Breakdown cover: Get the cheapest roadside recovery

willowse

A few months ago, I took the plunge and went with Autoaid, with such incredible recommendations about them, how could I not?

My car broke down. My car was towed home, costing over £500. I paid using my credit card, expecting to have the cheque from Autoaid in two weeks.

However...it's taken over five weeks for the cheque to arrive and the credit card company have charged interest.
-week 1-3: me chasing the breakdown recovery company for proof of purchase. They post a credit card sales receipt. I post this to Autoaid. Autoaid post a letter to me saying I need to chase the company for an invoice.

-week 4-5: Autoaid receive invoice and process claim. Then I'm told that they have to wait for the manager to be in the office to sign off the cheque as it's over £500.

-week 6: finally I have the cheque in the post but have to wait for it to clear in the bank before I can pay my credit card.

I'm not saying don't use Autoaid, I'm saying make an informed decision before you go ahead with them...

VIGILANT22

edit one of yr posts pls

COSTLYPETROL

Hope this is useful.

Received A.A. quote for £18.99 per month. Two days later received the usual junk mail including a flyer from A.A. quoting much cheaper prices. Checked their prices on line and discovered much variation.

Phoned A.A. and now have all the bells and whistles for £12.99 per month!!....old adage....if you don't ask you don't receive.

Optimist

COSTLYPETROL wrote: »

Hope this is useful.

Received A.A. quote for £18.99 per month. Two days later received the usual junk mail including a flyer from A.A. quoting much cheaper prices. Checked their prices on line and discovered much variation.

Phoned A.A. and now have all the bells and whistles for £12.99 per month!!....old adage....if you don't ask you don't receive.

£12.99 a month !! What do you get for £155 a year ?

Autoaid look decidedly better at £37 a year

bendaw

Do any of these policies offer discounts for 2 or more years cover - years ago you could buy a lifetime policy

lisyloo

Not aware of any, but how much cheaper than £37 fo you expect to get it??

djboss

If you check page 8 of the T's and C's of Tesco's (Green Flag ) Breakdown policy, you will see that the definition of "insured vehicle" is

"Insured Vehicle: any vehicle we have agreed to cover and any vehicle you or your spouse/
partner are travelling in, provided it complies with the vehicle specifications described in
General Condition 10. "

This effectively gives a Personal Cover, not a vehicle specific cover, saving over £100 on a Green Flag, 2 person policy!

Tesco are aware of this wording error and are looking at changing the wording on this, so act quickly.

If you have a policy already and paid an additional premium of £40, then I would consider contacting Tesco Finance to ask why, when without the additional premimium, youre already covered?


ww.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/insurance/breakdown/pdf/policy-doc-uk.pdf

djboss

djboss wrote: »

If you check page 8 of the T's and C's of Tesco's (Green Flag ) Breakdown policy, you will see that the definition of "insured vehicle" is

"Insured Vehicle: any vehicle we have agreed to cover and any vehicle you or your spouse/
partner are travelling in, provided it complies with the vehicle specifications described in
General Condition 10. "

This effectively gives a Personal Cover, not a vehicle specific cover, saving over £100 on a Green Flag, 2 person policy!

Tesco are aware of this wording error and are looking at changing the wording on this, so act quickly.

If you have a policy already and paid an additional premium of £40, then I would consider contacting Tesco Finance to ask why, when without the additional premimium, youre already covered?


ww.tescofinance.com/personal/finance/insurance/breakdown/pdf/policy-doc-uk.pdf

Following protracted discussion with Tesco Finance, they have now refunded my premioum, meaning I have the top level of cover for both our cars for £0 :j

debsx

Hi

I paid my for my AA Breakdown Cover last year using my credit card. I just checked my credit card statement for this month and £192 has been taken out on 31/3/10 by the AA without my authorisation. I've received no reminder, no new cards, no email reminder, nothing at all!!! Its a bit cheeky not only taking my money without asking and not getting anything in return but also that its actually £60 cheaper if I was a new customer!!!!!

I'm not impressed!!

gozaimasu wrote: »

Just had a quick question about breakdown cover - do the companies renew your policy every year without confirming? ie. do they just automatically take the money out of your account when one year's policy ends?

I didn't know this happened until my insurance company tried to do this when I'd already bought a policy with a different insurrer! Luckily my bank stopped them from taking the money out of my account. So I was wondering if breakdown people did the same...

To answer a question further up this page - I don't think you can renew the RAC thing AND get cashback AND pay with Tesco vouchers. I was trying to get cashback on a renewal (since this year it's a much higher payout!) but unfortunately the cashback is for new customers only.

I also wanted to ask the opinion of all you MSErs - personal cover or vehicle cover - which is best?

lisyloo

week 1-3: me chasing the breakdown recovery company for proof of purchase.

Thanks for the anecdote, but I think there is a little naivety on willowse side here.
I would demand a proper invoice at the point of payment.
No invoice, no payment (a spare key can be handy at times).