twobears Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I took my daughter shopping in Hull for her birthday presents this morning and we had a great time. Daughter got lots of clothes, we had lunch and then went back to the car. Came down the ramp and realised that I had a very flat tyre but had no choice to keep going, obviously. Parked on a pavement immediately outside car park and surveyed the damage (Evoque not Zedley who is now having a well-earned rest after being SORNED) which was pretty dire as I had driven over a sort of chunky metal pin which must have been somewhere on the car park floor, dropped presumably by another car park user, and the tyre was hanging off the rim. No spare tyre and the white goo stuff simply ran out of the massive holes in the tyre when I tried that so I phoned the AA. This is when the 'fun' started. I explained the situation in very clear English, or so I thought, but the woman on the other end of the phone was obviously hard of understanding and/or in possession of an IQ in single figures because she asked me if I wanted someone to come out or if I wanted to wait for a Land Rover specialist who could get to me tomorrow mid morning I explained once again that my daughter and I were basically stranded in a back street of Hull (not the nicest place in the country) and that we hoped not to be there after dark because it would be pretty scary and we also have a lot of poultry at home waiting to be put away before the fox arrives for his evening meal. I honestly thought I had got the message through to Miss Air for Brains but after waiting until 5.30 p.m. as requested and no-one turning up I rang back only to be told that she had decided I would be better waiting for a Land Rover specialist to come out to me the following morning We finally arrived back in a tow truck at 9 p.m. after I explained in even more basic English that I was pretty hacked off with the service I had 'received' so far. Are all recovery services this bad or was I just unlucky? I am preparing my complaint now but I expect it will just get chucked in a big bin at the AA offices reserved especially for that purpose If I wanted to recruit staff that had less brains than my stupidest guinea pig, I honestly wouldn't know where to start. Maybe there's a Job Centre for lobotomised job seekers and that's where they all come from? I also had a run in with a traffic warden who told me I was partially blocking the last few inches of a cycle lane that was painted on the pavement. Er, really, how dreadful of me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I called my Bank the other day, not only was I put through to New Delhi to start with, and could barely make out what the woman was saying due to such a bad line, but then I called the UK head office number and asked to be put through to my Branch...If I could understand a dialect of E/U then maybe I would have got through to my Branch without been told at least ten time they did not understand me..!!!. What a waste of my time, so emailed them instead and still waiting for a reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I thought policy for ALL these "rescue" companies were to get to stranded "ladies" within 1 hour for "safety" reasons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I just joined AA, hopefully will never have to use them! But used them few times with my work can and they been very good! Usually arrived withinh 30mins...even just took them 35mins to get to me last winter when it was snowing pretty bad! I think it's just that girl, you spoke to, weren't very bright! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollowPoint Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 This video was taken by my wife, after I'd already been speaking to the AA guy on the end of the phone for a good ten minutes and getting nowhere. She started filming because she thought I was gunna blow. Considering the circumstances (Explained in the video), I think I held my cool quite well.......until I didn't. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ujijf4xc1s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 This video was taken by my wife, after I'd already been speaking to the AA guy on the end of the phone for a good ten minutes and getting nowhere. She started filming because she thought I was gunna blow. Considering the circumstances (Explained in the video), I think I held my cool quite well.......until I didn't. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ujijf4xc1s Wow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vlad Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 This video was taken by my wife, after I'd already been speaking to the AA guy on the end of the phone for a good ten minutes and getting nowhere. She started filming because she thought I was gunna blow. Considering the circumstances (Explained in the video), I think I held my cool quite well.......until I didn't. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ujijf4xc1s Can't watch it on my iPhone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollowPoint Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 (edited) I should clarify a few things about that video: We weren't given the option of being towed home, even though we should have been We had to source, purchase and arrange delivery to belgium of the parts that were needed, from England! The Belgian Garage did not speak English The Belgian Garage did not accept Credit/Debit cards The Belgian Garage closed for an hour and they all went home to eat lunch In Belgium, Brothels are legal and have Amsterdam style 'windows' with semi-naked ladies in them, at 1pm in the afternoon - not relevant, but still The bill was $621 Euros for removing upper camber arms on both sides and fitting them with the new parts I had sourced, a maximum of 60 minutes work for a fully tooled mechanic After pulling out of the garage, it turned out the Garage had also set our geometry back to standard settings, so we then tore shreds out of our drivers side tyre on the rear arch. The Belgian Garage did not know what our 300zx was and asked me if it was definitely a Nissan I had just before this video begins, discovered that my AA cover did not cover fitting of parts either and apparently there was a tiny little checkbox