The AA Breakdown Cover

[Drift]

Well renewal time and they tried their annual shafting technique again

Last year we paid £94 for relay and roadside joint cover after phoning them as they wanted £140ish (they do this every year) after I called and asked why new member get it cheaper, its a game I play with them and works all the time.

This year they royally took the urine, the offer,

As you have been a loyal customer for ten years we are upgrading you to a Gold membership status

Very nice I thought then looked at the quote £167

So off to the phone I toddle, tell them how disgusted I am at the cheek of saying they are giving me a special offer charging close to double the fee for it and then tell them I am off to join the RAC

The guy goes quiet and thinks a bit then offers £94 same as last year, I casually rant a bit and get him down to £80 with all the gold card benefits

I accepted that quote

So never ever ever accept your annual renewing fees for anything until you see what they offer online especially for new customers, if they dont play just leave.....bet they change their mind

[snapper]

Well negotiated mate...

[Dannyboy]

Why dont you ring your bank and ask for it for free!??
Ive got it free on my account with greenflag, and kelly said she was going to swop banks as they didnt offer a good enough deal and they gave it her free with the AA.
Worth a try if nothingelse and be cheeky, you might get free travel insurance to like we do!!

[john boy]

I have the same with them every year and i get well it was a first year disscount well you didn't know me or the car's then you do now so you can drop it or i'm off, then i get the right figure for 12 months cover

[Drift]

Danny, its not free with the bank account
The banks charge you a monthly fee for extras added to your current account, it can be anything from £2 and month to £10 a month.
I have the basic of basic accounts so I save at least £60 to £70 a year, then that money covers the joint AA membership and the extras on that that the bank freebies dont offer unless you upgrade the breakdown cover
You get nothing free, especially with a bank

Well sussed that out years ago

[Dannyboy]

It is if you threaten to move bud!
Ive got 2 accounts and 2 mortgages with them and i told them i wasnt happy with what i was getting and told them i was going to santander as i have an account with them too and hey presto......greenflag with home start and free travel insurance in europe! Job done i find!!
Oh and i dont pay them any fees eather..

[BoxCleva]

They put mine up this year as well so I cancelled it immediatly on principle.

[Drift]

They do mine every year and every year I call and get it a bit cheaper than the year before

[Big Dav]

I have the cheapie AA cover through the bank but have had RAC cover for about 21 years now - first call-out was a few months ago when suspension collapsed on other motor - thankfully I had a full cover with the RAC including "homestart" which I don't normally bother with - the tow in has paid for itself already (for this year anyway) as the car was going nowhere and couldn't move it. AA were looking for over £400 for the same cover last year!
Just hope next years price doesn't jump too much because of the call-out.

[Drift]

[snapper]

RAC wanted something silly this year, in the region of 145 for family version of roadside, recovery at home, onward travel and accident care. It'd already paid for itself last year three times over when the daughters B/F broke down in his shed (he calls it a car.... go figure) on holiday in the new forest. Luckly for him she was in it at the time so it was covered. He was down from uni for the weekend, nice RAC man dragged the shed and B/F all the way back to York, she came home with us. Apparantly RAC bod thought it would be a relay job with the handover on the M3, control had other ideas

Anyway, I digress, it seems that work set one of their less rotweiler like contract negotiators a litte task of sorting some recovery for the works vans and while he was about it get a staff discount nailed too.... Got the 145 nailed to 60 quid. God knows what it would have been if the really sharp negotiators got going on it.

[yaki]

Has anyone read the small print in the AA cover

Just done it with my RAC documents and it specifically excludes vehicles that have broken from 'Off Road' use

Time for a change methinks as it is due for renewal soon

[BoxCleva]

[frontlee3]

[BoxCleva]

[frontlee3]

[Big Dav]

Drift, yep, as mentioned I had been with RAC for many years due in part to RAC cover being included in a few car warranties I had so just kept the membership going. Their price went up last year for their all singing & dancing cover by about 10% which I thought wasn't clever so sounded out the AA (had last been with them about 1991) for like-for-like cover and that was their quote. I queried it but the call handler wasn't budging so I settled for the RAC's price. Little did I know this year I needed the call-out as a "home start" incident which I never used to consider but saved me a packet. As an aside, it is irritating when you select a garage within 2 miles to carry out the repair (worth a few hundred quid) and they still want a full recovery fee (about £140) to take the car in.

[Big Dav]

Yaki, the small print of most recovery groups is becoming more restrictive - even, as I found out yonks ago, the car drops two wheels in a verge (thanks to AA). If the tow truck can't reach it without putting a wheel of the tar they won't touch it.

[drinksoptional]

I am with AA had to call them out twice this year now what got me i broke down ten miles from home due to that fuel pump issue. The guy turned up put on recovery truck and then said he can only tow me ten miles to saftey he asked where i lived which was an extra 2 miles . He then phoned control people an asked for permission to tow me home as it was just a close as the service station.
He said it doent matter how high cover they only allowed to take you ten miles or to nearest place of safety or something like that. I have relay roadside specifaclly asked for hokem recovery should this happen no matter where i am yet this guy had to negotate with the control center decen guy even put it excatly where i wanted in my street went out his way but had i broke down further down the road it would of seemed i would of been dumped,i keep meaning to query this

[Big Dav]

Would have to check the small-print but I am sure RAC feature a ten mile rule for some aspects, possibly to the nearest RAC recognised garage which isn't necessarily best when the car may eventually have to be taken on to a main dealer many tens of miles away.