Roadside Recovery Article/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

everkeen

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Quote:
Originally Posted by everkeen
I maintain my car pretty much okay, and still have it serviced enough to give me peace of mind as far as reliability goes, perhaps even more so as it is 11 years old.

However, the following is from the T&Cs of Quotelinedirect`s European section of Europ Assistance:

"Important: Vehicle health check

This insurance operates on the basis that you will have had your vehicle properly serviced and maintained in accordance
with the manufacturer's specifications, especially when preparing it for a trip abroad.

In particular, we will expect you to have replaced parts which a pre-trip inspection has indicated may be reaching the
end of their normal life, for example the friction linings in the clutch or brakes.

Don't forget that replacing such items abroad will disrupt your trip, may not be practicable within your travel timescale,
and could cost you significantly more than in the UK.

And - have your vehicle checked in plenty of time before your departure date so that your garage can fix any problem
they discover. If you leave the pre-trip check to the last 10 days, then the breakdown benefits under Section 2.1 - Cover
Prior to Departure - will NOT apply.

Keep proof of servicing with your travel documents.

If you call us for assistance, and our mechanic reports to us that it is evident you have not maintained your vehicle in a
state fit to undertake the trip and return you home safely, you will have to pay all the costs arising from our intervention. "

This strikes me as taking the !!!!!!. My car is okay in the UK, and if I drive it abroad it is still the same okay car. I do not want to worry about some mechanic deciding if I am covered or not while conked out in the middle of nowhere in the inevitable rain and wind and dark, any more than I would want the same treatment in the UK.
Too many ifs and buts for me.

Reply from MarkyMarkD
"""All they are saying is that they expect your car's servicing to be up-to-date. And quite right too - why should they pay for the cost of recovering a car which hasn't been serviced in the last 5 years, for example? The point about leaving it until the last minute is fair enough, too - if you have your car serviced 2 days before leaving on a long trip, there may not be time to get faults rectified."""


Marky, I`m happy they want my car`s servicing to be up to date, and of course it is.
However, I make a round trip to Cornwall of 1000 miles every month, and I shall be going to France every month for about 6 days with each trip being about 600 miles.
"pre -trip inspection"? not enough time (or money) for my Cornwall trips nor my (shorter and less risky) French trips, and in any case I would have thought my premiums should cover my risks. If they want the equivalent of a new car for every trip, they should say so, or increase the premiums to cover their costs.
All I want is breakdown insurance for a normal car under normal circumstances
While I`m on the subject, my car needs servicing every 12000 miles; there is no mention in the service schedule of an inspection of the clutch friction linings unless there is some indication of a fault. I think the same is true of most car services these days i.e. things get looked at, but nothing is taken apart unless it shows some kind of problem.
No, in my opinion Europ Assistance have given themselves too many get-outs. They are also the only ones to ask for service documentation to be taken along - why, I wonder? Can the mechanic on the spot decide the last service was not sufficient?
For me, it`s too easy for them to not cough up. Do you trust them to be straightforward in a difficult situation, Marky? I don`t.

MarkyMarkD

Everkeen

I think you are being unduly cynical and are reading things into those Ts & Cs which simply are not there.

They do NOT say you have to take your service documentation with you. They say that if it's obvious to the mechanic when you break down, that your car is sorrowfully neglected, they won't repair (or recover) it for you. This is exactly to stop customers taking the p**s and taking their knackered old wreck of a car to the South of France, expecting a free tow home when it inevitably expires on the side of the autoroute.

A clutch failure isn't a predictable occurrence - NOBODY replaces their clutch unless it's failing. A clutch failure isn't therefore an indication of lack of maintenance. I do, therefore, agree with you that the wording on clutch friction linings is somewhat OTT - but I wouldn't take it as evidence of the whole policy being rubbish.

There is NOT a requirement for a pre-trip inspection - you are simply reading the Ts & Cs wrongly. But if things are revealed by any pre-trip inspection - meaning any service before you go abroad - they expect you to get it fixed. That's fair enough to me.

everkeen

I guess it comes down to the fact that I just don`t trust any set-up that has such obvious "outs", and you do trust them.
Stuff like "Keep proof of servicing with your travel documents" to me means just that.
You obviously read it differently when you say "They do NOT say you have to take your service documentation with you".
When it comes down to it, I just do not want any doubt at all that I am covered for what I`ve paid for. Insurance companies are hardly famous for their even-handed behaviour, and this lot can invoke their T&Cs to turn down just about any call-out whether justified or not.
You yourself agree that some of their conditions are OTT. I for one would not assume that their actual behaviour is guaranteed to be an improvement on those conditions. I presume they have them there for a purpose.
Anyway, I don`t intend finding out.

everkeen

That`s right - even from mainland Europe the no. is a uk 0870 number.
This number is for the Quoteline service to Europ Assistance, and there is no other number.

