Renewal higher than new customer, can I get this changed?

kr15snw

Ive been with the AA for 4 years now and have recently added my OH to the policy aswell. As I added him to the policy after my renewal came through I wasnt sure how much it would be, but its come out of my account and at £126 I didnt think this was too bad.

On speaking to a friend and telling them my good experiences of the AA she decided to join and put her OH on her policy. Shes just told me shes only paid £100 for the same thing as me?

So I looked on the site, and shes right. New customers get a £26 discount. Why do companies do this? Surely they should reward their existing customers?

And is there anyway I can cancel and then start up a new membership so I can get the cheap price? Or are the AA like the phone companies, if I threaten to leave theyll make it cheaper?

Any advice welcome

Tigsteroonie

We (well, OH) phoned and moaned at the renewal cost, and "persuaded" them into discounting the renewal price back to that of a new customer - so give it a go!

Pollycat

I don't think you have any 'rights' to get the reduction, but I'd certainly say it's worth contacting them and asking.
I don't know if you'd be financially disadvantaged by cancelling and rejoining.

This whole 'new customer gets the best deal' hacks me off, it's the same with credit cards and bank accounts.
To quote Mark Benton in the Nationwide advert, "once a company has hoicked you in using the big fat juicy worm, they take you off the hook and put you in the keep net'.

Maybe (to quote Mark again), you should stop 'carping on'. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Sorry.

superflygal

Why not do a comparison site to find the cheapest deal, then buy through Quidco? I got £100 cashback on my car insurance, then £80 on home.

Try www.confused.com

But check if the cheapest quotes are on Quidco:

www.quidco.com

before you buy, cos you may be as lucky as moi (£100 cashback) Don't stick with a company if they aren't competitive. I change every year to the best deal.

SFG x

pinkshoes

I was going to mention it being like that Nationwide bank advert too - a nice low rate to attract new customers, then they just hope you forget and don't cancel before the next direct debit goes through.

tinkerbell84

This is an industry standard - just check out Martin's insurance cost cutting article and the Insurance forum on here!

It rarely pays to stay loyal to an insurance company year after year. The new business discounts are far too good to waste!

tinkerbell84

Doesn't sound like your friend's policy was discounted because she was new. No 2 policies are identical, so the price your friend paid would always be different to yours.

Read the insurance costcutting article and have a read through the insurance forum - it rarely pays to stay put year on year with insurance.

kr15snw

Tinkerbell, its breakdown cover not Insurance. So its an identicle deal, just different prices

tinkerbell84

Ah, that makes sense. You didn't say it was for breakdown cover, so I assumed it was insurance!

andyrules

Yes, it seems to be standard practice, I'm sure Martin has said somewhere that companies benefit from 'apathy', ie people just renew without thinking, or worse, like my mum, think they are getting the best deal as they are loyal.

I would check to see how low a deal you can get elsewhere and then ring the AA and offer them to match.

I did that a couple of years ago - I just rang and said I was not renewing at that price and they took it from there.

Becles

Be a breakdown tart!

I shop around each year and move someplace different depending on who has the best deals for new customers.

Say you went with RAC this year, you could get a new customer deal from AA again next year