American Automobile Association [AAA]
reviews and complaints

On August 27, 2017 I was involved in a car accident where I then proceeded to file my auto claim with AAA though at first everything was handled well as the week went I started to become extremely unhappy with the way their associates/insurance agents started to handle the situation. Calls and emails were not being answered or returned and not makes matters worse who ever set up my total loss pick up did not know what they were doing. I have called back almost every day this week trying to get a vechile that they are now responsible for picked up and if it's not one thing it another ! I've been hung up on multiple times and treated very poorly. How is this even acceptable?!

On Approximately 7/18/17, My 2011 Mini Cooper was frozen in park and would not start. Otherwise full battery power.

I called AAA to tow it. I specifically told the rep who took the tow order that the car was locked in park, and therefore the tow truck he sent had to come equipped with a dolly. The driver came with a flatbed and had to return back to his tow facility to get the dolly.

The car was towed to a AAA owned repair facility. The facility worked on the repair for days and ultimately admitted that they had no idea what was wrong with the car, and that they could not repair it, and that I needed to take it to Mini Cooper to be fixed.

I called AAA again, and told them that they now needed to tow the car from their repair facility to Mini Cooper Chicago for repair.

The following day, the repair tech at Mini called me and told me that the gear box in the console had been taken apart and the pieces and left on the passenger side floor. The air intake had also been taken apart and was not reconnected and loose under the hood. Mini sent me pictures of all of this.

Mini Chicago quickly identified the problem as the remote battery was dead and needed to be replaced, and when that happens the car locks itself in park, because it "thinks" it could have been tampered with, and an attempt to steal it may be occurring.Total cost of the replacement and what would have been full repair from Mini $225.00.

However, after the car was started, they could not move it because the differential was broken. This means that the second tow truck from AAA, who picked the car up at the AAA owned shop, also did not bring a dolly to tow it to Mini Chicago, and instead, dragged it on the flatbed and causing the damage. $6250.00 to repair now.

On 8/8/2017 I called AAA corporate using the number that the AAA repair facility provided me with to file a compliant. The rep who took the complaint named Antoinette, told me that I would here back from them in 5-7 days. I have never heard from anyone.

I called back 2 more times and on the second call it was clear that Antoinette's representations to me were useless because no one could locate the complaint that she said she memorialized on my 8/8 call. So, I went through the story all over again. This time I was given a complaint number as reference.

Two more weeks passed and nothing. Now a month. I've called 6 times now in one 30 day period, the last call earlier today. The AAA rep promised me a return call, and I got one - from the manger of the AAA repair shop that the car was taken to originally and took the gear box and the air cleaner to pieces and told me to take it to Mini because he couldn't repair it. Of course, very predictably, he denied doing anything wrong, all of the pictures taken by Mini at the time they inspected the car meant nothing to him. He blamed the AAA sponsored tow company "if" there was something wrong with the car at all.

This is absolutely hideous service. In one month and 6 calls no one who matters has even read the complaint. It's like it never happened.

What should I do?

Dave

My name is RANA TAHIR.
My car is Honda accord, 2005, DX.
The location of AAA service is 2970 Brunswick Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 - AAA Lawrenceville Car Care Insurance Travel Center
The manager at the shop is Chris.
Lawrence AAA Auto center Lawrenceville NJ Installed an alternator in my car on August 5 2017.
As I drove around the car, I noticed the battery light kept showing up in the dashboard indicating bad alternator.
I took my car back in the shop for a checkup and dropped for 24 hours. Dropped around 12 pm and went to shop next day around 1pm.
It is important to note that they never called me during this time to give me status update of my car diagnosis.
When I went in next day, they said they need more time to diagnose since alternator is fine but there could be an electric problem with the car.
They didn't show me any paper work of their work on alternator diagnosis.
I made an appointment for August 29 at 10 AM and dropped my car.
I went in the shop on August 30 and spoke to Assistant manager. He said they are still diagnosing the issue and if they could not find reason for battery light indication in the dashboard, they will replace my alternator since battery sign shows a bad alternator.
I went back to the shop two days later on Sep 3.
They Service associate had no idea what was going on with my car. He had no paper work. He told me his manager and Assistant manager are not in. He spoke to manager on his cell phone.
Then he told me manager is saying they need more time to diagnose the problem. At this point my car has been in the shop for 4 days already.
They are not giving me how long they need and they don't show me any paperwork so I can see if they are even trying to solve the issue.
I had paid them $511 for alternator service. They gave me a bad alternator and they are not trying to replace it and wasting my time.
I have small children and two of them needed to go for an eye checkup after an eye surgery and I had no car available since it was at AAA shop for 3 days.
I want AAA to return my money and I want AAA Corporate to hold this shop accountable for their bad service practices and for their negligence.

