I called AA after my car broke down & I was alone in the dark – only to be told they don’t ‘prioritise based on gender’
A WOMAN has revealed how she was forced to wait alone in the dark after her car broke down as the AA told her they don't "prioritise based on gender".
Dr Helen Mott became stranded last night and quickly phoned the breakdown firm - only to be told lone women and men are treated exactly the same as "that's equality".
She slammed the AA on Twitter - telling the company its "policies need a revamp".
Tweeting the firm, she wrote: "I am a lone woman whose car has broken down at night in the dark. Your call handler has told me you treat lone women and lone men as exactly the same priority in such circumstances because “that’s equality”.
"I am pretty sure that is not equality. I will now wait alone in the dark for 90 minutes or more, something which as a lone woman nowhere near home is far more anxiety-provoking than it would be for a man, if you follow the news.
"I think your policies need a revamp."
But Dr Mott was hit with the same response from the AA's Twitter team, with a spokesperson saying they instead "consider location".
"Hi Helen, you've been advised correctly," the tweet read.
"We don't prioritise based on gender, we do consider the location so as an example we would prioritise someone on a motorway over someone in a supermarket carpark."
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The response sparked a flurry of furious response from outraged social media users who blasted the policy as "appalling" and "ridiculous".
One person replied: "That's not equality, that's ridiculous! There are more risks to lone females stranded at night. Simple. I'm with AA and am now considering changing my policy."
Another said: "Are you kidding? I have two daughters, both old enough to be living away from home.
"If they call a breakdown service, alone and stranded, I want them prioritised because lone women are not safe, largely because of attitudes like yours."
AA's president Sir Edmund King then intervened to say: "Please rest assured we give priority to anyone at risk."
After receiving backlash on Twitter, the AA has apologised for the "wording" of its response while insisting incident involving women on their own "receive the highest level of care".
A spokesperson for the firm told The Sun Online: "We accept that the wording of our initial response wasn’t great and have apologised.
"In fact, we prioritise anyone at risk but more often than not it will be lone women.
"In breakdowns involving lone women where there is any concern raised by the customer they receive the highest level of care and priority.”