The Aa

[balli hi]

I had the misfortune of being involved in a minor collision last night, i needed assistance from the AA and dialed the number on my membership card, although i have not had the need to call on their services in years, i recall from the last time i called them that the experience was fairly painless, i was talking to an operator within seconds and an AA patrol was with me within 20 minutes, well a lot has changed since then it would seem, first of all you dial the number and then you are connected to an automated service, you have to listen to a message which explains that the call is chargable and then you are given a list of options, you are then invited to press 1 or 2 or 3 etc, however my mobile is the touch screen type and the keypad disappears when you are connected to a call, so i could not physically choose an option, in the meantime the options are repeated over and over, eventually it invites you to choose your option verbally, however it failed to recognise my spoken option on the first and second time i said 'one' clearly, the automated voice kept repeating the options over and over, it then recognised my spoken option on the third attempt, it then went into a very long message explaining what you should and should not do in the event of a motorway breakdown, but giving you the option to terminate the message by saying 'one' should it not apply, however despite me saying one over and over the message just kept going on and on, it then gave me another list of options :ffs: and finished by saying if wish to speak to an adviser please hold, we are experiencing high call volumes and you are placed in a que, your call will be answered as soon as an adviser becomes available, well it took around ten minutes before i got through to speak to a real person, the operator then took all my details then asked me to explain the problem, he then advised me that if a tow truck was necessary that because the accident may be interpreted as a fault accident on my part, that there would be a charge of £108 plus a host of other charges if they needed to use any specialist equipment that their patrols do not carry, well i was gobsmacked at what the guy was telling me, i have taken out quite a comprehensive breakdown cover policy with them, so i was astonished to learn of all their extra charges, i guess the moral of the story is 'read the small print' when you take out a policy, anyway the guy then tells me that a patrol will be with me at midnight, the time was now 10-30pm and they are telling me that it would take 1 and a half hours to attend, the trouble was i was stopped in a busy side street in covent garden with traffic backed up behind me and unable to move the cab because the nearside of my front bumper had been pushed back and was foulng the wheel, fortunately a guy came out of a shop to help me and we managed to pull the bumper out enough so as i could move the cab out of the way, but a part of the bumper was still rubbing on the tyre and would have shredded the tyre should i have attempted to drive it for any distance, so i had no option but to sit and wait, midnight came and went and it dawned on me that i had some heavy duty rope in the boot, i lashed one end to the lampost beside the cab and the other around the offending part of the bumper and slowly reversed, it did the trick and pulled the bumper iron away from the tyre, i then decided to call the AA and tell them that i had resolved the issue, just as i was getting back on the phone to go through the process of calling the AA and going through all the options in order to tell them not to bother, the AA man turned up, some two hours after i had first called them :censor: basically it had cost me a small fortune for a phone call that had lasted for around 20 minutes, then they tell me it was going to cost me if the cab had to be recovered, bearing in mind i have relay and homestart cover, and it took them 2 hours to attend, i wonder how long it would have taken if i had called them out in the middle of last winter when all the snow fell

I can honestly say that after this experince and having been with the AA for the last 8 years that i will not renew with the AA when my policy expires next year.

maybe my experince was a one off, i don't know, but i pity anyone in need of their services in a hurry, cos it'll take 20 minutes before you are connected to a real person, and then another 2 hours for them to attend outside of the busy periods.

I also notice that Toyota have come away from the RAC and are now offering AA membership with club Toyota, i thought that was a good thing when it first happened, but am not so sure now.

[acetip]