Rana Tahir
714 President Ave
Lawrenceville, NJ
[protected]
[protected]@gmail..com

Here is the edited version, please exchange the current one with this:

I purchased two airline tickets (My wife and I for $814.53 each) through AAA on 7 March 17 for a round trip, Austin to Dublin and back. On 8 July at the United boarding gate in Austin I was told by United that I did not pay for my ticket and that I would have to pay them for a new round trip ticket from Austin to Dublin and back. They said my wife was paid for but mine was not. I purchased them together. I assured them I had paid and was going to show them my credit card receipt online but they did not have time for that since the plane was boarding. I paid another $818.33. Upon my return I asked for some help from my AAA travel advisor since he did the transaction in question back in March. He started the process for the refund on 19 July with United. It is now 2 Sep and I have yet to see a penny from a refund. I have been in constant contact with my AAA Advisor who continually tells me it will be later...it will be later...it will be later. He blames it on United and Aer Lingus Airlines but I don't see the effort and dedication to fix this problem and I have told him this. I have decided to complain to AAA officially. I am an extremely irritated member about this. My desired resolution is: Could someone please find out what is the problem and why AAA cannot work with United to get this resolved and please get my refund back to me.

Here is AAA's most recent communication with me on 24 Aug 17:
Sir,

I just want to keep you updated with response from United below as I am following up with them constantly to get your refund resolved. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Thank You

Here is United's email to me through AAA on 24 July. The United website states that a refund of this nature should take about a week if I remember correctly. Again here we are 40 + days since the start.

July 24, 2017
Sir:
United Refunds has received your request for refund of the above referenced ticket.

Before we can issue a proper refund, it is necessary for us to obtain additional information from another airline. We have requested this on a priority basis. Once they provide the information, we will process your claim immediately.

Thank you for choosing United Airlines. We look forward to serving you again soon.

Sincerely,

United Refunds

Check Refund Status
FAX: [protected]

Here is my most recent email to AAA on Aug 19:

I cannot tell you how utterly disappointed I am in AAA and how you have let me down. Yes this may be a United and Aer Lingus ticket problem but you all brokered this transaction with them. Even though we purchased the tickets under ****** membership I will tell you that I am a AAA Plus member. Every time I have asked for a status the date has always moved further out and I am still without a refund. It may be a United or Aer Lingus problem but it has now been 26 days from the first email on this subject and 32 days since I returned from the vacation which was when you were supposed to start this refund process. My credit card has now taken this charge over to my next billing period. I have tried to contact United with the information you gave me and the online refund section does not recognize any of the numbers you provided in the email. United only gives a person their FAX number if there is a problem with the refunds so I cannot talk to anyone. Additionally, I have not received a refund from Aer Lingus for not providing the seats promised on our Dublin to Chicago flight. I think I have been more than patient in this endeavor and it was bad enough that I was insulted by United at the boarding gate by being told I had not purchased a ticket. This is a joke that United has not received the 'documents' from Aer Lingus, and further demonstrates the archaic means that they exchange information. I am more than positive that two giant corporations who share databases on a daily basis are perfectly capable to handle this quicker than this. Please give me a status or give me a number to the United and Aer Lingus offices that are handling this. I plan on pushing my complaint up the chain in AAAif this is not resolved, with refunds from United and Aer Lingus in the next couple of days.

I called AAA for roadside service yesterday and it took over 2 hrs for a tow truck to come and pick me up. The first call I received was from a driver who was probably at least an hr away. I finally was picked up sometime 2 hrs after the first call. After I was finally tsken to the service shop. I received another call 3 hrs after by someone from AAA. Long story short, this service sucked. I pay good money for this and your people blew it yesterday. I doubt I will continue to use AAA. You are about as reliable as a rubber crutch.
You can check out my story. My member is [protected]

I called AAA at 7:40am
The towing company called me at 8am. By the time I shared my VIN number and gave them my address it was 8:30am.
I was approximately 30 miles away from them
They said they'd be there within the hour.
At 10:55 ( 1 ½ later ) they showed up
The van had key fob photo's all over it to convey they specialized in the devices.
When the man showed up, he made it a point to tell me that ' this is a complicated job and that it may take up to 15-20 minutes to sync the computer' to the key fob. That was about 11am.
2 hours later, he informed me that he couldn't make the door opener portion of the key fob work but that my car would start. I told him the amount that was quoted to me ( high dollar ) was to include replacing the key to its original state which was to include syncing to door opener, etc. I chose this way rather than having it towed to the dealership since they claimed the price would be just the same.
He did not deliver what was promised.
He told me he'd take the key fob back. I would have been without a car that started AGAIN, but this time it would've been 4 hours later.
I called AAA, I asked them to talk to him.
He then gave the phone back to me without even speaking to them.

