AAA Promises to Probe Road Service Scam

Recently I wrote an item about how an AAA road service operator I encountered was pushing a particularly grimy little scam, deliberately flubbing the jump-start that I needed and trying to sell me a starter that I did not.

Today I got a call from an AAA member services representative, who told me that the tow operator will be contacted about this. According to this gent, Jeff Hottensen, AAA takes such things seriously, and recently ousted two Suffolk County tow operators for the same reason. He said that the amount of payments tow operators receive is decreased, based on the complaints received.

But there are very few tow operators in Manhattan, and I doubt very much that AAA is going to sever its connection with the one that tried to scam me. So forwarned is forearmed: The name of the tow operator is Tows R Us, on West 39th Street in Manhattan.

If AAA says, "We're sending a truck from Tows 'R Us," tell 'em, "No, you're not."

Tows R Us is a big outfit--I just happened to see one of its tow trucks today. Its website is here. Note the prominent AAA logo.

Moral of the story: do not ever let an AAA tow operator tow you back to his shop for repairs.

© 2009 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.