Baz105e seized the Anglia

[Smudger105e]

And called the AA.

 

Here is the e-mail I have sent them...

 

I would like to have the circumstances of a call out in which I was involved yesterday (27th April 2008)invesigated, as there are several areas of the AA's management of the incident that were lacking in the extreme.

 

I will post here a timeline of the significant events of the evening.

 

20:00 Son broke down in my vehicle AHC30B with his partner and son (9 months old) in the car, engine seized. He contacted the AA, advised that the engine had seized, and was advised the expected callout would be 80 minutes. When he said that he had a baby in the car, this time was reduced to 60 minutes.

 

21:00 My son was out of credit, so I contacted the AA as recovery had still not arrived, and was advised that recovery should be there by approximately 21:20

 

21:20 I arrived in another car at the breakdown, and took Daughter-in-law and grandson home, as they had no food for him, he was tired and fractious and he was getting cold, too cold for a baby of his age

 

21:40 I returned to the car, and my son said that no recovery services had yet arrived. I rang the AA and was told that the Recovery Agent (*** Recovery) were having trouble with one of their trucks, and attandance was now likely to be another 45 minutes. Your operator said she hoped the grandson was going to be Ok, and I advised that I had taken him home. My son took my car and left me with the breakdown, as he had to leave for work at 5:00 am

 

22:30 Still no recobvery truck, so I phones the AA again, told truck was five minutes away.

 

22:37 truck arrived, asked me what the problem was, and when I told him the engine had seized, he said he was not a recovery service, but was here to diagnose and repair the problem if possible. He had a quick look at the vehicle and confirmed my son's initial disagnosis. The Recovery driver told me the AA would be contacting me to let me know when I would be recovered. He also denied that *** Recovery had any problems with their vehicles that night.

 

22:50 I rang the AA again, and was advised that it looked like 00:30 was the expected recovery time, but that they were trying to get someone to me quicker.

 

23:30 I again rang the AA and was told that the time of recovery was now 00:20. I had not been contacted as there had been no change to the plan. Would have been nice to have had the plan confirmed to me.

 

00:25 The first contact with the AA not initiated by me. Unable to make 00:20 collection, truck is on it's way, and collection now expected at 01:25.

 

01:12 AA contacted me checking my welfare. I was cold, tired, hungry and thirsty.

 

01:13 Recovery driver advised that he would be with me shortly.

 

01:17 Recovery truck arrives and begins vehicle upload.

 

Please would you answer the following questions?

 

Why was a 9 month old child left for what your staff thought was going to be 2 hours in an unheated vehicle? Is there not a Company policy on this? It must be bordering on a child protection issue.

Why did neither my son or myself get any communiaction from the AA until 00:25, over four hours since the initial contact?

Why did it take so long for the vehicle to be recovered?

Why was I told *** Recovery had vehicle problems when this was not the case? I don't like being lied to.

Why did the original operator not document the problem was a seized engine? All that was put down was 'engine'.

Why was recovery not arranged immediately, as it is quite obviouls that a seized engine is not repairable at the roadside...

Why did my son and I have to contact the AA six times before the AA contacted us.

 

I await your reply and reaction before taking further action on this matter.

[Stu_B]

Sorry that happened but good for you for following it up.

 

I'm with the RAC but have had several similar experiances (minus passengers)...

 

They've got you by the short & curlys really with the service they offer

[Wessie]

glad everyone got home safe in the end, thats shocking service though !

[sab6024]

That's poor service

 

I phoned the RAC once for a Truck telling them the diff had dropped all it's oil and had subsequently seized up (it was my brothers car, he was driving) An hour later a van turned up asking what the problem was. I asked if he had any spare diffs or axles in his van?? No, I'll get a truck to you then. 4 hours later I phoned my mate who just happens to work for the Recovery firm due to pick me up. RAC hadn't put it through. I phoned the RAC and complained that I could've pushed the truck the 7 or so miles to get the car in the time I'd been waiting. My mate who I'd phoned earlier then came an hour later and collected the car. I was pretty peeved so complained to the RAC, who later apologised, but that was it

 

I hope you get a satisfactory response from them

[Kieran]

4 hours

[Chris!]

join the RAC, we had to call them out after we bought a car in scotland, the light switch had broken and it was getting dark! They were with us in 20 minutes

[Mr Sam]

bleedin eck takes the mickey doesnt it

 

hope you get a disired response

[Trevmk3]

that wasnt good smudger.

