The AA are parasites..

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wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
No details but long story short I'm insured through them and recently had cause to investigate a claim on the policy. The process took forever and with the exception of one individual the staff proved to be incompetant at best, willfully deceptive at worst.

I also found out while trawling the murky depths of their operation that they'll gleefully financially F you in the A at the merest hint of an opportunity (granted some of this is standard practice across the industry):

- Wish to change a minor detail on your policy: £25 admin fee every time for what should be a 10-minute phone call with a minimum wage chimp.
- Cancel your policy early? A third of the proportional value of your remaining policy lost upon refund.
- Inform them of a potential claim without proceeding with that claim? Noted on your record so prejudices your premium at renewal.
- Request an assessor to evaluate a potential claim? Recorded as a "fault claim" whether you proceed or not; decimating your no-claims discount (despite the assurances of the muppets you may initially speak to that this isn't the case).
- Make a claim with protected NCD? It's still recorded on your history so even though your NCB remains intact, your policy will still be loaded upon renewal - making a mockery of the imsinuation that protected NCD will also protect the cost of your insurance.


In the last 5yrs the AA's share price has plummeted to around 7% of what it was - hardly surprising is it? Opportunistic leeches.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Don't read anything there that you could not change the name to any car insurance company, you are under the mistaken illusion they are there for your benefit, they are there to make money for their shareholders, it's legalised theft.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Youd probably find at least 50% of those would be applied by any Insurance company tbf.
The premium being affected while covered by NCD is fairly normal I think.
Penalty for cancelling early, normal IME.
Changes to policy, ditto.

It's a ruthless world now, they owe you nothing, likewise the other way round.
 
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wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Don't read anything there that you could not change the name to any car insurance company, you are under the mistaken illusion they are there for your benefit, they are there to make money for their shareholders, it's legalised theft.
Indeed - granted most of that could be applied across the board but I was especially shocked by the degree and consistency of incorrect information I was provided by their staff (that, had I proceeded based on said information would have cost me a lot of money).

I'm certainly not naive enough to think they're there for my benefit - totally agree that it's legalised theft (along with most other "necessities" - insurance, banking etc) - I was just quite taken aback by the extent, overtness and eagerness to financially eviscerate me :angry:
 
OP
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wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Youd probably find at least 50% of those would be applied by any Insurance company tbf.
The premium being affected while covered by NCD is fairly normal I think.
Penalty for cancelling early, normal IME.
Changes to policy, ditto.

It's a ruthless world now, they owe you nothing, likewise the other way round.
Yeah... horrible state of affairs though, isn't it? This weeks after I paid their breakdown service through the nose for a battery out of some pathetic sense of obligation after calling them out.. when I should just have told them to do one and got one for half the price from Halfords.

Who wants to live in a world where your default mindset is encouraged to be to mercilessly screw those you deal with in the certainty that they'd do it to you were the shoe on the other foot..?
 

welsh dragon

Thanks but no thanks. I think I'll pass.
Those are things in every insurance policy. Without details of what got you riled up it's impossible to comment on whether or not what they did was justified or not.

I just renewed my bike Insurance and over the phone they made it clear that I could cancel in the first 14 days and get all my money back, after that any refund would be pro rata. They also said that making any changes accept COA would have a £10 additional charge.

I havnt seen anything in your post that is unusual or misleading.

And of course you can contact the insurance ombudsmen at any time.
 
OP
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wafter

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
Those are things in every insurance policy. Without details of what got you riled up it's impossible to comment on whether or not what they did was justified or not.

I just renewed my bike Insurance and over the phone they made it clear that I could cancel in the first 14 days and get all my money back, after that any refund would be pro rata. They also said that making any changes accept COA would have a £10 additional charge.

I havnt seen anything in your post that is unusual or misleading.

And of course you can contact the insurance ombudsmen at any time.
A tenner for making changes seems reasonable; £25 doesn't. I'm not suggesting that anything specifically listed in my post was "unusual or misleading" - every example does however seen exploititive, disproportionate and punitive.

As for misleading; how about being repeatedly told that a claim would result only in the failure to accrue a further year's NCD; then only after repeatedly pushing for concrete confirmation (which took several days to achieve) actually being told that it would reduce the number of years of NCD by more than 80% from 17yrs to 3?
 
When it comes up for renewal. Jump ship!
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
A tenner for making changes seems reasonable; £25 doesn't.
Just sold my motorbike, from a 1200cc BMW to a 500cc Kawasaki, £3000 down to £500 value, rang them up to change it, I was due a £35.74 refund on the policy, but due to the £33.00 admin fee, it would be only £2.74 I told the guy what he could do with his £2.74, I will not be insuring with them next year, vote with your feet.
 

snorri

Legendary Member
The AA cultivated an image of being the motorists friend during the 20th century and it seems many customers believe this image still holds good despite the fact that in 1999 it became a private limited company no different from many other commercial organisations.
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Are you not aware that these are human beings that you are talking about, @wafter? However cross you feel about their employer, do they really deserve to be spoken about like that?
As long as he is speaking about them in this manner & not to them in that manner I see no issue, afterall they choose to obey the rules their masters set.
 
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