Automobile Club of Southern California

Review: AAA sold me a bad car battery in 2012 and refused to honor its 3-year replacement warranty when it went dead after 2 years. I was a member of AAA Auto Club which provides roadside emergency services to its members. On 02/29/12, I called AAA because my car battery was dead. A service man came, tested the battery and said I needed to replace it. He had a truck load of batteries. He sold me one & installed it on the spot. The new AAA battery had a 3-year replacement warranty.Two years later on 03/10/14, the AAA battery was dead so I called AAA. A serviceman came to jump-started my car. He tested the battery and said it was good. He said I must have left something on to cause a dead battery.On 04/13/14, the AAA battery was dead again so I called AAA. A serviceman came to jump-started my car. He checked the battery and said it was good. He suspected something wrong with car that caused the battery to drain. On 08/28/14, I took my car to Honda service. They told me that my car had no draining issue and that my battery needed to be replaced. He advised me to call AAA since the battery was still under 3-year warranty. He gave me a printout of the battery test to show AAA.The next day on 08/29/14, I called AAA to report the problem with the battery. The AAA serviceman came and I showed him the printout from [redacted] service. He checked the battery, said it was good and refused to replace it. I called AAA twice to complain about the bad battery and the agent said the manager would get back to me but never did. On 12/02/14, I was stranded in a gas station because the AAA battery was dead after I stopped to put in gas. I called AAA. A serviceman came to jump-started my car. He checked the battery and said it was good therefore he refuse to replace it. The next day on 12/03/14, I took my car to Just Tires to replace the battery since AAA refused to honor its warranty. Just Tires tested the AAA battery and confirmed that it needed to be replaced.

Product_Or_Service: AAA car batteryDesired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Other (requires explanation)

DesiredSettlementID: Refund

I would like a refund of $96 for their bad battery which caused me a lot of troubles (missing appointments) when I was not able to start my car. Also I woud like a refund of $44 for 2014 annual AAA membership fee. My membership provided four free roadside assistance and in 2014 I called them four times due to their bad battery which they refused to replace.

Business

Response:

A review of our

records reflects that you contacted the Automobile Club of Southern California

(Auto Club) on multiple occasions for your 2006 Honda Element, each time for a

dead battery. Most recently, on August 29, 2014, you contacted the Auto Club to

request a battery replacement following test information provided to you by a

representative at a Honda Dealership which indicated that your AAA battery was

bad. A service technician from Classic Club Service, the independent service

provider dispatched to service your request, did not replace the battery as the

result of his own diagnostic test (which indicated that the battery was in good

condition and only required a charge). Additionally, you reported filing a

complaint regarding this matter with the Auto Club and were told by the

representative that someone would contact to you to further discuss your

concerns. Regrettably, you received no follow up from an agent. Due to outcome

of these events, you elected to purchase a new battery from a third party

vendor (Just Tires) on December 3, 2014. On behalf of our entire organization,

we would like to extend our sincerest apologies as we failed to provide you

with a totally satisfying member experience. We highly value your membership

and find it disappointing that your experience fell short of our goal and your

expectations. As such, we have reviewed these events with all parties involved

and have taken the appropriate corrective actions in order to prevent any

recurrence. As discussed with Mr. [redacted] on February 11, 2015, we are

sending a reimbursement check in the amount of $186.30. This amount represents

reimbursement for your annual membership dues, as well as for the amount paid

for a new battery. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. [redacted] at

(800) 974-4099.

Review: Long story short - AAA sold me a bad battery which caused so much wasted time and resources of its own member; misrepresented the product with a bait-and-switch tactic; their battery lasts only enough to force its members to pay more money; the way they calculate the "prorated" charge is plain ridiculous; and finally, when confronted with having to pay for the responsibility, they further wasted time and effort in denying such responsibility showing they really do not care about retaining their members. I will not be renewing and I've lost all confidence in their product and customer service.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of $61.60

Business

Response:

Our records reflect that on January

21, 2013, you contacted the Automobile Club of Southern California (Auto Club)

and purchased a AAA battery for your 2002 Lexus IS300. Since the purchase, you

have contacted the Auto Club on multiple occasions requesting assistance due to

your AAA battery not starting your vehicle, with the battery finally being

replaced under pro-rated warranty on February 10, 2016 at a cost of $61.60. In

your inquiry, you were concerned with how the pro-rated charge is calculated,

that your AAA battery was not replaced during the free replacement period, and

that Auto Club staff did not do more to ensure you were not charged a pro-rated

fee for battery replacement. Please be advised that the pro-rated cost is

calculated using the cost of the original battery ($111.00) divided by 72

months (36 month free replacement warranty and the additional 36 month prorated

warranty) which is $1.54 and multiplied by the total months that the battery

was used (37 months) plus tax (8%) for a total of $61.60. In regards to your

concern that the battery was not replaced sooner, regrettably our investigation

concluded that the battery service technician from [redacted] failed to

replace your AAA battery during the free replacement period on December 16,

2015 when the battery test came back as having a bad cell. In addition, Auto

Club staff failed to verify your previous battery test results on February 10,

2016 which would have allowed for an exception to be made to replace the AAA

battery outside the free replacement period, as the previous test results

indicated that the battery should have been replaced. Based on your experience,

we have reviewed these concerns with all parties involved. [redacted] management has provided

coaching to their battery service technicians regarding battery warranty and

the correct procedures when testing and replacing batteries. Their battery

technicians have received additional training and were counseled on correct

Auto Club battery replacement policy in order to avoid a recurrence. In

addition, our office staff has been counseled on the importance of verifying

previous battery test results in order to resolve live battery warranty

concerns of this nature in the future. Verifying this information over the

phone would have resulted in your not incurring a charge to replace your AAA

battery. On behalf of our entire organization, we extend our sincere apologies

as we failed to provide you with a totally satisfying member experience. As

discussed with Ms. [redacted] on February 17, 2016, we are providing a

reimbursement check in the amount of $61.60, which represents the cost you

incurred to replace the AAA battery on February 10, 2016. In addition, the

battery service calls in question have been removed from your current

membership usage period. If you have any questions, please contact [redacted]

at [redacted]