provider to earn his commission.

IMHO of course.

Is MoneySupermarket not yet the site owner?

Martin may be completely innocent here.

GolfBravo

Part owner at this stage.

I think the whole transfer is supposed to take 3 years, provided MSE meets performance/revenue targets.

Sstripey

Stubod wrote: »

.same here. Been with the AA for 25+ years..every year it goes up. Last year they wanted £165!! I phoned up and said that green flag could offer a similar service for £85....and the AA dropped the price to more or less match it. (I think i did have to give up a couple of options I didn't want anyway..like "gold membership).

I think it stinks that companies use their regular customers as cash cows...but it seems to be the norm. Once you get used to the idea that you have to have this battle every year with every provider then it does get easier to "play the game".

So my renewal came through from the AA, up to £189, and this time I knew it couldn't go through automatically as I had cancelled the Direct Debit. Found equal cover (I don't need the extra things on "Gold" membership) with Green Flag for £98 with £43 to come back from Topcashback. Have written to the AA briefly to cancel after thirty years. No reply, of course!:beer: