AAA Consumer Reviews - Page 8

IRVING, TEXAS -- On July 15 submitted an online quote to AAA for auto and renter's insurance. Received a call from a AAA agent. We went over the policy terms and she gave me a quote. Because my AAA auto membership already expired she told me she could renew it for me at a discount so I gave her my debit card info to withdraw for membership fee. After the policy was finalized she sent me a copy to sign online. I noticed some of the policy terms were changed or removed, like rental reimbursement and refused to sign.

I asked her about this and she said she has to have the policy exactly like my current one. I told her these terms are on my current policy. She disagreed. I had to have my insurance agent fax her a copy of my current insurance policy. Prior to all of this she had me on a conference call with my current agent (something I never went through with other insurance companies). Her response was that she did overlooked it but now that I wanted the terms adjusted my quote was going to have to increase. Sounded to me like bait and switch.

We went back and forth on policy changes. She was really pushing hard for me to sign but I did not like how she kept changing my policy terms and increasing my quote. On July 21 funds were withdrawn from my account for insurance. I requested a flat cancel and full refund in email and never heard back from her. I called both her and her supervisor. I then called AAA membership and they said I have two active insurance policies and a cancellation and refund was never submitted.

I sent her an email about this and she replied that it was canceled and I should receive a check in the mail. I called AAA membership again and there was no cancellation or refund. I was transferred to an insurance representative who contacted the agent. She was given conflicting responses from both the agent and her supervisor about my cancellation and I had to fax her copies of my email correspondence.

This is aggravating. The only reason I had to change insurance companies was that the current one does not operate in the state of TX. My insurance with them was about to expire on Aug. 12 so I wanted to prepare ahead and to get a policy in place. I never went through this trouble with any other insurance company. Till this day I still have not received a refund. I have been faxing documents to AAA insurance about this cancellation and the faxes are costing me $. I have no problems with AAA membership but their insurance is not up to par.

DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- So I just signed up for AAA and was very excited because my car was already dead and stuck at the gym, my starter broke and I needed it towed home so I called AAA and they said it would be 45min. They sent Cass Towing out of Dover, NH. I waited in the freezing cold. The guy finally came and said there wasn't enough room for him to get the truck in there to tow it so I'd have to wait. I went home and waited hours.

Finally called AAA back and they said my car was already parked at my apt., so I went outside in the below zero weather and ran around the parking lot in the dark only to find my car wasn't there. I called AAA back and they said they made a mistake and it would be here shortly. Another hour and the guy finally called saying my car was outside but there was an overage charge of $9.00 for going over the 5 miles and he would only except cash.

I know it's only 4 miles from my apt. to the gym and my boyfriend insisted I didn't pay him, But I paid the guy anyway, as he was writing my receipt he proceeded to ask me to get in the truck with him, and when I said I was all set, he said and I quote "I don't bite, come in my truck with me". I am a young woman alone in the dark. Do you think I'm going to get in a vehicle with a complete stranger?

As my boyfriend map quested the route and I called to complain to AAA, my boyfriend informed me I was correct and it was only 4 miles to the gym. AAA agreed about the distance and said I was overcharged but it would take 5-7 business days for someone to get back to me. I waited, and had to call again a week later and was finally told I'd have to mail in my receipt to them before receiving my refund.

That's BS considering they have all the information on file why delay it any further and make me mail the receipt?! I want my $9.00 back and not have been harassed by the driver! My guess is the driver was trying to score some extra cash before Christmas and take advantage of a new customer. I'll think twice before calling them ever again!

LEOMINSTER, MASSACHUSETTS -- I was on the highway and had a tire go. I placed three phone calls. Each time the person said "Your membership is cancelled.", “You do not have a membership etc.” I explained I didn't have the up to date number but could they find it under my name? And the third person said "You don't have a membership." So then after a long delay I got a supervisor (the 4th person) who was able to find my name and number.

Instead of saying what they did, the inexperienced person should have said "I can't find you in our computer right now." ...instead they made flat untrue statements (3 times – “You don't have a membership.”). I explained I had moved and it was under the new address. We have two different memberships at that address under his and her names.

Now I find out that when they deny your membership they are supposed to say "Do you need the police?" and not one of the 3 did. The supervisor finally found a local policeman after he found my membership in the computer. I was really angry and I said "This happens to young women when they are in a dangerous situation and they get murdered.”