[FredTransit]

AA, RAC, much the same, I have had bed experiences of both. Latest was with the AA too. It was my 'personal worst', in total they took 8 yours to get the luton (injection pump stuffed) off the M40, to the services, then off the services to the garage in Surrey. Also the 2nd driver made the dogs ride in the van whilst it was being recovered, and one of em panicked and eat the driver's seat. Needless to say I went ballistic and have been promised 12 months free cover on renewal. Hope you get some compensation Smudger. Keep at em!

 

BTW, here's a tip, if they offer you a patrolman, tell them you are a qualified mechanic and you are 100% sure what's wrong with it. This will bypass the long wait for a van with a bloke (never seen a female operative) in it that tells you what you had told the operator hours before. I did this another time, when as I was being dumped off at the services, was asked if a mechanic had seen it, and told them I was a mechanic. I know more than enough about our vans to reply to any question they might ask, and much much more than most twentysomethings that might come out. The whole tone of the operator change, she immediately organised a recovery truck.

[tim]

i went through a similar thing a few years ago with a mate,cant remember the brake down company tho.,it took nearly 12 hours for them to us and fix a broken injector pipe on a old transit

[antz]

that sucks

[Burns]

dad, tell mart that's his damned fault for seizing the engine

[FredTransit]

I once kicked the second AA man's van that came to a snapped cam belt, he refused to do anything even though I had walked to the parts place to get a new one! He said there would be valve damage. It was a PINTO. 5 hours to get home with that one, about 10 miles!

[accord83]

Always found RAC Excellent, their phone operators can be useless though. 4 yrs back I had a starter motor dog grenade and wedge into the fly wheel. I was in a 1955 Standard Vanguard in Harrogate. Told the operator and she kept asking the make of vehicle, eventually she said "I know it's unmodified but what make is it?" I gave her a run down on the Standard Motor Co. Then she asked the location. I told her the street name, she couldn't find it and asked for the postcode. I told her I didn't want the ******* mechanic posting, how was I to know the post code and I was a retired vehicle examiner. The truck arrived in 55mins AND it was an August Bank Holiday. I had to laugh when the mechanic got out his metric spanners though. Loaded and en route in 15mins. John.

[mossy]

I had a problem with the RAC...

 

I went to croydon to tow a mate home with my mondeo and a-frame as he had broken down.

 

Hitch the car up...no problems...starts to rain...my mates golf overtakes my mondeo, Now that was it stopped then and there far too dangerous to tow in the newly formed weather.

 

Called the rac (as the waterpump on the mondeo had gone previously, which i knew)

 

Took them an hr to send a van out....He said water pump, which i had told the doris.

The RAC bloke phone the office and reported water pump failure and would have to recover both cars to brighton...Ta very much.

 

3hrs later after the driver got lost!!!!!

 

It was a spec lift for one car and he denied knowing about the golf i said was mine and was towing.

So back on the phone...another 3hrs later a flatbed turned up.

By this time it was decemeber at 3am in the morning....didnt get back to brighton untill 6:30am!

[Messenjah]

a few years ago now ...

 

went out to the car dad tried to start it almost started made a strange grating nose and stopped ... he went oh that didnt sound good anyway by a process of elimination we came to the conclusion it was a snapped timing chain ..

 

 

called the aa said we needed recovery young lad turned up took the keys and went to crank it over we said dont do that if it is the timing chain you will bend the valves he said nah m8 it wont be that they never go on these ... spent half an hour fiddling with things and cranking it over then said oh it might be the timing chain ... Bent every single valve badly and then when he did decide to put it on the recovery truck he managed to get the wire to rip through the front bumper ...

 

soo we had a nice bill from the garage i think it was £1500 for the bumper and then £2700 for the engine work ...

 

 

sent it straight to the aa and did manage to get them to pay about a year later and after about 14 phonecalls to the CEO