ComplaintsforAutomobile Club of Southern California

• Initial Complaint

  05/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We called AAA for a dead battery, the tow company sold and installed a battery that was not specified for my vehicle. That said battery then died again within 18 months and we called AAA again. The new tow company said it was the wrong battery and AAA did not have a stop/start battery for a 2018 ****** Highlander. I then had to go to Autozone, pay for another battery and install it myself. I called AAA to credit my membership fee and they refused. I want a full refund of my membership fees since they did not provide the service I am paying for.

  Business response

  05/28/2024

  
  We extend our apologies for any inconvenience that you experienced. You requested a refund of your annual membership dues for the inconvenience you encountered when purchasing a third-party battery and performing your own installation. While we are unable to reimburse your membership dues, we sent you a check in the amount that represents a full refund under warranty of the original AAA battery purchased on November 5, 2021. If you should have any questions, please contact ************************************* at **************.

  Customer response

  05/30/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  05/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  1.The first issue I want to dispute is I have only used 3 service call and you have me down as using 4 services 2. Second issue is my car wouldnt start and i have been out of work. my last service call the driver jumped my car and let my know my alternator was bad. I bought a alternator and hired a mechanic to find out the technician didnt connect my battery all the way and my car started, i lost alot of money due to the neglignce and wannabe reimbursed monetary wise. the last call should not be held against me due to the negligence.if this cant be reslolved i wanna terminate my membership and i will take legal actions

  Business response

  05/28/2024

  
  We extend our apologies for any inconvenience you experienced during your emergency roadside service requests. You requested monetary compensation due to service technician negligence, and the removal of your last service call. Although we are unable to accommodate your request for compensation, we have credited three of the service calls back to your account for the current term, for the inconvenience you experienced on April 29, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact ***************************, at **************.
  
   

  Customer response

  05/31/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been working with AAA Auto insurance on behalf of my parents for an accident that occurred in 12/2023. This car accident involved two other people. My experience with the follow up started out fantastic. However, my specific point of contact left the company - and there was absolutely no communication making customers aware. I have dates of phone calls and emails that remained unanswered. I had to track down managers and the like to get an answer. I have POA for my parents. I am not seeking a dollar amount, but rather some sort of policy change that requires the company to let people know that their point of contact is no longer employed. The customer should not have to uncover this information.Claim # *********

  Business response

  05/07/2024

  We are sorry that you were not properly notified that your file was transferred to a new adjuster. We strive to provide the highest level of service at all times,and we regret that we fell short during the handling of this claim. Although our company does have a process in place for transferring claims and notifying those affected, we did not complete this process for your claim, and we apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. If you have any questions or additional information to provide, please contact *************************************, at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  04/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Automatic annual premier membership renewal on 4/24/2023 of $37 for my 14 year old son. This was done in error as I never requested my son to be added, as he doesn't drive, and he is always traveling with us. I found out about this on 4/22/2024 as AAA wanted to renew our membership again and I noticed that there was a charge for my son, I quickly called AAA to resolve the issue. The representative I talked to was able to remove the amount for the upcoming renewal year of 2024 but said he was unable to reimburse for the prior year of 2023. The representative also mentioned that my son was added to the membership on 3/21/2022 for free but I was charged $37 for 2023. I asked him how did AAA even know my son's name and even mailed out a card for him, if my wife or myself never provided this information. The representative said he couldn't see on his system how AAA got my son's information. I explained to the AAA representative that at that time my son was only 13 and didn't drive so he wouldn't need any membership. Further, when I received the membership card in my son's name back in 2022, I quickly called AAA and spoked to someone who said to disregard it and that they would remove him from the membership. Fast forward two years later and I've paid for 2023 renewal via automatic payment and didn't noticed that it included my son's membership. The only reason I found out that we were getting charge for my son's membership this time, is that my automatic payment had the wrong account information which led me to login to the invoice. If this is another way of getting money from its members, it's very misleading and should not be tolerated.

