Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Automobile Club of Southern California's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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• 

  Automobile Club of Southern California

  PO Box 25001 Santa Ana, CA 92799-5001

• 

  Automobile Club of Southern California

  569 Telegraph Canyon Rd Chula Vista, CA 91910

• 

  Automobile Club of Southern California

  800 La Terraza Blvd #200 Escondido, CA 92025

• 

  Automobile Club of Southern California

  4973 Clairemont Dr #C San Diego, CA 92117

• 

  Automobile Club of Southern California

  12630 Sabre Springs Pkwy #301 San Diego, CA 92128

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/25/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  AAA insured hit my car on Aug 28th. CLim files that day and not once ha AAA called, emailed or retuned over 10 messages. Scam Aetists!

  Business Response

  Date: 01/02/2024

   

  To ensure all evidence was considered and prior to a decision, we requested your vehicle video of the events leading up to the collision and offered to access your vehicle event data recorder for potential additional evidence with both requests declined. While understanding your position and how strongly you feel about the matter, the investigation concludes our insured vehicle was stopped when the collision occurred. Based upon this information, we must decline your claim. If you have any questions, please contact *************************, Claims Manager at **************.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/20/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The matter is relatively straightforward. My car was recently totaled through no fault of my own. I was informed by AAA that I was owed a reimbursement of $1,000 due to a miscalculation on a prior insurance payout from Automobile Club of ***** (AAA of Southern California). AAA of ***** later decided NOT to pay me that money, without so much as an explanation as to why. This was a deductible which, if the accident had been my fault, I of course would have to pay. It wasn't my fault, but AAA is still keeping the money!************************, Ph.D.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2024

  We understand that you are requesting payment for your deductible as it was determined that you are not responsible for the loss. As discussed with Claims Unit Manager, *************************************, your deductible was waived, and payment was issued to you on November 29, 2023. If you have any questions or additional information to provide, please contact *************************************, at **************.

  Exec Member Relations

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/18/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Oct 8, 2023, I discovered water damaged behind the door of my kid's bedroom closet. As a AAA Southern California member for more than 8 years and the owner of AAA home insurance, I called AAA claim department immediately and notified them of my findings. That date the agent provided me with a claim #********* and said both AAA authorized mitigation estimator and plumber will contact me immediately. The estimator did come out that day, however, there was no response from the plumber. The next day, the plumber contacted me and I immediately provided access for the plumber to inspect the cause of water leak. The leak was identified from a shower valve within the wall. However, on Oct 10 AAA field property estimator declined my claim for the reason that it was NOT ' Sudden and Accidenta' given the appreance of mold at the damage area stating the leak has been going for a period of time. I disagreed with the decision for the reasons that:1) the leak happened within the wall with no appreance damage from exterior 2) the moldy area in kid closet dry wall, which shared the same wall behind leaky shower valve, was hidden behind the door from visible line of sight 3) I notifed AAA the moment I discovered the damage but AAA field property estimator could not provide me with a quantifable matrix of timeline on how to define 'Sudden and Accidental'. Furthermore, the plumber did not even contact me on the date of my incident notification if urgency is such an important consideration.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  On October 08, 2023, the insured reported a leak from the bathroom of his home causing water damage into the adjacent closet. There was also microbial growth found. ****************** spoke with the insured the same day and explained his coverages and benefits as well as his deductible amount. ****************************************** was engaged to determine the cause of the leak. The claim was assigned to *********************** for further handling. ********************************** scheduled and conducted the inspection on October 09, 2023. The insured had found extensive microbial growth in the bedroom closet adjacent to the bathroom. ******** was found directly behind the shower valve. A small access hole was made and using a borescope it was determined the shower valve cartridge had been leaking when the shower was in use. The shower valve would leak approximately eight ounces of water during a five-to-ten-minute period. The cause of the shower valve failure was determined to general wear and tear. Based on the investigation, a letter of no coverage was sent to the insured on October 10, 2023 with the applicable policy language. The policy does not provide coverage for general wear and tear or loss from a continuous or repeated seepage or leakage of water from within a plumbing system. The amount of microbial growth and the leak detection diagnosis was evidence the leak had been from a continuous situation. While the insured contends that he did not see or know of the leak, there is no provision in the policy language that the specifies that the leak be known or unknown. The insured spoke with manager ******************* on October 10, 2023 regarding the no coverage decision. ************ explained the reasons for the decision and the insured elected to withdraw the claim. A letter confirming the withdrawal was sent to the insured on October 20, 2023. ************ contacted the insured on November 28, 2023 to address his concerns. The insured advised he forgot about the complaint and confirmed with claim withdrawal. A review of the claim reveals the insureds inquiry is not justified. The reasons for the no coverage decision were discussed with the insured and he has elected to withdraw his claim. If you have any questions, please contact ********************* at **************.
  
