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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:
Lonecatwithkitten · 09/05/2023 15:36

If all of this was the result of hitting debris have you approached her insurance to cover the repair.
My DD debris on the M4 shattered the floor tray and destroyed the sump the insurance covered all the costs including the hire car.

Honeyroar · 09/05/2023 15:37

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:23

OP is getting trashed here because simultaneously ‘why didn’t her daughter pull over immediately on the hard shoulder’ and ‘the AA are for non starts and emergencies’.

Sorry OP. It’s a waste of time coming here. Hope you get it sorted and your daughter is ok. Pulling over in the motorway can be scary apart from the damage.

But they’re both facts that would affect the situation/any legal case. Should people not say anything if they don’t agree with the OP?? I feel sorry for the OP. It’s a crap situation, but it’s not 100% the AA’s fault, and there’s no proof even to back up the bit that the OP says the AA man did wrong…. The reason it’s still worth reading the replies is because she might spend more good money after bad chasing this. It’s good to read varying opinions before deciding what to do.

starfishmummy · 09/05/2023 15:40

GimmeSleep · 09/05/2023 14:10

😂

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It's OK. I have my big girl pants on. And we are not the twats here!

I mean, the AA person may well have lied but he wasn't the one who continued to drive a malfunctioning car.

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:41

Honeyroar · 09/05/2023 15:37

But they’re both facts that would affect the situation/any legal case. Should people not say anything if they don’t agree with the OP?? I feel sorry for the OP. It’s a crap situation, but it’s not 100% the AA’s fault, and there’s no proof even to back up the bit that the OP says the AA man did wrong…. The reason it’s still worth reading the replies is because she might spend more good money after bad chasing this. It’s good to read varying opinions before deciding what to do.

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You can disagree, that’s what we’re doing here.

But for me - if I pull over on the motorway due to my car being undriveable I call the AA / RAC. If I had a similar problem recently and they told me the car was now fine, then it’s reasonable I’d believe them. I’m not sure what people find so objectionable.

SofiaSoFar · 09/05/2023 15:42

I agree @Honeyroar

I also feel for OP's DD and the expense, upset and inconvenience this has caused.

It's perfectly possible to feel compassion for the predicament but also to disagree with where the fault ultimately lies.

Blossomtoes · 09/05/2023 15:43

TheShellBeach · 09/05/2023 15:12

Are people actually reading the OP?
She's angry because the AA are lying about what was originally said to the DD.

The AA who should never have been called in the first place. If your car overheats you take it to a garage when you get it home.

Desperatelyseekingcommonsense · 09/05/2023 15:43

RAC once failed to put a wheel on my friends car correctly and it came off after as short drive. She got nowhere so I wouldn’t hold your breath.

neilyoungismyhero · 09/05/2023 15:43

I was given paperwork when I had a blow out a few months ago. It detailed what they did, recovered me to a garage. I gave them the marker post number and it took them over 2.5 hours to get to me. They'd got on the wrong junction...muppets.
They seem to have all this technology but fail to give the most basic information.

Æthelred · 09/05/2023 15:47

Head gasket failure causes the engine to overheat, not the other way round.

As others have stated, these vehicles are prone to this kind of failure.

I run three cars which like me are in their early 50s- they are generally very reliable but I do need the most expensive cover from the AA and I've always been happy with the service.

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:49

Blossomtoes · 09/05/2023 15:43

The AA who should never have been called in the first place. If your car overheats you take it to a garage when you get it home.

Show quote history

Then the AA should have said that. Is the rule that if you call them out incorrectly (and I don’t think she did) that they can they say any rubbish they like?

Also - see loads of posts saying the daughter should have immediately pulled over on motorway when overheating started again (if there was indeed any warning). What then?

PegasusReturns · 09/05/2023 15:50

OP I’m sorry you’re getting such shitty responses from people.

It sounds like the AA were useless, possibly to point of negligence, so first step ask for a copy of the paperwork re your case and a copy of the protocol for these situations.

re you’re DD I hope she’s ok. I have older teens one of whom would be be distressed in this scenario. Many people underestimate the continued impact of covid and lock down on young adults who transitioned to adulthood in that period - they lost crucial months/years and many are understandably less mature and experienced than they ought to be.

All you can do is reinforce that shit happens and help her be better prepared should a similar scenario arise in future

Doppe · 09/05/2023 15:51

I’m surprised how many people are belittling the danger of being stuck on a hard shoulder! I’m not surprised the OP’s daughter was frightened. I would have been. People are killed and injured every year from accidents involving vehicles stopped on hard shoulders.

Blossomtoes · 09/05/2023 15:54

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:49

Then the AA should have said that. Is the rule that if you call them out incorrectly (and I don’t think she did) that they can they say any rubbish they like?

Also - see loads of posts saying the daughter should have immediately pulled over on motorway when overheating started again (if there was indeed any warning). What then?

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What then? Exactly what happened when she did eventually pull over.

Honeyroar · 09/05/2023 15:54

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:49

Then the AA should have said that. Is the rule that if you call them out incorrectly (and I don’t think she did) that they can they say any rubbish they like?

Also - see loads of posts saying the daughter should have immediately pulled over on motorway when overheating started again (if there was indeed any warning). What then?