• Initial Complaint

  04/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am not liable for this debt with Automobile club, I do not have a contract with *** collections, they did not provide me with the original contract as I requested.

  Business response

  04/24/2024

  The Exchange provided insurance coverage for your 2008 Jeep from 12-09-2021, until the policy cancelled for non-payment effective 1-31-2022.Your initial deposit of $176.00 was posted to this policy making it effective.Your first installment in the amount of $177.26 was generated as agreed on 12-27-2021,due on 1-09-2022. This unpaid installment was considered late on 1-19-2022, and a $7.00 late fee was added. The policy later cancelled for non-payment effective 1-31-2022. The Exchange provided insurance coverage and expects to be paid for that time. Our notices regarding the balance also asked if you had secured coverage elsewhere prior to our cancellation date. If you did have coverage elsewhere, an adjustment to the balance owed could be made for any duplicate days of coverage. Due to our unsuccessful attempts to have the balance paid, the $347.97 was referred to our outside collection vendor, AWA ************ in August of 2022. Per **** they had not received any contact from you until 4-13-2024, when a dispute was received through the credit bureaus. As of the writing of this response, the balance remains outstanding. Due to the age of the account, we are willing to have the balance, once paid, removed from your credit history. Please contact ******************, Collections Supervisor at ************ with any questions.

• Initial Complaint

  04/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had an incidental claim as car had gun shot damage. Issue occurred July 2 and was reported on July 3 of 2024. Repair shop that was recommended did not even work on electric car (2023 VW ID.4 Pro). The claim representative has been less than helpful. I had to find my car shop as the one recommended did not work on car. Payment was not provided to collision shop initially delaying repair. No assistance or support provided when repair shop was not diligent and work has taken over 16 weeks to repair. Rental car was only provided for 30 days and payment was not fully give. Having me still be responsible for part of rental.

  Business response

  05/01/2024

  
  On July 19, 2023, you reported a claim for vandalism for your 2023 VW that occurred on July 2, 2023. The claim representative explained that the applicable coverages for the loss were your Comprehensive coverage with a $500 deductible and Rental coverage for up to 30 days and an overall limit of $1050.00. Initially an assignment was sent to Seidners Collision to create an estimate for the repairs to your vehicle. Notes indicate once you went to this shop in mid-August of 2023, they advised they were unable to complete the repairs to your ID.4 as they were not VW certified. You then selected **** Collision Repair and notified us that you had chosen them to complete the repairs to your vehicle on October 24, 2023. It appears you shared a copy of the Seidners estimate with **** and upon your request, we forwarded payment to Elis on October 25, 2023. On January 4, 2024, you contacted us to advise that you had an appointment with **** on Monday January 8, 2024, and requested a rental be set up at that time. Per the terms of your policy your rental coverage allows up to 30 days of rental while the vehicle is under repair. We were in contact with **** several times during the week of your drop off, as it is their practice to prepare their own estimate. Our team provided you an update on January 12, 2024. We followed up with **** on January 17th for status of their estimate and were able to reach an agreement on January 19, 2024. We understand **** provided an email update at that time expecting an 8-10 week repair. There were supplement requests received from the shop on March 12, April 10, and April 12, 2024, each of which were approved by us the following day. We can confirm that the full extent of your rental coverage on your policy was paid on this loss. We understand that that while the first rental vehicle was completely covered by the $35/day policy limit, a second vehicle was rented that exceeded the daily limit of $35/day afforded by your rental coverage and you paid for the amount above the $35/day daily limit directly. It was confirmed that **** Collision missed their estimated completion date by several weeks and we understand the frustration and inconvenience this has caused.  We do not see any delays on the part of ********* impacting the time it took to repair your vehicle.  My review of the file indicates we responded to each request from the shop. There was no evidence found to support our initial payment made October of 2023 delayed the repairs at **** which were scheduled for January 8, 2024. If you have any questions, please contact *************************** at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  04/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 03/17/2024 was involved in a accident . I was in the parking lot at 7Eleven and someone backed up into me and pushed my car forward over the curb into a post causing damages to the back and front of my car. I had filed a claim with AAA insurance which was my insurance and the person that caused the accident. A year prior the car was hit in the same spot as this time and everything was repaired. AAA is now refusing to pay for the damages in the front because they believe that it was from the prior accident. I gave them a recorded statement stating that the damages were from this accident also provided them with pictures that were dated after the last accident , had the body shop telling them that the car was fixed and also the adjuster that handled the last claim saw the car after it was fixed. Now I am without a car and the airbag light is on and the hood can not be closed properly , the steering wheel pulls to the left badly and the adjuster ********************* is refusing to pay for the damages even after I gave him everything that i was asked for had nothing to hide. I had asked couple bodyshops/mechanics for an estimate of how much would cost to fix everything and was told close to $5000. I just can not believe after being with AAA for close to 15 years having auto and life insurance with them I am being treated this way. I would be canceling the membership and every single insurance policy I have with them after this if they don't do the right thing. Thank you BBB for all the help.

