Unlettered
A woman reader received the following letter: Facing you in the driving seat is an array of warning lights which alert you to a range of motoring emergencies. The only one missing is a light to tell you when your AA cover is about to run out.
The closest your instrument panel gets to such a warning is the light that shows an electrical fault. AA records show that, of the 4.6 million calls for help received last year from Members, over half — more than two million are caused by electrical faults.
The situation is all too familiar: you are driving along without a care in the world, for no apparent reason, your engine dies and the car glides to a halt. A breakdown usually occurs without warning and it is always unpleasant, frustrating, time consuming; and particularly if you're travelling alone it can be frightening. So the last thing you want to hear when you ring the AA for help is a polite voice saying with regret 'I'm sorry, your Membership does not seem to have been renewed.'
`That's why I am writing now to advise you to take advantage of a convenient method of payment which ensures that your Membership will never run out due to forgetfulness or oversight.
This letter brings you an opportunity to pay your subscription by Direct Debit. It's an arrangement you're free to cancel, at any time you choose, simply by informing your bank and the AA, which saves you the trouble of having to remember to keep renewing your subscription.
For us, too, this simplified method of payment has the great advantage of reducing paperwork and administration costs — savings that we are happy to plough back into our services to Mem- bers.
It also enables us to give you a 'thank you' present — the handsome pen and pencil set described and illustrated on a separate page. Just sign the Direct Debit Instruction attached and we'll send this to you.
Yours sincerely, Alan Foster
General Manager, Member Services, The Automobile Association, PO Box 50, Basingstoke, Hants
If you have an example of a crass, illiterate, ignorant, irrelevant or embar- rassing letter or notice from a company or public body, send a copy to: Unlet- tered, The Spectator, 56 Doughty Street, London WC1N 2LL. £10 for each one printed.
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