AA Breakdown cover didn't cover me

[CharlieChan]

23/11/2011 I am a first time user of the AA and I have never been spoken to or dealt with in a disgraceful manner. I took out the AA roadside recovery and they pestered me to take this all singing all dancing Breakdown cover where they pay up to £500 towards your car if they cannot fix it. I have tried to get them to sort this out and have had to write several letters and now been told that I have to wait 8 weeks for them to look at my complaint and get back to me.............The story goes in summary form dont want to bore you all.

 

But my car broke down loss of power and I called the AA out he could not fix it and offered to follow me home to make sure that the car would get back to my home, I told him that I would be calling the AA for this new service, which I did as the AA Patrolman said an wrote it on the sheet I should get my car to a garage for a diagnostic test so I went to a garage that he recommended to me, I took it very slowly to the garage who said it was a sensor and timing chain which would cost £545+vat I was at no time told I should not drive my car, but I took the car home to phone this insurance company run by the AA which I did I was told to get the garage to call them and they would sort it out.

 

The garage did their part and was told that the claim would be declined I called the customer service dept to be told the reason for the decline was ( I DROVE MY CAR HOME) and she then told me in a sarcastic manner that if I didnt get my car fixed and their was another problem and it was caused by the first claimed problem it too would be declined , I complained about her and the way I have been treated and then they called my home to offer me home recovery and start, i declined, I have also cancelled the payment for this recovery scheme as while this customer complains person looks at the problem and makes a decision I was paying for a part I could not use , they were not happy with that but they took the scheme off the direct debit.

 

Overall I feel that I have been cheated and conned out of my hard earned cash with nothing but a sorry from the AA, and the female who was sarcastic to me she will get a wrap on the knuckles and probably a bonus I have also been told finally I can take it to the Financial Ombusman and they are as far as I can go , but I see from somoen on here they wrote to the chairman maybe more should do that and I am going to give it a bash , what does other think ?

Edited November 24, 2011 by Conniff

[Conniff]

Welcome to the forum Charlie. I think this deserves a thread of it's own so that we can work out why the drive home would annul the cover.

 

I will call your thread 'AA breakdown cover didn't cover me', but if you want the subject as something else, just say.

 

Can you tell us the make and model of the car and also further details of what the garage said was the problem and what they did to repair it.

[raydetinu]

What does it say in the terms and conditions of this breakdown cost cover?

does it say if they cant repair it at the roadside you must take it directly to a garage for repair!

On checking the terms and conditions it would appear that you do in fact have to arrange for it to be taken dirctly to a garage and also that the car cannot continue to be driven.

[CharlieChan]

Hi there

 

My Car is a BMW 318I on a 52 Plate and the Garage told me the timing chain had to be repaired and the 2 tension arms and Crank Sensor needs to be replaced, I have not had the car repaired and it is sitting in my driveway and I am getting a lift too and from work at the mo

[raydetinu]

As with most insurance policies and motor ones (warranties etc.) in particular they will find anyway at all not to payout!

Suggest you plugging away at them and rely on what the patrolman advised and yes write/email to the top man.

[CharlieChan]

Yes I have now read the terms and conditions and to be honest it is very badly written out and not clear as to what is what on the booklet I have been sent

[CharlieChan]

Hi there

I have written to Edmund King President and Andrew Goodsell Chairman yesterday 24th November 2011 and I will wait and see what they say

[CharlieChan]

Hi there

 

Just an update as expected I have just opened my mail from this morning as I just got in from work, and well they are still declining my claim and of course the much used work we are sorry your not happy, they are now blaming the Garage for saying that the part was not faulty but just worn and that I had driven the car away from the Garage and in their words

 

" Breakdown Repair Cover " is for vehicles which are in a "breakdown situation and can not continue the journey safely " also the vehicle "needs a repair or replacement of insured parts to enable the journey to be resumed or if Applicable commenced.

