Damn AA are feckin useless

[DamnAAStuckWithFlatTyre]

Lone parent here with no one to come and help. I am alone with my 7 year old who has ADHD.

Called Skoda breakdown at around 6:10pm as I have a puncture. I know I can't change the wheel myself, I've tried before and I'm not strong enough.

The breakdown service is provided by the AA.

Initially the tracking page said 7:05pm, then 7:25pm, then 8:25pm, now 8:55pm - nearly 3 hours after my initial call and 2 hours after they were supposed to arrive.

I understand that we're not a priority because we're not stuck at the side of the motorway but honesly, this is such shitty service.

Just to add, I usually go with National Breakdown or GreenFlag for this exact reason. The only reason we have been stuck for 3 hours is that the breakdown cover came with the car.

I remember once I broke down and was waiting for the AA. A RAC van stopped, towed us off the motorway and fixed the tyre for free - he said we'd be hours waiting for the AA.

About 30 years later and obviously nothing has changed 😆

Poor you. Have you got snacks and things to do for your boy? Are there any cafes nearby?

is there not a neighbour that can help.

you should learn to change a tyre yourself. lack of strength, unless you have something very limiting, can be worked around with tools, eg a long handle to get leverage

That sounds awful for you OP but I guess if they don't have enough patrols available to match the number of breakdowns there isn't really much they or you can do. They can't just magic recovery drivers out of nowhere.

Can you get a taxi home so your 7yo isn't waiting and then go back and get the car later when they are at school.

Can you get a neighbour to help you?

Have you stressed to the AA that you have a ND child so that they prioritise you?

Sorry if you have already done those things, just trying to think of solutions to help you.

reading that i think they are at home as says not stuck at side of road

That’s crap, hope you’ve got sorted now OP. Yes I go with Green Flag or RAC over AA every time. Green Flag better I think.

I waited 7 hours for them once. Good luck.

Green flag have always come in the hour

aa I found costly and took forever

Yes AA totally useless they left my husband and daughter by the side of the road all night last week for 8 hours!

Hope you’re home safe op. I can’t sing the service via our insurance high enough, not only were they with us within the hour, but they checked in twice that we were ok, offered to send an uber for me because it was hot (I was happy under a tree) and offered to send drinks via Deliveroo! Same time 30 miles away our friend also broke down, he had aa, he gave up waiting after 2 hours, caught 3 buses home (about 25 miles) and took his van and trailer to collect his motorcycle.

I moved to RAC after the AA left me at the side of the road with a small baby and a car that was fire. I rang at 5pm and they turned up at 10 past 8, but left me as the driver was at the end of his shift! Waited another 4 hours for the next AA van. Car still smouldering through all this.

My gran used to say, "Worse things happen at sea". Wish you luck.

Many cars don't have a spare wheel. Changing a tyre is extremely difficult DIY and cannot be attempted at the roadside. Changing a wheel is impossible if you don't have one. My current car has no spare wheel and you're expected to use the runflat tyres.

For a tyre, your local tyre shop may have a mobile mechanic? If you ring the shop at 8am tomorrow they may come to you first? Thry have all the kit on their van and they are very quick.

RAC also rubbish. Waited for hours and hours then they fitted the wrong battery and the problem just carried on.

My experience of AA was five hours stuck by the road with a toddler. They could not give a shit. My partner managed to rescue me in the end. Never again.

Where are you? It sounds as if you’re at home, which is obviously not high priority.

They have always been shite.
I called them once due to a tyre issue on my Mums car.
After 4 hours I got a taxi home. Told them and started again the following day. At the point of me giving up, they were unable to give me even an estimated time due to the "remoteness" of my location. Morrisons car park in a Somerset town.

Green Flag left me on the side of a dual carriageway with a puncture for 4 hours last year, they're just as bad

Laat time I called the AA for a flat tyre, they turned up in about 20 minutes. I've never had to wait too long for them. Perhaps it depends where in the country you ate?

How long did the fire brigade take though?

You did call the fire brigade didn't you?

Maybe I have been lucky but all 3 times I have called AA they have been there within 30 mins - all 3 times on country roads with children during daytime. Even when DH called them from home they were there within 90 mins.

RAC useless though - a car crashed into mine writing it off, in a dodgy area of London in dark. They told me I had to stay with the car as it couldn't be secured - 5 hours waiting from 5pm to 10pm, freezing, no food or drink, no toilet. They originally told me 45 mins!

Are you at home or at the side of the road?
If you are at home you will not be a priority as you have options, and are safe. Priority is reserved for people stranded. It’s a little like triage at a hospital. The driver could get to you when you first called but since then there has been several priority incidents pushing yours back.

AA and RAc have their own vans and mechanics. They insure the person not the vehicle so you can use it even if you are a passenger in a friends vehicle or irrespective of which car you are using. Others such as Green flag etc cover a specific vehicle so you need two policies for two cars for example. They have a networks of independent mechanics that they call in rather than their own vans and people. Some areas are very well served some very badly. Hence the experience can be different. Depending on where you are.

The RAC left me and 3 kids for 8 hours and then only recovered me to a services half way home, I had to get a friend pick us up and deal with it all the next day.

Like everything else staff numbers have been cut to the bone and we all seem to accept this terrible service as we don't want to pay more.

AA and RAc have their own vans and mechanics. They insure the person not the vehicle so you can use it even if you are a passenger in a friends vehicle or irrespective of which car you are using.

Yes - I 9nce used them when the key in a hire van broke, and they took me, my passenger and the van the 90 miles back home, or in the van's case, to the hire place. I was happy to walk home from there, but he drove us a few streets back to my house.