   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/17/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Dear Better Business Bureau,I am writing to file a complaint regarding my recent experience with AAA Insurance. On July 27th, I contacted AAA Insurance and spoke with ***** to add a ****** Sentra to our auto-policy, increasing the total number of cars on our policy to 3. During this conversation, I also mentioned my intention to sell one of the cars (a 2007 **** in the near future. ***** assured me that if I sold the 2007 *** and removed it from the policy before August 19th, my premium would remain at $******.On August 9th, I promptly contacted AAA to remove the 2007 *** from my policy, which was successfully processed on August 10th, maintaining my premium at $******. However, to my dismay, on September 12th, my insurance bill increased to $342.24 without any prior notice or explanation.I have made several attempts to resolve this issue through phone calls, diligently documenting each interaction:Sept. 14, 2023:Called to escalate the issue and requested confirmation of the agreed premium. Also, requested the call recording for verification. Sept. 24, 2023:Followed up on the escalation but discovered that the initial agent did not notate my account or escalate the request, necessitating a reiteration of my concern.Oct. 11, 2023:***************************** from member relations informed me that they had located the call recording but inexplicably, there was no audio on the call. She promised to discuss the matter with her supervisor and provide an update.October 11, 2023: Subsequently, I received a call from ******, who identified herself as an agent responsible for escalations. Unfortunately, ****** was unhelpful, stated there was no recording, and displayed rudeness and impatience during our conversation.I am disappointed by AAA's failure to honor the premium amount as previously agreed upon and the subsequent lack of transparency & inadequate customer service.Policy# ************ Requesting the billing be adjusted to ****** for Oct. through Dec.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/31/2023

  We have received multiple requests from this person and our summarized response remains unchanged. ************************* contacted you to provide you with the results of the detailed review of the prior interactions. As a follow up to your telephone conversation with ****** and the subsequent email and telephone messages you sent, while we understand your opinions on this matter,we are unable to accommodate your request for any exception to your premium and current billing statement. If you have any questions, please contact ***************************** at ************.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Sunday Oct. 1, 2023, after spending 90 minutes trying to get my EV to charge, I called AAA at 3:14 a.m. I was told someone would be by at 4:20 a.m. Nine minutes later, at 3:25 a.m., I get a text saying 5:10 a.m. Four minutes later, at 3:29 a.m., I get a phone call saying the earliest possible is 6:30 a.m. So in the space of less than 15 minutes, the wait time went from an hour to more than 3 hours. That is NOT 24/7 service as AAA claims it offers its members (as in people who pay a fee for their "services"). Not only that, but it would cost me $12/mile to go the 20 miles to my house for a total cost of $240 + tax. The towing company then passed the job onto **********************, (who arrived 2 hours later with the wrong kind of tow truck). In the meantime, I contacted AAA who said they would try to get someone sooner, but the dispatcher at the tow company contacted told his driver to not answer my call because I've been waiting for 2 hours and would most likely give the company a bad review (I was told this by the driver who contacted me on the phone a second time after telling me during our first call a few minutes earlier that he'd be there in "a few minutes".) So tow companies were ACTIVELY working AGAINST me! I then decided to try a different route and contacted ******* Roadside Assistance. They said they could help, but they could only tow me to a ******* dealer, which -- at 4 in the morning -- isn't particularly helpful. Anyway, not having another option, I agreed, so I could at least save $240. That's when they told me that they too use AAA and that it would be 1 hour and 45 minutes before they could get someone to me. I finally got the original towing company to come out at 6:10 a.m. (instead of 6:30 a.m.) The driver, ******, helped me to start my car which, after being off and dead for 4.5 hours, now had 6% battery and I could finally charge my car and drive home by myself. What a useless nightmare AAA was! Terrible customer service!

