The Aa Relay Service

[Steve]

Does anyone know what the policy is on the AA's relay service?

Mate of mine broke down and had to upgrade his membership to use relay.. then charged him £2 per mile which came to £500

i always though that you were covered for the whole trip with relay?

[Rich_Bee]

These are the T&C's. Relay should be free as I read it, Roadside assistance will only take you something like 1./4 mile or to nearest repairer, other transport is charged. What type of member was he/she when they were towed?

RELAY

What is covered

Relay is an optional extra to Roadside Assistance available only to those who have paid the additional Relay subscription at least 24 hours before the breakdown occurred.

Relay is available if Your Vehicle is immobilised on the highway following a breakdown more than a quarter of a mile from the Member's Home Address and the AA cannot arrange a local repair within a reasonable time;

Relay provides recovery of Your Vehicle, together with the driver and up to a maximum of seven passengers to a single destination of Your choice on the UK mainland or in Northern Ireland (see also General Terms of Contract, clause 8j). If there are more people than the maximum allowed, the AA will seek to arrange, but will not pay for, their onward transportation.

Note

After Your Vehicle has been recovered by the AA, any subsequent repairs are the responsibility of the person who authorises the relevant repair work. The AA will have no responsibility for any such repairs and/or collection.

What is not covered

The recovery of any vehicle that the AA considers would be dangerous (including, but not limited to overladen vehicles) or illegal for the AA to load or transport;

The recovery of any vehicle which is at or within a quarter of a mile of a Member's Home Address;

A second or subsequent Relay, after the vehicle has been recovered following a breakdown;

The transport of immobilised vehicles where the AA considers this to be part of a commercial activity, for example, to, from or for motor dealers or delivery companies;

The transport of vehicles being used for racing, rallying, trials or time trials, autotests or other motor sports events. However, see also General Terms and Conditions, clause 17;

Assistance following a breakdown or accident attended by the police or other emergency service, until the services concerned have authorised the vehicle's removal. If the police or emergency service concerned insist on immediate recovery by a third party, the cost of this must be met by You;

Any incidental expenses that may arise during a recovery. The AA cannot accept any costs for passengers who do not accompany the vehicle while it is being recovered under Relay;

The recovery of any vehicles bearing trade plates and/or which the AA has reason to believe have just been imported or purchased at auction;

The recovery of horses or livestock;

Ferry costs;

Recovery following an accident (see General Terms of Contract, clause 12);

If you join already requiring Relay and the AA is prepared to provide Relay cover for the breakdown concerned then, in addition to the increased premium referred to above, the AA is entitled to limit the relevant recovery under Relay cover to the maximum mileage notified at the time the request for the relevant assistance was made and to charge for recovery provided in excess of that mileage;

All things excluded under General Terms of Contract.

[Steve]

well he called AA asking about relay.. yes it is free but

if you have the wrong membership and you have to upgrade to Relay then they will whollop you with a £49 surcharge, then the upgrade fee and then £2 a mile.

Disgusting service as they know your desperate and they hit you with big fees like that as they know you no choice.

[maneesh]

That's a big charge!

Just a tip for y'all, it's best to switch breakdown companies each year when you get your renewal quote, as the usually give new customers the best deal ever, whilst charging existing customers who automatically renew much higher prices.

I got full cover including European cover and the kitchen sink for just 70 quid for a whole year! This was with Morethan though..

[GWilso]

£2 a mile £500 thats half the way accros the country what a journey! Absaloute ***** :tsktsk: es

had the AA with part of the deal when I bought a new fiat I had the use them several times (guess thats what happens when you buy a Fiat) But I found the service appauling and vowed never to go near them again they wanted to charge me courtesy cars which should have been free etc etc.

I also seen on the news a few years back there was an old guy who had a heart attack behind the wheel he was rushed to hospitsl but unfortunatly died later on when the distraut family phoned the AA they would not collect the desseased's vehicle (which had a flat battery) because the policy holder was no longer alive.

I mean come on

GW

[Rich_Bee]

£2 a mile £500 thats half the way accros the country what a journey! Absaloute ***** :tsktsk: es

had the AA with part of the deal when I bought a new fiat I had the use them several times (guess thats what happens when you buy a Fiat) But I found the service appauling and vowed never to go near them again they wanted to charge me courtesy cars which should have been free etc etc.

