American Automobile Association [AAA]
Reviews and Complaints

Summary:
I am writing to complain about being billed an extra $1300 in airline flight fees due to a mistake made by our AAA travel agent.
I am writing to request full reimbursement, as we feel we have been unfairly penalized for mistakes made by your agent.
Your agency has already reimbursed us in the amount of $500 and a free AAA membership.

We feel that this is one of those situations about principle that is JUST NOT RIGHT.

My name is [removed], AAA # [protected] 2
My phone number is [removed]
AAA Agency is in [removed]
AAA Agent's Name: [removed]

My story is below:

We had a verbal agreement with documentation (JPEG attached), but when the agent sent us the documents to sign, we did not catch the fact that she had shifted the flight dates. It was not until weeks later that we noticed the mistake. The result was that we had to pay change fees for all five of our travelers.

It is not clear to me that the agency took full responsibility, though they did reimburse us for $500 and gave us a free AAA membership.

The amount that paid us indicates to me that they do not take full responsibility and/or may not believe us.

If they did not believe us, I must say that it was very generous of them.

BUT, we are not the kind of folks that scam others for even a single penny.

Specifically, we told the agent that we must be back home by Sunday, August 25th, because my wife is a schoolteacher, and the first day of school is Monday, August 26th. I am certain that the agent will remember the conversation, as she related to us that she either studied to be or started her career as a schoolteacher, and she and my wife had a brief conversation about where my wife teaches, etc.

I can also tell you that the contract that we signed had rental car accommodations up to August 24th, yet the flights were scheduled to fly on the 25th.

Yes, we did not catch the agent's mistake, but we did not know that we were reviewing in order to catch a mistake. We felt that we were signing to confirm what we had communicated and what was previously documented.

One thing that could have helped us catch the mistake is if we had received the full itinerary in a timely fashion - when we originally requested it.
It would have revealed full flight information, whereas the signed documents do not.

Below are the two emails that we sent. I am also attaching images of the original, agreed flights. I understand that the image I attached does not constitute a signed agreement. Nevertheless, it does reflect the one and only set of exact dates that we considered and discussed.

=
[removed]
Wed 1/9/2019 12:02 PM

[removed]

I don't know if you got this request. I don't have the updated information with flight numbers. Please email me a copy of the full itinerary.
Thank you. —

From: [removed]
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 3:15 PM
To: [removed]
Subject: Re: Reminder: Please DocuSign this document: Hawaii Vacation

Good afternoon,
Will you please send me our full itinerary? I need to send the information to my kids.

Thanks,
[removed]

I called around 2:30 AM I broke down on the side near the highway it's very dark and I was told that nobody will come for maybe 4 to 4 1/2 hours later They told me they would arrive by six or 6:30 AM. It was just unacceptable to have to wait 4 to 4 1/2 hours for help to come with AAA. My wife had to take the day out of work so she could come and get me and go back to get the truck early in the morning because I couldn't wait that long for AAA to come all by myself on the highway in this cold weather it was just unacceptable I just want to file a complaint and let somebody know what happened thank you

From: Long time AAA customer
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2019 3:05 PM
To: Kinney, Meg

Subject: DEDUCTIBLE WAIVE Fwd: 1003-04-2258

Dear Meg Kinney

Today I picked up my repaired car and had a conversation with Daniel Sarlitto regarding the accident. As I have been told you are his supervisor, I have left messages and never heard back from your office regarding my claim.

In conversation with Daniel on Christmas Eve in the late afternoon PST I recounted the details of the accident where I was hit from behind. If someone admits to "looking down" as David (the person who hit me) admitted to you when you investigated this case, why is that my fault? If someone admits they looked down and caused an accident, WHY would I be at fault for their poor judgement? Looking down even for a second can and in this case, did cause an accident.

The accident occurred on Interstate 580 right at Powell Street. If you google this road, (no doubt you have better access to mapping details through your positions at AAA). You will see it's a 4-6 lane highway and on a Saturday right before Christmas there was stop and go traffic. Traveling with my dog, I am always careful to not make sudden moves on that late morning after returning from a trip to Pt. Isabel, I was traveling from that interchange to my home exit at Lakeshore Avenue. Traffic was moving slowly, but I did look in my review mirrors both of them before I changed lanes. As I always do, my signal was on and the lane was empty.

If David's claim was true he would have hit me directly straight on rather than from the side onto my left bumper. I believe what truly happened is David was texting while driving, something many many people do. I never text while driving. I did not want to accuse him of texting as I was alone in the car and did not want to get into an altercation. After making sure his car was able to be driven, I noticed he was using his iPhone to photograph my car and license. Poor judgement in moving traffic I thought.

Please call me if you plan on "investigating" this any future. And for the record, I was surprised AAA would both be open on Christmas Eve and then call someone who's been in an accident to discuss it. Daniel S should have known this was not an ideal time to investigate the claim. NO one else ever called me after I asked if after Christmas we could go over the details.

My deductible is $1000.00 which I paid out of pocket today. I am asking for AAA to waive that deductible as this accident was not my fault. I would be happy to discuss this in more detail should that be needed. Please advise me what the next step is if you are not able to waive the fee.

I had my acure mdx towed by aaa and after picking the car up I realized the triangle with the exclamation point light came on and the vsa light came in. From the 21st of december aaa was very supportive and took blame for the damages and said they would be quickly repaired. Then I spoke with randall peoples on january 14th and he is saying stuff like how do you know it's not a fuse out, what's wrong with the car? And this is right after me telling him it was pulling shaking not braking right the list goes on., not shifting right. All things it wasn't doing before. He then tells me it is my responsibility to prove that the tow truck is wrong. I have to pay 2 $75 fees out of pocket for estimates of damage for them to assess... All so the tow company can say "it was on a flat bed we couldn't have done anything wrong" cough cough. So now aaa is backing the tow company and not their customers! Wow! When the going gets tough aaa gets going... Literally leaving you in the lurk with a broken car caused by their company. My car left the house with no light on period. Why would I make this up? Plus I had it towed to my mechanic. Since it was at the mechanic if I knew about the lights would I not have them look at that too? Duh! Just makes sense right? But I didn't know about them. I'm really really let down by aaa. I was told by 3 shops that I should not be driving my car and should be in a rental. Told this to aaa-no response. Or the say prove your point. Why doesn't the tow truck have to prove he didn't do it. His verbal word is good enough but mine isn't. And he tore up our yard doing the tow so if he could tear up the yard he could tear up the suv. We still have track marks in our yard. Who all thinks aaa should be liable? Should take responsibility? They keep speaking out of both sides of their mouth well the towing company said he wasn't guilty but you need to prove they are guilty. How does that work? I'm being penalized for having a crappy roadside assistance service basically. Help me to see the light if there is one because right now it looks like satan himself has won.

Oh and one final point i've been a valued customer for 9 years. No claims. Very little use. Just pouring money into their pockets.

I make $777.00/mo and they want me to spend $150 of it on estimates. That's my food and gas.

They are a huge multi billion dollar company and they can't repair a couple hundred dollar problem. Truly no words.

Dec. 22 2018 I called for a tow because I just bought it that car it wasn't allowed to be towed. I got a letter saying assistance covers me. You are covered as the driver in any car anytime anywhere. I had to tow it my self and damaged my trany. they blamed on me. Second complant when I got my policy I wanted rv coverage they told me I was covered. I found out I don't have it they tried turning It on me.

I have been a customer with AAA for 13 years and can't understand why someone has to be present to tow a car from my house. Is it expected that I miss work or be late because there has to be someone present to sign for the tow. Why don't you consider a verbal or recorded consent or have a password to verify who you are. This would be much more convenient for your costumers.

We called and requested service 3 months ago. My daughters vehicle broke down inside a parking garage in Philadelphia. After waiting 2 hours, a service person came and spent maybe 30 minutes trying to retrieve the vehicle and then told me I would have to call and pay for someone else to come out and then submit the bill for reimbursement. After calling around for an hour or so, a company from New Jersey came out and retrieved the vehicle . The total bill was $485 which included use of 2 different trucks, tolls, etc. I submitted the original bill and all necessary to AAA and after several weeks I began calling and calling to no avail. Eventually I received a call from a lady named Linda and she said my check would be mailed. I received a check for $28.50 with no explanation whatsoever, so I started calling and calling again. Linda called and said she would resubmit my claim (about 3 weeks ago) and to this day I have not heard anything back from that company. This is absolutely unacceptable .

On Thursday, 12/6 I walked out to flat tire (sitting on the rim). I called AAA to come out and hopefully put air in it (my model vehicle does not carry a spare, or space for a spare).

The tow-truck company (Camel-towing) arrived within a reasonable amount of time and one appeared to be a trainee, as the driver was explaining what he was doing. The driver asked if I had a cigarette lighter outlet in my car; I told him I thought so. He then plugged the pump into the cigarette lighter and proceeded to try and fill the tire. After a while he said it was not working as he could hear air coming out as quickly as it was being pumped in. At this point he said it would need to be towed. I said fine, let's get it towed. He wrote down the address of the tire company I used and said he would call it in, but it would be anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours. At this point it was between 9:15 - 9:30 am (guesstimate). I told him okay, but I had to get to work and he said he noted that in his notes. At 11:30 am, I called to follow up on the progress of the tow-truck. The AAA agent said that a tow-truck had never been dispatched. She said she would call it in and to expect it arrive around 1:30 pm. I think it was around 1:11 pm when it arrived (also Camel-towing). The driver sat in the cab for a while until I finally walked out and he got out of the cab. My car was parked in my carport and my driveway is very wide and not difficult at all to access. The driver (Jacks or Jax) said he would have to roll the car out so he could get to it. I told him I didn't want it rolled out, as it was sitting on the rim and could cause damage. I asked him what he couldn't back the tow-truck in and just lower the bed and pull my car up on the flat-bed. He became visibly agitated and got on his cell phone and walked back out to the street where he was obviously irate. He finally backed the truck onto my driveway and pulled my car onto the bed. I thanked him and we shook hands and he apologized for the misunderstanding. At that point he took my car to the tire company I use. I called ahead to let the tire company know my car was on its way. I got a ride to work and got a call from the tire company that my car would not start, and they could not get it into the bay. I got a ride home and spoke with them further and they were not able to get the car to take a charge after several attempts. They were of the opinion the battery was drained, as they were not able to get the remote to work and could not even get into the car. They ordered a new tire and said it would be ready the next morning. The next morning the tire arrived and they replaced the flat with the new one out in the parking lot. I called AAA first thing the next morning to let them know that I would need my car towed to my mechanic as soon as it was ready, and please send someone that could pop the lock as well. She agreed they would. The AAA employee stated all I had to do once it was ready was to call and they would dispatch a tow-truck. I got a ride to the tire company and called from there for a tow-truck (it was around 9:00 - 9:45 am, I think). AAA told me it would be around 12:10 pm before the tow-truck would be there. I waiting and received a text that the time had been adjusted to an arrival time of 10:46 am. As that time approached. I saw a flat-bed drive by and called AAA again in case they could not find the address. The agent stated there was a driver in the area, but was not sure that was him. After 11:00 am the tow-truck arrived (Camel-towing again, with the same driver as the previous day). I walked out to greet him and he got out and asked for my keys, which I gave him and he went over to the car to try and unlock it. I told him it was shut down because the battery had been drained and everything was shut down, even the remote. He told me he couldn't tow it without being able to get into it. I told him that I had requested someone come who would be able to pop the lock or get into the car. He told me no one told him that. He said he would have to call pop-a-lock. At this point, this had become a real fiasco. What should have been a simple tow to get a new tire turned into me having to get it towed to my mechanic. My battery was drained when the first two men arrived and plugged into my cigarette lighter to pump air into my tire. The car had run perfectly before any of this. The tow-truck driver (Jacks or Jax) said he had tried starting it, but it wouldn't start (I wish he would have said something at that moment). At this point it has been hours from the first call on Friday morning. Since the tow-truck driver said there's nothing he can do until the car in unlocked, he offers to take me back home. I have returned home and a gentleman with pop-a-lock calls that he will be there in about 30-minutes. I told him I am home and not sure where the tow-truck driver is, but he has my keys. A couple of hours later my car has been unlocked, but the tow-truck driver is not there. My mechanic closes at 5:00 pm, and at this point it is going on 3:00 pm. My stress is high because I was hoping to be able to get my car fixed and home by end of day. That did not happen. I got a ride on Saturday morning to go get my car. All of this has cost me extreme stress and $125 for a new battery that nothing was wrong with until AAA sent Camel-towing and wires kept getting crossed. Another point of stress was when the driver told me on the way to take me home from the tire company, that Camel-towing had only been in business here for only two weeks...I would like reimbursement for unnecessary cost of a new battery at no fault of mine, and want to discontinue my recent repurchasing of another year with AAA. I asked that a supervisor call me about all of this, but it has not happened as of today, 12/10.

