The AA recovery

I had my steering pump collapse in the motorway services after driving home from a greenlaning day. Good fortune I thought, because a minute earlier or 10 mins later I'd have been on the motorway hard shoulder. My truck was dirty and the AA man threatened not to recover me because I'd been 'off roading'...

I asked him just how he thought I'd ended up in the motorway service station without taking roads?

Has anyone actually been refused recovery as a paid up member of the AA, because they had a muddy truck from off roading?

I'm starting to hear more and more that they wont take you, I cant find their terms on their website. Propaganda???

If you break down on the road then there is nothing they can do just make sure you dont have too much mud sticking to it get a stick and dislodge all the chunky mud from the arches and the like or the old bill can have you for it if they see chunks flying off

If it is on a public road they would have a hard job unless it was obviously never driven recently, like the Pratt with a morris minor missing carb and rusted studs just bought it and claimed it had just stopped when it wasn't taxed

We got recovered by the as from outside of a pay n play site on the condition we jet washed the lorry back when we got home.

yeah ive been picked up about six times! 4 times from outside pay and play events and two from north wales all times was covered in mud, they never said anything.

Saw someone being recovered by the AA from on site at the Abigndon show last year!

See I think it's a bit rich that they even bother to come out with this rubbish...

Every breakdown, I mean EVERY breakdown that I have been involved with when out with my LR club, we have tried to fix it ourselves, or towed each other home, or been home to pick up a spare part, or driven to get a spare part etc...

My brother in law however is such a tosser that he called the AA to change a tyre because he'd get his hands dirty.

Patrols of motoring clubs are under great pressure not to put cars on trucks and if they can find a way out of it , they will.

That said if your cars on a public highway, taxed and no obvious signs of being towed there then they have to recover it provided you are a paid up member and have an adequate level of cover.

One very important thing to remember, attitude is everything.
Talk to the patroll/recovery driver like he's a piece of **** or blatently lie to them and your going nowhere!

I've used the AA maybe 5 times in 25 years of being a member, and to be honest, I couldn't speak highly enough of them.
Been bloody brilliant on each of those occasions,
and worth every penny of the member fee.

Maybe i've just been fortunate, i don't know ...
but I've certainly been really well treated, on each occasion I've needed to use the AA.

I guess other 'services' would be much and such the same...
just happened to be with the AA, myself.
When the **** hit the fan on them occasions, they were a godsend. Brilliant.

stchris356 said:

Patrols of motoring clubs are under great pressure not to put cars on trucks and if they can find a way out of it , they will.

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Are you a patrol man?

I agree, attitude is everything and this post is not stemed from me getting refused or mouthing off at the AA guy because of it, but rather the AA guy saying that he has it in his power to refuse me and that is the AA's stance. I still went home on a flatbed and the bloke was helpfull and friendly.

From what I can see this is just propagander. The TC's of the AA mention nothing about off roading and refusal. but they do say that as a member you have the right to a 'Written Explanation' from the AA should they refuse you.

I want to hear from a 4x4 who has been refused, beacuse the AA man saw a bit of mud.

Of the Land Rover people I know from different clubs around the country. Given a breakdown, all of them would use the AA recovery if it was the ONLY option left to them. They would try to sort each other out at the side of the road, as with most clubs you dont go alone and you tend to travel in convoy when you do.

We are members of the CSMA and they have been fabulous, never a problem

I'm with CSMA too, Britannia Rescue have always played a blinder, going above and beyond.

many years ago, I was on the M1 in a MK2 cavalier, with my wife at the time, who worked for the AA, so we had complentary full cover. The engine started to behave erraticly, so I limped into Toddington services and called the AA, I was quoted a 3 hour wait due to traffic levels in the area. She then rang up and told them that she was an AA call handler on her way to work, and the breakdown truck turned up in 3 minutes.Truly, 3 minutes. He was an alright bloke, and when I had a chat with him, bought him a coffee etc, he said he was just sitting in his truck at the back of the services waiting for a call ! Admittedly, he was a contracted garage, but none the less.

Been with CSMA ever since. Best thing with them is they will drop you and your vehicle home so you can unload it, then come back and take it to the garage at no extra cost.

Ham Salad said:

We are members of the CSMA and they have been fabulous, never a problem

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We're with them, well Britannia, which is their breakdown service provider.

I agree with stchris356, If you lie to the patrol or give the patrol abuse or attitude then he is far less likely to help you.

For the patrol to try and have pop about your vehicle being covered in mud I would remind him that greenlanes are unsurfaced public highways.

It sounds like the patrol in question was just being a jobsworth.

When I broke down the RAC bloke asked if i had been off roading but didnt imply he wouldnt recover me if I had. I know they wont recover you if you breakdown at a track day as I k now a guy who had a caliper fail at Anglesey he phoned the AA and told them he had been there just spectating and it happened as he left and they phoned the circuit and asked them if he had been on track.

If it went bang on the road you're covered.

My uncle was AA and RAC and some of the stories he has are great. People seem to think you're stupid. He said he used to get it a lot where pakistanis used each other's cards or only had one between 20 of them. He had a guy who was clearly no older than 18 claim to be 68.
"This isn't your card is it?"
"Yes it is"
"How old are you?"
"68"
"And you drive a car with blacked out windows and gold alloys?"
"Yes"
"Right, I'm cancelling this card."
"No! Wait! It's my Dad's!"

Another scam he used to get all the time was if you had the top cover you would get a courtesy car. It was amazing how many people conveniently broke down on a friday so that they had a brand new car for a wedding that weekend. One guy phoned him 3 times on one friday insisting he couldn't drive his car because the brakes didn't work. After testing them he said once again that there was nothing wrong with them. He mentioned that that was his last job. The guy, obviously thinking he could get one over on the AA and knowing that it would be another mechanic that came, called a 4th time. Imagine the shock on his face as he opened the door holding his membership card only to have it taken from him by my uncle because the AA had asked if he could just do one last job as a favour since he was closest. Apparently the guy never even protested as he took the card, snapped it in half and got back in the van and drove off.