Roadside Assistance: Who Ya Gonna Call?

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Roadside Assistance: Who Ya Gonna Call?

Knowing the details of your roadside assistance program pays off when you're stranded and need help fast. | March 18, 2010 | AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety

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jroihl

We recently switched from many trouble free years with AAA to AARP (AllState) to save a bit. I locked my keys (and my phone and wallet with membership card) in my car in the underground garage of our public library. I borrowed a library phone to call AARP. I was on the phone with them for 20 min as they searched for my membership number under name, phone, address, but for unknown reason were unable to find my account and thus would not honor my membership but agreed to send "someone" and gave me the name of the company.

With no phone I could not be called in the garage where it was extremely cold and the library was about to close. It turned out the women who was unable to find my membership had not relayed that I was in the garage and the "locksmith" was waiting out front. Once discovered he drove down in a totally unmarked truck with no uniform. When i asked what company he was from he named a different one from what AARP told me.

He did not have the proper equipment but used something hand made like a coat hanger. Meanwhile the garage had emptied. Then he told me it would be $170+!!! and wanted cash. I am a 72 yo woman and did not chose to confront him . I did tell him I did not carry that kind of cash so he produced a credit card form but no proper way to run my card. Meanwhile the heavy metal grated door closed on us.

I later found it would open when approached from the inside but did not know that at the time. When I reached my husband later he called AARP and they found my membership immediately but too late. They refunded $120 of the $170+ after many phone calls. No apology. No account fo the women I originally spoke with through they told me they identified her.

Needless to say, we are returning to AAA . Who always took our word if the card was locked in the car and we produced it once unlocked.

skljajic

My battery was flat on Monday, Oct 17, 2011. I am a member since 2009. Called "Allstate" for assistance. They said they will be there in like 45 minutes. Hour and a half later they call again to have me complete a survey about how great their assistance was. The problem was - no one ever came! And I was in an urban area (Ft Lauderdale!). Fortunately one of the drivers passing by stopped and I was able to start my car. Allstate Roadside Assistance - we are done! I am not paying you a penny anymore. You just care of taking money from me... when I needed you I WASN'T in your GOOD HANDS!

texizz

I recently renewed a contract with AARP Roadside assistance. The first year of the contract I had no vehicle problems, therefore needed no services from AARP. Shortly after my recent renewal I needed a jump start at my home in rural Mississippi. When I called AARP they advised me that they had no one under contract in my aera. That left me to take care of this myself. I have canceled my useless contract with AARP. I had the same type of problem with two cell phones from AARP. Neither phone worked in my area. I now have a Jitterbug phone that works EVERYWHERE. I am finished with AARP!

shiftmyown

For the second time in less than two months, my family has been denied assistance by AAA, despite membership having been properly paid. The first time my daughter was left locked out of her car in a not-so-savory neighborhood. AAA said her membership was no longer valid because the person who had given her the membership was no longer a member. That's B.S. Her membership was paid and had not yet expired. Now I'm left paying for a tow because AAA charged $79 for membership to my credit card but insists I never paid. "Well, the billed amount was $78, and you're saying you were charged $79. That $79 charge must be for something else you bought from AAA." No, our memberships were the only things purchased. AAA then told me to get certain information from the credit card company and they could straighten it out. I got what AAA asked, then AAA said I had to wait until I received a statement by mail from my credit card company so AAA could see the information in print. Sure, I'll just drive down in the car that isn't working because you wouldn't tow it. My statement may not arrive for days. My only choice: Ask my credit card company to refund the charge, which it agreed to do when I explained what happened, and pay for the tow myself, then put it through my insurance carrier. "How can they say you didn't pay?" the credit card assistant asked. Just really not very bright, I guess. I can't help but wonder where that extra $1 went - the difference between what I owed and what I was charged. It's not much money, but do that 2,000 or 3,000 times and somebody's got a nice little sum. So after 24 years, my wife has had to say goodbye to AAA, whose service has just disappeared. Anyone have a recommendation on a replacement service?

forthefree

Good day to all of you, I wanted to post a complaint and a WARINIG in regards to Allstate Motor Club.

