I’m a 66-year-old grandmother – it took me 2 DAYS to get home after AA told me to download app instead of coming to help
A GRANDMA took two DAYS to get home after her car broke down on the side of a mountain without any signal – but the AA helpline just told her to download their app.
Jane Oakley was stranded in her car for eight and half hours in the middle of Snowdonia, Wales, with her two grandkids and two dogs but no food or water – and it took another two days for them to get home.
Disaster struck when the 66-year-old broke down on a windy mountain road in Wales at about midday last Monday.
She was driving her grandkids home to Hinckley, Leicestershire, from a holiday away – a drive that Jane knew well and should have taken three hours.
So when the family were stranded with hardly any signal near the edge of a nearly 80ft drop, Jane started to panic.
The grandma said: “The holiday was absolutely amazing with the kids until we came home and it was absolutely pants. It was just one disaster to another.”
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She added: “One side you’ve got a mountain the other side you’ve got a probably 50, 80ft drop, and you’ve just got a little bit round you.”
Luckily she managed to contact her son, Scott, on her grandson’s phone and explain their emergency. He managed to track the car’s location on his children’s phones.
Scott called the AA to help his mum and kids – but the phone line just recommended he download their app.
Not only was Jane without signal in the middle of nowhere, but every time her son in Leicestershire tried to use the app he said it would automatically use his location instead of hers.
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After holding for an hour on the phone, Scott got through to the breakdown cover firm who sent a van to Jane.
But it wasn’t enough to fix her Range Rover Evoque. The AA man, who didn’t have any signal either, drove down the road to send an email requesting a recovery truck.
At 6.30pm, the truck was nowhere to be seen – AA had apparently lost the request.
Jane said: “We stayed there for eight and a half hours. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst b***** enemy. It was just b***** awful.
“The apps don’t work because there’s no signal, you can’t phone them because there was no signal, but my son kept phoning and he had a 40 minute wait.
“If it hadn’t been for my son b***** going on at the AA, they wouldn’t have known we were still stuck.”
Jane told how she kept her grandkids’ spirits high despite worrying about still being stranded at nightfall.
She said: “You’ve got to keep them upbeat. We were playing games, luckily, my little granddaughter had a pack of cards. We did hangman and we kept getting in and out.
You couldn’t be scared could you because you’ve got the kids. You can’t show it.
Jane Oakley
“We had for – what felt like an hour but was probably 15 minutes – a b***** rainstorm – thunder and lightning. [My granddaughter] said, ‘Nanna, are we going to be alright?’ I said, ‘Oh love, nothing happens when you’re with nanna, it’s just another adventure.’
“You couldn’t be scared could you because you’ve got the kids. You can’t show it. I’m going, ‘Ah come on, you’ll be alright’, but inside I’m thinking, ‘Come on somebody’s got to get us out of this s***.’”
Two hours later Scott finally arranged a local garage to come to the family’s rescue, taking the starving kids to a chip shop and waiting with Jane until she had help.
She was in the dark in a car park in the village of Bala with two tired children and her dogs.
Eventually, Jane’s daughter, Gemma, drove to collect them to stay with her for the night.
Jane said: “My son googled a place round there and told them the AA would pay for them to come and get me back.
“Those two guys were amazing. They came in a truck and a car and when they got us off the mountain they took us to a chip shop to feed the kids and then they stayed with me until my daughter got there.
“It was just awful. I thought we were nearly going to have to sleep in the car.
One driver mistakenly marked the vehicle as delivered when he finished one leg of the journey.
AA spokesperson
An AA spokesperson said: “We have investigated this incident and were sincerely sorry to find the member experienced delays with service, which fell short of our high standards.
“After our patrol arrived the vehicle was booked for recovery with a third-party garage agent.
“Unfortunately, the arrival time was delayed to later that evening so the member decided to leave their vehicle and we took her to a refreshment area where a family member could collect her.
“The member was not covered for onward travel, however, they raised concerns about travel arrangements once they got to their family member’s house.
“We arranged a hire car, as we always try to help get our members home regardless of their cover level.
“The car was then recovered as an unaccompanied vehicle within our normal timeframe.
“Due to the distance it had to travel, the recovery was split between drivers.
“One driver mistakenly marked the vehicle as delivered when he finished one leg of the journey.
“We apologise for the confusion this may have caused the member and we have taken steps to ensure it does not happen again.
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“Unfortunately, during the incident we experienced high demand on our customer phone lines and appreciate this may have caused frustration during the incident.
“We have spoken to the member directly to extend our apologies and offer compensation, which we hope will go some way towards restoring her faith in the AA.”