The AA failings!

Quentin

Rain_Shadow wrote: »

Ok I was wrong. I still don't think the OP's parents Gold membership was the absolute rock bottom basic one though.

No good just ' thinking' they were covered.

(Gold membership is a marketing ploy like platinum credit cards & doesn't mean they get recovery unless they had paid for a membership that included it.)

The_AA_Company_Representative

redol wrote: »

I have a motoring complaint that I wanted to share with you.

My elderly parents have had a terrible, disappointing experience as loyal customers of the AA. They are gold members, with something like 40 years of AA membership. Their car broke down this week and apparently did not have national recovery on their policy, which I find hard to believe considering they pay something like £140 a year. They had to add recovery to their policy at considerable expense when their car needed to be taken home.

Also, after the initial AA patrol got to them they had to call local garages to try and find someone to fix car. Why? Surely that's something the AA should do?

My father is nearly 80 yrs old and my mother is recovering from an operation. The one time they need help getting home and the AA failed miserably!!

The complaint is WHY didn't they have this cover on their Gold membership that cost £140 a year! I feel they've had terrible service from the AA and I want to make a formal complaint.
According to the AA website, a new member can join today for only £69 and gets national recovery as standard.

Hi there,

We're sorry to hear you're unhappy with this. We do send out renewal documents every year advising of the cover that each member is paying for. We send these out 4-6 weeks in advance so it gives the member time to call us if they wish to enquire about their renewals.

If your parents remain unhappy, we would advise to get them to contact our membership team on 0343 316 44 44 to discuss their current cover.

Kind regards,
The AA UK

Sooler

The_AA_Company_Representative wrote: »

If your parents remain unhappy, we would advise to get them to contact our membership team on 0343 316 44 44 to discuss their current cover.

Totally no interest the disappointent of 40 year loyal customers. However, do phone, we think we have an opportunity to sell, let's get more money out of this.

AdrianC

Quentin wrote: »

No.

Recovery ( to any destination) is not included in all options.

They do recover you to a garage if roadside repairs cannot get you going

Define "recovery".

It does includes recovery. Recovery from the roadside to a garage.
It doesn't include recovery. Receovery from the roadside to any national destination...

It all depends on what you mean by "recovery". If what you WANT is national recovery, then that's ALWAYS been a higher-tier option with the AA - they used to call it "Relay".
Remember these in the back window of Cortinas...?


It's always down to the buyer to ensure that they're buying what they think they're buying.

mchale

ariba10 wrote: »

I owned a Long wheelbase White Landrover towing a caravan when I broke down on the westbound carriageway of the M4 just outside London. Gave them the nearest junction No.

It took them over an hour to get to me. (They could not find me!)

Maybe if you had followed the correct procedure & used a sos phone they would have found you quicker.

ariba10

mchale wrote: »

Maybe if you had followed the correct procedure & used a sos phone they would have found you quicker.

I did. This was before Mobile phones were as llnumerous as they are now.

All they had to do was get on the motorway the junction before and drive. ---- It's not rocket science .

elsien

redol wrote: »

I feel they've had terrible service from the AA and I want to make a formal complaint.

You are not the customer. If your parents want to complain then they should do so themselves.
However if they are people who have stuck with companies for years in the belief that loyalty is being rewarded, it might be time to help them review all their insurances, utilities etc. My mother had similar views and then discovered she was paying hugely over the odds with a bank's house insurance. Lesson now learned and she shops around for everything.

AdrianC

ariba10 wrote: »

I did. This was before Mobile phones were as llnumerous as they are now.

All they had to do was get on the motorway the junction before and drive. ---- It's not rocket science .

So you were between <say> 5 and 6, heading up in numbers. The message that got to them said "Near 6", and they looked between 6 and 7...

vikingaero

I've had a quick browse on Google for differences in Standard/Silver/Gold AA Membership. All I can say is what a load of BS. From what I can see there is an app for enhanced breakdown, fuel price check, car checks, a couple of short break Euro trip cover, associate membership for family/17 year olds.

No-one should ever renew with The AA/RAC. PLEASE use a cashback site and switch each year. Loyalty is nothing these days. Vodafone don't care that I've had an account with them since they started mobile operations in the 80's - all they care about is my last 3 months usage. The AA/RAC don't care either - that's why they pump so much money into attracting new customers.

Quidco have £120 cashback on new AA/RAC memberships. That's roughly half price for full bells and whistle cover.

If you have a packaged bank account then it's more than likely that you have duplicated cover so why buy from The AA/RAC? Neither organisations care about loyalty. They've changed from being mutual membership organisations to faceless insurance conglomerates whose only interest is to peddle other insurances to satisfy their venture capital owners. It's almost that their traditional and main role of breakdown services is a terrible inconvenience to them.

ariba10

AdrianC wrote: »

So you were between <say> 5 and 6, heading up in numbers. The message that got to them said "Near 6", and they looked between 6 and 7...

Do you work for the AA?

You appear to have the same mental attitude.