American Automobile Association [AAA]
Reviews and Complaints

I have to preface the following review by pointing out that I had been a member of AAA for approximately 27 years prior to the following events. During that period I made very little use of their services. I had one vehicle towed a distance of about 8-10 miles a few years after joining AAA and then many years later I had them order me airfare to Rio de Janeiro. The main purpose of keeping my membership active was in the unlikely event that I had to rely on their towing services; however, with the cost of the membership running around $100/year I recently decided that I would start to make more use of their travel services. My youngest sister warned me to not do this but I brushed her warnings aside since I had purchased airline tickets a few years prior without instance. Not heeding her warning was a major mistake on my part.

In the AAA office a plaque indicated that the woman who I was dealing with was the employee of the year. I already knew her as she was the same person who several years prior had ordered my tickets to Brazil and furthermore I knew one of her children. She also was a local real estate agent and ran her own business. This time I needed two tickets to Valencia, Spain and I wanted them to be first class. This latter request seemed to evoke a small but noticeable change in her demeanor and my thoughts were maybe there was some jealousy for some odd reason. She was able to obtain my ticket at a good price and so all we had to do was secure the second ticket for the other traveler my girlfriend.

This was where we ran into serious problems. During the entire process the agent was very difficult to reach. Although I had called her myself no less than 3-4 times I was never once able to get her on the phone and had to leave voice messages. I also had to send emails and probably no less than 40% did not generate a response on her part. Meanwhile my girlfriend experienced the same issues. When the second ticket was settled on both myself and my girlfriend verified to this agent that we wanted it purchased. The weekend soon passed by and there was still no email from the airlines. The next week I found out that the agent had never purchased this ticket and instead the only viable options left to us would incur and an additional $1,500 over the original price of the ticket we had requested. Instead of letting AAA purchase the second ticket we went online and bought one at the same inflated price.

I decided that was it for me and AAA so once my membership came up I decided to not renew. Unbeknownst to me AAA had different plans and somehow auto-renewed my membership without my approval. I had to then cancel that purchase and soon after AAA membership retention services started calling the house and the typical mass mailings for renewal started to appear in the snail mailbox. This is when I decided I needed to speak with the CEO. This might sound odd to the reader but I have conversed with numerous CEOs and other influential people by regular mail, email, and phone. I thought that a CEO of a company as simple as AAA would read my letter and respond in kind. I was very wrong. The first letter was returned a little over a month after posting it with an indication that the address was incorrect (AAA has numerous businesses apparrently). Through calling various numbers listed for AAA I finally found one person who gave me the CEO’s name and the correct corporate office.

About three weeks after posting that letter a “Jennifer” called the house phone and I gave her a rundown of what had transpired. After asking me what they could do to make up for their screw-up I said five years free membership would be find. This person told me that they had been with AAA for a long time and although she couldn’t promise it that most likely this would not be a problem. Then nothing occurred for about two months, except more junk mail from AAA arrived (life insurance and renewal requests). This is when I wrote a second letter to the CEO of AAA.

After waiting about 2.5-3 weeks Jennifer called the house yet again and left a message to call her. I returned the call within a few days and no one answered so I left a message to inform her that she could return my call next week. Since I typically was not around during normal hours of the day I decided to make it a point to schedule my work so that I could remain in the house from M-F during normal hours. During that week no return phone call came in, nor did one ever come in. No return correspondence by mail came in either. This is when I finally submitted a BBB complaint.

After submitting this complaint another person from AAA asked for some information. I was able to supply most of this but not all given the fact that BBB only allows the complainant to upload so many documents. I then waited for yet another two months and still AAA will not put me in touch with their CEO. As of the current time of writing this review I have waited over one year total for this company to let their CEO read my correspondence to him. I have also not had any explanation for all of their behavior nor have they ever made a single meaningful gesture to correct these wrongs. To add further insult to injury they still continue to send me junk mail to this day. I am now into my second BBB complaint attempting to reach the CEO of this clown show and within the past 3 weeks or so I have had no less than another four letters for life insurance and renewal be delivered to the house.

Bottom line is this. AAA is a complete joke. Absolutely do not risk letting them arrange anything for you. There is zero accountability at this company and there is a very a high likelihood you will regret having used them.

