Roadside Recovery: AutoAid Feedback

LavaChild

Thank you for the feedback. I'd also like to hear costings from others to try and work out some sort of average... I think I'd be okay covering costs in day to day life (Such as if the car broke down during my 20 mile commute) but I'm concerned if I'd have enough for say a 200 mile break away to the coast (A time when I'd really need it!!).

Another question:

Say I need towing back can I have the vehicle towed home (With me!) and then a few days later when I've arranged a garage to accept the vehicle have it towed again? And can this all be completed under the same claim? My concern being whether you can call for services multiple times for what is effectively the same problem?

I s'pose this question is relevant to all breakdown companies... How do they all stand on this front?

Cheers.

lisyloo

Hi LavaChild,

Unless you have a credit card you might be better off using a service that isn't "pay n claim". It's not suitable for everyone.

Quite often recovery people are not prepared to leave your car at a gargage on the road (in case they get sued). So if it's out of hours you would be taken home anyway and then later on get towed to a garage.
It's all about liability, but they aren't prepared to leave your car outside a locked garage. Someone has to accept it. I believe this is common across all companies.

However if it was in hours, if the car isn't driveable then I don't see the issue.
You'd be better off going straight to the garage.

alduncan

The problems I've had with the scheme are with the local breakdown companies, not AutoAid themseleves. Both times we called a local firm out (in different places, different companies) we then had to chase them up (the second time about 6 times over several weeks) to send us a receipt. This delayed payment as AutoAid won't accept anything except a full receipt.

However, if you're willing to wait for repayment then yes, AutoAid are a great deal.

lisyloo

we then had to chase them up (the second time about 6 times over several weeks) to send us a receipt

Simple.
Don't pay them unless they are prepared to give you a receipt.
I wouldn't pay for anything without getting a receipt.

But yes agree that AutoAid is not suitable for everyone.
I put my parents with a different company that isn't pay and claim because they are very doddery and elderly and wouldn't be able to cope with the paperwork.
It's not for everyone.

steve_bilton

alduncan wrote: »

The problems I've had with the scheme are with the local breakdown companies, not AutoAid themseleves. Both times we called a local firm out we then had to chase them up to send us a receipt. This delayed payment as AutoAid won't accept anything except a full receipt.

We had this with our local people and I spoke to AutoAid who said that they would be happy with a photocopy of my receipt given at the point of payment. Cheque arrived two weeks before the official recovery invoice.

Talk to them with any concerns and they seem very sensible - ime.

Steve

LavaChild

Hi all,

I've given some thought to the pay and claim route and decided it sounds suitable for me... I've checked with the bank and I already have an agreed overdraft that would be sufficient in the case where I'd need to make an urgent payment.

My emails between AutoAid have been fantastic with prompt replies and I feel confident that I'd be happy with them.

My last quick concern (I intend to email or ring them tomorrow but thought I may find the solution even faster by asking on here!) relates to whether the cover can be used as a passenger. I know the policies cover the individual and not the car (And therefore would be okay in whatever car I was driving) however just wondering if I can use this if I am the passenger in a friends car that breaks down? This is something I have the RAC and gives me real peace of mind.

Due to my age I do not have "Drive Other Cars" (DOC) insurance cover and therefore claiming at the side of the road that I was driving it would not be acceptable... Do AutoAid allow you to use your policy as a passenger of a vehicle?

Thanks!

derrick

LavaChild wrote: »

Hi all,

I've given some thought to the pay and claim route and decided it sounds suitable for me... I've checked with the bank and I already have an agreed overdraft that would be sufficient in the case where I'd need to make an urgent payment.

My emails between AutoAid have been fantastic with prompt replies and I feel confident that I'd be happy with them.

My last quick concern (I intend to email or ring them tomorrow but thought I may find the solution even faster by asking on here!) relates to whether the cover can be used as a passenger. I know the policies cover the individual and not the car (And therefore would be okay in whatever car I was driving) however just wondering if I can use this if I am the passenger in a friends car that breaks down? This is something I have the RAC and gives me real peace of mind.

Due to my age I do not have "Drive Other Cars" (DOC) insurance cover and therefore claiming at the side of the road that I was driving it would not be acceptable... Do AutoAid allow you to use your policy as a passenger of a vehicle?

Thanks!

I can't see anywhere that it mentions your scenario although it does mention "your or your legal spouse whilst driving

From the Policy Document; -
From page 1; - “If the vehicle that you or your legal spouse or civil partner are driving breaks down, you may go ahead and arrange”.............

From page 3; - “If the vehicle cannot be driven as a result of a breakdown, that happens while you or your legal spouse or civil partner are driving, we will refund the costs shown below”.................


So if you are the legal partner/spouse of the driver whilst a passenger then the vehicle is covered, as for confirmation of your query, I suggest you e-mail Autoaid and ask them, that way if they say yes, then you have it in writing.

blue_z

Having received our AA Breakdown Cover yesterday to the tune of £156 and this is just for the car and nothing else,I decided to take a look on this site for alternatives to the theiving Big Boys.
A couple of years ago we were travelling to Devon on Holiday and the Clutch went at least 200 odd miles away from our destination!
We managed to arrive using 3-4-5 gears but how, I will never know,and every time we approached traffic lights I prayed that they would turn green before we reached them,just in case we couldn't pull away in 3rd..:eek:.
We called out the AA on arrival in Devon and as it couldn't be sorted out we were towed to Barnstaple for repair which was miles away from our holiday cottage.
I asked the AA man how we could get back to the cottage and he responded with "they may have a car you can borrow"!(They didn't!)
Basically,we were stranded and had no idea where we were,where we had came from and even the area we were supposed to be staying,so the garage called us a cab and the resulting bill was over £30 to get back to our cottage.
The garage finally repaired the clutch 4 days later and the bill came to a staggering £659 which killed us stone dead and our holiday was a Right Off because we had no transport to go anywhere apart from up Snowdon which I can safely say was Vertigo Hell for me..lol.
On returning home I complained to the AA,and stated that we had been left stranded with no help whatsoever and argued the toss about the taxi we had to hire to get back to the start of our "Lovely Holiday".
They reimbursed us the taxi fare after I kicked up a stink on the shoddy way we were treated hundreds of miles from home and with no idea what to do!
So,all in all Auto Aid sounds like an excellent Breakdown Service because the AA is an absolute crock IMHO :mad:.
Thanks for the advice and now off to fill in the form.:T:money:

jaibob

Thankyou so muck Moneysavingexpert. On recomendation I went with Autoaid. 3days later and my jeep broke down on the Isle of Wight with 4 of us and a lot of camping equpment. We had a ferry booked so we were picked up and dropped off in time for our ferry, crawled onto the ferry then was collected by a waiting truck back to Derby 200miles away.
If you need towing onto a ferry you will have to pay the ferry fees for the extra vehicle(tow truck), which you cannot claim back. The service was quick and efficient and I recieved a cheque back which covered all my costs(almost 500pound)a week later.
Thankyou so much

Daveking_2

Hi,

Whilst Autoaid have been good in ther past, when I broke down last Thursday they didn't answer the phone! I then tried their alternative number which is no longer in use and they've not answered the phone since - does anyone know if they're still trading?

Luckily a couple of passers by helped me on Thursday, not sure what I'd have done otherwise!

Dave