I called AAA for a tow truck at 9:30AM on the morning of February 15th. I was told that a truck would be there to pick my car up by 10:45. Once 11:30 rolled around and there was still no truck, I called back into AAA to find out how much longer I was going to have to sit on the side of the road and wait in the bitter cold. I was then told that a truck would be there no later than 12:15. I called back into AAA two more times that morning until my car and I were finally picked up at 1:45 that afternoon, more than 4 hours after I placed my original call to AAA.
While this was a pain, it was by no means the worst part of my experience. I was having my car towed from the side of the road where it broke down, 10.3 miles to my mechanic. Once we arrived at my mechanic, the tow truck driver refused to go up to the shop because the gravel drive still had snow stuck to the stones from the storm we had had a few days prior. When I called AAA that morning there was a recording saying that the driveways had to be plowed and passable. This drive was both. There had been multiple tow trucks in and out of it throughout the day all with out any kind of problem.
Only thinking about how to make his next dollar, the tow truck driver wanted to drop my car in the middle of a street without any shoulders so that he could move onto his next tow. Not only would my car have gotten hit if he did this, but it is also highly illegal to drop a car in the middle of a lane of traffic. With no other option I told him to take it an additional 3.7 miles to a local park and ride, which was the only safe place to drop my car.
Upon arriving at the park and ride the driver quickly unloaded my car and proceded to call into AAA so that I could pay the bill with my debit card. He had still not given me a total for the trip, mileage wise or in the amount of money I owed. I gave the woman from AAA my debit card number and expected someone to then tell me how much was being charged to my account. She gave me a mileage but no dollar amount. The driver then quickly told me I was free to go with my roommate who had come to pick me up. Again I was not given a amount being charged to my account and when I asked he came up with a figure of $76.
I have basic AAA which covers the first 3 miles of towing and then any additional miles are $4 a mile. $76 is 19 miles of towing. My car had only moved a total of 14 miles, the first 3 of which should have been free and the later 3.7 were forced by the driver when he started to get out of the truck to drop my car in the middle of the street. This leaves 7.3 miles of towing that I had requested and should have had to pay for which would have cost me $28 not $76.
When I got back to my mechanic's, who happen to be friends of mine, to leave them keys I called AAA to complain about my horrible service. After speaking to three levels of supervisors I spoke to a woman who told me that I would not have to pay the $76 but that my bill would be reduced to $20 because that is much closer to what it should have been, and to make up for my inconvenience. She also told me that if I put the keys back with my car that they would send out another truck and take my car to my mechanic free of charge.
I got a call around 8:45 that night telling me that my car was at my mechanic. They also asked me how I was going to be paying for the charges for the second truck, which they claimed towed my truck 6 miles, the trip is only 3.7miles. I explainded that when I talked to someone earlier that they said this tow would be free since it was not my fault that the did not arrive at its destination the first time and that I would not be paying for this tow. The woman on the phone said that she understood and to have a good night.
The next morning I wake up to a phone call from my mechanic telling me to call AAA again. They had dropped my car at the bottom of his uphill drive and the only thing he could do with it was to push it into the street so that they could access the shop. AAA had never told me that the car was being dropped at the bottom of the drive, they led me to believe that my car was up at the garage.
That morning I called AAA again and they sent someone out immediately to get my car before it was hit by oncoming traffic, but again refused to take it up the drive to the shop. This tow truck then took my car back to the park and ride where it still sits 2 days later.
To make matters worse, I logged on to my online banking to find that my account had been over drawn by a charge from AAA for $76. When I called AAA about this they said that they would have to look into it which could take up to 10 business days. This charge that was supposted to only be $20 has now cost me a total of $116 between the charge and the over draft fees that I have incurred because of it. On top of this I am having to miss additional internship days, which I am required to complete for school, as well as many more days of work then I would have had to.
The fact that my car is still not at the mechanic on the 17th has caused great delays in getting it repaired. I have never before had such a horrible experience with a company
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