After being AAA loyal customer for over 20 years , I have to attest , that they became completely useless , with horrible service, communication and 0 integrity !

My family will discontinue using them going forward . I will never recommend them to anyone . Constant mistakes , being left on the side of the road in the winter at night with no-one ending up coming to tow , refusing to allow me to tow the same broken vehicle twice , even though I got 3 more services available is ludicrous! AAA is a waste of your time and money !

26 years a member. Infrequent use, haven't used service in 6 years. The car is by the side of the road. Registered, and there is a storage unit behind the car. Their first line is we can't tow from a storage unit. The storage has nothing to do, the car is on the side of the road and no connection with the storage unit. I just drove the car 10 miles, and it died. Since it's a serious issue and a 26 year old car I'm going to junk it and concentrate on my other 3 vehicles.

Oh we don't tow to salvage yards. So I've paid between 6 and 7 hundred dollars since I last used the service, for nothing. Just something to think about, how many other exclusions do they have?

Early the other day, I discovered that my car, which was in our community parking area, had a flat tire. My wife and I have been AAA members for many years, and roadside service is supposedly one of the free benefits. I called the toll-free number and was told that someone would be showing up in about an hour. Nobody ever arrived, so I called AAA again, about two hours after my original call. The representative who picked up said she would look into the status of my request, but my call was disconnected while I was on hold. I then called a third time, talking to yet another representative, who informed me that, because of our address, my request should have gone to a different AAA service area. She did not explain what that meant, what could be done about it, or what had become of my request for service. Shame on AAA for not taking action for letting me know that there had been a problem. Membership is a complete waste of money, and we will not be renewing ours!

In January 2025, my car would not start. I called AAA. A service person ran tests on my battery and said it needed to be replaced. I purchased a new battery that he had on his truck $230. The next day my car would not start. Since having my battery replaced the day before, I had AAA jump me off (this service person did not have any extra batteries on his truck). I then drove to Meineke car repair, told them something was wrong, and I had just replaced my battery. After running tests, and replacing my alternator, Meineke said that they think I received a faulty battery. I called AAA. It took 4 appointments with no one showing up from AAA to replace my battery that is under warranty. Finally AAA made an appointment for me at a AAA repair shop saying my warranty was not effective unless I went to their shop. Once at their shop, I was told a very small piece that helps to hold the battery in place needed to be replaced. I then had to spend another $100 to have that fixed. The next day my car would not start. I told Meineke AAA had the replaced the battery and charged me to fix the other small piece that held my battery down. Meineke tows my car to their shop free of charge as I told them they had missed something. A few days later Meineke tells me they don't think AAA actually replaced my battery that was under warranty. I called AAA was told that noted on my account was a note that said they did not have the battery in STOCK. I was furious as AAA did not tell me this. By this time, my membership with AAA expired on January 31, 2025. They told me I had to renew my membership in order to take care of the battery! I was also told I needed to purchase another battery as the type they gave me would not be restocked for sometime much later. I was told the only solution then was to gather receipts, fill out a form (that could not be emailed) and ask for a "CONSIDERATION" to reimburse me. I feel like AAA owes me not only a reimbursement for the faulty battery, but a FREE, 2 YEAR basic membership. Please help me get this resolved and reimbursed for all the stress AAA has caused me. I am elderly and honestly I feel physically sick this has happened. Thank you!

