Car recovery ‘a disaster from start to finish’
AN AA driver dumped a couple, their dogs and broken down car at a service station because he was due to finish his shift – which meant it took them over nine hours to get home.
Gillian and Trevor Riley, of Old Dalby, had problems with their car while they were staying at their holiday home in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and needed to be towed home.
But what should have been a two-and-a-half-hour journey got a lot longer after the AA driver who was taking them home pulled in to an A6 service station near Birstall and began unloading their car.
Gillian, 63, said: “My husband got out and asked him why he had stopped and he explained his working hours were up and we would have to get a second recovery vehicle sent out to us.”
The AA arranged a taxi to take Gillian and the dogs home, while Trevor, 67, waited for another recovery driver to turn up.
However, the AA sent the taxi to Leicester Forest East service station on the M1 instead of the A6.
When the couple finally spoke to the taxi driver, it turned out he would not take their dogs in his car, which meant they all had to wait for the second recovery vehicle.
Three hours later, when the recovery van finally arrived, the AA driver would not take their dogs in his cab either and said they would have to go in the car while it was being towed.
Gillian said: “I told the driver we didn’t feel comfortable with the dogs in the car.
“It’s not safe for people to be in a vehicle while it’s being towed, so why would it be okay for dogs?
“Surely that would just be incredibly stressful to them?
“The recovery driver eventually changed his mind, and we could finally get home.”
Gillian and Trevor arrived home at 7.15pm, eight hours after they were supposed to be collected by the AA and nine hours after leaving their holiday cottage. Gillian said: “It was a disaster from start to finish.
“I can’t believe they’ve let us down so badly.
“I’ve been a member since 1995 and I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“My yearly subscription is meant to be renewed this month, with fees increasing by £50.
“We’ve been completely let down by them and they refuse to take responsibility.”
A spokesman for the AA said: “We have investigated the incident and were sorry to find the customer experienced an unacceptable delay for service, which fell below our usual standards.
“The member was first advised their car required garage work and we arranged for recovery with a third party agent.
“Unfortunately, the recovery agent arrived late and had to terminate the journey early due to government working hour rules.
“We have been in touch with the member directly following the initial complaint and would like to extend our apologies once again.
“We will be contacting them further to help restore their faith in the AA.”
COUPLE LEFT AT SERVICES AS DRIVER’S SHIFT WAS ‘FINISHED’