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AIBU?

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Original poster

AA lied! WWYD?

261 replies

misstrot · 09/05/2023 12:48

I am FUMING! Lies! OMG-please read-sorry it's long-I need advice!
DD (20) hit a small piece of debris on motorway on the way home from uni on the motorway. Car seemed ok but next time she took it out it overheated so we called AA. Patrolman said everything was fine-it just needed oil and water (he filled water but we had to go get the oil) Now DD is a bit nervy driving so she asked was he sure it was ok to drive back to uni (2 hr drive) and he assured her-yes. Then I asked him and he said he 'wouldn't send a young girl onto the motorway in the car if he didn't believe the car was perfectly safe and roadworthy' Enter DH who asks him is he sure ok-doesn't need to be checked at the garage as his DD is very precious and he wants her to be safe etc-again AA reiterates 'all safe-all roadworthy-doesn't need anything doing"- I follow him to the van to input my email/sign attendance from and he tells me no need.
You guessed it-she goes back to uni and breaks down on the M4 in bad weather (it takes 5+ hours for them to send a recovery truck and she is traumatised!)
We get the car delivered back here and ask a local garage to come and look. The garage owner states the car had a severe water leak (the AA didn't pressure test the system) which has caused car to overheat and blown the head gasket-so dead. Bearing in mind DD worked and saved up all summer and only bought the car in August- from a reputable National chain and paid £4000 (it's a little mini) she is devastated.
Ok, so we send report to AA and ask for compensation/new (2nd hand) engine for car. They send an 'Independant Assessor' (paid for by AA and does most of his work for AA so not really independent!?) who literally spends 4 mins taking photos -opens the bonnet and says the head gasket has gone and leaves. His report states that it was our fault for driving it as the head gasket had gone (for clarity it was fine before-no smoke from exhaust and only had a full service and 120 point check in August etc)
The AA then state the patrolman informed us that the car was not roadworthy and should be taken to a garage so they don't hold liability!!!!!! WTF! A complete LIE and 360 on what he said to us. Sadly too late to download Ring doorbell footage to support us -as its gone and he never sent us an emailed report stating what he did or advised-normal protocol. Help! What can I do?

OP posts:
BonnieGlasses · 09/05/2023 14:25

SargentSagittarius · 09/05/2023 14:11

She was stuck on the side of a motorway alone for five hours. Anything could have happened to her.

FML this reminds me why I never start threads on here.

Show quote history

What exactly could have happened to an able bodied adult with a mobile phone, in full view of constantly passing traffic?

littleripper · 09/05/2023 14:27

There are 2 things here:

  1. AA let her down and gave poor advice but are unlikely to be legally negligent
  2. if she is so lacking in resilience that 5 hours on the hard shoulder traumatises her she should not be driving/going out alone and needs therapy
Burnamer · 09/05/2023 14:29

With regards to your actual question though OP, I would get legal advice.

Boomboom22 · 09/05/2023 14:34

Bit unfair to male, if she passed her theory test she should know you pull over as soon as the engine start overheating. Anyone who drives must know that. On the it her hand he saud it was safe to drive when it wasn't, how long was she driving before it blew? I think that's the crux of it.

Woopzies · 09/05/2023 14:34

Male101 · 09/05/2023 14:23

Definitely. The responses are 100% based on the assumption I'm male

Show quote history

this is the funniest thing I've seen on MN for quite a while. 😂

Mortimercat · 09/05/2023 14:35

I think you just need to move on, sometimes cars need repairs.

Whatthediddlyfeck · 09/05/2023 14:37

neverknowinglyunreasonable · 09/05/2023 13:36

I see the helpful car expert has logged on to save the day

Show quote history

To be fair this is relevant. There’s such a thing called culpability

Whatthediddlyfeck · 09/05/2023 14:38

Whatthediddlyfeck · 09/05/2023 14:37

To be fair this is relevant. There’s such a thing called culpability

Show quote history

And this has quoted the wrong post 🙄. That the driver didn’t pull over when the temp was rising is very relevant

Dulra · 09/05/2023 14:39

littleripper · 09/05/2023 14:27

There are 2 things here:

  1. AA let her down and gave poor advice but are unlikely to be legally negligent
  2. if she is so lacking in resilience that 5 hours on the hard shoulder traumatises her she should not be driving/going out alone and needs therapy

This.
Cars go wrong all the time for lots of different reasons we need to be able to deal with it. I'm sorry your daughter was traumatised but I'm worried about such easily traumatised people driving on motorways!
As for the AA his advice was poor but they're not mechanics as far as I'm aware their job is to get you and possibly your car to a mechanic or home not necessarily to fix your car. He definitely should not have said it was safe to drive but if you had doubts you should have got it checked over by a mechanic.

LisaVanderpump1 · 09/05/2023 14:40

OP, it sounds like your daughter might not be mature enough to be on the road. She's a nervous driver, "traumatised" by having to wait for a recovery vehicle (not sure I've ever experienced this as anything more than annoying and boring) and seemingly doesn't know the correct thing to do when her car's showing signs of difficulty.

LiveAHappyLifeBePositive · 09/05/2023 14:40

It seems to protect ourselves these days we have to video everything on our phones.
Or strap a camera to our heads !

