Complaint AA Breakdown Renewal without notification

jimmy_cricket

The_AA_Company_Representative wrote: »

I am sorry to learn that you have not received a call back. Can I suggest that you call our Member Relations team on 0844 209 0556, with your details, so they can clarify this for you.

I'm not sure whether you read my post correctly; I have already rung the AA twice to try and cancel my AA membership. On both occasions I have been fobbed off with promises of call backs that never occurred. The request for cancellation, as I mentioned in the previous post, has now been made in writing, which on current form I'm sure will be 'lost in the post'. I'm unclear as to what a further phone call will achieve, perhaps you could enlighten me?

The_AA_Company_Representative

The number I have given you takes you through to the Member Relations team who are there to help members and customers with any issues they may have. I hope you manage to get this resolved
satisfactorily.

zaki+lina

:mad:

please join my gruop againest AA

facebook.com/TheAA.UK

Veryannoyed_3

Just what do I need to do to get all my details removed from the AA's database?

Following the debacle over the membership I didn't need and didn't want, the convoluted explanations about this and the extreme annoyance at my time being wasted which eventually resulted in a full refund, I received a text message to my mobile phone earlier this week telling me to be prepared for darker nights with AA Breakdown Cover.

I couldn't have made it clearer. I do not want any further contact from the AA and I do not want my details on their database.

I am now going to email the AA's chief executive to complain of harassment and to explain that every time I get further unwanted letters / phone calls or texts I will be invoicing the AA for £50 for my time in dealing with them.

This is actually beyond a joke, these people just don't take data protection law seriously at all, once they have your details they clearly believe they can keep harassing you, even when you've made it plain you are not interested.

silv.surfer

The reason there are all these complaints is bacause AA as we all knew it is long DEAD - I should know I had been with them for 25 years -it has been in the hands of a Private Equity company called Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP with offices in London.

Private Equity Companies are well known for Asset Stripping and although Charterhouse still have a Holding Share other parts have have now gone through 4/5 other Equity Companys Stripping as they go - The Insurance part of AA ( base Membership ) has been in the hands of Saga for a few years - well known for employing Temps not Salaried Staff on their Switchboard e.g. Customer Services - that is the reason for all these Errors because these Temps wouldnt know an Insurance or Renewal Document from a Nursery Rhyme Book and dont want to - just get their money at end of the week.

What made me jump ship was that I found that you now have to call 0844 number from Mobiles for Breakbown - How money graabbing is that - Anyone know how I could have got a Landline installed in my 1969 Classic Car not that it is any Landline Call Plans either:eek:

There had been over 60 years Family Loyalty with AA until I joined RAC and jumped ship on 16th Sept 11 - I emailed my Complaint about the 0844 on their Website and got an Out of Office Auto Reply from a Helen Preston dated 13th Sept and NOTHING SINCE - not that I really expected anything.

It shows how AA is being mis-managed (asset stripped) because 3.000 AA Mechanics were sacked a couple of years ago and now the Latest Equity Company has found that they are over 3,000 Mechanice SHORT - many have since left over their new Service Conditions. - I know all this Info. because I have Friends Insiders who pointed me as to were to find this information - It is all on the Internet if you know were to look.

I bet the AA Represntative would like to get this Post Removed but it ALL FACT. We shall see if it is Removed or not - Rant Over - But I will keep looking at Bank Statments just incase - Dont Trust them now :beer:

The_AA_Company_Representative

The AA welcomes all feedback as this enables us to understand what our members and customers needs are and we can address them accordingly.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised here, please give us a call on 0844 209 0556.

silv.surfer

Hi AA Rep.

I will not phone ANY 0844 numbers I will be charged extra on my Call Plan - it is outside my Landline Anytime - and will charged to sit on Hold and listen to music - making the call cost me in excess of £2 or more - ( I am an active campaigner on GPs 0844 expensive appointment calls ) so I will not be calling any 0844 number .

I have made my RAC Membership overlap AA so am still an AA member until Feb next year but will be removing the D/D before then.

The AA Mechanics are Great Guys and very helpfull over and above the line of Duty - Pity the Backroom Staff are just not of the same calibre - If AA seriously want to discuss the problems Your Members are having you are welcome to PM me and I will send my email address.

Veryannoyed_3

The_AA_Company_Representative wrote: »

The AA welcomes all feedback as this enables us to understand what our members and customers needs are and we can address them accordingly.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised here, please give us a call on 0844 209 0556.

