Roadside Recovery: AutoAid Feedback

roddydogs

redkitty wrote: »

I'm so happy with Autoaid, just joined them this year after having been with the AA for years and for no real purpose as I never needed them for anything. Just to note - they did try to scare me off Autoaid by saying their service was unreliable/poor/dodgy etc, so not very admirable sales tactics. Sounds quite similar to some of the posts on here slating Autoaid actually

I went with them on the strength of this forum and am glad I did! Had to call them out to recharge my car battery and as I'd overfilled the car with petrol, woops I know it was a local company but the bloke was crawling about for 2 hours underneath my car getting the petrol out, then happily charged it back up. Plus they only charged £43 to come out and do it all. I was a bit worried at the £65 limit but I think local companies are probably aware of the Autoaid limit and bill accordingly.

Got my cheque in the post swiftly too. All this for £37? Well worth it! I'll definitely be renewing next year.

How, exactly do you "Overfill" a car?

roddydogs

slimmillipede wrote: »

My wife made the mistake of filling our diesel car with petrol recently, fortunately the car (Citroen Xsara Picasso) turned on a warning light quite promptly.
My wife called Autoaid and a recovery truck appeared within 30 minutes (not bad for a Sunday), they took her and the car to a garage where they sorted the car out.
My wife paid the bill (about £240) and I put in the claim to Autoaid, they had refunded the full amount within a week.
Very good value and very good service.

Do you mean Autoaid paid for the tank to be drained, etc, as well as the towing? didnt realise this was covered, as the mistake was yours.

mapes12

I took out Auto Aid cover earlier this year and within a fortnight needed help with 2 blown out tyres.

AutoAid's call centre were very polite and efficient and i got through to a real person first time. No automated call centre to drive you crazy and being held on hold for ages.

The recovery crew were with me within 20 mins and took me home as it was getting late. The next morning they came out again and took me and the car to my local tyre centre for it to be repaired.

I sent the claim form and receipts off and was reimbursed in just a few days.

Excellent service.

roseview

Having taken the matter up with Auto Aid they have kindly agreed to pay the rest of the invoice, stating that it would have been better to arrange recovery to a garage where a full repair could be carried out.

Thank you Auto Aid for listening to my complaint and handling it so well.

lisyloo

I'm gald you got good service on this occassion :T
But don't expect all companies to be like this, most wouldn't.
So you really need to understand what you are and aren't covered for even if it's at a quite basic level.
The people helping you may well have been trying to be helpful rather than rip you off and if they are seperate 3rd parties, then they way not have a good understanding of what you're covered for either.
If you don't want to bother with that then RAC/AA might be more suitable and this is why my elderly parents don't have AutoAid, because whilst I think it's great, it's not suitable for everyone.

MarkyMarkD

We got our money back from Autoaid after a little delay, mainly because the numpty recovery company failed to send us an invoice, and then it went missing in the post between us and Autoaid.

Eventually Autoaid asked the recovery company to fax them a copy - which they could have done all the time.

I'd still recommend Autoaid for value, but don't (always) hold your breath for the refund.

Suma_2

Well I have read all the feedback about Autoaid - many thanks- and have decided to go with them. Its been a really interesting read. From what I can see the only negative comments mostly relate to the quality and response times of the particular garage used which you cant blame Autoaid for although people on here have tried to. I have my local service ( used by all the other companies anyway) in my mobile phone ready to call should any breakdown occur on their patch- otherwise I would contact Autoaid for their recommended list if further afield. I always have a credit card on me so paying up front is no problem.
I was puzzled by the person who "dropped" the garage a tenner- why didnt they get a receipt and claim it back?
My other concern was the person who doesnt have a policy as their octegenarian parents cant read the claim forms- are they stilll safe to drive? Can they read roadsigns etc? Just a thought I had.

21ants

What if you're 100 miles from home and your wifes got your credit card or you're maxed out on it, do autoaid have any help or advice for their clients if this happens. I know it would be my own fault but I was just wondering would they bend the rules a bit...21ants

luci

21ants wrote: »

What if you're 100 miles from home and your wifes got your credit card or you're maxed out on it, do autoaid have any help or advice for their clients if this happens. I know it would be my own fault but I was just wondering would they bend the rules a bit...21ants

Cash is your friend.

MarkyMarkD

You don't have to pay until you get there. So as long as you are getting the car to somewhere where you have plastic, you would be OK.

But if you have no means of payment, the issue isn't between you and Autoaid, it's between you and the recovery firm. And they aren't going to take kindly to not getting paid.

The scenario is no different to the average person without breakdown cover calling for assistance via the Police motorway telephones. You'll get recovered off the motorway, but if you tell them you can't pay they aren't going to take you anywhere further IMHO.