Discussion
Tyred said:
I don't pay an annual fee. Both the RAC and the AA (and the others) will sign you up immediately if you breakdown and pay the £120 + fee over the phone.
So there's zero point in paying them an annual fee 'just in case'.
I've not been a member for forty years of motoring, saving around £4000+ in membership fees. I do keep their numbers in my mobile phone.
Membership of the AA gives you AAA membership discounts at for example Hilton hotels - Mrs BC and I use them a lot so covers the cost.So there's zero point in paying them an annual fee 'just in case'.
I've not been a member for forty years of motoring, saving around £4000+ in membership fees. I do keep their numbers in my mobile phone.
When I was a 'yout', I used to work for one of the aforementioned companies as a call handler. The simple fact is, they never trust you when you say you need a recovery truck which is why it will ALWAYS get sent to a patrol first - regardless of what promises are made.
A ‘famous’ story at the call centre was of a guy who broke down near Newcastle many years ago with a suspected timing belt failure causing the engine to seize. He had the full breakdown cover and was a member for 10+ years with 2 previous call outs, so when he called with his diagnosis that the engine had a catastrophic failure, the company was sympathetic. He requested a straight recovery to his garage near Dorset to get it fixed as it was a specialist vehicle (something vintage?) and the patrol would not be able to do anything for him at the roadside. It was taken on face value that the engine had seized, so a recovery truck was sent in the first instance and he was taken 300+ miles to his home town - split between 3 separate recovery companies.
When he was near his destination (and after him and the final recovery driver built a rapport) he let it slip that the vehicle had indeed cut out on him, but it was only because it had run out of fuel and he hadn't got any money on him to get him home. The original recovery driver kept was supposed to check out the vehicle prior to loading but didn't. The last guy called it in to our call centre were he was advised to leave him at the next safe spot for him to make his own arrangements and we were not to assist any further. I think he was subsequently chased for costs by the breakdown company but I'm not sure on the outcome of this.
It costs them roughly £60 to send a patrol out (calculated with wages etc and all that guff) and closer to £200 for a third party recovery flatbed (and that's just the callout charge, mileage is on a per mile basis) so they will always send their own out in the first instance even if it means a 3+ hour extra delay for the customer.
A ‘famous’ story at the call centre was of a guy who broke down near Newcastle many years ago with a suspected timing belt failure causing the engine to seize. He had the full breakdown cover and was a member for 10+ years with 2 previous call outs, so when he called with his diagnosis that the engine had a catastrophic failure, the company was sympathetic. He requested a straight recovery to his garage near Dorset to get it fixed as it was a specialist vehicle (something vintage?) and the patrol would not be able to do anything for him at the roadside. It was taken on face value that the engine had seized, so a recovery truck was sent in the first instance and he was taken 300+ miles to his home town - split between 3 separate recovery companies.
When he was near his destination (and after him and the final recovery driver built a rapport) he let it slip that the vehicle had indeed cut out on him, but it was only because it had run out of fuel and he hadn't got any money on him to get him home. The original recovery driver kept was supposed to check out the vehicle prior to loading but didn't. The last guy called it in to our call centre were he was advised to leave him at the next safe spot for him to make his own arrangements and we were not to assist any further. I think he was subsequently chased for costs by the breakdown company but I'm not sure on the outcome of this.
It costs them roughly £60 to send a patrol out (calculated with wages etc and all that guff) and closer to £200 for a third party recovery flatbed (and that's just the callout charge, mileage is on a per mile basis) so they will always send their own out in the first instance even if it means a 3+ hour extra delay for the customer.
Ren Esis said:
When I was a 'yout', I used to work for one of the aforementioned companies as a call handler. The simple fact is, they never trust you when you say you need a recovery truck which is why it will ALWAYS get sent to a patrol first - regardless of what promises are made.
They sent a recovery truck straight out to me when I rang in with a diagnosis of total engine failure.A pity really, as I found the missing con rod on the undertray after I'd rung; I reckon the patrol could have bashed it straight and slipped it back in to get me running again
defblade said:
They sent a recovery truck straight out to me when I rang in with a diagnosis of total engine failure.
A pity really, as I found the missing con rod on the undertray after I'd rung; I reckon the patrol could have bashed it straight and slipped it back in to get me running again
There are instances were they cannot get a patrol out to you within a certain timeframe (say 3 hours) and the job is then passed to a contractor by the call centre's dispatch team. The contractor (usually a local garage to the breakdown) then gets the detail of the job and they send out whichever vehicle they see fit, so that might of been the case here.A pity really, as I found the missing con rod on the undertray after I'd rung; I reckon the patrol could have bashed it straight and slipped it back in to get me running again
Ren Esis said:
The simple fact is, they never trust you when you say you need a recovery truck which is why it will ALWAYS get sent to a patrol first - regardless of what promises are made.
I had a truck sent out straight away.I told them I was a mechanic and that the gearbox had blown up so I needed a truck - and that's what the AA sent.
I used to work as a Patrol for a company with orange vans. Used to love it and still would if it had given me the same terms as I get now (out of the industry). I can vouch for them, as we had such autonomy to get a situation rectified. I'm sure people have had good and bad experiences with all the major players in breakdown, But having worked for them and knowing what lengths patrols go to, I must say my family wouldn't be without cover.
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