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  We extend our sincerest apologies to you as we were unable to provide you with a totally satisfying member experience. As to avoid a recurrence of this nature in the future, we have counseled both our staff and contracted service provider and we have we have reminded our contract stations of the importance of arriving prepared in a timely manner with proper equipment to perform the service request. As such, and as a gesture of goodwill, we will be providing you with a complimentary membership of your next membership renewal beginning December 3, 2023, through December 3, ****. If you have any questions, please contact, *************************************, at **************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/13/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be acceptable to me as soon as the change is implemented and reflected in my online membership profile.  That is, I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/05/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In sept tow truck driver never showed an now was denied service for a lock out Sunday Sept 24 by superviser theres documentation of ** calling thy can see to find driver f the tow.She Said we wasted our 3 free services

  Business Response

  Date: 12/06/2023

  Upon review of the disputed service call from September 8, 2023, it has been confirmed that the service call has been restored back to your account as of September 25, 2023, as one of the four (4) allotted services available under membership. We extend our apologies to you as we were unable to provide you with a totally satisfying service experience. If you have any questions, please contact *************************************, at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/03/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  started in May 2019 still under repairs but had to pull from shop because of all the damage to car. AAA will not assume any responsibility for damages because they said I chose the shop. In truth, *******************************, their insurance adjuster, suggested that ************ was a great shop, even though not a AAA facility. I was never told when I took out my classic car policy that AAA did not have a shop I could take car to. Therefore, when I asked ******* about ************, her answer was "I"ve known this company since they were kids and they do great work". That's called being steered towards a shop. and Again, I was never told they do not have classic car shops. My cars had damages to the body which AAA has covered some of, but also damage to interior of which AAA did cover some but when we discovered more damages, they denied claim.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/24/2023

  On October 20,2023, Claims Manager ************************* reached out to you and ************** informed that there are Member Preferred Repair (MPR) facilities in your area, but in conversation none of them were able to work on your **** Chevrolet. You felt that you were misled, and he apologized for any confusion on that matter. You also stated that you felt you were steered to ************ for ************. He advised this is something the two of you had discussed previously and our claim file would indicate that this was your shop of choice. You also discussed repair concerns and you mention other damages that were covered to the quarter panel and interior. Those were covered under separate claims as discussed with *************. The quarter panel damages were addressed in claim ********* and the seat damage was addressed in claim *********. You also discussed issues that occurred while the vehicle was at the repair facility and issues with workmanship and the shop has agreed to address per your conversation with them. ************** also advised that in previous conversations you had discussed utilizing the ****** of ********** Repair (***) to assist with the repair facility. You did advise the *** had been involved and ************** advised if you have issues with the shop workmanship corrections moving forward the *** would be a good source to utilize again. Should you like to discuss these matters further, please contact ************************* at **************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/05/2023

  I will again state that 1. I inquired prior to my policy being purchased, if aaa had facilities for my classic cars and I was told they have their preferred repair facilities. That said I bought their policy, along with all my other cars, home insurance and earthquake insurance.

  2. Again I was told by *******************************, after being told aaa has no classic car facilities, that ****************** does great work and I've known this shop since "they were kids". Of course aa denies this statement.   Yes. I did say after being told aaa doesn't have classic car facilities, that ************ does good work. On her recommendation, I took my 57 ***** to ************ where it's literally been destroyed from improper care.

      Even the dent that aaa covered, was not properly done and im now left with damages.

        I am not satisfied with Mr. ***** at all.  

   As a consumer I was lied to by aaa.  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/13/2023

  As mentioned in the prior correspondence, on 10-20-2023, Claims Manager ************************* reached out to you to discuss your concerns. In that conversation you discussed that when your policy was established, you asked if there were AAA Repair Facilities in your area and you were advised yes. ************** informed that there are Member Preferred Repair (MPR) facilities in your area, but in conversation none of them were able to work on your **** Chevrolet. You felt that you were misled,and he apologized for any confusion on that matter. You also stated that you felt you were steered to ************ for ************. He advised this is something the two of you had discussed previously and our claim file would indicate that this was your shop of choice. That conversation continued into discussing the repair concerns. You mention other damages that were covered to the quarter panel and interior. Those were covered under separate claims as discussed with **************. The quarter panel damages were addressed in claim ********* and the seat damage was addressed in claim *********. You also discussed issues that occurred while the vehicle was at the repair facility and issues with workmanship. This included the package tray that you mention as well as some seatbelt issues, paint issues and other items that the shop has agreed to address per your conversation with them. ************** also advised that in previous conversations you had discussed utilizing the ****** of ********** Repair (***)to assist with the repair facility. You did advise the *** had been involved and ************** advised if you have issues with the shop workmanship corrections moving forward the *** would be a good source to utilize again. Should you like to discuss this matter further, please contact ************************* at **************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2023