On 7, Dec.2018 I requested a battery to replace the dead battery in my car which was parked in the garage at my home. Approx. 40 min later the service truck and serviceman arrived. he said he would have to test the battery to confirm it dead. The battery in my vehicle is protected by a plastic cover secured by plastic clips, he pryed the clips loose damaging some of them and lost some of them in the process. He then removed the battery hold down bracket with a large T shaped instrument that struck the fender of the vehicle causing scratches to it. He then removed the dead battery and inserted the new battery which was much smaller than the existing battery. I told him that the new battery was to small to fit securely in the battery box and he stated that it was the size recommended for this vehicle. He then asked me to start the vehicle and I complied the vehicle started and he began reinstalling the aforementioned equipment. upon his completion he asked me if I was satisfied and I replied NO. I then showed him that the battery was loose in the battery box and that the hold down did not secure the battery and the cover for the battery compartment was loose and missing several hold down clips, he replied that he would bring me some clips tomorrow and could provide a jump tomorrow if I was not satisfied with the battery but payment had to be made at that point. This incident took approx. 1 HR in 17 Degree weather. I am a 70yr.old Grandfather who is providing childcare for a 1yr. old female and I must have a working car at all times. Faced with the duress of this situation I reluctantly elected to pay for this service in order to resume my duties and check the well being of my granddaughter. In the signature box I wrote NOT SATISFIED.

Two weeks ago I was rear ended and pushed in to a truck. The other two cars were able to drive away mine was dead and towed to a body shop. The person driving the trucks insurance called my insurance immediately. I have yet to hear from AAA. I call twice a day 8 am and noon all I get is his voicemail. I'm in danger of losing my job and apartment waiting on them to call and settle

I've already wrote Yelp, BBB, Consumer Affairs and their website. I've never been treated so shabbily

This morning 7:15 am called AAA emergency roadside assistance line for a tire blow out on the interstate hwy. call went directly to, "sorry we are experiencing longer than normal call volumes right now, your call will be answered as soon as a rep is available". After 8 mins I gave up and changed the tire myself. This is the second time, since I have paid for the AAA coverage that they were not able to service my needs. I feel this is totally inappropriate and for the coverage that is offered, there should always be a voice to answer the phone. I should at least receive a credit of what the tow company would have been paid to change my tire..and a cleaning bill payment for my cloths.

Why pay for this "emergency" service, if it is not available when it is needed (in the emergency)?

11/27/18
7:15 am
[protected]
Jeff Prestmo

I called in for emergency service at 9 this morning...I am still waiting. Staff is not helpful, updates are not provided unless I call. Isabel from Providence was rude and unprofessional. When I asked she gave me her supervisors name as Nils, she refused to provide last name. When she did not get back to me I attempted to contact her. Without last names it is not possible to reach them. An operator eventually located Isabel who again can not give a time frame. I am currently on hold. AAA clearly does not employ enough trucks for emergency service. I am not considered an emergency because I am stranded at home. This is not acceptable and it is fraudulent that you are selling me emergency road service and then consider me a non emergency due to my location.

Thank you Brian Bridges for contacting AAA Customer Service.

If you are in need of IMMEDIATE Roadside Assistance or Mobile Battery Services:
Please call [protected]-AAA-HELP)

We received the following question, comment or feedback:
On the night of Tuesday November 6th at around 5:15pm, my son and wife were on the corner of 25th and Benning rd N.E. Washington, D.C. My wife's car wouldn't start. She called AAA to get assistance. They stated that a tow truck would be dispatched to her
around 6:41pm. At around 6:15 a text was received stating the tow truck would arrive around 7:31pm. I was still at work at this time and wouldn't get until 8pm. Then around 7:15pm another text was received stating that the tow truck wouldn't be there until
around 8:15pm. By this time wife was concerned for her and my sons safety because of area they were in. She called AAA to express this concern. AAA dispatch conveyed their apologies and stated a tow truck would get there shortly. Then another text was received
stating that the tow truck wouldn't get there until around 8:39pm. I then called explaining my concerns and was told that a tow truck would arrive soon. Then another text was received stating that the tow truck wouldn't arrive until 9p.m. Frustrated, I called
AAA expressing my concerns and canceled the transaction. I was very disappointed with my experience as a Premier member and sincerely hope no one else's family stranded in an urban area receives this type of deplorable membership service.