YANBU

TheShellBeach · 09/05/2023 14:42

I'm really enjoying this thread.
Great badinage.

Do cars have big ends these days? Because I always think that sounds like such a silly name for a car part.

(misses point of thread)

viques · 09/05/2023 14:44

Are the AA really there for routine repairs? “The next time she tool it out it overheated” If that had been me, and my car, parked up at my family home , I would have taken it to a garage,or called out a mobile engineer, or even ( radical thought) checked the water and oil levels myself, not called out the AA. They are there for breakdowns and home starts, not sorting out engine problems,

Mortimercat · 09/05/2023 14:44

LisaVanderpump1 · 09/05/2023 14:40

OP, it sounds like your daughter might not be mature enough to be on the road. She's a nervous driver, "traumatised" by having to wait for a recovery vehicle (not sure I've ever experienced this as anything more than annoying and boring) and seemingly doesn't know the correct thing to do when her car's showing signs of difficulty.

I think this is a fair point. When I was about 26 or 27 I required AA assistance whilst driving back through Scotland just after Christmas. I waited about three or four hours and this was in the 90s so I didn’t even have a phone or iPad to keep me company. I think I had a book and bought a newspaper and just waited it out. It wasn’t much fun, but it was a very very long way from traumatic.

viques · 09/05/2023 14:44

viques · 09/05/2023 14:44

Are the AA really there for routine repairs? “The next time she tool it out it overheated” If that had been me, and my car, parked up at my family home , I would have taken it to a garage,or called out a mobile engineer, or even ( radical thought) checked the water and oil levels myself, not called out the AA. They are there for breakdowns and home starts, not sorting out engine problems,

Took

Fairowing · 09/05/2023 14:44

I think this is why the original AA responder wouldn’t let you sign anything - because he lied to you 3 times like Peter.
What did AA say when you told them what he’d done?

PinkButtercups · 09/05/2023 14:45

@Burnamer do you know I thought the exact same thing about the username and response they're getting.

It's common knowledge to pull over and what Male said is completely understandable.

Ionlydrinkondaysendinginy · 09/05/2023 14:45

Please don't misuse the word traumatised

ChocChipHandbag · 09/05/2023 14:46

Fairowing · 09/05/2023 14:44

I think this is why the original AA responder wouldn’t let you sign anything - because he lied to you 3 times like Peter.
What did AA say when you told them what he’d done?

She’s already explained this- and indeed this is the whole point of her post that people are not getting- the AA denied that the man had assured them that the car was safe to drive.

THAT is the lying bit, she’s not saying that his conclusion that the car was safe was a lie.

Frabbits · 09/05/2023 14:47

Firstly, I wouldn't rely on the AA to pass a car off as roadworthy, that's not their job. Yes, the guy probably shouldn't have said what he said but ultimately it's the driver's responsibility. If you car starts overheating it tells you, and you don't just blindly carry on driving to the point that you damage it to such an extent.

EnjoythemoneyJane · 09/05/2023 14:50

littleripper · 09/05/2023 14:27

There are 2 things here:

  1. AA let her down and gave poor advice but are unlikely to be legally negligent
  2. if she is so lacking in resilience that 5 hours on the hard shoulder traumatises her she should not be driving/going out alone and needs therapy

This.

The AA guy was mistaken and is now arse-covering, which is infuriating but equally you’re highly unlikely to be compensated for a replacement engine if your daughter was driving for miles with warning lights on, as other people have (totally fairly, regardless of sex!) pointed out.

But for a 20 year old to be ‘traumatised’ because her car broke down is an extreme response, regardless of the conditions. If she’s so lacking in confidence and is in any case ‘nervy’ (and therefore potentially dangerous) on the motorway, wouldn’t the coach or train be a better option?

Fairowing · 09/05/2023 14:50

All saying DD should have pulled over, maybe it happened quickly or the motorway was busy so she pulled over as soon as she could?
my clutch pedal once snapped off - luckily I was going into a Drive Through not down a motorway or any main road - but if I had been driving along it wouldn’t have mattered when I pulled over because it happened with no escalation, maybe this was the same. AA did lie so YANBU

readbooksdrinktea · 09/05/2023 14:51

Frabbits · 09/05/2023 14:47

Firstly, I wouldn't rely on the AA to pass a car off as roadworthy, that's not their job. Yes, the guy probably shouldn't have said what he said but ultimately it's the driver's responsibility. If you car starts overheating it tells you, and you don't just blindly carry on driving to the point that you damage it to such an extent.

This.

And agree the use of traumatised is a bit much here.

FlounderingFruitcake · 09/05/2023 14:52

I would definitely complain to the AA, they gave poor advice and the lack of paperwork is suspect.

However, I’d question if your DD is mature enough to be driving if she’s traumatised from something as mundane as waiting for a recovery. If you get behind the wheel of a car it’s something you have to be prepared for, even if the car is brand new you can get flat tires etc. If trashy celeb gossip is your thing apparently Harry Styles waited 2 hours after getting a flat tire on the way to or from Soho Farmhouse this weekend and I’m sure his car wasn’t a banger!

TheShellBeach · 09/05/2023 14:57

I'd be very angry about this as well, OP.
I don't know what you can realistically do about it, though.