I had the misfortune of being involved in a minor collision last night, i needed assistance from the AA and dialed the number on my membership card, although i have not had the need to call on their services in years, i recall from the last time i called them that the experience was fairly painless, i was talking to an operator within seconds and an AA patrol was with me within 20 minutes, well a lot has changed since then it would seem, first of all you dial the number and then you are connected to an automated service, you have to listen to a message which explains that the call is chargable and then you are given a list of options, you are then invited to press 1 or 2 or 3 etc, however my mobile is the touch screen type and the keypad disappears when you are connected to a call, so i could not physically choose an option, in the meantime the options are repeated over and over, eventually it invites you to choose your option verbally, however it failed to recognise my spoken option on the first and second time i said 'one' clearly, the automated voice kept repeating the options over and over, it then recognised my spoken option on the third attempt, it then went into a very long message explaining what you should and should not do in the event of a motorway breakdown, but giving you the option to terminate the message by saying 'one' should it not apply, however despite me saying one over and over the message just kept going on and on, it then gave me another list of options :ffs: and finished by saying if wish to speak to an adviser please hold, we are experiencing high call volumes and you are placed in a que, your call will be answered as soon as an adviser becomes available, well it took around ten minutes before i got through to speak to a real person, the operator then took all my details then asked me to explain the problem, he then advised me that if a tow truck was necessary that because the accident may be interpreted as a fault accident on my part, that there would be a charge of £108 plus a host of other charges if they needed to use any specialist equipment that their patrols do not carry, well i was gobsmacked at what the guy was telling me, i have taken out quite a comprehensive breakdown cover policy with them, so i was astonished to learn of all their extra charges, i guess the moral of the story is 'read the small print' when you take out a policy, anyway the guy then tells me that a patrol will be with me at midnight, the time was now 10-30pm and they are telling me that it would take 1 and a half hours to attend, the trouble was i was stopped in a busy side street in covent garden with traffic backed up behind me and unable to move the cab because the nearside of my front bumper had been pushed back and was foulng the wheel, fortunately a guy came out of a shop to help me and we managed to pull the bumper out enough so as i could move the cab out of the way, but a part of the bumper was still rubbing on the tyre and would have shredded the tyre should i have attempted to drive it for any distance, so i had no option but to sit and wait, midnight came and went and it dawned on me that i had some heavy duty rope in the boot, i lashed one end to the lampost beside the cab and the other around the offending part of the bumper and slowly reversed, it did the trick and pulled the bumper iron away from the tyre, i then decided to call the AA and tell them that i had resolved the issue, just as i was getting back on the phone to go through the process of calling the AA and going through all the options in order to tell them not to bother, the AA man turned up, some two hours after i had first called them :censor: basically it had cost me a small fortune for a phone call that had lasted for around 20 minutes, then they tell me it was going to cost me if the cab had to be recovered, bearing in mind i have relay and homestart cover, and it took them 2 hours to attend, i wonder how long it would have taken if i had called them out in the middle of last winter when all the snow fell

I can honestly say that after this experince and having been with the AA for the last 8 years that i will not renew with the AA when my policy expires next year.

maybe my experince was a one off, i don't know, but i pity anyone in need of their services in a hurry, cos it'll take 20 minutes before you are connected to a real person, and then another 2 hours for them to attend outside of the busy periods.

I also notice that Toyota have come away from the RAC and are now offering AA membership with club Toyota, i thought that was a good thing when it first happened, but am not so sure now.

since the AA was taken over by an asset stripping company things have been cut to the bone.the extra charges sound a bit like Air Lingus.I wonder if there is any connection.Im not with them myself but Green flag, never had to use the service but they pay you money if they dont arrive promptly.

[Cyker]

That really sucks :(

The AA's reputation has really dropped since they were taken over; The drive for profit over service quality really has made a marked difference...

The actual service guys are still generally pretty good; It's the rest of the company that is the problem...!

[Jan&tone]

That really sucks :(

The actual service guys are still generally pretty good; It's the rest of the company that is the problem...!

That is actually often the case, where the troops on the ground are good but the back office staff haven't a clue, are paid minimum wage and probably couldn't care whether you are broken down outside Harrods or 10 miles from Timbuctoo!

Having said that, when we wanted Club T. To bring my car home last year when I was taken ill, they couldn't have been better! So I only have praise for them, at the moment at least

[Cyker]

With Club Toyota, you don't go through the normal AA lines do you?

IIRC you ring them and they liaise with AA, or is this not the case now?

[balli hi]

With Club Toyota, you don't go through the normal AA lines do you?

IIRC you ring them and they liaise with AA, or is this not the case now?

Be good to know the answer to that, if that is the case then it would save people a lot of time and expensive phone call, however, what would happen if you called club Toyota outside of normal operating hours, are they manned 24/7 ? , i'm not sure how it works because i never had reason to call on their services when i had RAC cover with club Toyota.

