AAA Mid Atlantic

Review: II joined AAA Aug 2, 2013 and Oct 9, 2013 contacted AAA to request my account be cancelled as I no longer have a car. At the time AAA sent a non-committal response.

December17, in readingAAA contract material I realized AAA membership could be cancelled at member request within 90 days of signing up, and I sent a second message requesting cancellation effective Oct 9. AAA sent another non-comittal response.

Dec 26 2013 I sent a third inquiry to which I have received no response. I would like my membership cancelled as of Oct 9, 2013.

I have all of the emails and responses.

Business

Response:

Re: AAA Mid-Atlantic Membership# [redacted]

Thank you for contacting AAA. We received your written correspondence, requesting a refund back to your credit card for cancellation of your membership.

We have issued a refund in the amount of $58.69, which will be issued to the credit card which payment was made, please allow 7-10 business days for this to take place. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone at 1-866-MEMBERS. Thank you for choosing AAA. We appreciate your business and look forward to the opportunity to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,

Review: Poor & Delayed Service.

On Thursday March 13, 2014 I contacted AAA Roadside Assistance to tow my vehicle as it had been over heating. The initial driver that was sent did not speak English nor did he know how to tow my vehicle which resulted in an additional hour long delay for another driver to come to instruct the initial driver on how to tow my car.

I reported this by contacting the AAA customer service department where the customer service person refused to reduce my tow expense in spite of the inconvenience.

AAA has always been a reputable company and for this to be the service rendered is disappointing.Desired Settlement: I am seeking a partial refund on the tow service. I was charged 104.00. I would like 50% refunded back for unnecessary time lost and untrained personnel being dispatched.

Business

Response:

March 25, 2014

RE: Consumer Complaint ID # [redacted]

Thank you for allowing AAA Mid-Atlantic the opportunity to review the service concern

and provide feedback with respect to a resolution.

A service call was received at 1:38 PM from [redacted] requesting service. The estimated time of arrival was 2:10 PM. The average wait time for that area was 60 minutes. The driver arrived on location at 2:15 PM. Yes, a different driver arrived on scene to assist and tow the vehicle. Ultimately the vehicle was en route to its destination by 2:38 PM. [redacted] did call in to our office at 2:22 PM and had requested to have te fees for over mileage waived or reduced. We apologized for any delay however we are unable to provide a refund of the charges incurred for towing. The membership covers up to 3 miles of towing. Anything over 3 miles is a reduced member rate of $4.00 per mile. The entire wait time documented was approximately 60 minutes. We do apologize once again for any delays.

We thank you once again for allowing us the opportunity to review this matter. Should you have any other questions, please feel free to call me directly at [redacted] Thank you.

Review: I am a consumer who has been a loyal AAA member for many years. Currently I am what is known as a Premier Member which I thought entitled me to 5 tows per year. I recently had two very stressful experiences when I needed to have my car towed. The first episode occurred during the first part of December 2013. I called AAA and had my car towed to the Firestone Car Center on York Rd. I found out that my car needed extensive engine work and it is 18 years old so I decided that I would tow my car back home to decided what I wanted to do. Upon call AA I was told that I could be towed to another service center for $75.00. When I insisted that I simply wanted to have it towed back home I was told that I would have to call one of their subcontractors to get a price to be towed home. I said that I had used only one of my tows with 4 left. The representative quickly told me that they would not be towing me from shop to shop and this was consider my one tow for the night. The subcontractor wanted $178.00. I was desperate and another customer mentioned that she had called her insurance company for roadside assistance. My insurance company said they would tow me for $65.00 and it would have been for free had I had Roadside assistance. They accidently gave the tow driver the wrong digits of the street I was on and I sat in my car with no heat (because the engine was dead) for several hours before he finally found me. I was on a dark lot because Firestone was closed for the night. The Tow driver took one look at me and immediately turned the truck heat full blast. This past Sunday I called AAA once again for a tow. I gave them the address for Crazy Ray. They sent a driver telling him to let me know that it would cost $75.00 dollars to be towed to a junkyard. He was very nice and apologetic. Once again I was unable to use any of the four tows left. When you call them they interrogate you to decide if they will let you use you use your tows. Their policies need to be invested and exposed.Desired Settlement: They owe me at least a policy that will allow me to take advantage of their other services, a fullscale investigatio of the restrictionsplaced on a policy that customer purchaed insuring a certain amount of tows per the level A tow is a tow and youshould be ableoto use what you pay for any place, anytime. I want a refund of this past year.

Business

Response:

Re: Response to Juliet Parker Consumer Complaint ID # [redacted]

Thank you for providing AAA Mid-Atlantic the opportunity to review and respond to [redacted]’s concern.

We have reviewed the information that [redacted] provided regarding our one time tow per disablement and our policy that

prohibits tows to salvage yards. [redacted] received a tow on December 10, 2013 to her choice of repair.

Later that evening, [redacted] requested another tow for the same disablement to her home.

