AA Breakdown; cooling off period & (non-refundable?) emergency joining fee

TehJumpingJawa

Quick summary of what's happened up to now:

My Mum's car broke down while away from home.

She couldn't get it fixed any other way, so resorted to phoning up the AA.
She was a non-member, so they charged her ~£140 to join; apparently most of this was an 'emergency joining fee'.

The paperwork was supplied by post a few days after, though as she was away from home at the time she didn't get to see it until 6 days ago.
The purchase was made 11 days ago, so she's still within the cooling off period (their cooling off period is 14 days).

After pointing out to her that she's been ripped off I've been nagging her to phone them up and cancel the contract.

However now she's spoken with them and they're saying the emergency joining fee is non-refundable, so all she'll get back is ~£13 of the £140 joining fee.

I'd understand if they charged for the one call-out that was made during the cooling-off period, however this doesn't appear to be what the non-refundable portion of the fee is for.

Any advice?

s_b

TehJumpingJawa wrote: »

Any advice?

yes
next time your mum breaks down you go and fix it seeing as you dont have any incurred costs in doing it
leave the AA to help people who are happy to pay and the man will get to them quicker
i bet your mum hasnt got your attitude has she?

TehJumpingJawa

s_b wrote: »

yes
next time your mum breaks down you go and fix it seeing as you dont have any incurred costs in doing it
leave the AA to help people who are happy to pay and the man will get to them quicker

I have no problem with them charging for their incurred costs.
However I take issue when the customer is not made aware of these charges, or is misled into thinking they will be significantly less than they turn out to be.

After further interrogation it turns out she was made aware of these charges when she joined, but misunderstood that it'd be ~£130 non-refundable upon cancellation not the other way around.

In hindsight this was a mistake, as the repair wasn't particularly urgent.
She could have joined normally(~£15 after cashback), and then called them out several days later.

Isn't it frustrating when relatives get ripped off due to no other reason than ignorance.

i bet your mum hasnt got your attitude has she?

I'm not sure what you mean by this?

s_b

TehJumpingJawa wrote: »

I have no problem with them charging for their incurred costs.
However I take issue when the customer is not made aware of these charges, or is misled into thinking they will be significantly less than they turn out to be.

After further interrogation it turns out she was made aware of these charges when she joined, but misunderstood that it'd be ~£130 non-refundable upon cancellation not the other way around.



I'm not sure what you mean by this?

i am suggesting your mother was happy to pay to be sorted which you now say
therefore she is laid back about the cost whilst you are worrying about your inheritance being dwindled away:D;)

CoolHotCold

I'm PRETTY sure insurance isn't something that you can purchase after the incident?

So you are suggesting to leave the car broken, join AA, then use the membership to get the car repaired?

Sounds like a terrible and unmoral plan

custardy

TehJumpingJawa wrote: »

I have no problem with them charging for their incurred costs.
However I take issue when the customer is not made aware of these charges, or is misled into thinking they will be significantly less than they turn out to be.

After further interrogation it turns out she was made aware of these charges when she joined, but misunderstood that it'd be ~£130 non-refundable upon cancellation not the other way around.

In hindsight this was a mistake, as the repair wasn't particularly urgent.
She could have joined normally(~£15 after cashback), and then called them out several days later.

Isn't it frustrating when relatives get ripped off due to no other reason than ignorance.

I'm not sure what you mean by this?

so whats your issue?
she was told the cost.
do you think anyone would join a breakdown service if they could simply use it at £13 a pop?
She could have joined and got cashback.
sure,but she didnt.
thats the price you pay for using an emergency callout.

Eydon

TehJumpingJawa wrote: »

...

After further interrogation...

You interrogated your mother! Interesting choice of word. I know if I tried to "interrogate" my parents over something I'd get told (quite rightly) where to go.

halibut2209

I'm not even sure why one would be entitled to any kind of cooling off period anyway. She rang them.

fluffnutter

She paid a premium because of her circumstances at the time. That's why it's always better to arrange breakdown cover before you need it. You can take advantage of any deals on offer, plus they'll be no emergency fees.

It sounds like the cover is actually quite cheap - £13. What she's been heavily charged for is the call-out (£127). But what could she do? Her car wouldn't work and I assume she was on her own miles from home. For a quick response when you're in dire straits, you gotta pay. That's life. The only problem is that she seemed to misunderstand which part of the charge was for the call-out and which part was for ongoing membership. But, unless she was deliberately misled, that's not the AA's fault.

StaffsSW

I think a lot of people are surprised to know that buyer remorse is not one of their statutory rights. Why should a someone be compensated "for their own mistake in hindsight"?


Perhaps the reason that your nagging hasn't worked, is that your mum has, quite rightly IMO, accepted that there has to been a premium price put on it. Whether you think it is right/fair/proper/immoral/enterprising etc, has nothing to do with it really.

Hintza

Someone else wanting something for nothing thereby ripping off the long standing members of the AA who pay promptly and on time and I imagine in the majority of cases have no reason to call out the AA from one year to the next.