Beware Autoaid Automatic Renewals

Joe9090

I have just had an email advising me of automatic renewal which I am sure did not happen last year.

I was going to renew so I am glad I looked closely at the email which showed my premium had increased from £54 to £94! They had only added £30 for my car being over 16 years old (a*Optional: Click  to remove but my car is only 6 years old!) and £10 for my wife's cover which I do not want.

If you don't want automatic renewal you have to go to their portal to remove it!

Surely they are trying it on.

CliveOfIndia

I've been with Autoaid for years, and on the back of your post I've just checked their website.  You're right, it appears they're now charging an extra £10 to cover a spouse.

Whilst they weren't the absolute cheapest company available, they've always been good value if you do need the two of you covered in any car.  I'm going to be shopping around now when I need to renew this year !

It may turn out that they're still the cheapest in that situation - but yes, it certainly looks as though they've changed their pricing structure recently.

facade

Joe9090 said:

<snip>

They had only added £30 for my car being over 16 years old (a*Optional: Click  to remove but my car is only 6 years old!) and £10 for my wife's cover which I do not want.

If you don't want automatic renewal you have to go to their portal to remove it!

Surely they are trying it on.

This trick seems to be common now.

My car insurance was about to auto renew at literally twice last year's price.

Looking at the renewal every single expensive extra option was now ticked (breakdown cover, expensive legal protection, miss fuelling, key cover, hire car etc.), when the only expensive option on the last policy (and the 5 years before that) was protected no claims.

I just found insurance elsewhere cheaper than last year and didn't bother getting a re-quote.

Grey_Critic

Have never been able to understand why people Autto-renew. All it does is give the supplier of the service a licence to rip you off.

Nobbie1967

I have auto renewal and went to check what I was charged last time. It turns out they couldn’t take payment in May 22 and the policy lapsed. Luckily, I’ve not needed them. It’s money saving of a sort

Joe9090

Grey_Critic said:

Have never been able to understand why people Autto-renew. All it does is give the supplier of the service a licence to rip you off.

I would never auto renew but reading last years renewal email again they said they would renew it using the same payment terms and because I was happy with the price and terms I accepted by default.

My mistake and I nearly regretted it this year. I posted to make others aware!

choosewiselyx

I have had auto-renew set up for Autoaid because there hasn't been anything available from other providers that has come close to the cost - myself and my spouse covered for breakdowns in any car we are in.  We have used it a couple of times and they get the local breakdown firms to come to you within an hour.  It's been good.

This year my premium email states £95+ and that is because they have added a £21 charge for a car being over 16 years old.  I went on the site and checked the portal.  You can't add car details unless you have a named car policy which is different, so every single Autoaid member will need to contact Autoaid to get that removed unless their car is over 16 years old.  It isn't clear enough for everyone in my opinion and should be opt in - not opt out.  People aren't going to notice and are going to pay Autoaid more than they should be.

If only there was a consumer focused website that could bring that to peoples attention.  Maybe one that recommended Autoaid a few years back when it was less than £40.

diesel_dog

I'm glad someone else brought this up.

My renewal last year was £78.54 and this year it's now £95.54. PLUS an extra £25 if called out as one of our cars is now 10+ years old.

Please note: If the vehicle at the time of breakdown is 10 years old or over, the first £25 of the call out cost will need to be paid by you direct to the service provider at the time of call out.

Email further goes on to state.
Why should you renew with us? We believe that we provide an exceptional breakdown cover, which covers you for home start, roadside assistance, recovery and more, at an affordable price. Not only that, but we also cover your spouse, civil partner or common law partner for just £10, so long as they are named on the policy. You may also wish to compare the prices and level of cover offered by alternative providers. AutoAid are also highly endorsed by The Money Saving Expert!

Are they really still been endorsed by MSE? The renewal email does clearly state and underlined that it will be auto renewed. When I first joined via recommendation of this site in 2018, it was £43.31.

The question is who are other people and MSE now advising/using?

Im_a_bot

I would normally not auto-renew but looks like a mishap on my part for not cancelling auto renew for AutoAid this year (although I usually opt out autorenewals during the purchase/registration, but this was a year ago; can't be 100% certain, so I give the benefit of doubt). 

The issue I've had though is that they did not notify me beforehand, just received a text and email congratulating me on my renewal. Called and told them that this is not a good practice. They said they'd give a full refund, which is pending atm (3-5 working days).

sheslookinhot

Im_a_bot said:

I would normally not auto-renew but looks like a mishap on my part for not cancelling auto renew for AutoAid this year (although I usually opt out autorenewals during the purchase/registration, but this was a year ago; can't be 100% certain, so I give the benefit of doubt). 

The issue I've had though is that they did not notify me beforehand, just received a text and email congratulating me on my renewal. Called and told them that this is not a good practice. They said they'd give a full refund, which is pending atm (3-5 working days).

If you have signed up for auto-renewal, why would you expect them to notify you beforehand ?

400ixl

sheslookinhot said:

Im_a_bot said:

I would normally not auto-renew but looks like a mishap on my part for not cancelling auto renew for AutoAid this year (although I usually opt out autorenewals during the purchase/registration, but this was a year ago; can't be 100% certain, so I give the benefit of doubt). 

The issue I've had though is that they did not notify me beforehand, just received a text and email congratulating me on my renewal. Called and told them that this is not a good practice. They said they'd give a full refund, which is pending atm (3-5 working days).

If you have signed up for auto-renewal, why would you expect them to notify you beforehand ?

Because they are obliged to do so.

Auto renewal is just a mechanism of convenience in this case (as it is not a legally required insurance like motor). It does not mean you should not check for the best deal as you would any no auto renewing policy.