on 11/16/23, I went to SWmsprt AAA office and had 5 titles to change to my mothers name before her passing the next day. I had Roxanne Garmon who processed info on this transaction. I had to run back home twice to furnish docs to get the process completed. I spent approx three hours start to finish. My goal that day was to have all five titles put into my mothers name to prevent me from having possible problems later on with her estate since the titles also reflected my fathers name who passed prior to this time. I received two of the titles processed by mail soon. But I did not receive three titles to date. I went to back to the office and asked Roxanne what was going on since no receipt of other titles. She looked at my receipt and told me she only process three out of five titles. But I told her I gave her all five titles to process. She did not do anything else to help me but tell me one title was ATV and they take longer. Next day, I back to office and inquired again and again showed my receipt. they told me they did not have record of two titles being processed because the receipt did not reflect this. I told them to call me after researching. Next day they left phone msg so I went the next day to office. The lady had no notes to explain to me what they called me about and asked me to explain to her. I left the office in frustration and called when I got home. I talked to a person who told me that I had to get back with Roxanne to settle the matter but I disagreed with this and told her i already talked to Roxanne and she is the one who made the error. Then I was told to meet with the Manager Samantha on Monday. Your firm here has no way of documenting or tracking what others helped me with so if i go in person or call by phone your firm cannot help me any further except to tell me I need to get back with the person who helped me which is not always possible. This is not how to run an efficient operation at all. Plus the level of redtape and hassle of explaining again and again each time a customer inquires back for resolve. Monday came so i met with Mgr. She said them losing titles never happens and I told her that I gave two titles to process and there is no record on receipt for them showing name change. I had went home twice to get info and mileaged on two cars the titles I had that I did not receive todate. Before now I was told that I would have to cover the $67 cost to get duplicates of two titles I knew were missing. But after explaining my issue to Samantha she said the firm would cover the cost and even now Samantha did not research anything before telling me this. The lady next told me that I needed docs to get dupliates etc. So I left and came back with paperwork like death certificates and prior to now was told by lady i called that Roxanne said the two missing titles were not processed because I did not have a death certificate of my father. Well that is a lame excuse because I went back home twice and Roxanne never told me she needed death certificate of dad plus I would have went back home to get them since i have 20 extra copies but Roxanne did not tell me this. But when I came back to the office Samantha and the other lady were not in so I left. Then i get an email from Samantha saying she researched further and found that the two titles did get processed after all. I have to wait for them to be mailed. Plus I was told the ATV title takes longer to process to receive. Before leaving the office after meeting with Samantha I complained to her that staff cannot document customer interactions so as to show uptodate info on issues like i had here. Samantha said that is being addressed. I am writing this complaint because Roxanne screwed up big time and then would not admit and then lied saying that I did not give her death certificate when all the while she never told me she needed it to process just a name change on the two titles in question. She only went by the receipt she printed which did not reflect the charge for the name change on title and refused the fact that I gave her two titles for processing and denied I ever did give them to her. She should be fired on the spot over this. And Samantha tried to tell me that my scenario of events never happen which in this case it did just as I told them. Plus Samantha should have researched the matter right then and there without lazily telling me that i have to do a duplicate title regardless of who pays for it. It was a quick fix and shows Samanthas incompetence like the rest of staff at AAA South Williamsport. You need younger staff there because elderly are more prone to make mistakes and then deny them as in this case with Roxanne. I got an email as follows:

Samantha Long

Mon, Dec 11, 1:34 PM (13 hours ago)

to me, Beth

Mr. Gatti-

We did a little more research on this and the information provided to us by the AAA Federation last week was incorrect. Both of these titles were processed by our office on 11/16/23 and were submitted to PennDOT. You do not need to request any duplicates and that is why you and AAA no longer had the originals- they were submitted. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you and the multiple trips into our office.

It was unfortunate for you, but I did take this example as the opportunity to implement some improvements in how issues are processed in my office. Hopefully, in the future, when someone comes in with an issue, anyone in the office at that time will be able to help them and know exactly what was done/pending. I hope this improvement in our office procedures will benefit future members and decrease the frustration it causes.

Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this caused you. With your recent loss, it pains me to know that AAA North Penn contributed additional stress to you. At this time, the titles should come to you in the mail within the next 2-4 weeks. There is nothing else that you need to do. If you have any other issues or concerns, you can reach out to me at any time via email, phone, or by stopping in the office and asking for me.

Thank you!

Samantha

Samantha Long

Branch Office Manager-from Samantha saying she did research the matter further again told me the two titles were processed and to be sent to me. I wrote back this reply: David Gatti

Mon, Dec 11, 1:44 PM (13 hours ago)

to Samantha

Well, I do thank you for letting me know and I TOLD Ya'll SO! and Roxanne was dead wrong and screwed up big time and would not admit and I had you in your office telling me that this would never happen. I cannot rely on your organization it seems from top to bottom after this and its all sad. dg