My needs are that you remove ALL my details from your database. However, as I've asked for this to be done before, and have been assured it had been done, you are clearly not going to do it without further pressure from me to your chief executive. If that fails he'll be getting an invoice from me for every future unwanted contact I get from the AA.

I agree with the person who said they were not prepared to phone an expensive 0844 number to sort out their problem.

Useless organisation!

silv.surfer

Just to update on my invitation to AA Rep to PM me for my email address as I wont phone ANY 0844 numbers - No PM so far and dont think AA will bother - I am a lost cause - I have already jumped
ship :jalthough still officially a Member until Feb 2012

Triumph1954

The_AA_Company_Representative wrote: »

We will always cancel a policy if requested although, if this request falls outside of the 14 day cooling off period, an administration fee will be required, as is the case with all products and similar to many other retailers/service providers.[/SIZE]

I was on annual automatic renewal with the AA.
I wanted to cancel my policy but was outside the 14 day cooling off period.
I could find nothing comprehensive on the AA website or in my AA Membership Terms & Conditions Booklet to explain that I could still cancel my policy and how and what factors may effect the amount of money I would get back.
However my AA Membership T&C Booklet hinted at something when it said under cancellations:
"If the member wishes to cancel after the cooling off period has expired the following will apply:
for members with Annual Cover: subject to other statutory rights the member may have, there will be no refund of the Membership premium."
I also went to the net and found post 83 of this thread from The AA Company Representative. The words are quite clear,
"We will always cancel a policy if requested although, if this request falls outside of the 14 day cooling off period, an administration fee will be required"
I'd also noted the telephone numbers the AA Company Representative had provided.
Armed with this information I called the AA.
The upshot is that my policy was cancelled and I got a full refund minus a cancellation fee of £20.00

Please note that I had not called out the AA since my policy was renewed; if you have this may effect the amount of your refund and I guess things like the length of time you have had the policy may also effect the amount of your refund.
Perhaps the AA Company Representative can shed some light on the factors that may effect the refund value and to what degree please?


However I remain extremely concerned at the response of the AA to my request to cancel my policy and so I am posting here.

I called the Membership enquiries number first, 0800 435980 and selected the option about leaving the AA (usually worth trying if other lines are slightly unresponsive).
I dialled 141 before the 0800 number as I wanted to make an anonymous general enquiry regarding the procedure for cancelling a policy.
I was told repeatedly that I couldn't cancel my policy if the cooling off period had passed. I insisted that I could and asked to be passed to a manager; this request was refused unless I gave the call handler my policy number in line with the data protection act - what on a general enquiry??? The dialogue was heated and rather than further engage with someone who obviously couldn't help me, I said goodbye.

Next I tried one of the AA Co. Reps suggested numbers, 0844 2090566, twice - it was engaged.
Then the other, 0845 6076727 and selected the option about being unhappy with my policy; I got straight through to the complaints department of the AAs Member Relations. (Apparently they will call you back as it's an 0845 number )

The gist of the call was:
I would like to cancel my policy please but I am outside the cooling off period; what's the process please and how much of my premium would be refunded?
The response was that I couldn't cancel my policy after the cooling off period.
Of course I can, I said.
No you can't cancel it now, not after the cooling off period.
I don't want this policy, I want to cancel it and I want my money back.
You don't understand, you can't have your money back.
Look I don't want a policy I haven't used and am not going to use for the rest of the year, I want to cancel it and I want my money back. I believe there's an administration fee, I think it's about £20.00 isn't it. How much of my money can I get back.
And so on...
... very heated, not very pleasant (had my manners not prevented me, I wanted to point out that the call handler was lying or at best being frugal with the truth), and I had to be incredibly forceful.
Infact it seems to me that you have to let them know that you know how the system works otherwise you'll be on a road to nowhere.

I find it often helps to ask for a call reference number or if they don't have one or won't give you one, ask for the time and date; name or number of the call handler; the department name and the extension number so that you have a reference for your call.

Anyway after a ridiculous and completely unecessary start to the conversation, and after being extremely forceful about what I could do and what I wanted to do, the call handler eventually conceded that I could cancel my policy and in my circumstances, could get a full refund less a £20.00 adminstration fee.

I don't know if one has to pay the admin fee, can anyone advise please but I did just to get out of the policy; I'll still be substantially better off than if I'd stayed put.

They can email you to confirm the cancellation.

The AA guys in the field are fantastic but the rest of the organisation - well I won't go on, this thread says it all.

A once highly regarded organisation seems to be going rapidly downhill - there is plenty that could change to restore it to it's former glory but it will require a radical rethink of how it treats its customers - need I really point out to a massive organisation that without customers, there is no business.