AA debacle
Well, well, well...
I'm back. Not to rant about academisation or psychopathic behaviours of rogue head teachers. No, today's rant pertains to the incompetence, or gaslighting (or both) in the world of car insurance. More specifically the AA - or one of their 'partners'. It's hard to keep up.
Background: I had a car accident on 02/10/24. This is what I wrote at the time: our car was rammed by a reckless driver. We were pulling out of a side street. The third party was desperate to get through some lights which had just turned green. He wanted to turn right before oncoming traffic could start moving. He overtook the lane we were pulling out of. He was significantly over the 20mph speed and ploughed straight into us - driver side. More detail here.
Then, over a year later, on 03/10/25, we received an email from the AA informing us that we had been found liable. However, the Met and legal system do not seem to be in agreement with our AA chums. As soon as informed the latter of this, communication petered out. I have put in an official complaint but things are moving at a snail's pace. In my frustration, I would like to share the correspondence thus far...
_____________________________________________________________________________
03.10.25
Subject: Claim Number: ...
Good morning Mr Gwinnett,
I am writing regarding your motor incident from the 02/10/24.
We are now in receipt of the police report and we are not in a position to continue to dispute liability for this incident.
The report states that CCTV footage was available but for whatever reason[1] this has not been obtained and we therefore cannot rely on any independent evidence as the witness has been unresponsive to requests to assist.
On review of the police's statement[2] there is nothing to suggest that the third party was incorrectly positioned on the road, nor were they proceeding at excessive speed.
Whilst we understand that you feel differently on the above points without any evidence to suggest otherwise we have no grounds to dispute further[3].
We will now proceed to accept responsibility for the incident and review to pay any reasonable claim brought forward by the third party.
We will advise when the costs are agreed and the file is closed.
Kind Regards,
AA Motor Claims
05/10/25
Dear (AA Motor Claims),
I am astounded that a year has gone by and that you have been unable to get hold of the CCTV footage. It took me a matter of days: (link).
I still cannot quite believe that the driver, driving without adequate insurance, will benefit so well from driving into us and writing our car off. He drove into us, at speed. You will see his attitude from the footage, you may see how people passing by react. You will not hear the shouts from other drivers telling him he was driving too fast. You may see how he calms down from shouting at my wife once he realises how other people are reacting to him. I was trapped in the car and in shock. He was able to drive his car away from the scene, unhurt. The police gave us his details, he never volunteered them to us.
The AA has given us little to no support. As this email further proves, we have had to do any 'investigative' work. My wife and myself have spent hours on the phone with AA over this accident, and the previous one. (Where our Renault Clio was written off in one stroke by a speeding 4x4, which drove off without a scratch by someone who my wife spoke to the day afterwards and who said she and everyone else in the car was fine; we heard later from you that an apparent £4,000 in damage had been caused to the 4x4 from the impact, whiplash had apparently been sustained, and the other party successfully obtained a courtesy car. The policy seems to be a preference for issuing funds to anyone who requests them rather than take any time to consider whether such claims are genuine.)
As you will undoubtedly be aware, we have since changed insurers and will never consider the AA again after two awful experiences. We have been vocal to friends about our utter disappointment in your company: one which he trusted for many years prior to these traumatic experiences.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
06/10/25
Good morning Mr Gwinnett,
I apologise if you feel that the level of service has not been satisfactory[4].
Unfortunately when it comes to liability is it not what you know it is what you can prove and with an independent police report holding yourself at fault[5] this does not put us in a good position.
Regarding the level of the other party's cover this does not have any bearing on liability.
Unfortunately we do not have access to google drive on our systems, but if the footage can be forwarded to us via WeTransfer I would be happy to review.
Kind Regards,
AA Motor Claims
06/10/25
Dear (AA Motor Claims),
In response to your email, the level of service provided by AA has not only not been satisfactory, it has been awful - there is no if about it. I would be grateful if you could provide me with an email address for your complaints department.
I have sent you the video via WeTransfer.
Please send me the police report.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
06.10.25
Good morning Mr Gwinnett,
I have attached the police report as requested.
I have had to omit any third party information for data protection reasons but you will note under contributory factors the police have noted the wet weather and yourself.
On review of the footage we would have no grounds to dispute liability.
The onus is on the party pulling onto the main road to ensure the way is clear before proceeding with the manoeuvre.
