GW

In December 2015 or January 2016 I signed up for a comprehensive insurance on my car. I was also sold membership for myself and two kids because I was told there was great offers and discounts to be part of the club. One of the benefits was some kind of priority roadside service.

In 2016 I called because I had left the lights on in my car. This was from Ettlingen on the main street; Ettlingen is not some Hamlet, it is a reasonable sized town with a few reasonabley large sized businesses. You may not know where it is, but if you worked for a company that offered roadside assistance, you might have a map or access to Google to find it. For two hours and numerous phone calls, I was unable to get the operator to understand my location. I gave her the street name, the name of three streets that connect directly to that street and the name of two very large national companies that are located on that street and all I got back was her telling me she could not find the street or the address on any map she had. I gave up and started to walk home when a old man who lived nearby offered to jump start my car. This old man was not an employee of ADAC but some random stranger.

Later that year, I had battery problems again. I called and asked for a jump start - it was below zero and I had not used my car for a few weeks, so clearly the battery was at fault. I was told that roadside assistance would take 3-4 hours. I started to walk to work (20kms, but I do this often and quicker than 4 hours). My neighbor later helped jump start my car. She is not an employee of ADAC, just another random stranger.

At no time during the year did I receive any special offers - their magazine is the standard syndicated collection of articles and adverts one gets from similar types of organisations the world over, the club website had no offers in my area (the same area I signed up in) and at no point have I ever been asked or offered a discount or any deal based on membership. There are no signs that I have noticed in cinemas or clubs or stores that offer deals for members, so clearly, the 'plus' option is a scam. The only store i found that offers some kind of benefit was the ADAC store itself. I cancelled my membership at the end of the year as it was a money pit with no return service or value.

I continued the insurance. As I was new to Germany, I was charged the rate of an 18 year old driver with no driving experience. I am 44 and have been driving since I was 18. I have my license from that time proving I passed a drivers test and have held a license since then, but this meant nothing to them as my German car driving license was dated with the conversion date of the same year.

So, a little over 2 years and I paid them over €3000 for vehicle insurance. I thought this was a bit high, but it was comprehensive and I considered that it is new for me to drive in this climate and region, the car is old - 2003, but has low mileage and was in good condition so I took the hit.

Fast forward to last week, when I was driving and a wild boar ran out into the street and hit my car from the side. This was my first claim from ADAC. On Thursday morning, I called to check what I need to do - there was damage to my car, it was driveable but not pretty, there was no other injuries, the boar ran off into the forest, there were other cars hit and I had a witness who was passing by on a bicycle. As instructed, I logged the accident with the police and sent all paperwork and photos to ADAC for consideration. The policeman told me verbally that I should not be seen driving that car as the bumper was hanging a bit off and the side looked bad (even though it was functional, it was just not pretty).

I called and was told somebody would call me back.

On Friday, I called and was told somebody would call me back.

I had no plans for the weekend, so I did not chase this up.

On Monday - nothing, no return calls, no communication. I fired off an email from their website explaining my situation, I received a return email stating the complaint had been received and would be answered in good time.

Tuesday, I had heard nothing, so I called and was told that as I was not a member of their club, I was not entitled to priority service and I had to wait for a call. I explained this was unacceptable and wanted to be transferred to an agent that could help or at the least give me the name and number of this person that was supposed to be returning calls. I was transferred twice before the call was dropped. One of the agents told me flat out she had no idea where I was - I am in a city of 300000 people. She could not find this city on a map, I asked her if she could Google the city name, she told me she could not. I would take time to remind the reader at this point, this company, ADAC, sells roadside assistance.

I called again. This time I was told that there was nobody available to help, that the car was too old to repair and an agent would be dispatched to see the car damage, but this might take another 48 hours. I was again reminded that since I had not maintained my membership, they would be only applying 'best efforts'...

Everybody goes on holiday next week, I have a car that is driveable, but likely to get pulled over as it looks dodgy. I realise I should own two cars or have alternative plans and sometimes this is how the universe works, but I did pay ADAC over €3000 over two years, and here we are.

If you are considering ADAC for insurance of any kind or any deals or membership program, I would suggest, based on my experience that you place your money in a little pile in the center of your lounge and set fire to it. This way, you will get some heat and light and that would be better value than supporting this organisation that is clearly trying to charge the absolute maximum possible for the least possible return.

Seriously, there are many, many other insurance organisations to choose from, I don't know for sure if any of those others are circuses or not, I definitely know what ADAC is.