Regards the AA , people really do need to read the small print when taking out a policy because they have a host of hidden charges, they certainly caught me out, they sell you the product, explain what your covered for and that's it peace of mind or so you think, i'm just wondering how many people actually read all the fine detail in the terms and conditions booklet when they take out a policy, not many i would have thought, also i notice that they now limit you to number of call outs you can make within a set period.

I haven't received a terms and conditions booklet from them in ages as i automatically renew each year via direct debit , and all i get is my renewal cards, apparently if you want a full terms and conditions booklet you have to request one.

[snipersniper]

I had the misfortune of being involved in a minor collision last night, i needed assistance from the AA and dialed the number on my membership card, although i have not had the need to call on their services in years, i recall from the last time i called them that the experience was fairly painless, i was talking to an operator within seconds and an AA patrol was with me within 20 minutes, well a lot has changed since then it would seem, first of all you dial the number and then you are connected to an automated service, you have to listen to a message which explains that the call is chargable and then you are given a list of options, you are then invited to press 1 or 2 or 3 etc, however my mobile is the touch screen type and the keypad disappears when you are connected to a call, so i could not physically choose an option, in the meantime the options are repeated over and over, eventually it invites you to choose your option verbally, however it failed to recognise my spoken option on the first and second time i said 'one' clearly, the automated voice kept repeating the options over and over, it then recognised my spoken option on the third attempt, it then went into a very long message explaining what you should and should not do in the event of a motorway breakdown, but giving you the option to terminate the message by saying 'one' should it not apply, however despite me saying one over and over the message just kept going on and on, it then gave me another list of options :ffs: and finished by saying if wish to speak to an adviser please hold, we are experiencing high call volumes and you are placed in a que, your call will be answered as soon as an adviser becomes available, well it took around ten minutes before i got through to speak to a real person, the operator then took all my details then asked me to explain the problem, he then advised me that if a tow truck was necessary that because the accident may be interpreted as a fault accident on my part, that there would be a charge of £108 plus a host of other charges if they needed to use any specialist equipment that their patrols do not carry, well i was gobsmacked at what the guy was telling me, i have taken out quite a comprehensive breakdown cover policy with them, so i was astonished to learn of all their extra charges, i guess the moral of the story is 'read the small print' when you take out a policy, anyway the guy then tells me that a patrol will be with me at midnight, the time was now 10-30pm and they are telling me that it would take 1 and a half hours to attend, the trouble was i was stopped in a busy side street in covent garden with traffic backed up behind me and unable to move the cab because the nearside of my front bumper had been pushed back and was foulng the wheel, fortunately a guy came out of a shop to help me and we managed to pull the bumper out enough so as i could move the cab out of the way, but a part of the bumper was still rubbing on the tyre and would have shredded the tyre should i have attempted to drive it for any distance, so i had no option but to sit and wait, midnight came and went and it dawned on me that i had some heavy duty rope in the boot, i lashed one end to the lampost beside the cab and the other around the offending part of the bumper and slowly reversed, it did the trick and pulled the bumper iron away from the tyre, i then decided to call the AA and tell them that i had resolved the issue, just as i was getting back on the phone to go through the process of calling the AA and going through all the options in order to tell them not to bother, the AA man turned up, some two hours after i had first called them :censor: basically it had cost me a small fortune for a phone call that had lasted for around 20 minutes, then they tell me it was going to cost me if the cab had to be recovered, bearing in mind i have relay and homestart cover, and it took them 2 hours to attend, i wonder how long it would have taken if i had called them out in the middle of last winter when all the snow fell

I can honestly say that after this experince and having been with the AA for the last 8 years that i will not renew with the AA when my policy expires next year.

maybe my experince was a one off, i don't know, but i pity anyone in need of their services in a hurry, cos it'll take 20 minutes before you are connected to a real person, and then another 2 hours for them to attend outside of the busy periods.

I also notice that Toyota have come away from the RAC and are now offering AA membership with club Toyota, i thought that was a good thing when it first happened, but am not so sure now.