Roadside Recovery: AutoAid Feedback

dacouch

I think the word "Exclusion" gives it away, they are excluding paying for a recovery if the vehicle can be repaired within a reasonable amount of time.

Its the same as any of the any General Exclusions eg damage to the vehicle due to acts of war, which is an exclusion on the same page

It also states in the guidance notes adjacent to it "These general exclusions apply to the whole of your insurance".

They have put the exclusion there so that you cannot simply ring them and get the vehicle recovered without an attempt being made to repair the car where it has broken down and get it going again

derrick

dacouch wrote: »

I think the word "Exclusion" gives it away, they are excluding paying for a recovery if the vehicle can be repaired within a reasonable amount of time.

Its the same as any of the any General Exclusions eg damage to the vehicle due to acts of war, which is an exclusion on the same page

It also states in the guidance notes adjacent to it "These general exclusions apply to the whole of your insurance".

They have put the exclusion there so that you cannot simply ring them and get the vehicle recovered without an attempt being made to repair the car where it has broken down and get it going again

Yes I have read the document, but it still is ambiguous/contradictory in that it gives the recovery as a benefit, then appears to take it away under general exclusions with the ambiguous "reasonable time" statement, however if it was just a plug lead come loose or a fan belt needing changing then it would be unreasonable to have it towed home, the question the poster,(carl555 #355), asked was; -"If you breakdown, Can you simply elect to be recovered to home and that’s it?"
The simple answer would be no, however they then asked; -
"Do you have to give them the opportunity to fix the car, as this could run into a big bill of parts, which I may have at home and the skills to fit them!"
This may be the point at which you may be able to request recovery, but until Autoaid is asked the specific question, then there is no positive answer.

Bunyip_2

With some trepidation I let my AA breakdown cover expire this year as I could no longer afford it (£214) and went across to Autoaid (£37). I haven't had a breakdown for a couple of years, but Murphy's law prevailed and my car broke down after being with Autoaid for less than 2 months.

I called their operations centre and told them that the car had failed - they asked me to locate a garage to get it taken to or that I could have it recovered to my home. I located a garage that would take it and could repair the suspected problem.

Within half an hour a flat truck recovery unit had turned up and transported my car and me to the garage of my choice. This was during the peak time of 8.30 - 9.00am. The operator (who also did work for other recovery operations, including Greenflag) was polite and very helpful.

Had this been the AA, it is likely that recovery would have taken longer, as they would have sent a van first to assess the problem and then had to call a truck. (This is the experience that I have had in the past with the AA).

I paid the operator using a debit card (approx. £70) when he had delivered my car to the garage.

I submitted the claim to Autoaid and received a cheque for the full amount in less than two weeks.

Needless to say I am very impressed with the service Autoaid offer.

carl555

Derrick and dacouch: Thanks for your input and I’m sorry to cause such a stir!!!
As you can see I had looked into the terms and conditions and, same as you, I found them a bit contradictory and couldn’t really decide what the normal practice would be on phoning AutoAid for a recovery.

I guess I could just phone up to clarify, but have usually found in these situations an operator will tell you what you want to hear, so its best to listen to peoples good or bad real experiences on here and it is good to see Bunyip’s posting above and their good experience given that they had the option of recovery to home or garage.

I haven’t trawled through the likes of AA or RAC T&C’s (but I suspect they would have similar ‘reasonable time’ clauses) so I’m not saying AutoAid is any better or worse, I just found them a bit ambiguous, when trying to clarify the recovery situation that is important to me.

In some respects the policy looks almost too good to be true in what it covers So that’s why I was asking.
It even says in their T&C’s that you can sort your own recovery out without phoning their helpline – “If the vehicle that you or your legal spouse or civil partner are driving breaks down, you may go ahead and arrange help without our approval.” – So I guess there’s a certain amount of freedom and decision making left up to yourself anyway.

imroberts

Reading their policy summary, my understanding is they will insist on trying to repair the car at the side of the road, upto one hours labour. If the car cannot be fixed within this time then they will pay for recovery.

As you can appreciate, the costs of transporting your car home, or to a garage and paying for a hotel for upto 6 people could far outweigh the costs of fixing your car at the roadside. As such I doubt they would allow you simply to elect for this option in preference to having your car repaired.

This policy is the same for the AA and RAC also.

york1e

My AA membership is about to run out and Autoaid looks to be just the job for me. Does anyone know if they cover you when you do stupid things (ie lock your keys in the car) Will they cover the cost of getting someone out to break in to the vehcile to recover the keys. I know that the AA provide this service as part of their membership.

Bunyip_2

Yorkie,

Have you checked their policy documents? If not the full policy document is on their website. (I cannot put the link here, as I haven't posted enough, but it is "autoaidbreakdown.co.uk" after the https://www.)

Hope this helps.

york1e

Thanks Bunyip

I have read their policy documents and it does not make reference to that kind of incident. However, I have rung them and they say they would include it in their cover.:j

bluejosiah

BOO HOO :mad: I had to call Autoaid tonight (Bank holiday weekend), however I was given first class service. :T Was told I would be recovered within the hour, a text came in to say who was recovering me and just 30 mins later Ashley Wood Recovery showed. ABSOLUTELY 1ST CLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!! The LOVELY knight in shining armour spent half an hour trying to fix it (which is the most amount of time they are allowed to spend) and then proceeded to tow me back. I had specified that I wanted to be towed home, but after thinking about it I thought I'd best be towed to my local garage, very obliging and it was done. Just got to send my receipt in when I get it. Unfortunately my garage is closed for the whole of the Easter weekend which is a bit of a bummer!

tan159753

I have read all the posts and one thing still unnerves me.

If I am 200 miles from home and my car breaksdown (or is it breakdowns?) I obviously have to call Autoaid and have my car recovered back home or to a trustworthy garage near my home. I don't mind paying a £400 recovery bill in the knowledge that Autoaid will pay out BUT what if the recovery company dont bother to send me out an invoice by post? I cant exactly make repeated trips to their base. Some of you say that insist on a receipt of some sorts at the time of repair/recover. Even if I persist with the recovery guy and get one, my wife if put in the same situation certainly won't be that pushy to demand a receipt even if she was savvy enough to remember to ask for one at that time.

From what I hear, Autoaid are knocking back the repair guys invoice and want one thats been posted out? What are others experiences of this?

My main gripe is handing over lots of cash and not being guaranteed repayment because the recovery company were lazy or ignorant in giving a proper invoice. Then the AA or RAC wont look so expensive after all.