****Now I am filing this complaint because I will no longer ever step foot back in that office for any help again. I will drive straight to Lewisburg PA about 30 miles away to do my business and you need to fire Samantha also for her incompetence because in this day and age why would a firm doing such important matters as titles etc. not have a customer interactions documented to avoid future confusion and frustration for customers have to go back over again with a different person and in this case I was told i had to wait til Roxanne got back in to the office to settle this because she was the only one who handled it and that there is not record other than in her memory or recollection of events especially in this case because Roxanne failed to charge for the title name change which the receipt in this case did not reflect her major errors etc. and your staff's competence and complete utter competence and from the top down not one of them can be trusted and put me through the wringer and the last dying moments I had with my mother are gone because it took so long and then the processing of this was not documented for future accurate reference and then an employee lied about not receiving the titles I gave her personally. And then the added level of frustration and time I spent trying to rectify this for resolve caused more damage and trauma for me after my mother passed on 11/17 the exact day after i went to your office and ran into Roxanne to handle this transaction. Please let me know what you plan to do and bring me resolve over this entire event. I would like to be compensated in some way like a year membership which I paid for on 11/16 with Roxanne this dreadful day, to be waived which in this case would still be little compensation for the emotions, anguish, frustration, being lied to, dealing with complete incompetence at Manager and frontline level etc. which no customer should ever have to face. And again I will drive the added distance to avoid ever again dealing with this staff at this office. I believe again due to this serious nature of all I was put through at a time that my mother was dying and then afterwards etc, your firm would at least provide me the next year membership of my AAA Membership Cost at no charge without me even asking for it which would only be the least your corporate office could do when investigating the facts of this ridiculous experience I had to endure and suffer from 11/16 and beyond.

Had a company come to my home to jumpstart the car but couldn't jump it, said it's the starter! Well, after he left, I said I'm going to bring the battery to the auto parts store. It was a new battery, but when I went near the battery, I could smell plastic burning! I took the cover off the fuse panel and saw all the fuses melted and the board melted! Well, I had it towed to a shop, $2,208.08 later. AAA said, "Well, you can't prove it, so we aren't covering the repair," after I was told, "Oh no problem, we will fix it seeing we sent a contractor out to you!" Unbelievable. I have the most expensive policy, so I thought I'd have no problem, but I was wrong! Now I have to see how much it's going to cost me for a lawyer to go after this great company!

I am a 'Premier' account holder with AAA Florida Region. On Saturday, November 4, 2023, at or about 2:00P.M., I placed a request for Road Service for my disabled vehicle, then located in Lumberton, NC. Twice during that afternoon, the last contact coming at about 4:30P.M., a AAA representative contacted me to advise that the AAA towing service provider was running behind schedule, but would respond to me in a short while. At or about 6:30P.M., after not having had contact with a AAA Customer Service Representative for about 2-hours, or with the designated towing service provider at all, I called-back to AAA to inquire into the status of my service request. At that time, despite what the representatives had said to me during the course of that afternoon, I was told by a AAA representative that AAA DOES NOT have a service provider in the Lumberton, NC area. Therefore, I was left to fend for myself in spite of being a AAA 'Premier' subscriber. To add insult to injury, another AAA representative called me on the following day (Sunday) at 8:30A.M. to ask if I still was in need of service. In the interim period, I did make arrangements with a private service to tow my still disabled vehicle from Lumberton, NC to Georgetown, DE, which was near to my planned destination.

My daughter borrowed MY TRUCK and it broke down in Yucca Arizona. I called AAA for a tow and they told me that they would not tow it because I was not with the truck and that they only way they would have towed the truck is if my daughter was a member as well. So the only way this policy is good is if you list everyone in your family or anyone who might drive your vehicle on your membership (FOR AN ADDITIONAL FEE)! I think this is outrageous! I am calling corporate today and I will be sure to tell anyone I speak to about this and caution them.

13 years with AAA... 2 minor accidents. Both considered "at fault". (I dont consider the 9/24/23 claim at fault COLLISION I cracked a ramp door on a 5th wheel trailer with a UTV.. to me that is comprehensive but).

AAA considers these 2 minor accidents in a 33 month period grounds for non-renewal. EVERY insurance agent i have talked to has said WTH?