Also, EA`s FAQs cause even more concern:

Q. In your policy, section 1, in "What is not covered" you state that roadside labour charges in excess of one hour are not covered - BUT - when can that happen, as I understand it, the car will be towed to a garage if it cannot be fixed within 1 hour. So - what does this clause means?
A. This is unlikely to happen. However, if the operative is attempting to fix the vehicle and it takes longer than an hour to put everything back in place in order to be able to tow the vehicle to a garage, you would be charged for this time. In practise most cases are dealt with within an hour or delivered to a local garage before the time elapses.

Q. will i have to pay for the repair then reclaim it
A. The first 60 minutes of labour are covered. Any labour after that will be carried out at a local garage and you will be required to settle the bill.

Q. My present breakdown cover also provides assistance if I run out of fuel - does your cover do the same?
A. I am afraid that you are not covered in the event that you run out of fuel. Europ Assistance will be happy to assist you as normal but there will be a charge.
Q. Your FAQ contradict - are you covered if you run out of fuel? And - how many garages associated with this scheme in the UK?
A. Yes - you are covered if you run out of fuel. Europ Assistance employ 18,000+ local, approved operators throughout the UK and Europe.

There`s tons more like this. In fact, the whole kaboodle is a mess.

Although, as Martin indicated, this crowd are the cheapest - a deeper look (Martin cannot look in great depth at everything on his website) indicates, to me anyway, that they are not particularly inspiring of confidence when the chips are down.

Jackiekaren

Lady_K wrote:

Has anyone had experince of First Call breakdown recovery service? I was looking at thier home start option, it seems quite cheap but I just wondered what the service was like, my daughter usually drives alone so quick call out is quite important but you seem to get a lot for the price

I've joined First Call after reading about them here. Cost £34 for the equivalent of the full AA package. Bargain! I haven't used them yet though (fortunately, I have a toyota), so can't comment on their service. :cool:

mpazza

The tesco clubcard offers all seem to exclude Home start now, anyway round this?

melipona

prisci14 wrote:

I've been raking through thread after thread reading about breakdown insurer AutoAid,but cannot seem to find any website inthat name.Any info phone number or site address would be much appreciated.Many thanks in advance!! :beer:

Prisci14,
I recently joined AutoAid and put some of their details on my website, you may find it helpful:

AutoAid Policy Summary

BobBlueUK

Jackiekaren wrote:

I've joined First Call after reading about them here. Cost £34 for the equivalent of the full AA package. Bargain! I haven't used them yet though (fortunately, I have a toyota), so can't comment on their service. :cool:

Good luck with them, you'll need it if you ever have to call them out!

deanos

I have just had my renewal through from Norwich Union which i got half price last year thanks to the code on here, i rang again posing as a new customer but the code dosent give half price anymore but 10% off, i started a new policy over the phone as they give 2 months free it cost £55 all in which is slightly cheaper than renewal but i get 2 free months cover.

Now that may sound expensive compared to some policys but Norwich Union is with the RAC so if you want the comfort of the RAC coming out to you then go with Norwich Union and you dont have to claim back any money you can also pay over 4 months intrest free.

It also covers running out of fuel and keys in car.

Just a precautionary that you want to start your policy 24 hours before your current one ends because of this clause;

Any breakdown that occurs during the first 24 hours after joining, reinstating or upgrading cover (including adding any extra person under joint cover). In these circumstances the roadside rescue service will be provided free of charge, but an appropriate charge, no less than £75 plus VAT, would be made for additional services such as recovery, at home or onward travel benefits

MisterMonty

deanos wrote:

......... i started a new policy over the phone as they give 2 months free it cost £55 all in which is slightly cheaper than renewal but i get 2 free months cover......

.....Now that may sound expensive compared to some policys but Norwich Union is with the RAC so if you want the comfort of the RAC coming out to you then go with Norwich Union and you dont have to claim back any money you can also pay over 4 months intrest free......

deanos,

Thanks. I wonder whether you'd mind telling me what level of cover you got with that?

I've been with the AA for 16 years and my renewal is just about to come through. Well it would do except I've told them not to remew the policy when it expires at the end of this month.

I've done some negotiating between the AA and the RAC and managed to get a better deal through the RAC.

Basically, I got Solution 3 covering my wife and I for £84. The website shows the cost of that package as £128. I thought I'd done well negotiating that deal but I suspect I could have done better, after all they could have put me straight onto the maximum discount.

Anyway, It would good to know whether you got a similar package for a smaller price. There's still time for me to renegotiate.

I realise that you wne through Norwich Union and that you also used a discount voucher, but should that make a difference to the deal that the RAC offer me?

Thanks in anticipation.

MM