AAA Insurance/Travel Office would NOT give me my spouse's (our?) registration sticker

[dibbons]

To avoid the long lines at the California Department of Motor Vehicles, I visited one of the AAA member offices. I (and my spouse) have the preferred road assistance plan (first 200 miles of towing are free). We also have five vehicles under the AAA vehicle insurance program.

One of the vehicles is in my wife's name only, the other four vehicles have both names. Well, I went in to pay the registration for the two vehicles that were due, one vehicle had both names and the other vehicle only had my wife's name on the current registration card.

I presented the two DMV renewal forms we received in the mail at our home address. I presented the AAA insurance form showing both our names and the five vehicles insured at our home address. I showed my California driver's license with our home address. I showed my current/valid AAA road assistance card.

I was told I would be given the registration/license plate sticker for the vehicle registered with both names. I was told the registration card and license plate sticker would be mailed to our home address for the second vehicle because it was registered under my spouse's name only.

I immediately asked for a supervisor, who stood her ground like the Rock of Gibraltar and insisted they were very strict about following DMV regulations and that was that. So I walked out mad as hell like a little kid who could not get his way, refusing to pay for either one.

 

[Abodybomber]

............

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Some rules/laws just don't make sense. But why not ad yourself (with your wife) on the one vehicle your not on? Or make her get her own renewal.

 

[Abodybomber]

Some rules/laws just don't make sense. But why not ad yourself (with your wife) on the one vehicle your not on? Or make her get her own renewal.

Actually, you make a good point . Agreed , and backtracking previously stupid statement. Still too much B S , SG 'Cuda...

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Actually, you make a good point . Agreed , and backtracking previously stupid statement. Still too much B S , SG 'Cuda...

After fighting insurance companies, and stupid rules, getting pissed off,trying to get my needed back surgery approved ( which I still have not had) I learned to play the game and try and remain calm. TRY

 

[Abodybomber]

After fighting insurance companies, and stupid rules, getting pissed off,trying to get my needed back surgery approved ( which I still have not had) I learned to play the game and try and remain calm. TRY

I understand , my third time round , effed 'em off, for my car insurance.. They blow ...

 

[dibbons]

Update: What a difference a day makes. I drove from Salinas, CA (the site of the AAA "incident") to Mill Valley, CA (125 miles north) to help a relative move out of state. I decided to concede and go down to the Mill Valley AAA office, pay the fees for the two vehicle registrations, just keep my mouth shut, follow the stupid DMV "rules", and wait for my spouse's license plate tab/sticker to arrive in the mail.

However, the male clerk who helped me in the Mill Valley AAA office, just processed both registrations the same and gave me both renewal stickers on the spot! Left a very happy camper.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

You just gotta love DMV rules, eh?

 

[MileHighDart]

I'm confused (as usual)

 

[dibbons]

AAA asked me to review my recent visit to their Mill Valley office. Here is what I said:

Went to the Salinas AAA office first. The female clerk and female supervisor at the Salinas branch refused to process the registration renewal for my wife's 1992 Jeep Cherokee. They said they needed to follow some kind of DMV regulation and would have to mail my wife's renewal and license plate sticker to our home address because my name was not listed on the registration. I was VERY upset and perturbed because my own California Driver's license, my wife's registration renewal, and our common AAA automobile insurance certificate (the documents of which I had all placed on the counter in front of them) all list the same common address on Milton Road in Valley Springs, California.

i reminded the supervisor that what she would be doing, in effect, is mailing the paid registration renewal to myself, and being I was standing right there in front of her, that I would rather she hand the renewal card and sticker to me right there and then, in person. But she would rather stand there firm as the Rock and Gibraltar and argue with me, and not see the common sense logic of my "argument". According to her, she had no other option but to follow some kind of DMV laws or regulations. Well, my blood was really boiling at that point. I had not been that upset during my daily life routines in many a moon. I was actually shaking from the adrenaline rush. P.S. i actually had two renewal registrations to pay, and the clerk was going to give me the reg/sticker for the other vehicle, (because my name was listed on the registration card), but I left the office without having paid either one.

When I traveled a couple of days later to Mill Valley, California to help a close relative move some furniture, I passed by another AAA office. I decided to give up the fight, pay for the two registration renewals, pick up the one reg card/sticker and wait for the other reg card/sticker in the mail. However, the very pleasant male clerk in the Mill Valley office processed both of my registration renewals with a smile and handed both of the card/stickers to me in person, without me having to say a word. Needless to say, that experience was a world apart from the "hell" I went through at the Salinas office. I can't tell you how pleased I felt after leaving the Mill Valley office. Now I tell everyone I meet the difference in treatment I received at one office and the other.

My spouse and I have been married for 30 years now this year, and we find it convenient to do favors/errands for one another from time to time. No one I speak with could find the logic in mailing the reg/sticker to me rather than giving the documents to me in person. If there is such a DMV rule/regulation/law, i don't believe it would apply to my case. I consider myself a very law-abiding citizen. As a side note, I was a CHP Officer working in South Los Angeles at one time, badge number #10481. (After my CHP employment, I became a United States Border Patrol Agent in the El Paso, Texas Field Station).

Finally, I hope the clerk that took care of my registration renewals in Mill Valley does not find himself in any trouble for processing my payments (and saving a stamp and envelope in the process). I would rather have someone give the clerk and supervisor in the Salinas AAA office another lesson in customer service. Unfortunately, those wishes are out of my control. Thank you for asking for my opinion of the service I received at your offices this month.

 

[72bluNblu]

While I certainly understand your frustration, I can totally see why they wouldn’t give you the registration for your wife’s car at the first office.

In the eyes of the law, that’s your wife’s car, period. Not yours. Insurance and registration are separate entities, even if you need to prove insurance for your registration, so having both names on the insurance or having the same address isn’t some magic bullet.

Hypothetical situation- you have a deadbeat sister that has lived with you in the past but whom you’ve since kicked out. But she still has documents and ID with your address, and she has the same last name. She no longer shares your address, but she got ahold of last year’s registration documents for your car. Her name is on your insurance, again, she used to live there and you were doing her a favor and have since forgotten or haven’t had the chance to remove her. She goes to AAA, pays the registration on your car because it’s cheaper than hers, takes your sticker, and uses it on her car to keep the cops at bay. And voila, she’s stolen your registration sticker, which will now be a PITA for you to replace. Had they insisted on mailing it to your address, well, you’d have the sticker instead.

No, that’s not a perfect scenario, but how many people have “that relative” that could exploit that situation? I’m sure the criminal element can come up with other ways to exploit that situation somehow too, I just assumed all the ID’s and documentation were valid. With fake documents things could get even further out of hand. Criminals steal credit card numbers all the time, and sometimes it’s something as simple as the bill showing up at the victims address that tips them off because the criminal didn’t have access to change the billing address.

Obviously the customer service approach at the first AAA was wrong, they didn’t handle the situation well and I’ve definitely been in that spot before. Yeah maybe they were technically correct, but they failed from a customer service point of view. But I bet the second AAA office did, at least technically, violate some kind of procedure or maybe even the law. In this case it’s harmless, but that doesn’t mean it always would be.

I’m not on their side, I’m just saying there might be a good reason for that procedure to exist. Or maybe it’s just a dumb rule, but with insurance or government agencies taking stuff personally rarely results in a positive outcome.

 

[dibbons]

Reminds me a little bit of the airline flights I just took this week. They no longer have everyone take their shoes off at inspection points because one in a billion persons may have been trying to sneak on board an ounce of gunpowder. Finally, TSA has come to their senses (or got tired of sniffing smelly feet?).