While AAA has every right to say who they want to insure... I have to wonder (and it has been brought up) does my age (72) have anything to do with it? And if so, THAT surely is illegal (I can see where they could raise my premium as older driver do statistically have more accidents, but cancelation?

So yesterday afternoon, my husband and I had a vehicle breakdown. I called AAA, they had trouble locating us as we were in a rural area. When they did they said a towing service would be calling us. Well 30 minutes later AAA called back and said it would be 2-3 hours for a tow truck. It was cold and the car wouldn't start. I finally got a hold of a friend a few miles away and we got a ride. After about 30 minutes the towing company said they couldn't pick it up til morning. Luckily our friend was able to give us a ride home. I also alerted the sheriffs department that it was there and would be picked up tomorrow. Next day when AAA contracted towing service arrive at location of vehicle it was gone. Apparently the sheriffs department had it towed and impounded. When I called AAA they were indifferent and of no help. Stated they don't reimburse for impoundment fee, towing, and won't pay to have it moved to the repair shop. I am beyond angry. I paid for a plus membership and this is how we have been treated! What was I suppose to do when YOUR contracted tow truck wouldn't come out on a holiday?

These people at AAA Insurance are scammers and take people money monthly for nothing. They picked up my car from my home and the tow driver had a freakin accident and my car was damaged. Now they don't want to pay for their negligence shame on them. Stress me with this BS everyday. AAA isn't worth the money. This happened at 8700 Fry Rd. location Caliber Auto Care on Oct. 26 at 8:00am the tow driver had a accident and my car was damaged.

So I made a roadside assistance call last night, 10-23-23 at about 5:30 PM in Coral Springs Florida. I was told by two AA agents the "service provider" would be to me shortly. My car was damaged from an accident and the hotel parking lot where my car was located was going to tow it to the tow yard if I did not have AAA remove it. My roadside assistance time kept moving out to the point I called supervisor Tiffany at AAA who not only did not help but told me should not say when service would be provided. Well I will correct myself, Tiffany said "maybe an hour from now" as she could not reach the service provider. This was after a 2 hour wait when I was initially told my wait was 30 or less minutes. I canceled the call at 2.3 hours into the wait. Also when I asked Tiffany to have me connected with her manager, after 15 minutes of wait time the called simply hung up. No one from AAA called be back since this complaint.

Sept 2023 payed $156 for annual plus member for myself and husband.

We have truck that engine is not running at all wanted it towed and was refused help from AAA.

Now my husband had to pay $125 for towing Oct 22, 2023.

Will cancel my membership rarely use AAA for service . Sad when we need assistance did not receive it.

Also will inform my colleagues /friends and family find another outlet to receive towing.

In April I purchased a new AAA Battery. Since then I have had multiple problems with the battery going dead. I took the car to the dealer and they ran multiple test and determined there was nothing wrong with the car. They advised the battery would not hold a charge. I have called AAA about this repeatedly and they claim there is nothing wrong with the battery. As a result it has left me stranded multiple times. They claim the battery has a 3 year warranty, yet they refuse to replace it.

Today the battery died yet again. I called Roadside Assistance and they show up 2.5 hours later. The driver from AAA tested the battery and the test showed it was bad and needed replacement. He then charged the battery and ran the test again. The 2nd time it showed the battery only needed charging. He did not jump start the car. He put his equipment back in his truck and left leaving me there stranded with a dead battery. So I called AAA Customer Service and they refused to offer any help with replacing the battery. They said they would send someone back to jumpstart the car and they never showed. That was 11 hours ago.

I just had an appalling experience trying to cancel my Mom's AAA insurance after she developed dementia and stopped driving. They threw up every barrier to what should have been a simple process, and even refused to accept my Power of Attorney documents electronically. The representative was extremely rude and copped an attitude. I think they refuse to close accounts so they can keep fraudulently charging non-driving seniors. This is a crooked company, and nobody should do business with them.

I have already submitted to BBB as well. I called for tow on Sunday from Tampa FL to Belleview FL. After many calls & responses that there was no provider available for over 8 hours, I was told to leave car unattended & Keys in it until next day @ 8am & (hoping it would still be there in one piece). We had to call for ride from Ocala to pick us up & take us home- we were a few minutes into the ride home & was called with a tow driver available- They had him patched through- he was told please DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAY- & to call my mom to let her know ETA. He was told to put out of the way- next to vinyl fence.

