AA Rip-Off

[Spacecadet]

At the weekend, took the family to a halloween party in a remote part of the country, I realised I was running low on petrol, but the party was near a town with a petrol station (the only one for miles though).

To my horror the station was closed, and with my beemer reporting that it could only manage another 4-5 miles I was in trouble.

I called the AA which I am not a member and had to join for a year, which I though was OK, might come in useful and I go the most basic which was £69.

By the time the guy got to the end they had added another £80, which applies if you use the AA within the first 3 days!!!

The AA guy was out within the hour, but he also charged me for the 2 gallon of petrol (£14).

Feckers!

Why did you join the AA?
You could have

• called for a taxi and either got him to take you to the nearest petrol station or asked him to pick some up for you
• Called an independant breakdown company and asked them to sort you out.
• Bitten your BWM owning pride and asked someone at the party for a lift to another petrol station
• Just paid what the AA were asking for and told them to get a ******* move on whilst acting like a true contractor and chalking this one down to a loss

[kandr]

You made it to the party but rather than ask someone for some fuel you joined the AA, effectively to pay someone to courier in a few litres? That's the contractor lifestyle... or everyone at the party decided they weren't really your friends and wouldn't help.

I didn't know anyone, it was someone my wife knew but they didn't have any fuel, and weren't willing to ask anyone.

My fault but still think the £80 is steep.

[Spacecadet]

Typically 10 miles plus, if not more. Lucky for the AA, he called them to pay £100/litre.

Petrol cars you can drive until empty, don't diesels run into problems that way?

Modern diesel should be fine

[Mr.Whippy]

My fault but still think the £80 is steep.

I don't...they should charge a lot more for people like you who think they should only pay for the membership when they break down or are too stupid to fill the car up before heading into a "remote part" of the country.

For all you know, you delayed the recovery of a paying member. I've paid my AA membership for years and haven't needed to use it for well over 15 years, so I don't see why you should get the benefit of their service it on the cheap just because you can't plan properly.

[kandr]

I don't...they should charge a lot more for people like you who think they should only pay for the membership when they break down or are too stupid to fill the car up before heading into a "remote part" of the country.

For all you know, you delayed the recovery of a paying member. I've paid my AA membership for years and haven't needed to use it for well over 15 years, so I don't see why you should get the benefit of their service it on the cheap just because you can't plan properly.

Ill be getting my £80 back by calling them out every week of the next year. I now have my own mobile petrol station!!!

[SupremeSpod]

Ill be getting my £80 back by calling them out every week of the next year. I now have my own mobile petrol station!!!

For which you will be charged. By all means, carry on.

[RichardCranium]

You could have called a local minicab firm to bring you some fuel in a can.

You could have called a local minicab firm to take you to a petrol station and then back to your car.

The AA / RAC / etc usually just pass jobs to a local garage anyway. You could have called a local garage yourself.

Why don't you carry a spare fuel can? I thought every sensible person did.

You could have flagged down a passing motorist.

[kandr]

For which you will be charged. By all means, carry on.

So you pay a yearly fee, but they charge you anyway, no wonder, people don't join until they break down.

[TimberWolf]

Why don't you carry a spare fuel can? I thought every sensible person did.

I'm in two minds about doing this. On the one hand it might come in useful one day, but on the other why carry something around that may leak or be dangerous when you have a perfectly good place to store fuel already?

[Mr.Whippy]

Ill be getting my £80 back by calling them out every week of the next year. I now have my own mobile petrol station!!!

And BMW drivers wonder why everyone thinks they're 's..........

Keep calling them and keep racking up the call-out charges......