AAA Consumer Reviews - Page 3

DETROIT, MICHIGAN -- We have been faithful clients for over 30 years, but due to a VERY MINOR mistake on our part (we admit it) and where other companies would try to retain you as a faithful client they decided it wasn't worth the effort to resolve the issue and keep us as clients. I guess AAA is so big we are just a number. Their customer service leaves A LOT to be desired. (FYI we had 5 cars and 2 homes with AAA) If I hear anyone saying they are with AAA or thinking going with them I will remind them of my experience and warn them about their lack of customer service.

WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT -- My vehicle was no longer operational. I did not want to just throw it away so I decided to donate it to a local fire department so they could train their personnel on extractions. I have been a Premier member for over five years, spending over fifteen hundred dollars on membership fees. I requested my vehicle be towed and I was told by three members of the AAA company if the vehicle did not need to be fixed, they were not going to tow it.

I researched my service agreement and it does not stipulate anywhere within the agreement that AAA will not tow the vehicle if it is not going to be fixed. AAA told me in so many words, it is what it is and they are not towing it. I am still amazed at their ability to deny me a service I have paid for. I have canceled my membership and will continue to write reviews of this tragedy of service.

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS -- My membership renewed on 04/08/2017. I received an invoice for a call with a service date (per the invoice) of 04/29/2017 for my daughter for service calls in excess of 4. This was the FIRST of her allowed four calls for the plan year. There were NO calls in between 04/08/2017 and 04/29/2017. The invoice was dated 05/05/2017, and sent by snail mail. I got it on the 9th. My membership was cancelled 6 days later on the 15th. When I called, the representative (Ben in Service Review, **) was condescending and glib.

When I suggested that the turnaround between mailing this questionable and errant invoice and cancelling the account was far too brief, he stated "Well, this system works for everyone." When I pointed out that it had caused me hardship, he laughed out loud and said "Well, not for you!" I was forced to pay the invoice to get my benefits back, even though no one could explain why I owed it. AAA, you should be ashamed. I have been a member for more than 8 years. This one will likely be my last.

WASHINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA -- Had a blow out on very busy road on my motorbike. Called them at 7:00 am. At almost 10:00 am still not here. I have call a few times. They keep moving my time up by another hour. I'm only 4 miles from home so yea this is **. This is not a safe road to sit on and it's chilly today. They don't care but they want that money. I had it towed by a guy that I don't know and stopped and asked me if I needed help. He had a trailer. Thanks kind soul man. Thanks again. Will not ever use AAA again. I'm stopping their service.

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- I called AAA at 4 pm and it is now nearly 1 pm the following day and I have yet to get my car towed. I have called six times talking to a different representative every time that tells me the tow service is on their way only to find out there has yet been another miscommunication between AAA and the towing service.

I had given the keys to the tow service the day before (he was in touch with AAA about this). I did not need to be there and keys were in possession of tow company for a couple of hours later due to cars being parked around my car and couldn't load onto tow truck. Needless to say, I am still waiting just to get my keys back. I am in disbelief of the incompetence and runaround I have received from AAA. I will not renew my membership this next year.

ARIZONA -- Our car broke down on a narrow shoulder on a dangerous mountain road, with no cell reception for miles. AAA refused to send a tow truck because we did not remain with the vehicle, even though we came in to a central location on the edge of town where no tow truck could have gotten to the vehicle without driving right past us.

The first thing the call center asks is are you safe, and are there animals or children in the vehicle. It was not a safe location, and we did have animals. But forget all that: HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GET ROAD SERVICE FROM AAA WHEN YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THE CAR TO MAKE A PHONE CALL??? I'm cancelling my membership.

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK -- AAA is a corrupt company who collects payments and then drops their clients if they make too many claims. The day after Christmas, AAA dropped my mother's insurance. This was after a drunk driver totaled her vehicle. They gave her very little time to choose a new vehicle, and she ended up getting one with faulty suspension, which caused her to injure her leg severely. Her injury required two surgeries, involving 27 Staples, and resulted in a pulmonary embolism. This cost the insurance company more money; however, this claim was a result of their own reluctance to give her a fair deal after the drunk driving incident.

When a drunk driver destroyed her vehicle, which was her prized possession, AAA refused to allow her to repair her car (which cost $3000 less than the total value of the car) and they refused to grant her a reasonable amount of time she to find a new car. As a result, they ended up having to pay for the injuries caused by the faulty suspension in a car she bought solely because she did not have enough time to shop around. Now, they are dropping her insurance. AAA is an unethical company. I am warning everyone I know not to get their insurance or their roadside assistance through this corrupt, immoral company.

TIDEWATER, VIRGINIA -- I called AAA because the transmission in my car died. It's my husband's vehicle and I hadn't noticed that while we had current registration he had not put the sticker on the plate. Tow truck shows up and notices and tells me it's now $200 to tow my car home! So I told him I couldn't afford that and he left me and 3 kids to figure out how to get the car and ourselves home.

Why do I pay for these options if I can't use them? This was also not disclosed during the time of the call. Luckily the person whose driveway I was able to pull into let me keep my car there until I can return with the plate sticker. I also don't blame the driver as I do AAA. He had an order to follow to not allow my car to be towed. I place this solely on AAA.