  Business response

  04/24/2024

  We have reviewed the facts surrounding the above-mentioned loss and the prior loss from 1-09-2023. An independent expert was hired to determine if damages to the front bumper are new or pre-existing.Additionally, we need to confirm if the rear impact could have caused your vehicle to be pushed forward, over a curb and into a wood bulletin board to cause the front-end damage. Once the engineer has completed his investigation, we will be in a better position to determine how we will move this claim to resolution. If you have any additional information to share, please contact Claims Manager ***************************** at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  04/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have been AAA members for over 40 years. In February, after meeting with a AAA agent on three different occasions over a two week period and receiving the applicable quotes from that agent, we decided to move our homeowners, car, motorcycle, earthquake and umbrella policies over to AAA Insurance from Farmers Insurance. We signed the policies on February 15, 2024. On March 16th (one month later), we received a cancellation notice from AAA (and the California ******************** because of the cancellation by AAA) due to the following reasons: AAA stated that our home was underinsured, and they did not want the liability of the slope in our backyard because we have a pool. Why would AAA write a policy that was underinsured, which was their own doing, and why did they wait until after we moved our insurance coverage to raise a concern about the slope in our backyard? They had two weeks to raise those questions/concerns before the policies were signed. We are now scrambling to find coverage which is extremely difficult these days, costly, and no fault of our own. In speaking with several other agencies, the consensus is that AAA did not do right by us. Not only did they mislead us and put us in a precarious position in a difficult time, but we paid them approximately $3,200.00 to put all of the policies in place and now we are having to come up with the money all over again because we have not received a refund yet. On March 28th, I contacted the AAA agent who wrote the policies and asked when we would receive a refund but he has not responded. Our desired settlement would be never to have gone through this in the first place but that is now a moot point. We would like a refund of $3,200.00 for all of our policies - insurance carriers will now only write as a bundle and not a single policy so we are going to have to move all of our policies again, and we would also like a letter of apology from upper management.