I also seen on the news a few years back there was an old guy who had a heart attack behind the wheel he was rushed to hospitsl but unfortunatly died later on when the distraut family phoned the AA they would not collect the desseased's vehicle (which had a flat battery) because the policy holder was no longer alive.

I mean come on

GW

That was only this year...

AA News Story

[GWilso]

how the hell did you find that Rich Bee? (well Done)

£2 a mile £500 thats half the way accros the country what a journey! Absaloute ***** :tsktsk: es

had the AA with part of the deal when I bought a new fiat I had the use them several times (guess thats what happens when you buy a Fiat) But I found the service appauling and vowed never to go near them again they wanted to charge me courtesy cars which should have been free etc etc.

I also seen on the news a few years back there was an old guy who had a heart attack behind the wheel he was rushed to hospitsl but unfortunatly died later on when the distraut family phoned the AA they would not collect the desseased's vehicle (which had a flat battery) because the policy holder was no longer alive.

I mean come on

GW

That was only this year...

AA News Story

[Ahhhh__Aristo]

Disgusting service as they know your desperate and they hit you with big fees like that as they know you no choice.

Bit harsh Steve.

£2 per mile is pretty much an industry standard.

Roadside covers for roadside assistance, plus a 10 mile recovery.

Upgrading at the side of the road is normally £80, which inlcudes the first 50 miles free, then it should be £2 per mile there after.

The AA is quite a strange company, lot's of the phone operators will give contradicting info, plus they'll sometimes keep their jobs in the system for ages, then decide to hand them to a contractor, making the arrival time 2+ hours after the original call.

Although I don't have any cover (I'm in the industry) I would personally go for Green Flag.

[Bazza]

That's a big charge!

Just a tip for y'all, it's best to switch breakdown companies each year when you get your renewal quote, as the usually give new customers the best deal ever, whilst charging existing customers who automatically renew much higher prices.

I got full cover including European cover and the kitchen sink for just 70 quid for a whole year! This was with Morethan though..

another tip

many credit card companies offer breakdown insurance free with the card

we are with lloyds tsb, and get full AA recovery, saves about £150 a year

covers both of us in any car

[Kremmen]

A colleague had to use the relay service some time ago and wasn't impressed.

One thing to note about the 'relay' service - it is exactly that - a relay.

Each unit has it's own area and the idea is to take you to the edge of the area and then transfer you to another vehicle who transports you across their area.

This was quite a few years ago but on each changeover the receiving unit had not arrived so they were left in a layby until the other unit turned up. At that time mobile phones were not the norm so they had no way of checking whether they had been forgotten about. In all the 300 mile journey took 7 hours.

The RAC however, advertise that the recovery service is a 'single journey'.

The AA may have changed recently but just a point to note if a long recovery is required.

[Rich_Bee]

how the hell did you find that Rich Bee? (well Done)

£2 a mile £500 thats half the way accros the country what a journey! Absaloute ***** :tsktsk: es

had the AA with part of the deal when I bought a new fiat I had the use them several times (guess thats what happens when you buy a Fiat) But I found the service appauling and vowed never to go near them again they wanted to charge me courtesy cars which should have been free etc etc.

I also seen on the news a few years back there was an old guy who had a heart attack behind the wheel he was rushed to hospitsl but unfortunatly died later on when the distraut family phoned the AA they would not collect the desseased's vehicle (which had a flat battery) because the policy holder was no longer alive.

I mean come on

GW

That was only this year...

AA News Story

I never remember anything important, just stuff I don't really need to know :duh:

[javadude]

I once had a petrol leak near a hot exhaust on a vauxhall (great design). I was struggling to trim the split hose with nail scissors and refit it when I noticed an AA van stop at the lights nearby so I asked for help (I'm a member). His answer - sorry can't stop. He had a trailer like he was off to a service station to tout for business

[Steve]

i can understand the fee if you are not a member

I shall be removing their promotion from this club soon because if getting service like that I am no longer going to promote the AA to members.

Adrian Flux offer a good deal.

[johnboy]

i have club lexus, excellent service, £70.00 per year

had to use them when my van broke down.

it covers me and my GF in whatever vehicle we travel in.

they use RAC .

[Rich_Bee]

i have club lexus, excellent service, £70.00 per year

had to use them when my van broke down.

it covers me and my GF in whatever vehicle we travel in.

they use RAC .

That reminds me - for all you owners of 250/220's, as well as getting RAC cover for you for the first three years of ownership, you can also get your partner covered (it's people rather than car specific). You need to ring and register them though - 0800 169 0393