# I Was Quietly Fired As An AAA Auto Club Customer **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 22, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199 "2024-06-22T14:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/121 "2024-06-25T22:07:53Z")
Have the various clubs _ever_ said that they don’t like people thinking of them as one organization? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/122 "2024-06-25T22:10:02Z")
I don’t know, but I’m guessing a major selling point for AAA is that ‘_you’ll be covered as you drive from state to state._’ So they definitely would NOT want potential customers to think in terms of bounded coverage, differing in the dozens of regional clubs into which the USA is divided. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/123 "2024-06-25T22:13:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Well, if they don’t want to have a reputation as a national organization, they could _drop the American Automobile Association name_ and instead each regional club could market itself separately. Every communication I have ever gotten from them including what is written on my card is American Automobile Association of Southern California. In honesty I never thought much about how the different regions are linked but I think it’s a bit much to say that they are being deceptive. I knew if I moved to Maine that it would be a different entity getting paid. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/124 "2024-06-25T23:34:28Z")
Since the OP won’t satisfy our curiosity, I’ll submit my guess for what happened: the autopay failed for some reason, and the OP missed the notification. Notifications are easy to miss - they might go to spam, or people thinks it’s some sales pitch and delete it without reading. Autopay failing is by far the #1 cause of cancellations for things like this, whether it’s insurance policies, membership dues, subscriptions, whatever. People’s credit cards expire and they forget to update the expiration date for the new card. Their card number was stolen, so they got a new card but forgot to update it everywhere. A bad algorithm triggered the automatic fraud detectors at the credit card company or bank. Then when the autopay fails, the membership is automatically cancelled. The OP tries to pay the non-existent invoice, and it fails because there’s no active membership. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/125 "2024-06-25T23:46:42Z")
I find it hard to believe that the organization didn’t notify the OP (that the autopay failed and their membership would expire, and then that it was about to expire, that it expired, that it expired last month but you can still renew here, etc.) My understanding is that it’s really hard to get new subscribers so companies and organizations go to great lengths to retain the ones they already have. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/126 "2024-06-26T00:35:19Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I don’t know, but I’m guessing a major selling point for AAA is that ‘_you’ll be covered as you drive from state to state._’ You are covered as you drive from state to state. And in Canada. I’m not sure how they are hiding that it’s a federation of local clubs ( like many other organizations from Scouts to the Knights of Columbus to various sports organizations.) But when I go to the AAA website , it asks for my zip code because > AAA/CAA is a federation of regional clubs located throughout North America It’s a good thing I just looked at my card- it expired June 1 and I haven’t gotten new ones. Apparently it’s all digital now - I’m sure they told me they were no longer sending hard copies but I’m also sure my husband just saw that it was renewal time and didn’t read any further. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/127 "2024-06-26T00:42:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I find it hard to believe that the organization didn’t notify the OP (that the autopay failed and their membership would expire, and then that it was about to expire, that it expired, that it expired last month but you can still renew here, etc.) Yeah, I’ve often forgotten to change an expired card for an online subscription, but I _always_ gotten either an email or a text (or both) that the payment failed. And I get tons of reminders from AAA for everything. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/128 "2024-06-26T01:15:40Z")
We found that the California AAA that had offered excellent efficient service to us for forty years was utterly different from the disorganized hapless mess that calls itself AAA in Massachusetts. After several years of struggling with them we quit. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/129 "2024-06-26T01:28:21Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I’m not sure how they are hiding that it’s a federation of local clubs ( like many other organizations from Scouts to the Knights of Columbus to various sports organizations.) But when I go to the AAA website , it asks for my zip code because It’s not unlike Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is not one single entity, but a set of regional (mostly state-level) companies, which provide services to people in their areas, but have a level of coordination between them, and provide reciprocal coverage to BCBS members from other areas when they travel. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/130 "2024-06-26T01:52:14Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Yeah, I’ve often forgotten to change an expired card for an online subscription, but I _always_ gotten either an email or a text (or both) that the payment failed. Agreed, if this is the reason for the cancellation, the OP was definitely notified. But not everyone reads their emails as thoroughly as you. It is easy to delete ones that appear to be sales pitches. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/131 "2024-06-26T02:37:52Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > It’s a good thing I just looked at my card- it expired June 1 and I haven’t gotten new ones. Apparently it’s all digital now If I remember right from the last time I was on the website—and I certainly might not, or they might have changed it—you can request hard-copy cards (sent through the mail or electronically for you to print out), but they won’t send them automatically. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/132 "2024-06-26T02:53:58Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > This isn’t correct. I’m a AAA member. I’ve never had to put in the make, model or year cars that I own. In fact the membership is tied to me personally not my vehicles. Just to add, this is completely correct. The OP’s assumptions are wrong, and are based on guesses, not on factual information. I have recently used AA A (actually my provincial version) to tow a 58 year old car that had been in storage - towed it to a garage to get it started properly - drained the gas, rebuilt the carb etc. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/133 "2024-07-03T19:49:51Z")
> [@digs](#): > > This had become my favorite soap opera, but it’s become too suspenseful. I keep checking back to see if AAA would apologize, or reply with a recording of Maggie Smith intoning “We just don’t think you’re _our_ kind of people…” > > How about it, @2outta3 ? Maybe a quick call, or take thirty seconds to email them one sentence? > > Some of us don’t do well with suspense! It’s not just an inability to deal with suspense. If it happened to the OP, it could happen to any one of us. Since @2outta3 put it out there and is the only one who is in a position to clear up the mystery, they kinda owe it to us to at least investigate, even if it’s just a token attempt. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/134 "2024-07-03T23:19:00Z")
Closed on July 3, 2024, 11:19pm UTC ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199/135 "2024-07-03T23:19:32Z")
I think it’s clear the OP doesn’t want to return, and we are now beating a dead horse. I’m closing this thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-quietly-fired-as-an-aaa-auto-club-customer/1003199.md?page=6)