Consequently, I needed to get off the highway and the rim was ruined by the time I stopped. The local policeman was very nice and he moved the car onto a safe side street as I was no longer on the 4 lane divided highway (in a storm).

When I told on 911 that there was a road hazard and I had hit a rock or a brick with my front right tire and asked the State Police to remove the road hazard, the young man said "Do you need emergency assistance?" and I said "It's OK. I have a cellphone and AAA membership." Next time I will know better. That happened to a young woman on the coldest day of the winter; AAA denied she had an up to date membership. My friend and I took her into a warm car, let her use the cellphone, and we were able to get the state police to prioritize her call. Perhaps she was also someone they couldn't find in their computer?

WINSTON SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA -- I went back to AAA because the previous auto repair, actually I remembered later it was just an oil change and check up. So when we took my daughter's car for repair not long ago, it took a day to diagnose, even though the diagnosis was a non-educated guess. The radiator was leaking but they could not be sure that the damage was contained to that. We were at their mercy as she could not drive the car all over in that condition. The price was ridiculous... way over the average cost, once again...our hands were tied. The car was there for 3 days.

First day my daughter called and they said it was being finished up and would be done in a half hour. When we arrived we were told the wrong part came in. Obviously a lie. The next day it was there all day and again my daughter called and they said they were working on it then, would be done end of day... Well... once again, the thermostat came in and it was wrong part.

Furious doesn't even begin to describe the incompetence of the entire repair department. We ended up getting the car back with the radiator replaced only, which by the way had originally came in broken and they had to order another one. I say radiator only because she got it back without a thermostat... a half ass job to say the least.

We... My daughter and I will never go there again. It is extremely troubling, as AAA is a worldwide enterprise and members should feel confident that they if no one else will do an honest and thorough job, no matter what.

I am researching other companies to join for road service... AAA is a dump and the service department we dealt with were at best a bunch of combined liars. They cause great inconvenience to my daughter and to myself. My daughter left her job early after being told the car was ready and I after having surgery made a needless trip to drive her there only to be told it wasn't ready. By the way they had all the phone numbers necessary to contact and let us know and it wasn't done... shame on AAA.

WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS -- I have had a problem with my Ford pick up that the dealer can find. This has caused the truck to stop running on three occasions. The last being that I am writing about. I broke down in my pick up truck and called AAA for a tow. They asked the make and model and then asked if it has an 8-foot bed. I replied yes. When hearing this answer the AAA employee answered they will not cover pick up trucks with an 8-foot bed.

My reply was that they has towed me two times in the past few months and why am I denied coverage now? Her answer was that the AAA handbook states that these trucks are not covered. I has asked where in the handbook this is stated she put me on hold. After a few minutes her answer was that it may not be in writing but it is an "AAA policy". When I told her that this was un-fair she replied by saying they would send a truck just this one time.

When the truck arrived I thought this would be over and I could move on. I was wrong. The driver looked at my truck and said he could not tow a truck with duel rear wheels. I was very surprised because the truck only has two not four rear wheels. Even though I tried my hardest to convince the driver the number of wheels on my truck was 4 not 6 he said it looks like it "should have duel rear wheels" and he can't tow me.

I called another tow company they understood that there were 4 wheels not 6 and towed me with a similar size flatbed. I paid the $100.00 and went on my way. Beware of AAA if you have a pickup SUV or any other larger vehicle. AAA apparently has some "policies" that they don't tell you about until they cash your check.

SAN JUAN -- I made a reservation through CarRental.com to pick up a car on 12/29 at AAA Car Rental in Puerto Rico, when I went to pick up my car there had no cars available, they said they were waiting for cars to come in. In the meantime there was a lady there who had been waiting for over 2 hours for a car. I asked how long would I have to wait for the next car and they said about 50 mins. I told them I had a closing to go to so I would come back to pick up my car. When I returned they said that I would still have to wait, I reminded them that I was there earlier and wanted to know why they didn't hold the car since I had a reservation and had told them that I was coming back.

Their response was since I wasn't there they gave the car to someone else because they can't assume that I was really coming back. In other words they don't care if you have a reservation or not it's a first come first serve and it's your problem if you don't get a car. If I had stayed to wait for a car I would have missed my closing which meant I would have lost money. The only luck I had was that the realtor I was dealing with drove me back and forth but there were many people there who had just arrived and were stranded with no vehicle and no way of finding a solution. This was a very expensive lesson that I learned.

