AAA Northway, Inc

This is a response to the February 7, acknowledging Ms***’s
concerns regarding her father’s membershipFirst of all, I would like to extend my sincere condolences on the
passing of Ms***’s father. Losing a loved one, especially a father,
is never easy. I send my
apologies to her and her mother for what may
have appeared to be a heartless act. I can understand why this situation
would be upsetting. Rest assure our member records department has deleted
the membership. They will not receive a bill regarding his
membership. In addition, I have requested his name, as it appears in our
membership data, to be removed from the Club’s “solicit file” in an attempt to
guarantee that this will not reoccur in the futureI thank Ms*** for taking the time to bring this to our attention.
Again, please accept our sincere apologies and our condolences for her lossSincerely, James PPresident/CEO

Below is a reply to the November 27, letter from Ms*** regarding
the alleged over-mileage charge for delivery of emergency road serviceAs a background, Ms*** has been an
AAA member since and currently has the Classic membership which covers the
tow back to the AAA
station responding to the emergency road service callIf the member wishes to be towed to another location, AAA
coverage pays for first three (3) miles of towingFor tows beyond the
three (3) miles, additional mileage is charged at the applicable rate starting
with
the fourth (4th) mileThe additional
mileage charge is paid to the AAA responding service stationOn November 22, 2017, Ms*** called
and requested emergency road service for her vehicle to be towed from *** to ***The additional mileage quoted was $120.40, (miles X $
per miles) or $including taxUpon hearing Ms***' concern
regarding the price for the over mileage, our dispatcher offered her the
opportunity to tow her vehicle to the Club's Car Care Center, explaining that the
tow would be for free, it would not count toward her annual limit of four
emergency calls, and she could take advantage of the member discount offered at
our Car Care Center. Ms*** chose to
have her vehicle towed to our Car Care CenterOnce her vehicle was towed to
our facility, she called the managing director of our Car Care Center and asked " what' s the most the
repairs would cost her"Our managing director stated the repairs would range
between $1,400-$,He also relayed a Car Care's diagnostic charge of
$would be waived if Ms*** chose to have the repairs completed
at our facilityCharging a diagnostic fee, to properly determine the
nature and extent of necessary repairs, is a common practice in the repair
industryUpon hearing the cost of the repairs and the diagnostic charge, Ms*** requested
her vehicle be towed from our Car Care Center in *** to her preferred
repair facility in ***, a total of milesThe additional mileage
quoted was $172.00, (miles X $per miles) or $including taxAt this point, our
dispatcher related the response time to the scene by the AAA service stationMs*** understood the
response time as the time the vehicle was to be dropped offShe agreed at this
point to have her vehicle towed to ***The AAA service station was
dispatched and then it was communicated that Ms*** was going to pay
the over mileage with a credit card via phoneSince the AAA service station
does not accept credit cards, the Club's service vehicle was dispatchedUpon dropping
off the vehicle at the destination by our fleet driver, he called Ms
*** and she refused to pay the over mileageOur fleet driver stated
that he could not drop off the vehicle without collecting the over mileageMs*** did agree
and paid the over mileage of $I appreciate the frustration Ms***
experienced throughout this entire.process, but after my investigation I am confident our staff
handled this emergency road service event properly, with one exception which I
refer to belowI can assure Ms*** and the Revdex.com she was never lied
to nor swindled as allegedNot only is it a bad business practice, it serves AAA no
good to take advantage of its membersAAA is a not-for-profit membership organizationIt is worth noting,
regardless of where Ms***' vehicle was towed from, she would have
incurred the over mileage chargeRegarding the exception, as a member courtesy
I find it reasonable to reimburse her $representing the difference in the over mileage tow
cost from the original *** location and the subsequent *** locationAttached please find excerpt pages of the Club's Member
Benefit Guide highlighting the different membership offered as well as the
Classic membership's over mileage guideline and the guidelines regarding
upgrading to the AAA Plus membershipIf you need anything further, please don't hesitate to
contact meThank youSincerely, James PPresident/CEO

As stated in my initial reply,
regardless of where Ms. [redacted]’ car was towed to, she would have incurred
over mileage.  Therefore, I maintain the
reimbursement of $55.37 is a fair offer.  This amount was never offered to her prior to my first correspondence
because by the time our manager received the message of Ms. [redacted]’
dissatisfaction, we were already notified by the Revdex.com.  As a result, we never had an opportunity to
address her concerns directly with her. If given that opportunity, we
would have addressed Ms. [redacted]’ concerns and likely avoided further
confusion. A check for $55.37 is being
processed and will be mailed by the end of this week. If you need anything further,
please don’t hesitate to contact me.  Thank you. Sincerely, James P. President/CEO

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I expect the check of 55.37 to be mailed promptly or another complaint will be filed if this is not done.  I also would like to point out that I was told in the initial call from the towing that a manager would reach out to rectify the situation BEFORE I complained to Revdex.com.org and they NEVER bothered to do so.  I hope in the future, AAA Northway will conduct itself in a more honest, forthright manner and not try and "bait and switch" its customers.
Regards,
[redacted]

This is a response to the January 19, 2017 letter regarding current member, Ms. [redacted], and the request to refund her for the months remaining on her membership, which expires on July 31, 2017. As a not-for-profit membership organization, we exist to serve all AAA Northway members and invest in...

products and service that our members deem relevant. Ms. [redacted] has had the pleasure of utilizing her membership which remains active until the expiration date of July 31, 2017. A request was made that upon expiry, her membership be transferred to the local AAA club, AAA [redacted], where she now resides. Because membership in AAA covers a member anywhere in North America, Ms. [redacted] does not need to join the AAA Club in [redacted]. Her current membership provides the same benefits no matter where she resides. Our guidelines clearly state that AAA memberships are non-refundable. Therefore, it is not customary for our organization to refund memberships dues. Enclose please find a copy of our Member Benefit Guide outlining the Club's guidelines on membership refunds. If you need anything further, please don't hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, James P. President/CEO

This is a response to the March 15, 2017 letter relating to Ms. [redacted]'s complaint regarding the repossession of her vehicle. On February 9, 2017, Ms. [redacted]'s vehicle was towed to our Car Care Center in [redacted]. She was contacted the following day with a quote of $6394.00 to replace the engine....

