Owners left on the roadside when breakdown cover fails
Riders have shared their experiences of being stranded on major roads, when no emergency transport came to assist
OWNERS have found themselves stranded on the roadside with horses on board after failings by a breakdown assistance provider.
H&H has spoken to horse owners left in nightmare situations by Autohome Assistance in recent weeks.
Their contracts were brokered by Anthony D Evans and a joint statement from both companies states they are “working to improve their service”.
Kirsty Boardman was on the M62 with a pony and her six-yearold daughter when her lorry broke down on 17 September.
Her policy includes collection of horses, but the call handler said she would have to arrange emergency transport herself.
She arranged for someone else to come with a horsebox, and contacted the Highways Agency, which put a rolling roadblock in place while the pony was transferred to the other lorry.
“I am gravely concerned about the service offered that Autohome cannot provide, leaving people in a dangerous position,” she said.
“I’m a single mother with a sixyear-old daughter — I only have ponies for her. If I’m out it's going to be me by myself, my daughter and one or two ponies.
“When I took out the cover, I had to be certain the service would get all of us home safely.”
A NIGHT ON BOARD
RIDER Sarah McLean spent the night in her lorry with a horse on board on the edge of the M6 on 1-2 October when no emergency transport arrived.
She said Anthony D Evans has been “incredibly helpful”, but Autohome Assistance’s service was “appalling”.
A string of text messages from Autohome Assistance states the company could not find a transporter to collect her horse.
Ms McLean called another rescue firm, which collected her horse the next morning.
“We’d paid good money for peace of mind,” she said.
Lisa Richardson was travelling on 8 October when the clutch in her lorry broke on a roundabout.
“I cruised into a petrol station and phoned [Autohome Assistance],” she told H&H.
“It was all going as expected, taking details, asking if the horse had hay and water, how many are you carrying, and then suddenly they said: ‘Could you contact a friend to pick up your horse?’”
Ms Richardson said she was covered for that, but the handler said she was not — although it is included in her policy.
Ms Richardson rang a friend to collect her horse. She said she was offered £40 compensation by Autohome Assistance, which she did not accept.
“They have since upped it to £100, but I’ve asked them to confirm in their eyes what should have happened,” she said.
She has been in touch with Anthony D Evans, which she said was helpful, and is in discussions with Autohome Assistance.
A statement from Anthony D Evans on behalf of the two companies said they have been working together since 1990 and provide assistance to more than 3,000 horsebox owners each year.
“We are continually working alongside Autohome to improve their service and have recently increased the number of horse transporters within their network,” said the statement.
“We aim to provide a high level of service to our customers and their horses. Unfortunately we are unable to comment on individual cases, however are fully aware of situations which may not have met these high standards.”