Breakdown cover

kippaxman

Before thinking of joining Greenflag let me tell you of my experience with them. We bought breakdown cover for my 19yr old daughter who has only been driving for a few months for peace of mind in the event she had a breakdown away from home. She is a trainee teacher and had to travel 30 miles to her school. Unfortunately she burst a tyre in a large pot hole and her car veered & spun before coming to a halt. She was really shook up and emotional by the event and i felt useless as I wasn’t in the country to help. She phoned Greenflag & was told they would be out to her in 1hr & 40 mins. I phoned them to explain the situation of a young female on her own in a dark country lane and demanded they attend quicker as per the ad on the telly claiming 30 mins. I found out that they sub-contract breakdowns out to one man band garages. In the end my brother in law drove to her & changed her damaged wheel. He lives 30 miles away & got there in 40 minutes. Greenflag texted my daughter & said they couldn't find her with the directions she had given them but my brother in law found her without an issue with the same instructions of her location. In the end they never turned up at all. I have cancelled my contract this morning and registered a complaint but please be aware before you sign up that this company have failed my daughter and me in every respect of their policy. I would never advise anyone to enrol in this second rate company.

onomatopoeia99

Pay more and use the AA, they have an app which uses the GPS on your phone to allow the patrol to find you and most of the time (in my experience) you get a patrol rather than a subcontract garage.

One of my friends is a secondary school science teacher, so I am impressed your daughter is already doing teacher training at 19, how old was she when she graduated with her degree? I do recommend you show her how to change a wheel though, that's something everyone that drives should know and almost everyone that's healthy should be capable of (an extending breaker bar to undo the wheel nuts is advisable as the ones provided in car "tool kits" are often lamentable).

Norman_Castle

kippaxman wrote: »

I phoned them to explain the situation of a young female on her own in a dark country lane and demanded they attend quicker as per the ad on the telly claiming 30 mins.

What exactly does the "ad on the telly" say?

From their faq.
Do you make special arrangements for vulnerable customers (lone women, elderly, with children)? Answer: Yes we do. We prioritise those in vulnerable situations so a woman with children sitting on a motorways hard shoulder would receive priority of service over a customer sitting at their home address, for example.

[Deleted User]

I'd still be surprised if it was a one man band garage they sent, it's usually a bigger third party recovery firm they contract out to and all these ever do is recover you to their preferred garage where you'll be ripped off along with shoddy workmanship and crap customer service.

Always pay the extra for recovery to home/anywhere of your choice cover, at least then you can be taken to your local garage that you trust.

Le_Kirk

Just about to renew/change and I am with Green Flag at the moment. Just read in the changes to terms that they have scrapped their promise to pay you £10 if they are not with you within 60 minutes!

AdrianC

Was there a good reason she couldn't change her own wheel?

How do you know they never arrived? She'd gone within an hour of phoning, compared to their initial statement of 1hr40. Did she phone to cancel the call-out?

eschaton

I've always found Green Flag to be excellent.

markudman

I'm a Mechanic and I have RAC cover, No way if I'm out with the family, I am getting dirty, I pay £11.00 a month, and they even cover me for lost keys, up-to £1100.
And a free ride to where ever,
I personally would not use Green Flag, as they use a third party, and one day you may get a great mechanic and the next, one that only knows how to load a car.

Usinnit_2

Look at auto aid breakdown. Prices are lower than aa and green flag more perks too.

JP1978

We are in the AA - used them twice in a matter of weeks - both times the app showed progress of the responding patrol and were kept up to date with texts on one of them as the patrol was delayed (was 11pm at night and I was parked on a 24hr petrol station, so not a dangerous position).

Best thing is, on both instances as we also have their breakdown repair cover, they paid £85 and £500 respectively to pay for towards the repairs that caused the breakdowns :-)

Begsey

Could they not find her because she had already left?
I got my OH an extending wheel key, so she could change a wheel herself. I also showed her how to do it.
I've had issues a few times, whilst having AA or RAC cover, and it's 50/50 whether they show up, or a sub contractor.