AA Breakdown Cover - Failure

[djclarke]

Hi all,

 

Only just found this forum. I'm after some advice so I'll post the whole story so far.

 

Below is a copy of a letter I sent to the AA Breakdown Cover complaints in early Feb 2011.

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to you regarding claim ******. On the 30th December 2010 my car developed a serious oil leak. I registered breakdown with the AA in the usual way and a patrol diagnosed a failed Turbo and advised me in no uncertain terms not to drive the car. I then took the car (Mazda 6) to a local garage (Treadfirst) who happen to be located approx 100m from my work, where the car was parked. On the 5th January 2011 they told me they had taken the sump off and found metal shavings in the sump and it would need both a new engine and new Turbo.

 

So I contacted a engine finding service and was called by a garage in Birmingham who could do this work for me (Midland Auto Care Centre) at a cost of £1800. They picked the car up from Treadfirst and I told them to hold onto the car until wait for me to be in contact with them. Over the next week I constantly tried in my free time to contact you. Each time I had to wait on the phone for a minimum of 20-30 minutes. Eventually I had to give up. My partner managed to contact you on the 13th January (having been on hold for 45 minutes before the call was answered) and was giving the claim number listed above.

 

The person who she spoke to said that AAWS would be in contact with the Garage directly and took their details as somebody would need to inspect the car. Miss Smith was also advised that she would be called back to inform of the claim progress since we were without a car at that time. I’ve been in contact with THE GARAGE this morning and they have had no contact from either the AA or AAWS.

 

I tried to call your Claims line on 0845 6040042 several times after the 13th January but again had to wait at least 20-30 minutes without any answer. Because of the delay I had to ask MACC to fuly assess the car, and the car had to scrapped due to the need to replace the clutch and dual mass flywheel.

 

The lack of service from the AA on this matter has meant I was delayed by over two weeks in making the decision and thus put me under a great deal of stress. Our only other car is a small two seater car. I have two daughters one of whom is Autistic and during this period we struggled to be able to transport her effectively.

 

I have also had to purchase a replacement car. Had the AA been more responsive about the matter I would have been able to repair the existing vehicle with the resultant contribution from the insurance scheme.

 

I am writing to you in the first instance to make a complaint, and also to seek compensation for the loss of car, time and general inconvenience caused by your complete lack of service. What on earth is going on with this claim and exactly how long do you expect a customer to wait before having a car repaired?

 

Here is a follow up I sent (via email) to complaints on the 25th Feb explaining the afternoons frustration I had with the AA

 

Please find attached a copy of a letter I sent to your Breakdown Repair Cover section on the 11th February 2011. Having had no response for two weeks, which I’d consider a reasonable time frame for at least a reply, today I decided to follow up on the issue.

Today I called your Member Relations department(25th February 2011). I was told by them that they are unable to deal with my complaint but would note my dissatisfaction with the service. They then passed me to the Breakdown Repair Cover (here after referred to as BRC) section. Having waited on the phone for approx. 30 minutes I got through to them and was told they had called the Garage on the 13th but the person was busy and they would call back, which they didn’t. The issue was never followed up by the BRC and the claim was not moved forward nor were we informed of such. My complaint letter from the 11th February 2011 was just filed and no action taken on it.

BRC then passed me back to Member Relations telling me that they are unable to do anything about it as the car has now been removed. This is completely unacceptable as BRC had almost two months to look at or inspect the car.

To even try to solve the matter I have spent at least three to four hours on the phone and nobody within the AA seems able to help. I just get passed from the BRC to Member Relations and back.

I feel aghast that the AA, a trust British brand, would let a member down to this level. Please can you investigate this issue.

 

Here is a letter I've sent to Complaints, CEO and President of the AA with out response.

 

Dear Sir,

I write to you as a very angry customer of the AA. Over my twenty plus years of driving I have always valued the service that the AA have given me. Now I am no longer able to hold the AA in the high regard you would doubtlessly wish me to. As you can see from the letters attached to this I have since the 5th January 2011 been trying to claim against a Breakdown Repair Cover policy (Membership No xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx).