This is not a covered service. [redacted] then requested a tow on February 2,2014. The tow location was

to a salvage yard. Tow’s to salvage yards is not a covered service. I have included our membership benefits guide.

I have outlined the points from P. 26 where you can see “Some restrictions apply”. This benefit guide is available

online and is mailed to our members:

* Service to a vehicles located at a repair facility where repairs can be performed, except when it has been

confirmed that the repairs cannot be provided or completed within 72 hours.

* No more than one tow per disablement.

* Requests to tow a vehicle from the street to the driveway or from one location to another on the property or at

the repair facility, tow to junk yards, charities vacant lots or unattended locations.

Currently [redacted] did not renew the membership for this current year. We would be unable to refund for

any prior years dues. AAA Mid-Atlantic implemented a Limited Membership Refund Policy in April 2012.

AAA Mid-Atlantic informed existing members of this new policy in the January/February edition of our

member magazine, AAA World, as well as on all renewal bills, our website, and our Member Guides.

Our policy as is below:

Membership Refund Policy after First 3 Months of Membership. There is a new limited Membership refund

policy effective April 15, 2012. Membership dues payments including renewals,

upgrades and added associate members will not be refunded once applied to your

membership; however, your Membership will remain in force until it expires.

Again, I thank the Revdex.com of Delaware for bringing this matter to our attention and

regret any frustration this may have caused [redacted]. I believe the actions outlined above should

resolve this matter. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me

directly at [redacted]

Review: My car broke down yesterday 2/24/14 and approx. 1:30PM. I called AAA and told them I needed a tow truck, they gave me a reference number (Ref# [redacted]) and told me it would probably be about 2 hours till a tow truck would arrive. I had no other option but to sit in my car and wait patiently. A while later a service truck arrived, but it was not a tow truck. He said he was sent to give my battery a jump, but there was nothing wrong with my battery, so he calls his dispatcher and said I need a tow truck. He tells me that I should see a tow truck very soon, because the tow trucks are not that busy. Now I am still sitting in my cold, cold car. It is below freezing outside and I am freezing in my car. I am not a young person and was not feeling very good by now.

I called AAA again and asked when a tow truck would be arriving, and the woman tells me that someone should get to me by 5:16 or a little later. The tow truck arrived at 5:20 and when I told the young man I had been waiting almost 4 hours he could not believe it. I sat in a cold car from 1:30 till 5:20. Almost 4 hours. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE considering I have been a AAA member since 1987. I paid $118 for membership and this is the kind of service I got. When I called AAA I asked the woman I spoke to how she would feel if her mother or herself was stranded in a car for 4 hours in the freezing cold. She said, oh I understand completely and I said no you don't, because you're in a warm office.

When you pay for something you expect better that this. The level and lack of service is beyond belief, and no one cares. I have never been treated so poorly in my whole life.Desired Settlement: I would like an apology but I would also like either free membership for a year or I will cancel my current membership. I will never accept this kind of treatment again. IT IS DISGACEFUL and COMPLETELY DISRESPECTFUL. All AAA cares about is making money, and leaving their customers stranded with no other options. THEY SUCK!!!!!!!

Business

Response:

Hello,

On May 8, 2014 member was apologized to and provided a 50% discount on her dues. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

thank you

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Review: I am a subscriber to AAA Roadside Services. At the end of September, I needed my vehicle towed from an accident. I called AAA emergency roadside assistance. They never arrived. The police agency on the scene called a different after waiting forty minutes, at which time I called AAA and they said they were not coming.

Later, I contacted AAA to find out why and received a form letter indicating they would not tow from an accident involving a roll over.

I requested a copy of my contract and terms of the agreement and have not received it.

I did receive a partial reimbursement of my tow bill from the other companyDesired Settlement: I still would like to receive a written copy of my contract for review. Ideally a complete reimbursement for my tow charge would be helpful.

I have been a AAA member since 1979.

Business

Response:

Thank you for providing AAA Mid-Atlantic the opportunity to review our records and [redacted]’s concern.

9/2713 – [redacted]’s vehicle was involved in a rollover accident and records indicate the vehicle was on its roof. An independent contractor whom the call was assigned to contacted [redacted] to advise of shop rates when the shop advised it was not a covered service under the membership, which [redacted] declined and the police contacted [redacted]

9/29/13 – AAA towed [redacted]’s vehicle from [redacted] lot to the residence in Salisbury, Md.

[redacted] has a membership with AAA-Mid-Atlantic and the most up to date Member Guide is posted on aaa.com where [redacted] can access to review the many benefits and restrictions of his membership which includes the following information:

Services are provided as long as the service can be safely delivered without using heavy duty equipment, which a roll over requires.

One tow per disablement – we towed the vehicle on 9/29/13 @ a cost of $325

Alternate Reimbursement – members may submit for reimbursement consideration up to the amount it would have cost AAA to provide similar service. Requests must be submitted within 60 days.

