The Automobile Associate is being accused of assistance refusal by a family whose car is closing to a full failure. The refusal is justified by the AA because, according to them, the family’s daughter has COVID.
Mum Sari Clausen went out of her way and told other AA members about the incident, stating that they may have a hard time receiving assistance if someone inside the car is infected with COVID.
In defence of AA, according to them, they did their best, and they were only following protocol.
The family was in Dunedin when their daughter showed symptoms of COVID. They went out for a test, and it was confirmed that she was indeed infected. Because of this, they were forced to cut their weekend short and go home to Christchurch. However, after several kilometres of driving, the family’s BMW started showing signs of failure, slowing down and having its power reduced.
Knowing that their BMW was not in the best condition to drive, Caulsen decided to phone AA because she had a membership with them. She said that she was honest about their situation and that she brought up that their daughter had tested positive for COVID. After that, however, the AA agent on the line apologized and told Caulsen that there was nothing more they could do with their situation.
An AA membership plus would have allowed the Caulsen family to have a rental car for them to use, but since they were refused help, they are forced to drive their BMW, even if it is still showing signs of failure.
The agent on the line told Caulsen that their best option was to get to Oamaru, find accommodation and isolate themselves there.
The family is originally from Denmark, so they don’t really have no one to call for help, especially when they’re still far from home. With no more options left, they decided to just drive straight home.
Caulsen expressed her surprise with AA’s service and said that it looks like they do have their protocols sorted out when things like this happen. It would have been better if it was just her and her husband, but they have their daughters with them, and one is still not feeling well.
AA was able to respond to the Caulsen family’s problem and said that their protocol will always be the same, and they have also done this before. AA also noted that they told the Caulsens that their car is still safe to drive after a consultation with a BMW expert.
However, Caulsen was shocked and said that they didn’t know about it, and the agent online never specified on their call.