   Once again it's the small guy fighting the  huge corporate structure.   All the statements made are 100% the truth.  Now I'm an *************** (25) year participant so in my job as *************** Representative for *******************, its my responsibility to make important life changing events.  Thus I pay attention to all detail.  The fact is that 1. I did ask AAA about classic car coverage, in detail, and was told AAA did have repair facilities for my classic cars or, if I chose, I could go to my own repair facility.   When my 57 was side swiped, I did chose to have a AAA facility repair my car.  But.  Was then told AAA does not have a repair facility for classic cars.  Now even ***************' statement implies I was mislead.

       Next. When I spoke to ******************************* about where to take my 57, that's when I was informed that AAA did not have a repair facility so I'd have to chose my own and AAA would cover the cost.  So. I asked her about one repair facility I'd heard about.  ************.   Her answer to me was "I've known these people since they were kids.  They do great work.".   I replied at the time, that I felt confident with her opinion of this shop.   But now, well over 4 years later, not only is my car destroyed because the shop let it sit for 4 plus years and never completed the job, but AAA washed their hands of the whole situation, stating I chose the shop.   The shop actually did body damage and interior damage while there and AAA did actually pay for partial damage.  But not all.  I feel I"ve been absolutely taken to the cleaners because of the lack of information by AAA's salesteam.  

      I understand now that AAA does not have their own classic car facility, but not when I first bought my policy years ago.  So no.  I'm not satisfied with Mr. ****** statement and even the head of AAA just wrote me with their reasoning, stating I chose the shop on my own.  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/27/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On August 7, 2023, I wanted to purchase home insurance on one of my properties. I paid $125 for a down payment and then $99 for renters insurance. The following day I had a call the agent and canceled. The agent, *********************** reassured me I would be reimbursed my payments and over a month after and 20 calls, the refuses to send back my payment.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/19/2023

  Please accept our apologies for any frustration you experienced regarding your RDP and renter's insurance policies. ******************************* contacted you on September 27, 2023, to address your concerns regarding the cancellation of your policies directly. ************************ submitted another request to backdate the cancellation of your policies to the inception date, August 8, 2023. On October 4, 2023, **************************** request was completed, and the cancellations were backdated to the inception date of your policies. Our records indicate a $91 refund for your renter's insurance policy was mailed October 11, 2023. Additionally, refunds totaling $125 for your RDP policy were mailed on October 4, 2023 ($35), October 7, 2023 ($87), and October 17, 2023 ($3). Currently, your policies have been cancelled as requested and the appropriate refunds have been issued. If you have any questions, please contact ******************** Manager, *************************************** at **************.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/27/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am a loyal AAA member for over 44 years, and I want to file a complaint against AAA, including its representatives *********************************** and *************************, his manager. The representative moved forward with an automobile insurance claim that I never approved nor authorized. Indeed, I never filed a claim with AAA, which was actually submitted to AAA by a rental car company. I filed a claim with my credit card company, which includes auto rental collision damage waiver coverage. The representative does not understand his fiduciary duty to a client that has been with AAA for 44 years, and not to an outside party. If the representative, and therefore AAA, is working on behalf of the rental car company, then this would be a major conflict of interest and would have serious repercussions. Clearly, the representative did not act in the best interest of the client, and his manager failed to supervise him. Given that I did not file nor authorize a claim with AAA, I should not be responsible for any charges, deductibles or payments to AAA.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/26/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I got my car stolen back on August 16, 2023. I paid my insurance before it got stolen. I had called customer service numerous times asking when I am going to get my refund money back because I don't own a car. I have been given the round around with these people. I would like to get my money refunded back that I am entitled.