I was a member in good standing with a Platinum Elite membership, which allows me unlimited tow and use of other services. Unfortunately, I used the service twelve times in two years and that is when I received the dooms day letter. I tried to address this issue to no avail. The funny thing is that I informed Allstate Motor Club that I have a very long commute to work over ninety-five miles one-way. Therefore, I need a service that I can use if my vehicle broke down. Unaware of the limitations of my membership I received a letter from Allstate Motor Club Loss Control Dept stating that I had excessive usage and therefore they had to cancel my membership. So, after several calls into customer service I realized that one, Loss Control Dept was a ghost department with very little access to the public and unlimited actually meant to the discretion of the company.

Therefore, I decided to inform the public when dealing with Allstate Motor club caveat emptor- “Let the buyer beware”.

bpeifer

Like "shiftmyown" who posted earlier, I was also denied service by AAA. I had the AAA Plus membership. My membership has been paid properly for 12 years. My car broke down on the left side of a very busy highway, when I called for service they required an additional $41.00 above and beyond my already paid membership fee. For that additional $41.00 they would tow my car 5 miles. After the 5 miles I would have to pay more money to the tune of $3.50 a mile. I guess the close to $100.00 a year membership fee for 12 years without needing their service for many years wasn't enough free money for them. Well, now they won't get any more of my money. They would not help me out when I needed it and I will not support their scam any longer. I have canceled my membership and am currently in search of a new company. My advice to as many people as I can tell is DON'T USE AAA! They will take your money and leave you stranded.

legacyinc

AAA is a great company for Roadside assistace. I know a lot of people that love AAA but I found them to be very limiting on their coverage. My family has now switched from Allstate to progressive and added the best Roadside assistace membership to our arsenal.

legacyinc

Great article on Roadside assistace. I have regular insurance but I have an additional Roadside assistace membership that gives me $150,000 in coverage for only $19.95 you should check it out!

danielabernath

MY MULTIPLE ABUSES AT THE GOOD HANDS OF ALLSTATE
My vehicle need a jump. I called the Allstate people and they dispatched some independent contractor. He came out to the lonely country road and said YOU OWE ME MORE MONEY. Call Allstate! I said I already paid for the call. What he was going on about was that he wanted me to pay an earlier call that Allstate made to him but cancelled. I refused. Overnight when the vehicle was parked some thief stole one of the RV batteries. He looked at it and said "I'm outta here." I said, hey, drive me to an auto parts store. He said "no way." I said, "you're going to leave me in the middle of nowhere-a fellow human being?" He said "I don't think Allstate will fire me because I do." He then cursed at me and said that even though I paid Allstate $50 for the jump that he only got EIGHT BUCKS of that. He then peeled out and the dirt and the gravel hit my pants.
I then walked about 2 miles to a real estate office and called AllState again. I said what happened and Allstate informed me that I would get no refund as he actually came out to me and then told me to go to hell.
I then told the man that I had a 6 wheel vehicle with an empty shell on the back. He then said he would send a truck to tow me to an auto parts store.
The tow bed truck shows up an hour late and the man says "I'm not going to put that on the truck. It's too heavy." i said, Its just a Ford 450 with an empty shell on the back" He got into his truck and drove away. I then walked another two miles and found a local to drive me to an auto parts store where I got two new batteries and she started up.
So there you go-YOU may pay $75 for the service but ALLSTATE pays them $8 so then don't give a damn about you at all. I told Allstate that they don't give a damn about Allstate's customers and Allstate said "well, they skip having to pay advertising costs to get customers so we are not being unfair."
So if you would like the same kick in the [non-permissible content removed] that I got from Allstate and its TWO towing contractors then go ahead and give them your money. Otherwise, go with Good Sam or AAA. If it looks too good to be true-it is. BTW, the credit card company said they will be pleased to take these two charges off of my credit card bill as they did not provide services as promised.

puff

I paid the extra amount to add roadside assistance onto my USAA car insurance policy for three years without needing the service. When I finally did call for a dead battery jump, USAA used the roadside assistance request as justification to increase my insurance coverage rate by more than $30/month. Turns out most insurance companies seem to do this -- a roadside assistance call, even if no tow is required, counts as much as a major auto accident in causing them to increase your insurance cost. Since the credit card I use most is also with USAA, it's just safer to cut them completely out of the picture where any roadside assistance needs are concerned. If they know about it, they use it against you.

Jake35

If the reports I've been reading are at all accurate none of the "roadside assistance" plans are any good.