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merlina

Horrible AA experiences - anyone else?

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Two recent experiences we've had with the AA have left us rather shaken up and wondering what to do...

 

Experience 1. January:Disabled person (only able to walk a few paces) parked a little way from her home to allow a friend who was delivering furniture to park closely. In the morning, the friend dropped the lady, let's call her A, off at her normally-reliable car for her journey to work. But the car had a flat battery. It was minus 3 degrees. A, who has the most expensive grade of AA membership, uses the AA app to summon help. It says they'll be there in 40 minutes. Long story short, in spite of phone calls etc she was left in the frozen car for 3 hours until a neighbour noticed and came and jump started her car. So that's a person of limited mobility in a frozen car for 3 hours. (the AA later said they had prioritised her on her last call, but she then said she no longer needed them - which she did when the neighbour stepped in)

 

Experience 2. This week. Same disabled lady. Car breaks down among huge loud bangs and huge clouds of smoke on a busy, 70mph, dual carriageway. She calls the AA. They tell her to get out of the car because it's in such a dangerous place. She does. This time it's (according to the car temperature guide) 3degrees - but with a bitterly cold wind at 7am. They send a local-ish garage to get her. It takes an hour and 20 minutes. (this is 10 minutes outside a big city). When the garage guy has got her car onto his truck it transpires there's no way she can climb into the very high cab of the vehicle. Eventually he lifts/manhandles her into the cab. She's too scared of the cold and traffic to stay there longer. She's supposed to have cover for an onward journey, but the garage guy dumps her and her car at her local mechanic's and she ends up calling and paying for a taxi to work (which after a row with the AA they have said they will reimburse)

 

So: Are the AA always so rubbish at dealing with disabled people (I had it in my head they got some kind of priority)?

Is this just unfortunate or have they really gone downhill?

Is there a better rescue organisation?

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I recently had to call the AA when I stopped without warning on a busy road, the patrolman turned up 10 mins later and made sure I was safe. He was unable to check the car as it was in quite a dangerous position ( I had no warning so it was in the middle of the road ), he said he was going to tow me to a safe lay by where he could check the car which he did, giving me clear consiece instruction on my role in the car whilst being towed, once at the lay by he checked the car and told me it would need to go to a garage as he couldn't fix it roadside, asking me which garage I wanted it towed to. I was taken to the garage and the car deposited, I signed the paperwork and the AA job was finished, I expected that I would have to find my own way home but he offered to drop me home 3 miles away. I could not fault the service he gave and would not hesitate to recommend the AA.

 

My membership is not directly with the AA but via my Lloyds bank account.

 

As in all walks of life there are good and bad and maybe your friend sadly just got unlucky in the patrolman that attended

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I've mostly had good service too.

My friend's recent incident reminds me of the AA leaving me at the side of the M1 for many hours many years ago.

I (fortunately!) haven't needed to call them often, but the most recent experiences haven't been great

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I used to be a member of the AA many years ago, but switched to the RAC after breaking down and waiting 4 hours for recovery. The driver of the recovery truck said he had been on call for 3 hours waiting to be called out!

 

Left the RAC when they started hounding me with 'special' offers and switched to Green Flag. When I broke down last year they were there in 30 minutes and took 5 minutes to sort the problem out.

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using the APP could have been part of the problem a phone call is always the better option that way you get to speck to a operator

I've had a longer wait with one of the other players in the game about 5 hrs turned out the only operative free at the time was in Nottingham and the M6 was it's normal car park at the time just before they finished the managed motorway upgrade

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I've only had to call them once and they were great.

 

I was driving home from Uni for Christmas, had a car full of my stuff, Sherlock the rabbit, Mabel the house chicken and my head gasket blew 15 mins into the journey.

I'd only had the car 5 days and was in the middle of nowhere leaving Aberystwyth but they were quick to find me, towed me to a garage of my choice and dropped me and the animals back to my student house :D

 

(Eventually got the car back to Birmingham where I'd purchased it, took the garage to court for selling me a dodgy car and won)

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Blimey Lewis, missed that story!

 

Never had any problems at all. DD had a car that persistently went wrong (it was previously altered for a disabled driver when new and converted back later - the air con was draining the battery even when the engine was off) and one time - because she had home start she actually offered the guy a Pot Noodle. And he said yes please!!! :shock::lol:

 

Both RAC and AA perfectly fine peeps here.

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I only got as far as asking for a quote from the AA. They lied about why they were better, telling me that the RAC would only try to fix my vehicle for a maximum of fifteen minutes before giving up. I knew this was not true as I'd called the RAC on numerous occasions and on one occasion the patrol man had got my car working but it took about 45 minutes.

I can't comment on their actual service.

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