Hi.
Does anyone use CC "Mayday" vehicle recovery service? We have just looked it up and it would appear that it covers everything the AA offer except it's cheaper and it does appear that it will recover your caravan TOO, even if it's not attached to the towing vehicle? It also appears to "home start" the caravan as well? Reading between the lines we may also be able to get "Red Pennant" cheaper if we are already members of "Mayday"? Am I correct with these statements? The only drawback, if in fact it is a drawback, is that Mayday do not have their own fleet of rescue vehicles but rely on Green Flag.

All comments would be much appreciated for the following reasons.

We have been loyal AA members for decades yet this year they intend loading us with an extra £40 for the same cover although we haven't had to call them out for years. Also, although I think it is now illegal to do so, the premium they are asking us to pay is £14 more expensive than if we approached them as a new customer. I am confident that I could argue them down a little but I don't see why I should have to as Mayday would still be as cheap.

Randa

We have used both Green Flag and Mayday on an off since about 2000 when we started with a trailer tent. We needed them once when we had a trailer wheel blowout on the A3 and they were very quick to attend.
As my "free" Audi recovery expires at the end of this month I am going back to Mayday. I will have my vehicle and was going to add Lizzies VW UP for £25, but realised for £36 we get any vehicle we are in cover, so will go this route.
I was offered VAG full European cover with Homestart etc, 2 years for about £160 which is a fine price, but did NOT cover the caravan unless it was attached to the car that had broken down,
The Mayday does cover the van independently and will collect the car and van if separated from each other. The two way recovery is also valid if you have actually booked the site you are visiting.

Colin

Edit - When I have taken out my Red Pennant Insurance for European holidays it does not appear to have a cost difference if I already had Mayday.

GEM do not offer the same level of cover. The van has to be attached to the car. Quote:-

Will my caravan or trailer be covered?
Any caravan (up to 7 metres/23 feet long, not including the length of the a-frame or hitch) or trailer (up to 3.05 metres/10 feet long including any load, not including the length of the a-frame or hitch) attached to the broken down vehicle will be recovered with the vehicle.

In the event of a breakdown to the caravan or trailer being towed by the vehicle, we will recover it to the nearest suitable garage or your preferred destination within 10 miles of the breakdown. Any caravan or trailer must be attached using a standard 50 millimetre (2 inch) towing coupling.

It would also appear they are only prepared to recover the van a short distance.

Colin

Thanks Colin and Tom for your findings. Much appreciated
Randa

Well, we had a bad week last week with some things or other which was rounded off on Thursday by the first breakdown we have suffered with our car. This has convinced us to drop the AA and go for Mayday cover.

We were only 5 miles from home so in a fairly populated area but the AA took 2 HOURS to attend to us. We had to get a tow to our local garage and the young guy who attended us was fine, no hassle. However, we had one hell of a job getting in touch with the AA in the first place when they kept telling us to go on thier website to book a call out. We didn't have a 4G signal so couldn't. We eventually got ot speak to someone on the phone but we were concerned that although we are not completely computer savvy we could have managed but what about others? The nice guy on the phone told us to expect the breakdown man to arrive within 45 minutes. After 30 minutes this was extended by another 20 minutes and so on, so forth.

I rang them this morning to complain and cancel and also told them that we were being asked to cough up another £40 on last years price whereas a new member was offered the same deal at £14 cheaper. When I argued that this was now illegal apparently it's not and the new law only concerns insurance quotes.

Their excuse for the prolonged waiting time was because of the storms. Thursday was a fine day between storms but they reckoned they had a back log. I had to ask the question whether they had people sitting in their cars from Wednesday but their "backlog" was evidently to do with Home Starts. You know, the place where you are comfortably sitting in your armchair drinking tea, watching the TV, with a loo close by, waiting for the AA to come along. Priorities? What are they?

So bye bye AA after 24 years and hello to Mayday and yes we do have a 50mm tow ball but it has a longer neck to cater for caravans with stabilizers, so no, it's not a standard ball or is it? Very difficult trying to get them to understand but I think they got it in the end and approved of my ball.

By the way, we paid a little extra to get a "Home Start" for the Eriba as well as the car

Randa

I booked our Mayday cover this morning. £132 for car and van plus £32 for personal cover. We could have got our second car for £25 but I thought the extra £7 to go personal so we are both covered in anything we travel in.

Colin