Breakdown cover and pets

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Tue 1 May 2012 21:41
Breakdown cover and pets - johnnyrev
Most of my car journeys are very local so (touch wood) if I ever needed to make use of breakdown cover, recovery and getting home would never be an issue. However, most longer journeys (holidays, visiting family etc) have an extra 2 passengers, our 2 dogs.

So if we did need to be towed or recovered by our friendly breakdown provider, what about the dogs? Would they be able to travel in the breakdown truck if we had to be towed? If not, then what?

I have scoured the website of one well known breakdown provider and can find no reference to pets, so does anyone have the answer?
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Tue 1 May 2012 21:54
Breakdown cover and pets - injection doc

On another forum a memeber has just had this very issue. Broke down in Scotland towing a caravan & the recovery would take the van & car but not the dogs !

H & S issue in the cab of the recovery lorry ! It became very very complicated and very very expensive for the dogs to be repatriated with their owners as the hire car had a clause that dogs were not allowed either !

Apparently it was all in the small print but i dont know what breakdown company it was !

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Tue 1 May 2012 22:56
Breakdown cover and pets - Chris M

Edited by Chris M on 01/05/2012 at 23:00

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Tue 1 May 2012 23:02
Breakdown cover and pets - daveyjp
Consider Autoaid which is a breakdown Insurance. You use any recovery agent, pay them then reclaim off Autoaid. A small independent company is less likely to have policies which prevent them earning hundreds from recovery work.

£38 a year for personal cover (i.e. insurance can be used in any vehicle you are driving or are a passenger in).
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Tue 1 May 2012 22:57
Breakdown cover and pets - Chris M

The AA policy document says:

Transporting animals The transportation or arrangement of the transportation of any animal (guide dogs or hearing dogs will be transported together with their owner, unless this is not possible for health and/or safety reasons). The AA will not recover horses or livestock. If the AA does at its absolute discretion, agree to transport an animal, then this will be at Your own risk. It is Your responsibility to secure any animal being transported or to make alternative arrangements for its transportation;

"Absolute discretion" would seem to leave it up to the recovery man which I think is fair enough if you have two large muddy dogs in the back of your failed Discovery. Same could apply if you have a yappy little Yorkie which won't shut up. One or two well behaved dogs and a dog loving recovery man should be OK.

?Not the assurance you're looking for, is it!

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