AAA failed me!! I am so angry!

[RadishRose]

I read about that benefit several years ago when I considered AAA. The description clearly stated "passengers".

I think people get confused and think; well I need to be there, so I'll get in my car and go there. This confusion is further confirmed by misinformation from AAA phone reps. The issue seems to be poor training.

I firmly believe Ronni did call AAA and was given this misinformation.

 

[Ronni]

I'm back on here to say that I also called AAA. The more I thought of it, the more absurd it sounded, when the OP explained how a AAA policy holder could, apparently, drive from one disabled vehicle to another, bestowing on stalled-out drivers the benefits of free towing, courtesy of her AAA coverage, just by virtue of her showing up there! No way! If the OP can post the new regulation that allows her to do what seems to me to be a flagrant violation of policy, I'm all eyes!

I dislike your implication that I intentionally committed fraud or knowingly violated their policies. To extrapolate from that I can infer that you wonder if I lied here about what I was told by AAA.

I portrayed what happened accurately, both what I communicated to AAA, with full disclosure about the disabled vehicle’s information and my whereabouts in relation to it, and their response. The AAA rep even suggested I wait to place the service call until I was closer to where my son had broken down, so that I wouldn’t keep the tow driver waiting...a useless caution as it turned out.

I am not a liar or a fraud or a dishonest person. I am risk-averse, so I certainly don’t knowingly commit fraudulent acts. I resent the implication and the slight, intended or otherwise, upon my character.

 

[C'est Moi]

Three hours later, (5 hours for my son) numerous calls to them with repeated promises that "the tow company will call you right back and let you know their ETA" and they finally DECLINED THE CALL! I have never heard of such a thing! They just politely informed me that they couldn't find a tow company who would take the call, so they were declining it, and good luck.

I'll just toss this into the mix. All of the roadside assistance companies use the EXACT SAME LOCAL TOW COMPANIES for their service. There are obviously a limited number of licensed towing companies in every location, so AAA or Geico or whatever provider does not have their very own specific wrecker driver to send to every possible location in the country. The mechanic/wrecker who responds to the call likely has sub-contracted to several "providers."

So chances are that no matter which roadside assistance company you have, you could change companies and still get the same responder to your call for help. The initial problem in this thread could have been any provider, not specifically AAA.

 

[Falcon]

I'm sick of AAA ! I'd look elsewhere.

 

[treeguy64]

I dislike your implication that I intentionally committed fraud or knowingly violated their policies. To extrapolate from that I can infer that you wonder if I lied here about what I was told by AAA.

I portrayed what happened accurately, both what I communicated to AAA, with full disclosure about the disabled vehicle’s information and my whereabouts in relation to it, and their response. The AAA rep even suggested I wait to place the service call until I was closer to where my son had broken down, so that I wouldn’t keep the tow driver waiting...a useless caution as it turned out.

I am not a liar or a fraud or a dishonest person. I am risk-averse, so I certainly don’t knowingly commit fraudulent acts. I resent the implication and the slight, intended or otherwise, upon my character.

I simply asked you to post the rule/regulation from AAA that officially sanctions what you've done "several times." I don't think you knowingly committed insurance fraud, so cool your jets. I simply think that you either misunderstood the official policy, and/or you received incorrect information from the reps you spoke to on the occasions where you drove up to disabled vehicles and then got them towed, gratis, courtesy of your AAA membership. Both 911 and I have found that what you have done is NOT AAA policy. That's it. . . . . . .

 

[911]

I think we are all after the same thing here; just trying to get it right. It was a curious question to me and I wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth just what the policy is. Obviously, at least to me, there is some confusion here and it's no wonder. I believe that in Ronni's case, she was with the disabled vehicle, the garage man really didn't care one way or the other who paid him, but since she had her card and pays for the benefits, the garage man probably thought just to avoid getting into a disagreement, "I'll just accept the card and get on with it." After all, it makes no difference to him. I think the policy's language is really ambiguous.

I remember speaking with a tow truck driver sometime back and he had told me then that he gets 'x' amount of dollars for fixing a flat, same for a jump start and then if the vehicle has to be towed, he gets 'x' amount per mile. AAA has a couple of options. I'm not sure what the plan is that we have, but it's probably the most expensive one. It gives us up to 100 miles of towing. I think the other plan will tow the vehicle to the nearest garage or something like that. My wife has been locked out twice. I keep telling her that she has OnStar. "Just call them. They can open the car for you." Instead, she calls AAA.

Like I already wrote, we have the roadside assistance plan added to our insurance plan, so I forget why my wife insists on having AAA. I think it's because her parents were life-long members or some reason like that. We also use it for no charge passport pictures, anytime we need something notarized it's n/c, and some other benefits. I know we got a great deal on our last set of luggage also. We used to get free trip routing, but with the built-in GPS and MapQuest, no need for that anymore.

 

[Ronni]

I simply asked you to post the rule/regulation from AAA that officially sanctions what you've done "several times." I don't think you knowingly committed insurance fraud, so cool your jets. I simply think that you either misunderstood the official policy, and/or you received incorrect information from the reps you spoke to on the occasions where you drove up to disabled vehicles and then got them towed, gratis, courtesy of your AAA membership. Both 911 and I have found that what you have done is NOT AAA policy. That's it. . . . . . .

You’re missing my point. *I* didn’t do anything other than call AAA to FIND OUT what their policy was regarding requesting a tow for my son, BEFORE actually submitting a request for assistance. I’ve told you what they said and that I’d done the same things several times over the years that I’ve had AAA. I have a reasonable expectation that when I call customer assistance to ask what is ok or not I am going to get correct information. I operated on the information I was given. I’ve called AAA since the incident and was told, again, that as long as I was there to show my card, the tow was acceptable, and the reason cited for the lack of service was “distance.”

