Read The Small Print

[BroadAmbition]

So it’s Friday morning, I’m in the ‘GriffTile’ van driving from my place down to Thurlby near Stamford for an appointment with a mate.  I have to be at his no later than 1045 as that is when we intend to jump in his car, drive to Luton to catch a flight for Hamburg.  My Satnav tells me I should arrive at his for around 1015.  So no rush, I’m in the nearside lane on the A1 cruising at around 60mph.  A van overtakes me and ‘BANG’ it has flicked some road debri up into the front of my van as it passed, I barely saw it but it was a hell of a thump, followed by some rattling (Bits of plastic front valance rattling off), checking gauges all seems ok but I’m just knowing this is going to be expensive. I keep going as all gauges seem ok, brakes working fine, I pull off the A1 at my designated turn off, pull up for a look-see, as I come to a stop the temperature gauge shoots up and clouds of steam envelope the front of the van, ignition off immediately.  The foreign object has smashed through the bottom valance and punctured the radiator – Great.

 

Ring AA – They say the van cannot be recover unaccompanied, I haven’t got the time as I have a flight to catch. So ring up my said mate who comes out with lots of water and a funnel, we are now about 10 miles from his pad.  So in three hops of stopping to refill a leaking radiator / cruising down hill with engine off we make it to his place. Abandon van in his garage, we are now late setting off for Luton, but we make it in a hell of a rush, no time for a drink or a sarnie in the airport, fortunately we just have hand luggage and boarding passes were downloaded and taken with us from home, by the skin of our teeth we are on the aircraft, it taxi’s oh about 30 secs and comes to a stop, turn off the engines and sit there for two hours while air traffic control tries to gets its main frame computer back on line.

 

We make Germany and arrive back on the Sunday

 

I rang the AA at 2000, patrolmen sent – despite me telling them he won’t be able to fix it at the roadside – which he duly confirms when he sees the state of the radiator.  Off he goes stating that he will put it in the system for a flatbed truck.  The AA call centre ring me at round 2100 stating that they are classing the problem as being caused by a collision, not a breakdown, this is in their small print apparently, so I am only entitled to 50 miles ‘free’ recovery, I have to pay for the rest = £65 up front over the phone – I have no choice and am forced to comply.  The flatbed eventually arrives at 2300.  We cast off for Donny, but have to divert for another driver to take me home, as we join the A1 (After our diversion) he states the truck needs diesel and he has forgot to bring the fuel card, so at the next service station we pull in and have to wait over half an hour for another driver to bring us a fuel card.

 

I eventually make it home at 0145, nearly six hours to be recovered 72 miles and have to pay for the privilege to boot despite having full coverage with the AA.

 

Of course it would have been so easy for me to lie, not mention the foreign object hitting the van – just say the radiator had sprung a leak and played ignorant – then I would have been recovered home with the van FOC – you live and learn.

 

Check the small print on your vehicles recovery/rescue policy my friends.

 

I could not make a claim on the insurance Co of the van that passed me (I tried) and I was unable to prove the foreign object was part of their van. My own insurance? – I would have had to pay the excess and lost no claims.  So I have bought a new radiator and changed it over myself – thank goodness I have tools and the gumption / experience to be able to do this kind of thing. I discovered to change a radiator on a Vivaro van – one has to dis-assemble the best part of the front of the van.  So far the whole saga has cost me £130:00, and loss of earnings for half a day.  There was nothing I could have done to avoid the situation either – Wrong place, wrong time

 

Photo’s – Van in bits, last one the offending lump of metal that I found lodged in the radiator

 

 

Griff

[riyadhcrew]

Griff,

 

That's some piece of metal and I think you are very lucky that it didn't hit the windscreen.

[ExSurveyor]

So would the AA class a nail in a tyre as impact damage ? The trouble is the older you get the smaller the small print gets

Griff, I did notice your glasses on the desk

Typical of many insurance policies these days.

[BroadAmbition]

Morning, Eric / Mark,

 

MrsG said the same about the windscreen thing - I pointed out a natural reaction would have to been to duck proper sharpish like, there's one thing for sure it would have easily come straight through it

 

Nail? - Good point that one - I did explain there had been no RTA or collision but they weren't having it.

 

I put those glasses there to give a size perspective for the photo.

But yes I now need reading glasses (+1's) for small print in the evenings or low light.

