October 2022 by Rob Petkoff
About 1700 on August 25, 2022 Steven Putnam (insured by AAA) ran a stop sign going west bound on NE Roanoke Drive where it intersects with NE Adam’s Dairy Road (ADR) in Blue Springs, MO. I was stationary going southbound on ADR and he did severe damage to the front of my pickup. No one was seriously hurt, so we exchanged insurance information, got witness info from another vehicle at the intersection, and left. Later that evening, my truck refused to start and the next day was towed to Molle Chevrolet in Blue Springs, MO.On August 26, I contacted AAA, Mr. Putnam’s insurance company, to request a rental car. They deferred a decision on the rental car until they could investigate. Huge inconvenience since the only other transportation I had at the time was my Harley. A full week later, on September 2, 2022, AAA finally admitted fault, and agreed to provide a rental car. AAA informed me that the rental MUST be returned by Monday September 12th. I returned the car at that time. Originally AAA “totaled” my truck, but after I sent Claims Representative Joe Delaney a spreadsheet and invoice pictures of all the upgrades, replacements, and specialty items added to my truck for private investigator work, AAA changed it’s mind.On September 2, the AAA adjuster, Meagan Pearson, or Jessica Vanderpool (it’s unclear in the paperwork) sent an estimate to Molle for $2,564.50 for repairs. It did not include a lot of the damage on the truck, nor did it authorize repairs.On September 13, I received a voicemail from Joe Delaney that AAA agreed to repair the truck.I did not receive anything in writing. Then AAA ghosted me.On September 26, I left a message for Meagan (the claims adjuster) but she was out of the office. On September 27th, I received a voicemail from “Melissa” in reply to my message for Meagan. I called her back, but no answer, so I left another message.On September 28th, I received another voicemail from Melissa stating that it was “taken care of.” Then AAA ghosted me again.Since then I have repeatedly left messages for the AAA contacts that I have, but none of them return my calls or emails.Today, October 6, 2022, 42 days after their insured hit me, I received a call from Molle wanting to know what to do with the truck. I went by, discussed it with them, and told them to fix it. Even without written authorization from AAA, I cannot go on forever without a surveillance vehicle. Based on the terrible customer service I’ve received so far, I’m betting that AAA will try extremely hard to get out of paying to fix all of the damage (front end, suspension, engine, etc.) It’s a shame Mr Putnam, and the general public, doesn’t know how AAA treats people injured by their insured drivers. They’re going to know now, every chance I get to post it or bring it up, for at least the next 30 years.