 

[treeguy64]

You’re missing my point. *I* didn’t do anything other than call AAA to FIND OUT what their policy was regarding requesting a tow for my son, BEFORE actually submitting a request for assistance. I’ve told you what they said and that I’d done the same things several times over the years that I’ve had AAA. I have a reasonable expectation that when I call customer assistance to ask what is ok or not I am going to get correct information. I operated on the information I was given. I’ve called AAA since the incident and was told, again, that as long as I was there to show my card, the tow was acceptable, and the reason cited for the lack of service was “distance.”

LOL! You're missing MY point. Re-read what I posted. I clearly acknowledged that you may have received incorrect information from the AAA reps. To wit: "and/or you received incorrect information from the reps you spoke to."

 

[Sunny]

When I discovered that my USAA insurance provided the same kind of towing assistance, etc., I dropped my AAA membership. Now, I have additional coverage from Suburu, which I got with my new car a couple of years ago. I wonder how many of us even need AAA?

Years ago, in the days of maps and guidebooks, we happily belonged to AAA for those perks. But now, it seems extraneous, even without all the ifs, ands, and buts you had to go through.

 

[treeguy64]

I honestly don't get the whole AAA thing: Are people breaking down so often, these days, that they need to spend the money they do on AAA? Even if I bought used vehicles, I can't see how I'd be ahead if I had AAA, given its definite expense versus a possible towing charge, jump, etc., at some time in the future.

 

[RadishRose]

I honestly don't get the whole AAA thing: Are people breaking down so often, these days, that they need to spend the money they do on AAA? Even if I bought used vehicles, I can't see how I'd be ahead if I had AAA, given its definite expense versus a possible towing charge, jump, etc., at some time in the future.

I would agree. But curious, I looked up some info and was surprised at the discounts that come with membership. True, many are state specific.

What I do love is that they partnered with our Dept of Motor Vehicles for license renewals! It costs 8.00 to not stand in line for hours, 6.00 for members at one of their travel agencies- you're in and out. Personally, I have little need for the services they give discounts on, but a more active person might. It's all here.

https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/home-and-family/hidden-benefits-aaa-membership/

 

[norman]

After thinking about this I decided to cancel AAA, I am getting a refund of $104.86, approximatley 80% refund. Now what to do with $104,,,,, 5 cases of cheap beer or 35 bottles of MD and since Sweetie is a Big Mac gal, take her out for dinner. :holymoly:

I've been driving for 56 years without it. So I've saved $131 X 56 = $7,336 bucks. So I figure if I ever do get in a jam that I can't handle myself I'll just pay for it out of my own pocket and still be way ahead.

 

[fancicoffee13]

I am so sorry that happened, especially when you not only pay your dues, but you upped your membership and then they treat you like that. That reinforces my contemplations of becoming a member. Not even going to happen. Again, I am sorry for this.

 

[oldman]

We also have AAA. They do have some pretty good benefits and since I don’t take my old 2008 GMC Envoy to the GMC dealership anymore, but instead to a locally owned independent garage, who is also a AAA member, so I get a discount from them on parts and labor.

What I stopped was my membership in AARP. I never knew or saw any benefits from them. I get letters all the time trying to get me to rejoin, but I’m not taking the bait that if I join, I’ll receive a free magnifier or some other trinket. They write to me about all the great things they do for seniors and they very well may do some lobbying or discount their insurance plans, but I do that on my own. It’s relatively cheap to join, but I just don’t want to be a member.

 

[treeguy64]

We also have AAA. They do have some pretty good benefits and since I don’t take my old 2008 GMC Envoy to the GMC dealership anymore, but instead to a locally owned independent garage, who is also a AAA member, so I get a discount from them on parts and labor.

What I stopped was my membership in AARP. I never knew or saw any benefits from them. I get letters all the time trying to get me to rejoin, but I’m not taking the bait that if I join, I’ll receive a free magnifier or some other trinket. They write to me about all the great things they do for seniors and they very well may do some lobbying or discount their insurance plans, but I do that on my own. It’s relatively cheap to join, but I just don’t want to be a member.

Glad to hear AAA membership helps out some folks. Cool.

There have been threads, on SF, about AARP. As I've experienced it, it mainly exists to take advantage of its members by constantly bombarding them with offers of dubious value. I only joined to get a discount on my Medicare Part F. After that, I called and wrote them demanding that they remove me from any and all mailing lists they put me on. Surprisingly, that did the trick to stop 95% of the junk mail and email I was getting.

 

[C'est Moi]

I honestly don't get the whole AAA thing: Are people breaking down so often, these days, that they need to spend the money they do on AAA? Even if I bought used vehicles, I can't see how I'd be ahead if I had AAA, given its definite expense versus a possible towing charge, jump, etc., at some time in the future.

We don't have AAA, but we do have roadside assistance for our motorhome with Coach-net. Neither of us wants to deal with a breakdown far from home, or trying to change an inside dually tire. :laugh: It's nice that the coverage extends to any vehicle we own, though we've had it for 7 years and never needed it.

 

[jujube]

I've not had any problem with AAA in the many years I've been a member, but then I've hardly had to use it.

We have Good Sam road service on our RV and the year that we had three blowouts in five days, they came through for us, even when we were in the middle of nowhere. The only bad experience we had was being only a few miles from home with another flat in a major metropolitan area at 4:00 p.m. on a Friday and being told they couldn't find anyone to help us. Sorree…… Why? Major metropolitan area, lots and lots of service providers and they "can't find anyone"? We weren't expecting swift service but they couldn't get us anyone until tomorrow. Luckily, a Road Ranger pulls into the rest area and changes the tire in a couple of minutes....for free....wouldn't accept a tip but was glad to get a cold Coke.