Complaint AA Breakdown Renewal without notification

The_AA_Company_Representative

silv.surfer wrote: »

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

I am not able to PM you due to site restrictions, but if you would like to call direct on 01256 493999, during 09:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday, we will gladly address your concerns directly.

vordmeister

Thanks guys. Tried to join the AA on the web but was told in a chat it is not possible without entering into an auto-renewal agreement. Refused - didn't like those even before I found this thread. Like them even less now.

Still keen to find breakdown insurance as I've just bought a Peugeot:)

The_AA_Company_Representative

Hello there. Sorry to read about the difficulties you have experienced. If you are still interested, can I invite you to contact the AA at [EMAIL="chat@theaa.com"]chat@theaa.com[/EMAIL] so we can explain the payment method choices in more detail.

silv.surfer

The_AA_Company_Representative wrote: »

I am not able to PM you due to site restrictions, but if you would like to call direct on 01256 493999, during 09:00 and 17:00, Monday to Friday, we will gladly address your concerns directly.

Update: I have phoned today to cancel my AA Membership i Month before 9th Fed 12 Expiry - Back in Nov 2011 I phoned the Bank and told them to Delete the D/D and Lock it Off which they did - couple of weeks later I got a letter from AA saying Bank had told them D/D removed and Locked Off and could I phone 0800 number - when I dialed the 0800 Press 1 was for Renew - Press 2 for Cancel which rung once then Auto Voice said 'We arevery busy with Breakdowns Please ring another time ' FOBBED OFF :mad:

I then rung the number advised by the AA Rep on here 01256 493999 - answered after 3 rings by very nice Lady - Not their usual Customer Service Females - I explained my main reason for leaving after 26 years was the 0844 number showing for Mobiles and how I felt it was thin end of the wedge and objected to Revenue Share numbers when I had already paid Membership. She also said she would send a letter confirming my Cancellation.

I made the point again that I felt that their Road Guys were Brilliant and that I had already given 2 of them Gold Stars on the Recmendations Number.

I also told her how so many people are furious that Membership is renewed before letters are sent to let people know it was near and then charging £20 Admin fee if they didnt want Renewal - Said to her that is not the way to keep Members by tying hands and charging £20 for leaving.

silv.surfer

This morning got another letter from AA asking again for Bank details so they could renew and offering 15% discount. So cancelling the D/D at the Bank and locking it WORKS :j I also told the Bank when I cancelled the D/D that if they replaced the D/D I would be after them for Fraud.

Important in any Renewal letter is a separate leaflet about Auto Renewal change of T & Cond. They have changed the time scale for Cancelling. You must read it properly this is obviously covering their backs about all this agro about Auto Renewals.

I am still waiting for the Nice Lady's letter confirming my Membership Cancellation.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Thank you so much for all the information here.
I had an automatic renewal letter sent to me yesterday dated 29th Dec!!!!!!!
Rang Kerry on the 01256 number and she was very helpful. Breakdown cover cancelled and she will ring insurance dept to cancel my insurance policy too. The details given are for an expired credit card anyway so hope this stops anything.
Big worry off my mind. Hate any scheme like this. Puts me off having anything else to do with them.
Have been aware of automatic renewal with other companies and just needed to ring to get it taken off. Must've taken my eyes off the ball on this one. Thank goodness for this website.

almond

not read all the posts but been googling because of a problem i have had.
Came back from holiday 13th dec to a renewal letter £40.44 rang 15th to cancel , nasty women
offering me a one time call out £16 told her never called them out in 3 years.
She told me rac etc rubbish, put me on hold and said its cancelled.
saturday opened bank statement and they had taken £40 out.
Rang and spoke to guy that was'nt interested but should be getting money refunded in 21 days
rang this morning to put in complaint and she is going to find the call recording and get back to me
will let you know if that happens, what i wondered is do i have any come back since i never allowed them to take the money, i suppose its my fault i should have stopped dd with bank
thanks

Gizmolynx

I sorted out a car insurance policy just over a year ago (2010) through the AA and included breakdown recovery. The renewal date was 5th December. In October 2011 I received a renewal request for the breakdown recovery which puzzeled me as the car insurance was not due for renewal until 5th December. I expected them to run in line with each other and so called them and asked them to change.

Anyhow, come renewal I found lower priced cover elsewhere and cancelled the car insurance (I was a named driver on the policy). However, they said that I could not cancel the recovery insurance as it was in my wife's name (again I was jointly covered and set the policy up originally). Anyhow, my wife called to cancel. A couple of weeks later I noted that they had collected the annual premium (we had bene paying monthly before). My wife called them to sort out the refund and was told this could take up to 21 days to arrange!!!!!

A week later and no sign of the money and so she arranged for me to have authority to talk to them and I have complained about the long delay in getting a refund. The renewal date was 5th December, they collected on 14th December, it is now 23rd January and still no refund in sight! They now say it will be another 7 days before they can refund the money due to an oversight!

I think they have a corporate policy to work this way in order to keep the cash flow going.

nobrakes

My tip is to phone them up and say you're going carless....worked for me!

Although the nice lady did try and sell me the benfits of a yellow card and that I should only suspend my membership....lol

10 out of 10 for trying.

GolfBravo

Don't waste your time and money with the AA, there is a much better alternative.

The AA is a privately owned company, and their number one objective is £££. I also had problems with the AA European roadside assistance cover. £99 year one, £159 the following year, and then tried to charge me £220 for the same thing in year 3!

So I joined the German motoring club, the ADAC: Europe-wide cover, full home recovery, towing from any European location, all for €79 a year (about £70). And there is no car worth limit (where the AA for example give you a cheque and write the car off if the recovery is more expensive than the car's worth), and their policy is not car specific (it is driver specific, so it covers you regardless what car you're driving). The only restriction is the car's weight - it must be under 6 tonnes.

Two months ago my car's battery died so I rang the UK ADAC contact number - it turned out to be the AA, who then quickly transferred me to the ADAC, who then sent out a AA van to jump start and diagnose my car. They all speak excellent English, and all I had to do is give them my membership number, licence plate number and the house number and postcode - they located the address on their map straight away and also told me how far away is the next available AA van! The AA van turned up 30 minutes later.

The ADAC membership is also self-renewing (you have to give them 3-month notice to cancel), but their second year cover is also €79.

You can find more info here, and the membership you need is their ADAC PlusMembership. Unfortunately there is no English language website form to join, so they email you a PDF file which you fill out and sign, then have to pay with a credit card within two weeks (also through email, they need you to fill out a form and send a photo or scan of the credit card showing the signature).