I could have ticked when taking out the cover. This was not relayed to us BEFORE the work was started. This was half a mile (Or less) down the road from the Belgian Nissan garage. I had to pull into a Volvo garage and borrow a trolley jack so I could raise my suspension up and hopefully get back to England from Belgium without having yet another blow out, on a brand new tyre (Remember the other video I said they left me stranded? Well these tyres were 3 weeks old and were destroyed by the alignment the Nissan Garage did). Edited October 3, 2013 by HollowPoint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 I thought policy for ALL these "rescue" companies were to get to stranded "ladies" within 1 hour for "safety" reasons Nice use of inverted commas Andy, especially loving the ones around the word "ladies" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilMH Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 That was appalling Annie. Will be interested to see what they say in response to your complaint. Quite a few family members are covered with the AA. I have heard quite good things about Green Flag but that is really just hearsay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Ive used the AA twice before never an issue arrived within 30-40 mins and spent and hour trying to fix it then ask if i wanted it relaying back home. i think the Problem with abroad is its all sub contracted out to local companies AA have nothing to do with it, and when at the 'Ring a friend had a big issue with his PS13 and because in the book its an 1980s nissan its worth less than £2000 so they would scrap it rather than get it back to the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollowPoint Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Was in London when they left me stranded with a blow out. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 (edited) I am only with the AA as its part of my bank account offer. I have used them once and they were pretty good. One Saturday morning at about 6am I set out in my diesel car to get to a specific wedding suit tailor to get measured and fitted (it was a fair distance away and my appointment was at 9am!) anyway of course in my tired state i stuck petrol in and drove about a mile down the road before the realisation hit me and I immediately pulled over. Rang the AA via my bank and a guy got to me by 8am to tow me back home. By 10am I had a fuel service guy rock up and by 11:30am had the car fully flushed and on the road again, total cost £220. I also got a classic story off the AA guy, he was in his fifties, strong Indian accent (I say this because he was a really jolly fella really trying to get my spirits up so when reading the below imagine how it sounded to me!). I was there panicking as I was clearly going to miss my tailors appointment etc etc and he just said: "For my wedding 30 years ago, I had no suit the day before my wedding and out of nowhere my best man arrived and gave one to me, it was an amazing suit I was very pleased. I got married in it, have used it for very special occasions since. Last year over dinner, he finally admitted to me that he stole it..." Hollowpoint your video is shocking and distressing mate, totally feel for you both, nothing worse than just being stuck in the middle of nowhere when previously what seemed like an easy decision about what to do turns into a nightmare and none of it was communicated. Edited October 4, 2013 by coldel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbster Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 This is appalling treatment in both cases. It's such a shame that the AA is no longer what it used to be - times have changed, the AA has changed and the motorist no longer appears to be central to their concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The AA Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 I took my daughter shopping in Hull for her birthday presents this morning and we had a great time. Daughter got lots of clothes, we had lunch and then went back to the car. Came down the ramp and realised that I had a very flat tyre but had no choice to keep going, obviously. Parked on a pavement immediately outside car park and surveyed the damage (Evoque not Zedley who is now having a well-earned rest after being SORNED) which was pretty dire as I had driven over a sort of chunky metal pin which must have been somewhere on the car park floor, dropped presumably by another car park user, and the tyre was hanging off the rim. No spare tyre and the white goo stuff simply ran out of the massive holes in the tyre when I tried that so I phoned the AA. This is when the 'fun' started. I explained the situation in very clear English, or so I thought, but the woman on the other end of the phone was obviously hard of understanding and/or in possession of an IQ in single figures because she asked me if I wanted someone to come out or if I wanted to wait for a Land Rover specialist who could get to me tomorrow mid morning I explained once again that my daughter and I were basically stranded in a back street of Hull (not the nicest place in the country) and that we hoped not to be there after dark because it would be pretty scary and we also have a lot of poultry at home waiting to be put away before the fox arrives for his evening meal. I honestly thought I had got the message through to Miss Air for Brains but after waiting until 5.30 p.m. as requested and no-one turning up I rang back only to be told that she had decided I would be better waiting for a Land Rover specialist to come out to me the following morning We finally arrived back in a tow truck at 9 p.m. after I explained in even more basic English that I was pretty hacked off with the service I had 'received' so far. Are all recovery services this bad or was I just unlucky? I am preparing my complaint now but I expect it will just get chucked in a big bin at the AA offices reserved especially for that purpose If I wanted to recruit staff that had less brains than my stupidest guinea pig, I honestly wouldn't know where to start. Maybe there's a Job Centre for lobotomised job seekers and that's where they all come from? I also had a run in with a traffic warden who told me I was partially blocking the last few inches of a cycle lane that