AutoAid Breakdown Cover

I called the breakdown number and got straight through. Very helpful lady made sure the vehicle and passengers were safe and not obstructing the highway. A van arrived within 30mins and the mechanic took some pictures, confirmed that the vehicle couldn't be repaired on site and arranged a lorry to take it to my chosen workshop, and a transporter arrived within an hour to complete the job. I have used you on three occasions during the last seven years and will highly recommend the service.

I've just discovered that Autoaid removed the included spouse cover without telling me. My wife has been driving for a year with no breakdown cover. I let the policy auto-renew on the basis that she would've been included & have now had to pay an extra charge to add her on. I would've cancelled on the basis that I had been misled but they would charge a cancellation fee. If they'd had the honesty to tell me I could have got better cover for less. I feel cheated by such underhand behaviour. If they are this sneaky then I fear that they'll be equally likely to let us down should we have a breakdown. I won't be using them again.

I set my policy not to autorenew when I took it out. After the first year it did not renew and I did it by phone. This year, despite checking before renewal that it was still set no to auto renew AutoAid have automatically renewed the policy, which I did not want. They then refused to accept it was set not to autorenew, despite admitting I had renewed on the phone last year and I have made no changes since. Despite contacting them within hours of the autorenew to cancel they refused a full refund and kept £24 of the premium. Currently progressing a complaint which I will continue through the ombudsman if necessary, which will cost them more than £24. So potential customers need to look at more than the actual breakdown service, which is provided by independent breakdown companies anyway. The customer service is untrustworthy. If you do go with them and don't want to renew make sure you contact your card company and put a block on them. And if you get stung don't just take it on the chin, complain then go through the ombudsman to highlight their practices. Owned by RCIB Insurance, look at their online reviews.

I have had a policy for a few years, until now. I no longer require cover and was surprised when I received an email, at 08.03 on the morning of my 'auto' renewal to be told that £78.54 had already been taken from my account. I called in at 10.51 to cancel the policy and seek a refund, only to be told that there would be a 'cancellation charge' So, for a policy I did not intend to renew I get charged when cancelling less than 3 hours after they tell me that they have taken my money without authority on the day of renewal? Very unhelpful staff, so I have raised a complaint and will ultimately go the the Ombudsman

unless I get a full refund, (which will cost them £750)

MADNESS and my advice is go somewhere else.

Appalling service nowadays. Used to be excellent but not anymore. Broke down at 4pm yesterday. Rang three times. Advised to call the police as no one was available for recovery. Basically told to tough luck as local contractors were all busy. Finally got a hold of a "supervisor" who advised to call back the next morning. Car finally towed away after waiting 19 hours. No priority assistance for me even though I was a lone female with 7 year old boys in below freezing temperatures. Avoid.

exorbitant cancellation charges eventhough cancellation done before policy starts!!

Be careful with automatic renewal they tell you a month earlier about it in one of their lengthy emails,then charge you £20 to cancel if you forget,NO notice one or two days before, typical move by certain companies, noticed it happened alot with them..

At renewal time, they take payment at midnight on the day of renewal, meaning if they can't debit the card immediately, the policy expires. This means you are then forced to take out a new policy at a higher price.

I was told by a rude, unhelpful customer rep that is standard practice across all companies, and there is nothing she could do. This is clearly not the case, as my insurance company were similarly unable to take payment – however, because they tried to do so BEFORE the renewal date, rather than waiting till midnight on the day, I was able to call a few days later, update my payment information, and continue the policy.

This apparently inability to extend my existing cover is despite being sent an email at 6am on 31 Oct (the renewal date) saying: "No need to panic! All you need to do is contact us ... [to] simply update your payment details or retake your payment and get you back on cover without a hitch".

I assume most people simply agree to pay the extra £15, but the whole exchange left an extremely bad taste. I now have to look for a new breakdown company, but I can't continue with Auto Aid if that's how they treat their renewing customers. Put your prices up if you need to, but don't resort to underhand practices to gain a little extra cash.