Regarding the complaint, I would need to input this on the system so that the complaints team can review and respond[6]. If you could please advise as to your main points of dissatisfaction and I would happily log this for you to be looked into.
Kind Regards,
AA Motor Claims
_____________________________________________________________________________
07/10/25
Dear (AA Motor Claims),
I have been in touch with the met. I will get back in touch if they are not in agreement with the AA's findings.
As far as making a complaint goes, I am sure you will understand that I would rather do this independently rather than going through your team. As such, I would be grateful if you could provide me with an alternative.
Regards,
Alex
07/10/25
Good afternoon Mr Gwinnett,
Thank you for your email.
If you want to direct your complaint to the following - AAMotorComplaints@TheAA.com
Kind Regards,
AA Motor Claims
09/10/25
Dear (AA Motor Clailms),
The Met has got back to me: see email below. I expect a swift resolution of this issue, as well as compensation and apologies from the AA.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
From: (me)
Sent: 07 October 2025 14:44
To: Met Prosecutions
Subject: Re: (...)
Hi,
I hope this finds you well.
The AA were in touch yesterday to inform me (over a year after the accident) that:
"We are now in receipt of the police report and we are not in a position to continue to dispute liability for this incident.
The report states that CCTV footage was available but for whatever reason this has not been obtained and we therefore cannot rely on any independent evidence as the witness has been unresponsive to requests to assist.
On review of the police's statement there is nothing to suggest that the third party was incorrectly positioned on the road, nor were they proceeding at excessive speed.
Whilst we understand that you feel differently on the above points without any evidence to suggest otherwise we have no grounds to dispute further."
I trust that you were given the CCTV footage; I was able to get hold of it in a matter of days. The AA have not been able to get it in a year... I also maintain that the third party was over the 20 mph speed limit whereas we were inching out of the side road slowly and carefully.
The AA also informed me that "an independent police report hold(s me) at fault".
This was not my understanding. Could you please let me know if this is the case?
Many thanks,
Alex
From: (Met)
Sent: 09 October 2025 08:31
To: (me)
Subject: RE: (...)
Good morning Mr Gwinnett
I do not deal with the supply of the report and unable to verify the details sent to you. I can however say that we have the footage and this was used to summons the other party for Driving without due care and attention and No Insurance. In August the file was returned to me showing that the courts found the other party guilty. A letter would have been sent to you from the court section to inform you of this.
I hope that this is sufficient for your needs.
Kind regards...
_____________________________________________________________________________
10/10/25
Dear (AA Motor Claims),
I have yet to hear from you concerning the e-mail I sent you yesterday. As far as I can tell, the AA has either been woefully incompetent, or worse, been gaslighting my spouse and myself for a long while withholding crucial information clearly showing we were not liable.
Unless, I hear from you today with a constructive response as to how you are going to rectify the situation, I would like to make a Freedom of Information request.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information: I would like to request copies of all emails and documents concerning my accident of 02/10/24 and subsequent developments.
If you need further clarification, please let me know. If you are not the appropriate authority for this request, please advise me of the correct body to contact.
I look forward to your response within the 20 working days required by the Act.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
10/10/25
Good morning Mr Gwinnett,
I cannot locate an email on file from yesterday[7].
If this is something that was sent to our complaints team then it is a matter that will be sitting with them.
If it was intended for myself then please resend and I would be happy to review and respond accordingly.
As requested I have put a data subject access request through to our privacy team and they will be in contact with you in the required time frame.
Kind Regards,
AA Motor Claims
10/10/25
As requested - email from yesterday:
Dear (AA Motor Claims)
The Met has got back to me: see email below. I expect a swift resolution of this issue, as well as compensation and apologies from the AA.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
13/10/25 with AAMotorComplaints@TheAA.com in CC
Dear AA,
I am still awaiting an appropriate response from you regarding claim AAG396086: relevant correspondence below. I am sure you would agree that the gravity of this case requires a prompt response from you.
Kind regards,
Alex Gwinnett
Date: Wed 15/10/2025 13:16
To: AAMotorComplaints@theaa.com
Cc: Credit.Hire@theaa.com
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you to make an official complaint about the way we have been treated after our road accident of 02/10/24.
Liability: The AA decided we were liable from a very early stage. But we have recently heard that the Met charged the other party, using footage of the accident as evidence, for Driving without due care and attention and No Insurance (and) that the courts found the other party guilty. (Please see attached correspondence from the Met.)