Uncertain of what to do, she was advised that she could leave her vehicle at our facility for five business day to give her time to consider her options. Numerous phone calls to Ms. [redacted] to discuss her decision were unanswered. On March 9, exactly one month from the initial visit, our facility received a phone call from [redacted] Financial Group, her banking institution, asking if a 2008 [redacted] was at our facility. They presented a repossession order and the vehicle was released to them. At no time did Joel or anyone on my staff contact [redacted] Financial Group. It is worth noting that [redacted] Financial Group paid for the outstanding invoice of $320.82. The invoiced included a $124.83 diagnostic and labor charge and storage fee of $ 175.00 for 7 days plus tax. Again, the vehicle was left at our facility for 30 days. Attached please find a copy of the repair order as well as a copy of the Hold Harmless Acknowledgement that was presented. If you need anything further, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you. Sincerely, James P. President/CEO

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  I do not know who paid and signed the paperwork,  I never signed anything when my car went in for service.  
Regards,
[redacted]

This is a response to the April 10, 2017 acknowledging Ms. [redacted]’s concerns regarding the repossession of her vehicle.  Regardless of how many days her vehicle was at our facility, when presented with a NYS repossession order, our facility felt obligated to surrender the vehicle over to them as breach of peace was not violated.  As I previously stated, I assure you that at no time did our employees contact her banking institution.  Quite simply, we would not have information on any of our customer’s financing institutions.    Regarding the outstanding balance, the bill was signed and paid by the representative that picked up the vehicle.  I understand that this unfortunate incident is creating a financial burden for Ms. [redacted].  But please know we do everything in our power to assist our customers.  In this instance, our hands were tied as we were in no position to deny the repossession order.  If you need anything further, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  Thank you. Sincerely,   James P. President/CEO

This is a response to the March 13, 2017 letter relating to Ms. [redacted]'s complaint regarding her vehicle mistakenly being towed. On March 7, 2017, at approximately 4:36pm, we received a phone call from one of our members stating that she was in need of emergency road service as the keys to her...

friend's vehicle were lost and needed the vehicle towed to the dealership. The member identified the vehicle and provided all of the information needed for a tow truck to be dispatched. The tow truck was en-route to the dealership when we were notified that it was the wrong vehicle. As soon as we recognized the error, the vehicle was immediately returned to the owner. The entire situation was resolved within 90 minutes. AAA coverage is on the member, not the vehicle. Accordingly, the vehicle registration often does not match the driver's license of the member in need of service since the member does not have to be the vehicle owner. Also, there were numerous conversations with management during and after the event with Ms. [redacted] and her father and at no time was there any mention of vehicle damage until now. Without any evidence of damage to the vehicle to review and have investigated by our ASE certified field representative, I'm not in a position to comment on Ms. [redacted]'s claim that any damage was caused by AAA as alleged. It should be noted that during conversations with Ms. [redacted] father, he requested $5,000 for trauma and negligence. We declined his request repeatedly. His final request was "be gracious and write a check for $2,500". We denied that request as well. We understand this unfortunate mistake created an inconvenience and anxiety for Ms. [redacted]. I am confident that the member's error in identifying Ms. [redacted] vehicle as her friend's vehicle was not done maliciously. We were within AAA guidelines and we provided emergency road service to a member in need. If you need anything further, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you. Sincerely, James P. President/CEO

This is a response to the April 6, 2018 acknowledging Ms. [redacted]’s dissatisfaction with AAA Northway’s decision to allow her son to renew his membership at the Classic level. As a not-for-profit, membership organization, it is the Club’s responsibility to keep membership dues at a reasonable level...

for all members. All members are allowed four emergency road service calls during the membership year. However, each AAA Club’s Board of Directors reserves the right to offer membership coverage to any member at a Classic level the following membership year when it is determined an account’s consumption of emergency road service reaches a point where the Club’s ability to continue delivering exemplary emergency road service to all members, while maintaining membership dues at a reasonable level, is jeopardized. Emergency Road Service is an important service but it is also a costly one. I appreciate Ms. [redacted]’s son’s membership in AAA for the past two years. AAA offers many levels of memberships and members choose the one suitable for their needs. I can assure you that AAA does not hope that a member purchases a higher membership in hopes of not utilizing the services as Ms. [redacted] claims. My staff member never made such a statement. Our membership handbook does state that AAA Northway reserves the right to downgrade, non-renew or cancel any membership for consumption of emergency road service deemed well-above fellow members. It remains my hope Ms. [redacted] decides to continue her son’s membership with AAA at the Classic level, thus allowing him to continue to enjoy all 80+ products and services included with membership in AAA. If you should need anything further, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, James P. President/CEO