I received NO receipt but he asked me to scratch my signature on a lined sheet of binder paper. He then told me he'd reach me on either Friday Aug 25th or Monday Aug 28th. Never heard from him again.
It was RIDICULOUS

You representative suggested she send me a reimbursement form, never got that either.
I would urge you to take these folks off your list of contractors and if you want to keep me as a AAA member ( have been one for a very long time ) I would suggest you make this right

I switched banks and knowing that my payment would be posting on the 16th I called a few days ahead to advise of my new bank and to make sure my payment was made on time. I was notified that the payment goes to the bank four days in advance ( which is never stated in my policy or contract) and when I advised that I was never told of that and since I paid on time it's rediculous the agent stated they would call me to advise if there was a charge. A few days have passed and I did receive a charge of 20 dollars notice that if I don't pay I will have my policy canceled. When I called and spoke to a "lead" he stated they will not waive the fee even though I made sure my payment was made on time and even though I have been a paying customer for 7 years with no late payments. I am highly upset and disappointed that a company would rather have someone cancel their policy than waive a fee that a customer shouldn't have received in the first place. And there is no way to file a formal complaint because there is no contact information above the call center I spoke to.

My RV burned on July 4th and AAA was closed. I proceeded to call everyday until the 12th when i caught someone rummaging through the rest of my belongings. My wife dialed 911 to get the thief red-handed with my belongings in tow(lol). The police allowed him to walk away with my belongings and did absolutely nothing. My wife tried to reason with the police to no avail. She was told by the police that it had been parked on a busy street for12 days.
They did however, impound my vehicle and take it to Compton. I called AAA to find out where my RV was but they didn't know. I spent the extra money for the RV plus package. They were nice enough to send me a check for $200 for the losses but my motorhome still remained on the street.
They finally got my motorhome out of impound but refused to take any responsibility

I just called, August 24, 2017, and talked to an agent, "Sueannie" & asked her to verify and send me by email information on when I added my granddaughter, LaKala Brooks (dependent)< to my AAA membership. She asked me to verify my email address, home address & zip code to prove who I was. She then told me LaKIala was added on August 6, 2015. Wonderful! This is exactly what I needed, her college needed verification that I added her in 2015 as well as any other proof I had that she was living with me. I explained all of this to Sueannie & she said she could not send me anything. I asked for a supervisor & after holding for over fifteen minutes she came back & said after speaking with "Makala" in customer service that they would mail out that information to me & I would receive it in 7 to 14 days. I informed her that I needed it sent right away & could they email it to me & I was told "NO". I have been a member for over 15 years & am very disappointed with this service I hope you can assist & email me this information it will save me $1900.00.

First of all the waiter didn't know things he should have known. Didn't know what "dry" meant as applied to a martini. Didn't know what "fermented in the bottle" meant as applied to champagne. When my martini came, it had a funny taste, and I set it aside. The waiter saw that and asked if I liked it. I said no, and he immediately took it away. It appeared on my bill. I paid it, but complained to the maitre d. The food was good but not up to 4 diamonds in our opinions. The waiter later called and apologized, and the martini charge was removed. I was planning to cancel further reservations I had with them, but would have reconsidered after the apology, but THE RESTAURANT CANCELED THEM. Please demote them to 3 diamonds.

Worst service ever been stuck on the side of an expressway 3 hours. Call AAA Emergency Services was told to call Road Rangers and then got hung up on then I called AAA roadside proceeded to tell them what happened with Emergency Services and got hung up on there also now I'm still stuck in a dangerous situation with no help from the service that I paid for

08/22/17 around 9:30 AM one of your drivers (with a truck on his bed)- license plate CK44063- was on broadway from Mesa dr to Gilbert, honking at several cars, flashed his bright lights on me when he was behind me, changing lanes without signaling, driving aggressively and was acting just plain ridiculous on the road. He swerved around cars just to cut me off. Not the kind of person I would want operating my company vehicle, or any vehicle at that. I hope to hear you will be retraining this employee to not put others on the road in danger while operating a company vehicle.