 

The broken lower valance is all one unit of the bumper - that will have to stay broken and be just another battle scar, purchasing a new one and having it painted it way off the scale for my wallet nowadays

 

 

Griff

[Baitrunner]

I was with the RAC and was sure that their recovery covered accidents as well (not with them at the mo as the new car is covered).

 

Small print to be read as you say.

 

I guess they might assume if it was an accident then the insurance company might cover the recovery costs.

 

There will be a lot of reading going on now especially if anyone is travelling over the holidays.

 

As Eric said - it was lucky it was JUST a radiator and not your head.

 

I bet that would have been a small fortune at the dealers to get it replaced (try changing a headlight bulb in a Subaru Impreza if you want to see a really small job go large!). Cars are not made to be fixed easily these days.

 

At least you made it to the airport in time.

[FairTmiddlin]

Griff the bit in the rad did it have any shiny edges at all, if not I don't think it came off his van. More like a piece of scrap that fell from a skip wagon,  onto the road then flicked by the other vans wheels.  To get the force to break the bumper and lodge into the rad. Would have to be shot up by a wheel?

[ranworthbreeze]

I know.. Really winds me up! So many annoying and costly electrical bits on modern cars to get the CO2 rating down, but no legislation to force the manufacturers to make a safety item like bulbs easy to change. On my old Mk2 Focus, you had to actually remove the entire headlight assembly from the car as the cover for the bulb was right up against the slam panel.

 

I guess their logic is that LED headlights are on their way, but it's got to be 5-10 years before they're standard fit. The new Mondeo has them, but only on the top model. Doesn't help the rest of us!

 

Hi Jonzo,

 

On the Rover 75 or the MG version you can get the bulb out by removing a panel in the wheel arch, but to get a bulb back in you have to remove the bumper in order to take out the light cluster.

 

Not too sure about led and I guess if one of the led's fail in a cluster it will be a fairlure on a MOT.

 

The cost on led lights is also somewhat prohibitive other than these cheap torches, it has tripled the cost of theatrical lamps for example.

 

Regards

Alan  

[Polly]

I think writing a complaint re. Fuel card fiasco and small print stuff might get you a refund?

[Poppy]

Stuff the AA! Left them years ago after a similar fiasco. I'm now with GEM - http://www.motoringassist.com/breakdown-cover/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAwuSkBRC7qKq8rr7796sBEiQA5VnSuPluwPHKmdzImYYgZuwhOILePgzUdfK-jBXrHI3S0vkaAi4J8P8HAQ

 

They are brilliant - all sorts of other benefits as well.

[Baitrunner]

To be fair maybe we shouldn't moan too much about car manufacturers making things easy to fix - a lot of us have boats to deal with!!!!  

 

When did anything that needed changing/repairing on a boat ever be a simple job?  

[BroadAmbition]

Fair point, well made,

 

 

Griff

[BrundallNavy]

I use to be with the RAC until I broke down 2 miles from home and it took them 3 patrols and 7 hrs to get me home, I could have pushed it quicker. I am not with the AA.

Doug.

[unclemike]

charlie, I'm with green flag, now back in Sept I trashed my car on the way to Westbury (my fault) called green flag,no recovery vehicle available so the breakdown van actually towed the car from Warwick to Westbury 88 Miles, no extra charge for mileage ,might be worth a look

[clive]

Charlie as regards repairing your front bumper Google Repair Products UK Ltd as they may well have some thing that mends it.

 

Clive

[SteveO]

The experiences related above, remind me why I left the AA 30 odd years ago. I have been with GEM ever since and have had to call on their services on several occasions over the years.  Always quick to arrive, always courteous, always got me moving again, or took the car and/or me home or to a garage, whatever was necessary - sometimes at very odd hours. The difference is that they use local garages to do what is needed, so you tend to get a quick response. You pay up front, but claim back the cost. I have never had to wait more than 5 days for cheque and they have always paid out in full and have looked after me very well over the years.

 

The trouble with vehicle rescue, like any kind of insurance, is that you only find out how good it is when you have to claim on it

 

 

Steve

[grendel]

I am with Green Flag, once I got stuck when the alternator packed up, the local green flag man came out and couldnt fix it, he didnt really want to trailer me the 50 miles home, so took me to his yard, he had a car the same as mine there so he swapped the alternators over, jump started my car,and with battery charging I drove home, he didnt charge me for this and I just signed the form that he had taken me home, I reckon he made the cost of a new alternator from what Green flag paid him, and didnt waste his time on the trip, plus I didnt have to fork out for a new alternator or take time off work to fit it myself, win win all round and what I consider excellent service.

Grendel