I've had AA membership now for 3 years. The original guy caught me off guard when I came out of B&Q one Sunday afternoon and it seemed like a good idea so I signed up at a discounted rate for the year as a special promotion.

Last year I got the renewal through and it was about £50 more then it would of been for a new customer so I rang them up and they price matched the special offer I'd of had should I have been joining again.

This morning the renewal landed on the doorstep and upon opening it the price has jumped up to £244, up from the £130 I paid last year.

I've done a bit of shopping around this morning and found that the RAC are offering the full package, Roadside, Relay and Home Start for £119. Out of interest I went to the AA website and found that they are offering the same package at the same price as the RAC, £125 cheaper then I was quoted for the renewal.

I rang the AA and asked them why as an existing and loyal customer who had one call out this year they are trying to take the proverbial and they dropped the price from £244 to £160.

Companies that do this really hack me off. They rely on people not reading the paperwork and paying the higher price yet if you call them on it they will reduce the price. Admiral did it to me with my insurance this year on the Range Rover and the 407 Coupe. When I challenged them they dropped the price by over £100! I still ended up leaving mind you as Direct Line were over £100 cheaper again.

In the end the AA still wanted £40 more from me to renew as an existing member then they did for a new member so I've cancelled my membership.

According to the "membership consultant" I can't rejoin as a new member for 6 weeks after leaving however the website has just accepted my application for a new membership.

Just makes you realise you get nothing without asking/challenging people these days.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

I have had the same experience with both Admiral and the AA

In both cases I switched to another provider

Unfortunately the whole insurance industry runs on existing customers funding new customer discounts, so best to just shop around every year.... 2007 Zermatt Silver TDV8 Vogue SE - now sold but was a great car!

I cancelled my AA membership a few years ago because they couldn't (wouldn't) upgrade my membership when my old FF wouldn't start at home due to a flat battery (steering reach motor).

This on top of one callout 6 months before that where they patently didn't listen to me and my accurate diagnosis on a V8 Discovery and significantly delayed us even knowing we had a 3 month-old baby.

Some years prior to that, they took 3 hours to find my wife on a busy garage forecourt, citing they couldn't find the garage...

My bank now gives us free Green Flag membership and I've found out (with my old and present FF - jump starts both times) they're rather good. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

A man ain't truly been insulted until he stands buck naked in front of a woman and she didn't even notice. Or care.

I know the feeling. My sister got home from India and got to her car at Manchester Airport and it wouldn't start. The AA man came out, broke the wires going into the plug for the coil pack then sheered one of the bolts holding the coil pack in before telling her it might be the crankshaft sensor but he wasn't sure.

It ended up that the crank shaft sensor just needed cleaning and it was fine for 6 weeks after before it broke again. £19 for a genuine saw it changed and it's been fine ever since. Annoyingly though it's a 10 minute job to get it out and put it back in.

I also get Greenflag through the bank but when I broke down outside Inverness in the middle of nowhere in a hydraulic Citroen which had burst a pipe they would move me for 7 miles before starting to charge me for it. As I only tend to use the AA for recovery when I'm down south this wasn't much use to me either.

I think they're all as bad as each other unfortunately. The AA are owned by Centrica who also own British Gas amongst others. I left BG as every time I entered meter readings it escalated into a fight as something was wrong.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

all company's seem to do this that's why price comparison sites are so popular..

It's a pain but every time the renewal comes through for Insurance, Car, travel and Home. Vehicle recovery, warranty. Mortgage and Gas and Elec I do a search just hope I have saved some money!
However couple of years ago followed the advice of Martin's Money they have on the telly and fixed my Gas and elec just before it dropped!! That cost me a bit and when I emailled about the bad advice given out they said they cant comment on advice given (although it has now gone well above what I pay).
The companys just rely on people not being bothered to check the renewal they receive. Mine was a blue one!

try buying through Quidco (other cashback sites are available) as you get a cash back amount as well. I only have rescue but it was £25!

Just a quick observation, I left the AA because my FFRR was apparently too heavy for them to lift onto a recovery truck and they told me it was fine to put it on a towing dolly. Oh and they won't recover from green lanes either  Land Rover Addict
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2009 5.0V8SC Autobiography
2006 4.2V8SC Autobiography
2004 4.4V8 Vogue

The not recovering from green lanes I can understand but the bit about the FF being to heavy is utter nonsense.