 

As part worn not suddenly failed and the vehicle driven away from garage I have to uphold the decision taken to refuse your claim on this occasion in line with the BRC terms and conditions

 

DONT THEY GET IT I WAS AT NO TIME TOLD NOT TO DRIVE MY CAR

 

As for the call handler you spoke with on the 8th of Nov 2011 our Motto is 'Courtesy and Care' and we expect our staff to behave accordingly, I am sorry that you feel you were not treated more politley and helpfully when you contacted the Claims Dept , I realise that this may only have added to your worry of the situation .

 

I understand your disappointment with our service and assure you that we do our utmost to prevent similar occurances in the future, I have investigated the circumstances regarding this particular indcident and have brought it to the attention of the individual concerned, I am confident that they will take all necessary corrective action..........What the blazes does that mean?

 

Finally as we have already carried out our internal review, any further appeal against our decision lies with the underwriterof the Breakdown Repair Cover .all appeal actions must be sent to :

 

AA Breakdown Repair Cover , Acromas Insurance Company Limited, Fanum House Basingstoke Hampshire , and guess who owns this .......................

But I will go on with this .....

[danielr]

I understand your disappointment with our service and assure you that we do our utmost to prevent similar occurrences in the future, I have investigated the circumstances regarding this particular incident and have brought it to the attention of the individual concerned, I am confident that they will take all necessary corrective action..........What the blazes does that mean?

it means that they told the woman not to do it again.

 

I was at no time told I should not drive my car,

I think that's what they are saying. your car didn't break down due to a failed part.

the parts only need replacing due to wear and tear.

 

I'm guessing that what their £500 repair policy means is.

If you're driving down the road and the clutch/brakes goes in your car, then it's broken down and can't be driven safely.

then your car would be loaded onto a truck, taken to a garage and they would contribute towards the cost of fixing the breakdown.

Or if you're going down the road and your wiper blades break then they'd pay for the cost of the wiper blades to get you moving again.

 

But in this situation they are saying that you didn't breakdown, your car lost some power (possibly in some kind of limp home mode due to the sensor), and that you were able to safely drive the car. Also the timing chain is a service item if that'd actually broken (not just worn) then you'd have not been able to drive the car at all (then it would have clearly broken down),

 

But the sensors (as far as I know) don't wear, they just break, they either work or don't.

So you might suggest that this was broken. and that they should cover this?

 

you might try arguing that a worn timing chain would be more susceptible to breaking. (and the breaking of that would cause catastrophic engine failure, and immediate loss of power, -probably immediate loss of motion as well) so your car could not be driven safely. (And you're very disappointed that they allowed you to drive the car without advising you of this.)

-basically you;d be arguing, it had indeed broken down and was in a state where it should not have been driven. (and therefore should have been recovered to start with.) and as the initial fault was a genuine breakdown they should cover the parts on their insurance scheme.

 

I've not read the T&C's (don't know where they are), but you'd surely expect that the roadside assistance guy would tell you/remind you that you shouldn't drive the car. (as it would affect the validity of your cover) rather than telling you to drive, but slowly so that they could follow you.

(can you be expected to remember every clause of T&C's in this kind of situation?

 

This isn't any kind of legal advise, just what I understand from what you've written on here. expressed as a what I guess they are saying, and what you might like to try saying.

[carl skelton]

hi have had the same problem,the aa told me i wasnt covered as its wear and tear.i was told my cluch was cover when i was sold polacy,

[Conniff]

Hi Carl. It's very unlikely that the clutch would be covered by any over the counter policy, so it was just a ploy to get you to buy. If you can show that clutch cover was the main thing that pursuaded you to buy, then claim back, unless you have had work done under the warranty.

[carl skelton]

Thanks I went to a shoping centre today and found an aa stand .I let them think I was a new customer and asked what repairs or covered,they told me again cluch is covered,he said If your cluch was to go ,the aa would take to garrage and repair

[Conniff]

You need to be able to show that is what was said and then you can claim your premium back. Unfortunately the majority of these warranties cover next to nothing. They really are a waste of money.

[sailor sam]

I've just come across this and wondered how the OP got on? What puzzles me is why the AA didn't tow the car to the garage if it had a timing chain issue. It would be interesting if we could get an up date. I'm always getting things though from the AA trying to sell me additional services!