Although [redacted] submitted the reimbursement in February 2014, past the 60 days, this was waived and as well as the one tow per disablement criteria as a goodwill gesture for a long time member. We processed the request under the Alternate Reimbursement for the amount it would have cost AAA to provide similar service.

The invoice included $175 for Rollover/Flatbed towing and $50 storage charges. Storage is not covered under the membership and [redacted] was reimbursed $100 towards the tow expense.

AAA Mid-Atlantic went over and above what is covered under the terms of the membership.

If I can be of further assistance, please contact me at [redacted]

Review: I called AAA because the battery in my 2006 Dodge Durango lost it’s charge; they sent their service representative from [redacted], located at [redacted]

The service representatives install a new battery and in the process the configuration memory in the instrumentation cluster was lost. This resulted in several icons appearing on my dashboard that would not go away. Once the battery was installed I drove the vehicle to Bear Tire and Auto Center in an attempt to have them, resolve the issue they were unsuccessful.

I then contacted AAA customer relations and spoke to [redacted] he suggested that I take the car to the dealership to see if they can restore the memory to the instrumentation cluster.

I took the vehicle to Lucas Jeep Chrysler they reconfigure the memory and charge me one hour labor plus tax for a total of $104.86.

I later contacted Mr. Rogers and notified him of my expense: [redacted] conferred with his manager [redacted] and it was their decision to decline any responsibility that may have occurred during the battery replacement.Desired Settlement: refund the $104.86 that it cost to the reconfigure the memory in the vehicle

Business

Response:

[redacted]

Thank you for providing AAA Mid-Atlantic the opportunity to review and respond to [redacted] concern.

Upon review of the information, [redacted] requested service on his vehicle on 9/19/13, when it failed to start. We reviewed the information provided by [redacted] along with the information provided by the driver from the independent contractor, [redacted], which upon arrival to the vehicle the battery voltage registered at 10.3 volts, which is severely discharged.

The battery is not only used to start the vehicle, but to retain the memory of the vehicle, which will be lost when the battery is discharged. This information was confirmed with an ASE Certified Master Mechanic that the voltage was low enough, that the settings were lost prior to the service request and not a direct result of replacing the failed battery. Therefore, we are unable to find liability on the part of the independent contractor and reimbursement has been denied for the expense incurred for [redacted] to have his vehicle reprogramed.

Please note that [redacted] is an independent contractor with whom AAA Mid-Atlantic has contracted to provide roadside assistance to members. AAA Mid-Atlantic in no way supervises or controls [redacted] in the provision of roadside assistance to members and bears no responsibility for [redacted]

If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Review: After technician jump started my car and replaced my battery my heat and A/C stopped working.

A AAA technician came out for a simple jump start. After jump starting my car he stated that I had a bad cell in my battery so I should replaced it. He said it should take an additional 20 minutes so I agreed. It actually took about two hours.

While he was working on my car I noticed him messing with my heat and A/C controls for a good amount of time. I asked him what he was doing and he said testing everything. Shortly after he stated I was "good to go" and left.

A little bit after got in my car and started it realizing that the vents have nothing coming out of them when the heat was on full blast. I called the dealership and the master technician stated that this was probably because the AAA technician jump started my car backwards. This explains why it took him so long and why he gave me a vague answer about what he was doing messing with my controls. The AAA technician never once mentioned that something was not working properly.

I took my car to the [redacted] and they found that my battery terminal was heavily corrded, a main fuse was blown, and my blower motor was shorted out. They gave me an estimate of $790.00. I notified AAA and Greg Givens came to investigate. He looked at the work which was done admitting that it was done incorrectly and was most likely the cause of the issue. He also stated that he had to "figure out a way to explain what happened and the fact that we have several accounts with them will help my case."

After another week of waiting and a couple phone calls to Greg he stated it would not be covered.Desired Settlement: I would like to be refunded for the battery that I purchased ($128), be written a check for what the estimated cost was to fix the issues ($790), and have a promissory note signed stating that they will cover any other expenses which may come about during the completion of the work.

Consumer

Response:

Review: On January 1st, 2014 I noticed a pending charge of $233 from AAA on my bank account. I called AAA and told them I would not be renewing my service.

The rep told me the refund would be processed immediately and I should havemy money within 3 business days. I called AAA back on January 3rd just to make sure the cancellation was processed and I was told that it was. Today I still have not received my refund and when I called AAA, the rep told me the refund was done on January 7th.Desired Settlement: I want my money refunded immediately. There is no reason for it to take 12 plus days when I clearly said I was not interested in renewing my membership.

Business

Response:

Re: AAA Mid-Atlantic Membership [redacted]

Thank you for contacting AAA. We received your written correspondence, requesting a refund back to your credit card.

We have issued a refund in the amount of $233.00, on January 7, 2014, which was issued to the credit card which payment was made, please allow 7-10 business days for this to take place. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone at 1-866-MEMBERS. Thank you for choosing AAA. We appreciate your business and look forward to the opportunity to serve you in the future.

Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.