I regularly travel alone between Michigan and Illinois, so I bought the middle package with 100 miles towing. During one of those trips on 7- 12-17, I was hit from behind and my car was undriveable. I am an adult female and this was the first major accident I had been in. Needless to say, I was very shaken, but I was reassured knowing that I had AAA Roadside Assistance. That reassurance did not last long. Originally, I was told a tow truck would be there in an hour. I did receive another call that it would be an additional 20 minutes. After waiting an additional hour after that, I finally called AAA and was told it could be anywhere from two to four more additional hours! I was by myself in a neighborhood that I did not feel safe, and it was getting dark out. I was completely disappointed and disgusted with the lack of service that I received by AAA. I expected to have service from AAA when I needed it; little did I know I'm just paying them for nothing.

Date of Incident: Aug 3, 2017
Policy #PAA117685640
AAA Agent: Kinita Fleming
Direct# [protected] ext 1097022
fleming.[protected]@aaaec.com

Resolution of my complaint would be to have my car insurance reinstated like I was told it would be, this was AAA's fault that they didnt see that I had signed my online documents on time, they found the documents I signed and were supposed to fix their error, I keep hearing from them they are waiting to hear from the underwriters to fix issue, and I am the one going without insurance due to their faults.

I called for roadside assistance in Katy, in June for a flat tire. AAA sent a company called Pro Towz. The tire was hard to get off so the driver used a rope to pull it off with his vehicle. As a result, my tire was ripped out and the rear end messed up. The back tires would not move any more. My surburban was towed, Pro a Towz insisted it was not their fault. I called AAA to make a complaint and was forwarded to Adrienne who forwarded me to Randall Peoples. Finally in August Pro Towz came to assess their damage. They insisted it was not their fault and that the back end problem was a result of rust. I have been driving the SUV for 2 years and all of a sudden my back end is too rusty and the tires won't move. The brake line was ripped apart also. They said I could send it to my mechanic and if he says it's their fault, they would pay. Then they said they also have a good mechanic who specializes in this problem. And if they found it was their fault they would pay, but that they only felt they were responsible for tearing off the spare tire assembly. And for that, if it weren't their fault, they would pay half. I decided to go with them because they were already there, the towing would be free and I thought they would be fair because I wanted to be fair. They called back after a week and said it was the differential and not their fault and said the repairs would be 800 or so and I was responsible for 500 which turned out to be 550. Derrick with Pro Towz also said the mechanic said the brake line was rusted and leaking. And this would be 400 to repair. After I called my mechanic he said it had to be their fault for the back end as well as the brake line. That it was probably ripped out when the tow truck driver ripped the tire off with a rope and his truck. I have been calling AAA. Randall Peoples called me back, I missed the call so he left a message. I returned his call, missed him and left a message, but he called Pro Towz. Pro Towz called me to tell me that Mr Peoples had been trying to reach me and that they decided to patch the brake line so I can drive it. I have. Ben a AAA customer since 2013 and I don't feel I have been treated as a loyal AAA customer. I left several messages for Mr Peoples, but they return the calls toPro Towz instead of me. Pro Towz also expected for AAA to tow my vehicle to my mechanic. I don't feel that this is right and I'm contacting my lawyer. It has been 2 months dealing with this same situation.

My truck failed to start numerous times. The battery was actually a AAA installed battery. After a couple of service calls I actually took the truck to a AAA service center and asked that the battery be replaced but they refused. Yesterday the battery imploded, we began to smell sulfur and when we got to the Nissan dealership and opens the hood, battery acid was spraying into the engine and caused damage. I now have a new batttery thanks to Nissan.

On August 1, 2017 I made a call to bring a couple of concerns to AAA's attention. The first call I will get to in a moment but it's the second call that I'm more concerned with because I feel this customer service representative was incredibly rude. Her name is Paige and the phone call was made at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Once I voiced my complaint about the previous call and asked to have it resolved, instead of apologizing for the mistake of the previous employee or showing any kind of understanding or remorse, Paige decides to condescendingly correct me and make it seemed as if I was the one who did something wrong.

In my initial concern one of the things that I asked for was to get a refund because I felt that the previous representative was dishonest. Instead of saying I would be happy to void that payment for you, she says something along the lines of "if you cancel it you're just not going to be covered after September 1st". She was very indifferent, noncaring, wasn't even the least bit concerned with the dishonesty of the previous representative I spoke with. I called her out on it as you'll hear in the phone call and I reiterated what I wanted done. Then she tells me "I'm going to contact that call center and see if they can put a void on that payment". This was also the wrong thing to say considering AAA's refund policy. So she said the word "if" knowing that she had no choice but to honor my refund request.