Instead- no call or knock on door he was there & just "dumped" stuck in gear mind you in the middle of gate & driveway! Still there. AAA said they could not fix this issue unless I used my other tow entitlement to move 2-3 miles away? To where? But they COULD NOT have someone come move it out of driveway entrance. If I had name of Tow company I would call myself. It is still sitting in the way at home in driveway! Why would that be OK? & why do I have to be out another tow because of their lack of common sense & work ethic? Please be careful & aware of their PROVIDERS! Get their name & address . Please resolve this ASAP

Stranded for 4.5 hours waiting for AAA. We were in a major suburb of a major city. We had a dead battery and contacted AAA for battery service. We were initially told that they were busy, so we would have a 90 minute wait. After 3 additional followup calls, my 86 year old father and I had to wait for 4 1/2 hours for somebody to show up. We complained and spoke to a supervisor, but were told there was nothing they could do to expedite their response. Save your money - this service is NOT worth it.

Friday, 6 sept '23 (sent @ 11:30 am/hrs):

I am edward grant sotelo, with both home owner and auto insurance policies with your folsom aaa office. I have been (for over a month), ostracized, ignored, and pressured to go to another office (per toni, mackinnon's recorded comments this morning), due to my inability to get "vincente toriz to assist me with my updated insurance matters and the managers (jon berglund, branch manager's refusal to even speak one word to me when I introduced my self and advised him of my issues (he refused to stand, me using a cane, 100% disabled, elderly, 25 year veteran (mexican american). This manager is a racist against me! Today, I followed up on my emails sent yesterday and voice mail message left for toni mackinnon (per her advice on 27 sept), who did not want to assist me (said she read my email and got my voice mail, but"too busy" during internal training to assist me). Told me to go to another branch? I sent email advising I would file a formal complaint of misconduct and pursue with the calf. Eeoc office for discriminatory prractices. Contact me today, to avoid litigation.

This morning I was driving in on FM 2493 and there was an AAA Serive Truck beside me. For a good 10 to 15 minutes he never stopped texting while driving. The license plate 1739 . He is a hazard to the publiic. At times he would be 4 to 5 cars back then one time he almost re-ended a vehicle. It is against the law and people like this should have their license pulled.

First had a service call for dead battery. Was told it was the alternator instead and policy will not allow installation of new batteries when alternator is bad. I then called for a tow because my son said he would replace alternator for me.

I waited 2 hours for a tow. Evidently AAA dispatch failed to notify the towing company. I was told this happens frequently and the tow truck drivers get held responsible and yelled at for AAA dispatchers lack of communication.

My son removed alternator and took it to auto supply to purchase a new one. They tested it and it was fine so we purchased new batteries. My son then had to re-install old alternator and the new batteries. My son ended up wasting his entire day off based on what I was told by the first service call and having to wait for a tow for 2 hours. By this time it was too late for me to drive home and I had to sleep on his couch. What is going on with AAA?

All these problems were unnecessary. They used to be so reliable.

On Sunday September 10 2023 around 8:30 pm by the Delaware water Gap in PA about crossing to NJ my Son’s truck broke down and he lives in NJ

He called triple AAA and they told him that he was going to be towed backwards to PA about 30 minutes and his truck was going to be stowed for the night. He has to find ride back because he was stranded in PA for the night .

He had to paid $10 for the tow truck toll fee .

After he arrived at the destination . Around 10:30 pm He asked the driver why and he said because he was 21 and Could not cross to NJ with the tow truck .

Also the driver said that probably his truck wasn’t going to be take to NJ on Monday but

Tuesday .

I drove 1 1/2 to pick up my son in PA and

I called Triple AAA that night and next day to complain and nobody wanted to hear it .

I went to the local office , I called customers service relations: they hanged up on me and didn’t answer the phone anymore when I asked for the manager or supervisor.

Finally one lady from road assistance help me find out when the truck was going to be delivered.

I had been member of triple AAA for years and this bad experience is not what I paid for .

I had extra expenses and was counting on triple AAA to back me up 100 % when we had an emergency no half way .

Until this day Wednesday nobody has reach to me and I do not believe that they summited my complaint