[Wookey Hole]

23/11/2011 I am a first time user of the AA and I have never been spoken to or dealt with in a disgraceful manner. I took out the AA roadside recovery and they pestered me to take this all singing all dancing Breakdown cover where they pay up to £500 towards your car if they cannot fix it. I have tried to get them to sort this out and have had to write several letters and now been told that I have to wait 8 weeks for them to look at my complaint and get back to me.............The story goes in summary form dont want to bore you all.

 

But my car broke down loss of power and I called the AA out he could not fix it and offered to follow me home to make sure that the car would get back to my home, I told him that I would be calling the AA for this new service, which I did as the AA Patrolman said an wrote it on the sheet I should get my car to a garage for a diagnostic test so I went to a garage that he recommended to me, I took it very slowly to the garage who said it was a sensor and timing chain which would cost £545+vat I was at no time told I should not drive my car, but I took the car home to phone this insurance company run by the AA which I did I was told to get the garage to call them and they would sort it out.

 

The garage did their part and was told that the claim would be declined I called the customer service dept to be told the reason for the decline was ( I DROVE MY CAR HOME) and she then told me in a sarcastic manner that if I didnt get my car fixed and their was another problem and it was caused by the first claimed problem it too would be declined , I complained about her and the way I have been treated and then they called my home to offer me home recovery and start, i declined, I have also cancelled the payment for this recovery scheme as while this customer complains person looks at the problem and makes a decision I was paying for a part I could not use , they were not happy with that but they took the scheme off the direct debit.

 

Overall I feel that I have been cheated and conned out of my hard earned cash with nothing but a sorry from the AA, and the female who was sarcastic to me she will get a wrap on the knuckles and probably a bonus I have also been told finally I can take it to the Financial Ombusman and they are as far as I can go , but I see from somoen on here they wrote to the chairman maybe more should do that and I am going to give it a bash , what does other think ?

 

You can go to the FSA as well, but the more similar complaints that come to their attention the better. I need some help please. Does anyone have a Membership letter dated in late 2009 to 2010 as I need to compare the wording please? (EDIT) Thanks.

Edited May 5, 2012 by maroondevo52
Removed phone number.

[maroondevo52]

Hello and Welcome, Wookey Hole.

 

I have removed your phone number, any user can send you a Private Message with the information you require.

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[Old Cogger]

Stay away from AA home emergency as well, again wording is mischief, radiator leak in bedroom, I did all the necessary as advised, they came out 9 p.m.ish brought a few tools and a valve (not the problem) they said will get a replacement radiator, oh dear have to be to-morrow so will come back to fit it, morning came phone the cost of new radiator is 40.00 fitting is 85.00, I had checked prices of radiator required i..e. £18.99 fitting cost £25.00 with inhibitor, so when mentioned about the cost is covered told , no we stopped the leak (I had by turning Radiator off), we have done our part of the contract they said on the phone, so I politly told them goodby.

 

Got the whole thing replaced incl hibitor for £50.00 incl materials.

 

 

Trouble with the AA/RAC is they were Privatised, customer service comes 2nd/ profit 1st, being an old RAC Patrol 30-40 years ago on call 24hours a day and knowing what repairs we undertook etc we did then and experianced certain Patrols job now

a lot not all Just try to garage your car.

[leakietbar]

BMW of this age and model type suffering from timing chain issue 99.9% of the time due to lack of correct or routine service lack lubrication the guides wear out and tensioner fail due poor lubrication!

 

The fact that the garage themselves have said it's worn and terms and conditions say no wear and tear also your car has to be maintained in lines with manufacture service intervals

 

I'd put money on it that it was Lack lubrication see it all the time

[leakietbar]

I think the issue is AA BRC customers treat this policy as a warranty which it is not and also don't fully read or understand the terms written in bold about what breakdown is

 

As a garage owner that deals with this cover daily it's a very rare occasion that the AA are unreasonable but alas every barrel has a rotting apple

 

Key words to remember if it's

 

Worn or worn out , wear and tear , corroded ,, rusted , blocked or contaminated

 

These all can be classified as general wear and tear