When our last RR had a flat battery in the garage LR Assist came out and jump started it. However once done the central locking had packed in as the remote had lost it's sync. LR booked recovery to the dealer despite us offering to drive it, apparently it wasn't safe as we couldn't lock it

However, when the truck turned up, it was an AA truck with all the stripes on it!

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

Looks like they have updated their recovery policy since 2007 when I left. I, and a few others with D3's fell foul of this.

Quote:

(trading as AA Breakdown Services) and Stay Mobile is underwritten by .... with the stated max weight restriction of 3.5 tonnes and max width restriction of 7ft ..... Additional vehicle specifications/restrictions applying to Vehicle Membership only.

If you choose to go via green lanes to your destination and break down, how would they get a recovery truck to you? You'd almost need a tractor and trailer, there's no chance a flat bed truck will get to where you are likely to be because of the terrain and the length/width of the machine.

I'm also not convinced that they're classed as a road by definition. They are one way of travelling from one place to another but they're not exactly a public highway are they?

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior
2013 Range Rover Sport SDV6 HSE Black Edition in Santorini Black with Ebony Interior

You should report this to the Financial Conduct Authority. As an insurer they are obliged to "Treat Customers Fairly" which clearly this does not do. A complaint on the grounds of TCF failure will certainly get their attention. Graham

____
Gone: 10MY L320 RR Sport HSE, Ipanema Sand
Gone: 20MY Jaguar iPace HSE, Silicon Silver
Gone: 17MY RR Evoque SE Tech, Loire Blue
Gone: 08MY Discovery 3 XS, Stornoway Grey
Gone: 07MY FFRR TDV8 Vogue, Stornoway Grey

Quote:

If you choose to go via green lanes to your destination and break down, how would they get a recovery truck to you? You'd almost need a tractor and trailer, there's no chance a flat bed truck will get to where you are likely to be because of the terrain and the length/width of the machine.

I'm also not convinced that they're classed as a road by definition. They are one way of travelling from one place to another but they're not exactly a public highway are they?

Just for clarification (and the fact that green lane to me is UCR's and BOATS)

Green Lane is a descriptive term and has no legal meaning. There are many un-surfaced tracks and trails in rural areas that could be described as Green Lanes but these may not be legal for public use. Understanding how public vehicular highways are recorded is the key to identifying routes on the ground and staying within the law.
The two common types of un-surfaced Green Lane which do carry public vehicular rights are unsealed unclassified roads and Byways Open to All traffic.A Byway Open to All Traffic (often referred to as a BOAT) is a minor public road which carries rights for vehicular users and all other types of traffic. BOAT's are recorded in a document known as the Definitive Map & Statement. This is the official record of rights of way held by the highway authority (usually the County Council). It will also show footpaths, bridleways and restricted byways. BOATs are recorded alongside non vehicular highways because the law assumes that they are mainly used by walkers or horse riders.

The Wildlife & Countryside Act 1980 defines a Byway Open to All traffic as,
“a way over which the public have a right to use vehicles and all other kinds of traffic but which is used by the public, mainly for the purpose for which footpaths or bridleways are used”

In practice, the public have the same right to use motor vehicles over a way recorded as a BOAT as you are assumed to have on any tarmac road.

An unclassified road is simply a public road which does not have an A, B or C road classification. The majority of unclassified roads are normal tarmac motor roads but there are also a small number which are un-surfaced Green Lanes. These are often referred to as UCR (unclassified county road - an obsolete term) or UUCR (unsealed, unclassified county road).

All unclassified roads (tarmac or otherwise) are recorded on a document known as the List of Streets. This is the official record of all highways that are maintained at public expense and every highway authority should have one.

It is important to realise that the inclusion of a route on the List of Streets is not conclusive evidence that vehicular rights exist!

This is because all pubic rights of way are technically highways so in theory the List of Streets could include footpaths and bridleways. In practice though this is rarely the case but it has led some authorities to question the exact status of their unclassified roads.

It is possible for a route to appear on both the List of Streets and the Definitive Map (so called Dual Status routes). Where this occurs there is a presumption that any motoring rights which may have existed in the past would have been extinguished by recent legislative changes. However, where an unclassified road appears on the List of Street but not on the Definitive Map, it is reasonable to assume that it is a vehicular highway.
There is no offence of using a motor vehicle on an Unclassified Road and the presence or absence of a tarmac is no indication of status. Land Rover Addict
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2009 5.0V8SC Autobiography
2006 4.2V8SC Autobiography
2004 4.4V8 Vogue

^ KAPOW!!! Take that AA  2007 Zermatt Silver TDV8 Vogue SE - now sold but was a great car!