GEORGIA -- Be careful dealing with AAA. They get you sign a contract with no price schedule attached to the contract, tell you all about how this contract is so much better than the last, give you a price sheet they say isn't the correct rates. And just all out lie about the whole thing. Then when its time to get paid from them you realize you didn't get paid for everything you submitted. You then have to submit all the paperwork with your mileage, maps, as detailed as possible.

Then they still may not pay you 100% of what you have done. And if they call you to do any type of road service and the customer leaves the scene, you get nothing!! They don't feel its their responsibility to pay you if they dispatch you and their customer leaves..

NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS -- My 18-year-old daughter's car suddenly became really slow to drive forward. She immediately pulled the car over in a parking lot and called AAA. After waiting 1.5 hours, the tow truck driver arrived. Although the car obviously had a problem being driven, the driver gets in her car and tries to drive it so it would be easier for him to tow the front wheel drive. The axle makes a crunching sound and the left front wheel gets pulled backwards like it's going to break off. Not the right thing for him to have done. Turned out it was the ball joint.

He gets in his truck and races loudly around the block so he can back up to the rear of the car. He jacks up the front of the car with a really old jack on 2 wheels, attaches the winch and begins to pull the car forward from the rear onto the lift bed on the ground. As it rolls, the jack lists to the side and gets hung up on a crack in the pavement. Only the back tires are on the lift and he can't pull the car any further. He gets outs, lowers the jack, and because the wheel is broken, the car lists to the side and now he can't get the jack out from under the car.

He raises the truck lift so that the back wheels are up off the ground, gets back in the truck, backs it up. The car body moves backwards, but because the front tire is broken, it doesn't move with the car and the tire gets pushed into the forward wheel well. He still can't get the jack out so he gets back in the truck and drives forward. Now the car body is pulled forward but the broken wheel again doesn't move with it. He continues to drive forward so far that I see the body of the wheel well begin to actually bend as it is crushed against the tire.

I yell to him to stop and told him that he's damaging the car. He gets out, lowers the lift bed to the ground, stomps around to the front of the car and pulls the jack out. He jams the jack under a spot in front of the rear axle and jacks the car up so he can take the tire off. But the wheel is broken and stays on the ground. He goes back to the truck and lifts the rear wheels to take pressure off the broken wheel. He tries to take the tire lug nuts off and his tool breaks so he has to get another. He finally removes the tire. He pulls out 2 long pieces of 4x4s and a small one.

He jams them under the broken wheel hub itself, lowers the jack so the hub rests directly on the wood, and I hear the axle and hub make more crunching sounds and it appears that the wheel hub is now getting damaged. He then begins to pull the car forward again as the wheel hub stays stationary and the car body starts to move forward. This is crazy. I told the guy to stop right there.

I called AAA as he begins to try something else. I tell the service representative that this tow truck driver is damaging my car. She says there is nothing she can do, he doesn't work for AAA. I explain that if they don't stop him from causing damage to my car, then AAA is responsible. She asks to speak to the driver. After speaking with her, he gives my phone back to me. She says that he has to get my car off his truck and there's nothing she can do.

I ask when she can have another tow truck there. She says that it will probably be another hour before someone comes. I said that was not OK after already waiting an hour and a half for a guy to damage the car. She says that I have to go to the end of the list of other calls. I ask to speak to a supervisor. She puts me on hold for 17 minutes, then tells me there is no supervisor available. She says she's directing me to a complaint center. Another long wait before someone comes on to ask me about the situation. Meanwhile the guy has pulled my car off the truck, inflicting more damage.

The AAA guy I speak with asks me to describe what happened. He says it sounds like the tow truck driver was doing everything he should have. I said that I watched him bend the wheel well of my car and cause further damage to the wheel hub and axle. He said that he'll have an inspector come out to the mechanic's shop where the car is towed to examine the car in a few days.

When the new tow truck driver comes, he shakes his head at what the other guy has done and says that the first driver has made his job way more difficult. When I told him what happened he said he could see this guy doing it, and that that company doesn't have a good reputation. I watch him use professional tools to jack up the car with a four-wheeled jack and remove the car's front wheel, place a heavy duty and made-for-the purpose metal slider under the body near the broken tire to help slide it forward without the car leaning over where the tire is missing. He pulls the front of the car carefully on to the lift, lifts the car and all is accomplished simply and efficiently.

Days later, when I respond to an AAA message saying they have a report from the inspector and will discuss a resolution, the AAA representative tells me that their inspector has found no damage to the car; any damage he found was already there before the guy did the tow job. He said that my daughter already caused the damage when she pulled over. I told him that my mechanic said that the inspector who came out was very young and inexperienced and had previously been only a tow truck driver. The AAA representative says that the inspector used to work for Geico and is experienced. He says that their review shows that the first tow truck driver did it all well.

I said that I did not agree with their resolution, since I witnessed the guy crush the fender along with other damage to the wheel hub and axle. He will inform the complaint reviewer that I dispute their determination that the truck driver was not at fault. I asked him if they ever contacted the second tow truck driver for his evaluation of what was left by the first driver, but AAA did not. The representative says he will pass along my request and that I do not agree with their resolution. He does not ask for the name and phone number of the second tow truck driver.

Don't waste your money on AAA. You can sign up for roadside assistance through your insurance company for $15/year or call 911 for assistance finding help that you can pay for only when you need it. AAA isn't available everywhere and will take way longer than a call by police to a nearby tow truck company. Another better roadside assistance company is Better World Club, a green company which does not lobby against public transportation like AAA.