I will never use this company again. If you need a car in PR stick to the big companies like Enterprise. In my desperation I went to Enterprise and they had cars but they were holding them for people who had reservations. That is how a company should work.

SATTLER, TEXAS -- At approx. 4 PM on 3-13-07 I discovered that my car battery was dead. I was in a small town approximately 30 driving minutes from my hometown. I called AAA and was told to expect assistance within an hour and a half. As I knew there were surrounding towns well within that driving time frame I called back in 45 minutes to see what the status was. I was put on hold. In about 15 minutes I hung up and called back and was told they either were trying to locate the person they sent or else where I was. I requested that someone stay on the line; they did.

At 5:50 PM I told them I had to get off the line and find some help as the building I was in was being locked for the evening. It was already dark and we were under a flood alert. It was raining hard and the streets at home where I live have a tendency to flood.

I found a jump quickly and arrived home safely. But no thanks to AAA. The next day when I called I was told I had given the wrong number, hmm. Curious that a company that size has no caller ID policy in place for situations like this. They requested I file out a complaint, and, no, there was no compensation given when something like that happens and years of road assistance has been paid.

I could have found help within fifteen minutes to get a jump if I had known there was a problem with getting it from AAA. And of course, and this is no surprise to anyone, when being put on hold I had to listen to the recording of "triple A hassle free assistance!" Who are you now using for road assistance?

SOUTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEY -- On 2/14/2013 I placed a service call with AAA after my car broke down. I was told that a tow truck will be there in about 30 min. 2 hrs later a tow truck finally pulled up. The driver exited his truck, eyed my car and without even acknowledging me began taking pictures of my car. He continued to ignore me when I inquired to the reason he was taking photos.

After taking the photos he proceeded to climb into the cabin and started his engine. I knocked on his door to inquire what is going on. The driver continued to ignore me. I then walked to the front of the truck, took a photo of his license plate ** and the company logo (GarGoyle Industries LLC located in Woodbridge N. J. 8008543797). At that point he finally came out and acknowledged me for the first time.

He informed me that because that my car has commercial plates AAA will not cover the tow. He then proceeded to drive off and would not wait until I called AAA to sort this mess out. When I was in touch with AAA I was transferred to a supervisor who then informed me that "new policy" dictated that they will not cover vehicles with commercial plates. I was disgusted by my experience and how they left me stranded in a time of need due to a policy change that I as a customer was never informed of.

IRVING, TEXAS -- Here's how AAA's bait and switch works on their homeowner's insurance. You call an agent to get a quote. They ask you a bunch of information about your home. Even though you tell the agent every detail, the agent knows which items jack up the premium and leaves those out when they enter your info into their quote system. They tell you the price can change in underwriting. You get a good quote, and you decide to change and go with them. They send an inspector to check your house. The agent calls you and says the inspector says everything is fine, and the final quote is such and such. It might be $10 or so higher or lower.

You pay AAA your good, now slightly revised quote, thinking their underwriting has signed off and cancel your old insurance. Two weeks later you get a letter from their underwriters saying that, based on the information you already originally gave the agent but which they never entered, your premium is $100-$150 higher and to talk to your agent if you have a question.

You call the agent and the agent all of sudden don't know nothing. You talk to their supervisor. The supervisor says, "sorry, there's nothing you can do, they have 60 days to change your premium." They offer to knock $20 or so off the extra $150 to calm you down and buy your business. You've already changed, you realize you've been conned, but it costs you more to try to change again. Bag another sucker for AAA home insurance.

In my almost 30 years of driving and having continued auto insurance coverage, I was at AAA branch office doing DMW stuff and the representative sat me down to talk auto insurance. Well, just know they MISrepresent what their policy is ALL about. If you don't pay IN FULL, you incur finance charges like a loan. Had the representative told me this important information, it would be one thing but that was NEVER mentioned.

I have a very high credit score for good reason and naturally when I called to question this the call center employee said the representative clearly noted my account that he covered me on this bogus plan they have. BS. I am angry, and going to be insulted a 2nd time by AAA as they now will charge me to cancel my policy early. PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!