After several attempts to get through on the phone a claim was made against the policy on the 18th January and no action was taken by the AA except a single call to the Garage concerned (which I wasn’t told about until 25th February). The garage didn’t return the call but no action was taken by your claims department when they didn’t return the call and the claim was left. When I wrote to follow up the letter was filled and no action was taken and no attempt to call me or letter sent.

When I called the member relations on the 25th February I was made to hang on the phone for 30 minutes and then passed to the claims department who could do nothing for me. I was then passed back to member relations who told me they couldn’t help me. When I ask what the point of a member relations department was if they couldn’t help a member I was told it’s to solve members complaints.

As a customer who spends approx £400-£500 a year with the AA I expect at least to have my questions answered. Because of the AA’s incompetence in this matter I have had to scrap a car worth about £2500. Had the Breakdown Repair Cover paid the £475 they should of I would not of found myself in the list position and a bill of £1800 would of been more acceptable. It is completely unacceptable to pay for a insurance policy against expensive bills and then find myself unable to claim or even have the claim investigated.

If I have not heard anything from the AA by the end of March 2011 I shall be cancelling my membership (Cost of £35 per month) and my home insurance with the AA.

So what do I do next?

[letsmakeamark]

Sue them for restitution.

[mikey1982]

Hi just found this forum while searching round. Hope someone could give some advice. I have AA breakdown recovery for 2 cars and a van and also have breakdown repair cover. The repair cover is surposed to pay £475 towards any repairs that are covered in there guidelines. The policy has been running since Oct 10. I bought a new van on 30th Jan and updated the policy with the van on there. On March 1st the van broke down and the AA patrol man said the Head Gasket and Water pump had gone they towed me to garage and said i was covered for repair. A day later there call centre rang and asked me what i thought of there service gave them complete praise as i was really happy again they said i was covered for repair of the head gasket. in the mean time while the garage was waiting for parts for the van they sent an assessor to view the damage. He claimed the van had a long standing problem well before i bought the van and have said they wont pay anything towards the repairs. Is there anything i could do as i have owned the van a month and didn't know of any of the problems the van had.

[raydetinu]

Any car fault insurance from ahatever source are generally not worth the paper they are printed on, they will always find a way not to pay.

The AA do run any of these scemes they are underwritten by other companies, who are only interested in taking your money.

Your only recourse is to take them to court, but make sure you go over the contract/terms with a fine tooth comb first to make sure your claim is solid.

You may be succesfull but be prepared for a long drawn out battle, they will wriggle.

I quit the AA long ago when it was taken over, not run for interest of the member anymore, just in it to make money.

[Conniff]

I second everything by Ray above.

 

Insurance policies are supposed to give you piece of mind, even if the premiums have come to more, when you eventually claim, than you will get in contributions.

 

Car warranties don't work like that, they are the biggest con since man learned to write, a total waste of money.

[justlaw]

I'd join the RAC - as they said greatest con on earth. stay away

[djclarke]

A little bit of an update for you all.

 

Having conducted a Twitter campaign involving the @AAPresident and @AARewards I finally got a phone call from the CEO's Office at the AA. They were very apologetic and offered me compensation at the level that the original Breakdown Repair Cover would of been.

 

I'm waiting for the offer in writing and I've told them I intend to at the very least write to the FSA and FOS and investigate my legal options.

[zaki1122]

post your comments at facebook.com/TheAA.UK

[Wookey Hole]

Hello, Not had your problem but still fighting the AA as I have no recollection of a call from them to sell me Breakdown Repair Cover or of agreeing to it in 2009. I should think the patrol man has more knowledge to assess the vehicle than someone trying to stop a payout. Who pays the assessor? Did you ever look into who has the final decision to take it to the garage, or did the patrol man tell you that his decision may be overturned? It was certainly very bad form not to advise you that an assessor would be inspecting, before saying you were covered for the head gasket. That's the call centre mentality.