was painted on the pavement. Er, really, how dreadful of me Hello, this is something that we would like to address. Please email the details to chat@theaa.com including your full name, membership number and address with Reference FOR52684. Kind Regards, The AA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 I took my daughter shopping in Hull for her birthday presents this morning and we had a great time. Daughter got lots of clothes, we had lunch and then went back to the car. Came down the ramp and realised that I had a very flat tyre but had no choice to keep going, obviously. Parked on a pavement immediately outside car park and surveyed the damage (Evoque not Zedley who is now having a well-earned rest after being SORNED) which was pretty dire as I had driven over a sort of chunky metal pin which must have been somewhere on the car park floor, dropped presumably by another car park user, and the tyre was hanging off the rim. No spare tyre and the white goo stuff simply ran out of the massive holes in the tyre when I tried that so I phoned the AA. This is when the 'fun' started. I explained the situation in very clear English, or so I thought, but the woman on the other end of the phone was obviously hard of understanding and/or in possession of an IQ in single figures because she asked me if I wanted someone to come out or if I wanted to wait for a Land Rover specialist who could get to me tomorrow mid morning I explained once again that my daughter and I were basically stranded in a back street of Hull (not the nicest place in the country) and that we hoped not to be there after dark because it would be pretty scary and we also have a lot of poultry at home waiting to be put away before the fox arrives for his evening meal. I honestly thought I had got the message through to Miss Air for Brains but after waiting until 5.30 p.m. as requested and no-one turning up I rang back only to be told that she had decided I would be better waiting for a Land Rover specialist to come out to me the following morning We finally arrived back in a tow truck at 9 p.m. after I explained in even more basic English that I was pretty hacked off with the service I had 'received' so far. Are all recovery services this bad or was I just unlucky? I am preparing my complaint now but I expect it will just get chucked in a big bin at the AA offices reserved especially for that purpose If I wanted to recruit staff that had less brains than my stupidest guinea pig, I honestly wouldn't know where to start. Maybe there's a Job Centre for lobotomised job seekers and that's where they all come from? I also had a run in with a traffic warden who told me I was partially blocking the last few inches of a cycle lane that was painted on the pavement. Er, really, how dreadful of me Hello, this is something that we would like to address. Please email the details to chat@theaa.com including your full name, membership number and address with Reference FOR52684. Kind Regards, The AA Well that's surprising! If this is genuine, I'm highly impressed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 In Belgium, Brothels are legal and have Amsterdam style 'windows' with semi-naked ladies in them, at 1pm in the afternoon - not relevant, but still Woah.... hold it there. Why arnt I told about these things sooner?! [Rabbitstew goes off to look at eurostar prices......] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 I'm guessing that's a joke username/post... but I like it! 10+ years ago I called the AA as my MR2 Turbo wouldn't start, the AA guy jumped in the car and tried to turn it over for about 5 minutes until I asked him to stop as my throttle cable was starting to smoke!! The guy couldn't fix it so towed the car to a garage, after explaining the problem the guy undid the earth strap, cleaned it, bolted it back on and the car was fine after that. Apparently the smoking throttle cable gave it away as the current was finding the next best route to earth... suprised the AA guy didn't know that. Since then I use other companies but that was a long time ago so maybe they've improved since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollowPoint Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 They haven't. I still use the AA, but now insist they tow me home, as if it's something I can't fix at the roadside, it's something they can't fix there either. The worst part about the blow out in London, was that a manager phoned me the next day, to apologise and advise me that as my car was heavily modified, I didn't in fact need to keep a spare, but the advisor the night before was unaware of that fact and that I also did not have to use the stupid tyre goo, as I have sunken valves and it doesn't work with my valve extention. Credit to them for ringing me to apologise, but it doesnt give me back the 5 hours it took to track down a spare space saver and get myself back to my hotel in full on limp mode, the night before. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbster Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Well that's surprising! If this is genuine, I'm highly impressed! Call me gullible, but it looks genuine. I'll be very interested to see how this develops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Well that's surprising! If this is genuine, I'm highly impressed! Call me gullible, but it looks genuine. I'll be very interested to see how this develops. Well I'd say it is too, a lot of companies have staff specifically for social media, and I'd guess, this especially for a motoring organisation, would count as social media in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Ooooh Googling "chat@theaa.com" actually gives lots of similar posts on various sites with different reference numbers, I think this may be genuine! Or it's the most persistent and professional internet troll I've seen... https://www.google.co.uk/#q=chat%40theaa.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Thank you Mr AA person. I will contact you shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twobears Posted October 4, 2013 Author Share Posted October 4, 2013 Complaint now registered so I will post again when I hear from the AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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