Then she put me on hold for 5 or 6 minutes without getting on the line letting me know that she's still in the process of resolving it. She then gets back on the line and says that the original representative I spoke with voided the payment and that it would be back in my account in 3 to 5 business days. I then ask her first name again. She said Paige and then I said "ok bye." Then she says in an insincere yet robust happy voice "THANK YOU SO MUCH AAA". It felt like a backhanded compliment. No empathy or apology whatsoever. No attempt to elicit a positive response from me whatsoever. Just a dry vindictive customer service experience.

Prior to speaking to Paige I spoke with another representative whose name I don't remember. The call was at 2:22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and it was with a gentleman. I brought up two concerns first of which was to remove the auto-renewal and I made it clear that I was doing this because "I can't afford to renew this month". He told me that he removed it and then I asked him very specifically "if I am able to extend my membership by upgrading my membership like last time". He seemed to understand me and said yes "it will just be $26 and some change more".

To be clear the question I asked was related to when I previously upgraded my membership from basic to a plus last year. When I upgraded they also extended the expiration date to the day I upgraded. If you listen to the phone call you will hear this gentleman stating that it is just $26 more. Nowhere in the phone call does he state the full price of $127 (+change) like a company is supposed to do when taking someone's credit card information over the phone. Essentially he was dishonest by omission. He didn't verify the amount or ask for my approval. He just charged the card. As a result of these two interactions I will never do business with AAA again. It looks like my good old fashion car insurance company will have to do!

Bought battery Jan 2015. Battery dead. Contractor came out to check battery - he called AAA and they told him our warranty was void. Stated void due to neglect. Called warranty phone number on AAA paperwork and they don't have answer so transferred to member services.

No one can give us AAA definition of "neglect" over the phone, nor could we talk to a supervisor as all supervisors she checked with declined to talk to me. All I wanted is AAA definition of neglect. They said they needed 5-7 days to look into it and we would receive a call back. How could it take 5-7 days to locate your own company's definition of neglect- shouldn't that be a click away on their computer system?

Called back contractor sent out to look at car - they were more knowledgeable about AAA's policies that AAA was.

Called AAA back- after 3 transfers and waiting on hold for 40 min., Rachel, told me the contactor should have verbally told us in 2015 at the time of installation that there were mileage requirements. We would NEVER have agreed to a AAA battery as we know we don't drive the car 6500 mi/yr. Rachel said there are AAA employees who have had their warranties voided because of the mileage requirement- I guess they aren't even honest and forthcoming with their own employees. She then proceeded to hang up on me when I asked again, what else is considered neglect besides the mileage- because if it's only the mileage, they should put it in writing on their contracts. Again, no one will know for 5-7 days what AAA's official definition of neglect is.

We feel completely scammed by AAA- it seems since I can't get a definition for neglect, they will find some excuse to not fulfill their warranties and put it under "neglect" to suit each individual case.

Why aren't the mileage requirements put directly on the warranty paperwork? Because it would be a deal breaker for quite a few people.
So not only did I overpay for a battery - I wanted the peace of mind for 36 months- we were lied to by omission. Very, very sneaky way to do business.

After searching on line, we are only a drop in the bucket of people this has happened to. It's a shame that a company I've always trusted and have never had problems with has turned out to be this way.

I guess I've "neglected "many a car over my lifetime without even knowing it. It's back to Costco for us.

DON'T FALL FOR THIS BATTERY PROGRAM. The average consumer would' even think to ask about mileage requirements.

I purchased a car battery in November 2014. The battery came with a 3-year warranty. After 2.5 years, the battery died and needed replacement. AAA claimed they had no record of my previous purchase and would need to pay full price for a new battery, unless I was able to prove the original purchase with a hard copy receipt. I supplied all original receipts/forms to AAA, only to have the field service worker deny their valitity and my calls/emails ignored. For two moth s I have been trying to get ahold of someone. However, I’ve had no such luck and Still to this day I remain $200+ out of pocket.

Slowed down to 5 miles an hour and almost caused a accident on the freeway with the van in front of me & the truck behind me almost slamming on the breaks.He should of eased over around 60 or 55 mph then back up to the vehicle he was suppose to assist.Instead he slowed down to 5mph when traffic was going 65+ Causing me on the motorcycle to almost get ran over by the car behind me