  Business response

  05/01/2024

  
  When your policies were initiated our agent reviewed the coverages and the annual premium for the policies and explained that your homeowner's policy would be subject to review by our *********************** to ensure your home met our underwriting guidelines and qualified to be insured with AAA. In agreement with the terms and conditions of the policies, you signed the insurance applications, authorized a down payment to start your auto policy effective March 2, 2024 and your homeowner's policy your earthquake policy to start these policies effective February 22, 2024. Our *********************** determined your home did not meet our underwriting acceptability guidelines and did not qualify to be insured with AAA because its proximity to a slope represents an increased liability hazard. On March 13, 2024, we mailed a Notice of Cancellation stating your AAA homeowner's insurance policy would be cancelled effective April 12, 2024, because your home did not meet our underwriting acceptability guidelines. The your homeowner's insurance policy cancelled as scheduled. Since your homeowner's policy cancelled, your earthquake policy was also cancelled effective April 12, 2024. For both policies, we provided coverage from February 22, 2024, to April 12, 2024. The earned premium for your homeowner's policy for that coverage period was $438. We received $1,300 in payments that were applied toward your earned premium and we mailed a $862 prorated refund to you on April 16, 2024. The earned premium for your earthquake policy for that coverage period was $93. We received $695 in payments that were applied toward your earned premium and we mailed a $602 prorated refund to you on April 16, 2024. Manager ************************* contacted you on April 12, 2024, to address the concerns outlined in your correspondence to the Better Business Bureau directly. At your request, ************ cancelled your auto insurance policy effective April 13, 2024. We provided coverage from March 2, 2024, to April 13, 2024. The earned premium for your auto policy for that coverage period was $467. We received $1,565.66 in payments that were applied toward your earned premium and we mailed a $1,098.66 prorated refund to you on April 16, 2024. ************ also explained that AAA would expedite your refunds and you would receive the refunds in 7-10 business days. If you have any questions, please contact Manager, *************************** directly at **************.
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  04/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Triple A canceled my policy. I am disabled I have bad functioning hands my preferred communication is email . they sent letters after offering me membership for my son roadside. After a year of him being on it. They canceled the policy without email and now I am without for 30 days and will not have insurance for 14 days. They are mocking me on the phone calls because I cannot open letters, laughing at me saying it is my fault i got canceled

  Business response

  04/08/2024

  HELLO

  ACCORDING TO THE MEMBERS'S ADDRESS, THEY LIVE IN ** WHICH IS NOT IN OUR JURISDICTION. PLEASE USE AAA.COM TO DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE AUTO CLUB.

  THANKS

  Business response

  04/24/2024

  Before the 2023-2024 policy term expired, we identified that ******************************* was listed as a household resident on your membership. According to our Underwriting Acceptability Guidelines, all regular operators and/or household residents, age ************************************ excluded on a policy. As a result, we sent you a letter titled Action Required for your Automobile Policy on 11-27-2023. This letter advised you that the Exchange could continue your auto insurance policy if ******* was rated as a driver or excluded from coverage on your policy. The notice also stated that your policy may be nonrenewed at 12:01 A.M., Pacific Standard Time, on 2-25-2024, if we did not receive the necessary documentation. A Notice of Nonrenewal and Termination of Insurance was sent on 1-19-2024, requesting the same information. We did not receive a response to either of these letters, the policy nonrenewed on 2-25-2024. ***************************, contacted you to personally address your concerns and the reasons for the nonrenewal of your policy. He also informed you that we use letter correspondence as our main form of communication with our members regarding their insurance policies. We reviewed the policy file and have found no evidence of discrimination against you. The decision to nonrenew your automobile policy was made in accordance with our Underwriting Acceptability Guidelines. We cannot offer you the renewal of your policy when it no longer meets our guidelines. To do so constitutes a violation of our standard practices and procedures. If you have any questions, please contact *****************************,Underwriting Manager, at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On March 6 I called for roadside assistance and was told that I couldn't get service unless I paid $100 due to already using up my service for the year. I paid the $100 however the tow truck never came and I cancelled the request in which I was told I would get my $ back. It's now march 29 I have no refund and was told by a rep it would take another 15+ days for the investigation. Absurd.

  Business response

  04/09/2024

  We are processing the refund as no service was provided. There is no investigation needed, it takes about 14 days for the refund to be generated and mailed. If you have any questions, please contact ***************************** at ************.

  Customer response

  04/10/2024

  I requested service on March 6. It's April 10th. It did not take 14 days but 30! I just got the payment back on April 6. 

  Business response

  04/11/2024

  We apologize for the delays experienced in sending your refund.  If you have any questions, we encourage you to please contact ***************************** at ************.

  Customer response

  04/15/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************
  
   
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