Yesterday afternoon I had an issue with my break light staying on & took my car to Sandy plains car care plus & dropped off my 2014 Nissan Frontier to be repaired, stating I also needed an oil change & if they found any other maintenance issues to let me know. also I asked if they would disconnect my battery so it would not go dead . This morning I received a call saying my battery was dead & was checked as bad as well as needing a full tune up (just done by Goodyear a few months ago, battery just before that ) As I have had bad luck with Goodyears' track record I gave the go ahead. I was called early this afternoon & told the car was ready & asked "what's the damage " the gentleman replied I was just about to see what I could drop it down to (709.00 ) is what I thought I heard & laughed as I thought he was joking, & told him I would pick it up in a bit .when I picked up the truck it was even higher & I said I would have to see the write up on this one .the response was that's down from 779.00 . FOR A TUNE UP ? I payed the bill got into the truck started it & the check engine light came on instantly 700.00 + & the check engine light is on WTH ? I decided to drive the car to see what a 700+ tune up did for the truck & got to about 20 miles an hour before it rattled my teeth almost out . I pulled into the Kroger across the street to check for loose lug nuts as that was my last adventure with Goodyear .Lugs were tight ! I drove the car about 4 miles to my house to see how bad it was, then returned the truck to the shop, asking did anyone test drive this ? cause if so we have a problem with this most expensive tune up of my life. They took the truck in & started checking it out again . 1/12 hours later they say we don't know why the first cylinder is still misfiring .Was that the original problem you called me with I asked yes was the answer so I just payed for an unneeded & extremely expensive tune up .The gentleman stated I can tell you why we did all of that & I replied yes you can, But you can't justify having done it as it did not fix the original problem . Now at this point I am thinking fuel, fire, compression, timing that's what is needed for a motor to run. it drove in there so it had all of that then in at least 3 cylinders that narrows it down to 1 cylinder a compression test takes 1 minute to pull the plug & test if you see the plug is wet when it comes out it has fuel .if before you take the plug out you place a screwdriver in the plug wire & hold it close to the plug & start the car you will see a spark showing you it has fire . these are the only 3 things it could be as the timing was O.K. for the other cylinders . That took a qualified retired mechanic ( ME ) less than 1 minute & well under 700.00 to figure out . the car is still with your people I would like the qualified mechanic your sign said I was entitled to, to work on my vehicle from now on !I would like the quality work, parts & all other entitlements your sign offers as well, & keep the jack legs away from it . remember I came in for a break light switch ( which is down at the break pedal ) & it started up & drove in just fine ! Jack leg grease monkey can pick up the 700+ tune up ! that's my opinion at this point .

I had scheduled a trip to the UK thru your Capitola Ca. office. A Theresa Loback-Campbell handled all the arrangements--including a side trip to Paris France. The date of start of tour was Aug.31, 2018. Our arrival in Paris was on Sept.9th . The travel agent (from Calif.) made reservations for 2 day Big Bus Hop-on-hop-off tour & Louvre admission. When we (my 2 fellow travels) arrived Paris CityVision Agency-to pick up our adm. tickets-we were informed that our 'VOUCHERS" WOULD NOT BE HONORERD' DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY HAD NO RECORD OF SUCH TRANSACTION. THAT BILL AMOUNTED TO SONE $225.00 dollars---. In order to see any of Paris we had to pay another fee of $114.00 to take the all day bus tour--no tickets for the Louvre were available. Upon my return home I contacted Ms. Campbell relating all of this. She said she would look into it. I have been in contacted with - thru e-mails on the following dates-9/24/18, -9/27/18, -10/1/18, -`10/22/18.-10/29/18. I have had on 1 response from her and this was only after MY second phone call to her. She informed me that she had filed the info (?)--and that it would take time---I believe I made that last call towards the end of Sept(?). I feel that something is NOT RIGHT! i have been a AAA MEMBER FOR OVER 40 YEARS--HAVE USED YOUR TRAVEL DEPT. MANY TIMES --HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. I AM ABOUT TO CANCEL MY AUTO, HOME INSURANCE WITH AAA. Can you give me some info. as to my next steps to take? Thank You Someone has made a lot of money on this issue!

I had received a standard promotional AAA letter for an average saving of $806 for switching to AAA.

The South AAA Rep worked hard in capturing my current auto and home insurance details (dwelling value, car details and accidents from UPC and Geico)) to provide an exact comparative quote. The annual AAA quote came at 52% higher which is totally outrageous.

I submitted my feedback to the the manager (Gordon Thwaites) and requested to be removed from any mailings.

I filed a claim for an RV roof repair damaged by birds. The roof was not in need of replacement prior to the damage but did have age. These roofs are rubber and have a different look than most. After being told that the damage was likely due to age and not birds I provided evidence to prove my case. I was then told that I was covered but needed to pay "75%" of materials. This roof did not need replaced for a few more years and did not leak or have any damage at all. The birds pecked chunks of roof from my RV and now I have to pay the entire bill to save me hundreds of dollars. If you are not going to cover my RV because it's older then maybe you should not charge me for the coverage. Very disappointed and was hesitant to switch to you as I loved my last insurance company. Shame on you for making me think I had good coverage

I renewed my policy in august, got a new quote and paid in full the same day.
Now last week i get a call you owe $117 and your policy will be cancelled if you don't pay that.
This is cheating, I paid the price I was told by and I should not be paying anything else now till Feb 25 2019 .
Kindly help me understand where did 1177 came from and why was I not told about this during the quote ?
Isn't this cheating?