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What then?
then you’d be recovered from the motorway, just like she was, but the gasket might not have blown at that point and it might not have been so expensive to fix..

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 09/05/2023 15:57

Should the AA have lied? No, of course not, but ultimately it's not their job to decide whether a car is safe to drive.

It's your DD's responsibility as the driver to make sure her car is in a roadworthy condition. She knows she hit something while driving and that her car then overheated, but for some reason, then chose not to take it to be looked over a by a professional. That's not the AA's fault.

SpeckledlyHen · 09/05/2023 15:58

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:49

Then the AA should have said that. Is the rule that if you call them out incorrectly (and I don’t think she did) that they can they say any rubbish they like?

Also - see loads of posts saying the daughter should have immediately pulled over on motorway when overheating started again (if there was indeed any warning). What then?

Show quote history

I'm really not understanding why you think the AA were the right people to call? It is for breakdowns. This car was not broken down. It has previously overheated but was fine in the driveway. You can see the way the OP has written her first post the AA man obviously turns up, the car is not broken down, he can't see anything immediately obvious apart from needing some oil and water, assumes it ok to drive and says so.

To determine where the previous overheating fault came from would require investigation at a garage. I really can't see how anyone can hold the AA accountable on a brief lookover of the car.

Yes, they may have lied about saying whether it was roadworthy or not, but essentially NO-ONE would have known the car was roadworthy without doing a full investigation. If the OP and her husband were as concerned as she states they should have got it checked out properly first.

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:59

Blossomtoes · 09/05/2023 15:54

What then? Exactly what happened when she did eventually pull over.

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Sorry I (genuinely I promise) don’t understand your question.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 09/05/2023 16:00

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:49

Then the AA should have said that. Is the rule that if you call them out incorrectly (and I don’t think she did) that they can they say any rubbish they like?

Also - see loads of posts saying the daughter should have immediately pulled over on motorway when overheating started again (if there was indeed any warning). What then?

Show quote history

Also - see loads of posts saying the daughter should have immediately pulled over on motorway when overheating started again (if there was indeed any warning). What then?

She rings AA (again) and gets it towed to a garage to be looked at by a professional. That's what the AA are for - to get you to safety if you breakdown - they're not a replacement for taking the car to a garage.

Blossomtoes · 09/05/2023 16:01

AlphabetSue · 09/05/2023 15:59

Sorry I (genuinely I promise) don’t understand your question.

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I was answering yours 🙄

SchoolTripDrama · 09/05/2023 16:07

OP, it's a total waste of time asking for advice on here, you just get cross examined

Honeyroar · 09/05/2023 16:10

Can I ask a question OP - I’m not sure whether it’s actually been said whether the AA man visited when the car had gone over the debris or later on at home? I once had the RAC out to my car at home because I wasn’t sure it was running right or safe to drive a long way without breaking down. They included it as one of my breakdown call outs (this was 20 years ago) but said they could only comment on what they saw on the day. Would this be what happened this time? Was the engine perhaps cold and therefore not losing water at that point - perhaps the crack/damage was bigger when the engine was warm and running, and therefore started leaking again? Just trying to get my head around what happened.

SofiaSoFar · 09/05/2023 16:14

SchoolTripDrama · 09/05/2023 16:07

OP, it's a total waste of time asking for advice on here, you just get cross examined

Apologies, you're quite right.

We should all take everything at face value and completely agree with the OP, regardless of absurdity of the situation.

Mortimercat · 09/05/2023 16:14

Jitterybugs · 09/05/2023 15:33

Bloody hell you’re a tough crowd on this thread. Most posters ignoring the fact that the AA patrol man advised the OP’s daughter that it was safe to drive the car on to university. She took that advice and it turned out to be the wrong advice. Now the AA have denied that conversation took place and have lied and said they advised don’t drive the car.
Some asking what harm could she come to while waiting on the hard shoulder for hours. It’s a well established fact that sitting on the hard shoulder carries the risk of being ploughed into by another car. It’s not a safe place to be.

This is not what the AA do though, they do not come to home call outs to provide guarantees of a cars roadworthiness - so I suspect there was some communication error along the way.

It sounds like car overheated one day so after getting home, they called the AA, this was not a job for the AA, this was a job for the garage. As has been pointed out, the AA is not for home car maintenance.

Shade17 · 09/05/2023 16:18

Head gasket failure causes the engine to overheat, not the other way round.

Loss of coolant and subsequent overheating is actually a very common cause of head gasket failure.

Rummikub · 09/05/2023 16:19

SpeckledlyHen · 09/05/2023 15:58

I'm really not understanding why you think the AA were the right people to call? It is for breakdowns. This car was not broken down. It has previously overheated but was fine in the driveway. You can see the way the OP has written her first post the AA man obviously turns up, the car is not broken down, he can't see anything immediately obvious apart from needing some oil and water, assumes it ok to drive and says so.

To determine where the previous overheating fault came from would require investigation at a garage. I really can't see how anyone can hold the AA accountable on a brief lookover of the car.

Yes, they may have lied about saying whether it was roadworthy or not, but essentially NO-ONE would have known the car was roadworthy without doing a full investigation. If the OP and her husband were as concerned as she states they should have got it checked out properly first.

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But shouldn’t the AA have said they couldn’t say whether the car was road worthy and to get it checked at the garage?

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