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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think road side assistance organisations should NOT do this!

124 replies

MargoLovebutter · 28/08/2018 11:04

Levy an extra and significant sum of money if you join their organisation when you are already broken down?!

Someone please explain to me why I am unreasonable for thinking that this is just shafting the vulnerable.

OP posts:

Pengggwn · 28/08/2018 15:07

This isn't making sense. Your friend didn't call a towing company to take it to a garage, so she must have thought roadside assistance was a more viable option? In that case, you must be aware that she was still being charged less than the cost of the service she was receiving. Who did you think wasn't paying the difference, if not the other members who didn't need assistance this year?

Pengggwn · 28/08/2018 15:07

*was

Original poster

MargoLovebutter · 28/08/2018 15:12

Pengggwn as I said the breakdown happened yesterday. There was no one at her usual garage, or any of the others that she tried no doubt due to it being a bank holiday. She paid nearly £250, so I'm not sure that she was changed less than the cost of the service she received. It took less than 10 minutes for the roadside assistance to get her back on the road.

I've also admitted the error of my and her views. When I started the thread, it seemed like a fuck tonne of money to me and the exploitation of a vulnerable person BUT I do appreciate now that this view was unreasonable!

OP posts:

DonttouchthatLarry · 28/08/2018 15:14

This is why most insurance won't pay out for the first 14 days or for pre-existing conditions - when you've already broken down, you know you're going to need to 'claim'/use the services of the organisation you've joined. Would she have taken out membership that day if she'd not broken down?

Pengggwn · 28/08/2018 15:15

MargoLovebutter

Presumably she was charged more because it was a bank holiday. That is a premium service. If she had managed to get in touch with her usual garage, I am not sure it would have cost much less.

Anyway, glad to see you know you were wrong.

rwalker · 28/08/2018 15:19

cf you want your cake and eat it you don't want to pay annual fee but then soon as you need it you join expecting to pay the basic fee. If that was the case why would anybody join can't believe your even asking the question .

Charmatt · 28/08/2018 15:21

I've had cover for the past 8 years - not a ridiculous amount per annum but never had to use it and so wondered if it was worth it......

until this year! We needed them while we were on holiday and I can't praise them enough. It was definitely worth the investment of the past 7 years considering their response. How would they have resourced it if no one paid in before they needed it?

Some people don't half have an entitlement complex!

Popfan · 28/08/2018 16:02

I think the OP is getting an unfairly hard time now - she's said she was wrong so not sure why people are still going on at her. Some of the comments are also uncalled for.

LeroyJenkins · 28/08/2018 18:27

@FASH84 what bank account is that? I currently have a platinum with Lloyds but that's £17 A month

FASH84 · 28/08/2018 18:32

@LeroyJenkins see my second post, it's Halifax but you have to pay over a certain amount in a month to get it at that price

brizzledrizzle · 28/08/2018 18:55

But membership isn't cheap!

Shop around, you can get it for very reasonable prices.

RayRayBidet · 28/08/2018 19:38

We were in the RAC and I arrived at the supermarket and realised I had a flat tyre.
I couldn't change it myself, rang DH who said he wouldn't be able to do it either as last time he had tried couldn't get the jack out (some weird Citroën design).
Anyway I called them, they quickly dispatched a mechanic who was THE most good looking man I have ever seen in my life, in real life ie not on the telly.
Omg he was so lovely. And he fixed my car, and helped me put my shopping in and made DD laugh. I was a quivering wreck.
Worth every penny.

RayRayBidet · 28/08/2018 19:39

Obvs there are other good reasons for joining breakdown organisations lol!

notacooldad · 28/08/2018 19:46

I think the OP is getting an unfairly hard time now - she's said she was wrong so not sure why people are still going on at her. Some of the comments are also uncalled for.
I totally agree with this. Sometimes if you come across something for the first time you may not 'get it' but it has explained to OP and she has seen things from a different perspective. No need to be rude or insulting to anyone.

OP. As others have said, you and your friend should check your bank account if you pay a monthly charge on it for benefits. Like others on here the total annual fee I pay is a lot cheaper than separate travel,and phone insurance and breakdown assistance plus a few other perks.

Frusso · 28/08/2018 20:16

@RayRayBidet if you were in a supermarket car park why didn't you ask the supermarket if they could call theirs?

happinessischocolate · 28/08/2018 20:30

But membership isn't cheap!

It is to me, £10 a month to ensure that if i ever breakdown my car will either be fixed or towed to a garage and I'll be taken home safely AND I get a FREE rental car for 3 days whilst my car is being fixed.

My car has broken down twice in the past month for 2 different but related faults and without the roadside assistance I would have been stranded on the motorway.

It's not just that, it's also the total peace of mind when doing long journeys.

RayRayBidet · 28/08/2018 20:50

@Frusso
I had no idea a supermarket would have one.
Anyway then I wouldn't have met the beautiful RAC man.

GabsAlot · 29/08/2018 18:03

@rayraybidet where do u live do u br4eakdown often now ;)

RayRayBidet · 29/08/2018 18:07

Ha ha! Was in South Manchester. I'm not in his catchment anymore!

oldsockeater · 29/08/2018 20:41

Recommend Autoaid - all eventualities covered for 48 per year.
Do be careful as some of the cheap ones exclude things like lost keys/keys locked in car/misfuelling, or will only take you to the nearest garage.
Friend of mine had a flat tyre, didn't have a spare as it was a sports car, his cheap breakdown cover would only recover to the nearest garage, which was 150 miles from home and was shut as it was Sunday. He had to pay to stay in a local hotel and couldn't go to work on Monday.

Lemons1571 · 29/08/2018 22:46

Also slightly off topic but I can’t imagine you get much in the way of travel insurance cover with a £12 pcm bank account? I always thought you’d probably pay well over the odds if you phoned them to tell them about pre existing conditions (and how many people probably don’t know they have to do that)

DadDadDad · 30/08/2018 08:05

Lemons - I suspect the fact that the bank has a large base of customers paying the premium month in, month out means try can provide the cover cheaply.

Also, they are less exposed to adverse selection so underwriting may be more relaxed (ie it's unlike standalone travel insurance which is only going to be taken out by those about to travel and where you want to weed out the riskiest customers). (Sorry for the actuary-splaining ).

Bluelady · 30/08/2018 08:15

The travel insurance I had with my bank account was a standard policy with Aviva, it was fine on the occasion I had to claim on it.

notacooldad · 30/08/2018 08:39

Also slightly off topic but I can’t imagine you get much in the way of travel insurance cover with a £12 pcm bank account?
As with every travel insurance you read the small print. I have used bank travel insurance for years and claimed a few times and had no hassles whatsoever.
I used to pay slightly more for when going skiing and rock climbing but generally speaking for Joe Average it is a robust policy.

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