Does the AA now need to reconsider its assessment?
Lack of responsiveness from the AA: The day after the accident, my wife rang the AA to report it. The phone call lasted two hours and she felt it to be a hostile interrogation by the AA. Having decided at that point that we were at fault, the AA did not provide any courtesy car or assistance with travel expenses. As we moved through the various and lengthy processes associated with the aftermath of this accident, the onus was always on us to call, call back, email, and chase. We never found the AA to be proactive. This added significant stress to our experience. We were never treated like AA customers might hope to be.
Why was the AA so slow to process our claim?
Lack of due customer care: I sustained a head injury and was attended by paramedics when the third party drove into us and wrote off our car. I had tinnitus/headaches for weeks after the accident. The accident also had a significant effect on my anxiety. Both my wife and I suffered from shock. The other party was initially aggressive to my wife, and only backed down when he realised other drivers by were not sympathetic to him; indeed other drivers shouted that he was speeding. My wife was also unable to drive for six months after the accident. All the while, the AA was never sympathetic and did not move from its position that we were responsible. As above, we never felt that resolution of our our claim was of any real interest to the AA, we had to maintain the momentum and, as mentioned above, this created significant additional stress.
Why does the AA treat its customers in such a way?
Further to the lack of responsiveness from the AA, since we discovered that the other party had been charged in court for Driving without due care and attention and No Insurance (as above, please see the Met communication) we shared this development with the AA. Nearly a week later, we have received absolutely no response, not even a holding reply.
I expect a response at your earliest convenience, responses to the questions above, and suggestions for resolution.
I attach previous correspondence for your information.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
Reference: 5591935
From: Chiefexec Complaints
Date: Wed 15/10/2025 14:31
Dear Mr Gwinnett
Re: Request for access to personal data
Thank you for your request which was received on the 10th October 2025. We are now processing this and the information will be sent to you by 09th November 2025.
When we send your request to you, this will be done electronically via Safedrop, which is a secure sending method. We will provide you with a link that you can follow to access your data file, you will be asked to verify your email address using 2-step authentication so please let us know by reply to this acknowledgement if you would prefer that we send your file to an alternative email address.
In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us by reply to this email if you would like to discuss this further or if you have any additional information that you think may help us to process your request.
Yours Sincerely,
Data Privacy Specialist
Customer Data Request Team
CS/5591935
dataprotection@theAA.com
Responded on same day forwarding previous correspondence above.
Date: Thu 16/10/2025 11:27
To Chiefexec Complaints
Dear Sir/Madam,
Yesterday I wrote to you providing evidence that calls into questions the AA’s judgement on my car accident of 2/10/24 (see below + AA doc attached).
Also, please find attached a copy of the letter giving details of the court proceedings faced by the other driver. Charged by the Met with driving without due care and attention, the other party’s license was endorsed; six points were applied to his license together with £726 to be paid by him (in fine, costs and surcharges) for the offence of driving without third party insurance. The Met has told us (please see my email yesterday) that it used footage of the accident as evidence to charge the other party and bring them to court. The Met’s letter attached also notes ‘if your insurance company or solicitor has requested a copy of the police report, this will be forwarded to them as soon as possible.’
To the questions I asked in my email yesterday I would also like to add:
- Both I and the Police were able to obtain a copy of the accident footage. Why was the AA unable to do so?
- Why has the AA overlooked the letter it was presumably sent by the Met Police regarding the court’s decision to find the other party guilty of driving without due care and attention and driving without the correct insurance?
The AA made only a summary judgement, from a distance, that we were at fault in the accident of 02/10/24. I believe the AA made a very limited attempt to look into our case and therefore did not meet its obligations to us as AA customers.
Will the AA continue to hold this position despite receiving documents from both the Met and now Bexley Magistrates’ Court which would strongly suggest this was a misreading of the accident, and therefore that a review of its position is overdue?
I look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience. I also note that none has yet been received to my email sent yesterday.
Regards,
Alex Gwinnett
[1] This indicates sheer incompetence. I was able to get hold of it easily as was the Met.
[2] Initial statement rather than final findings.
[3] Why did the AA not have this evidence?
[4] Not an apology – totally unprofessional.
[5] This is not factually correct: the police report does not state that I was at fault. Some may see this as slander.
[6] Is this really AA policy?
[7] How very odd – I got in touch in exactly the same way I had for all prior correspondence and had no issues.
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