I've been a member of Good Sam for many years and I never had a bad experience until a couple of weeks ago.I was in Orlando with my motor home and fell ill. I am a 100% disabled veteran. I had to be flown home due to that illness. I left my coach in Orlando.My son went down and picked it up for me and while driving it back he lost the brakes. That isn't the problem. I called Good Sam and they dispatched a mechanic to my coach. The company Good Sam uses there called me. I explained the situation and was going to give him my credit card information. He told me he would not take "over the phone" credit card information. He said he would email me a contract to sign and return with payment.So, the mechanic arrives and the brakes are fine. The mechanic checked fluids and declaired it ok. So, I had given my son and daughter-in-law my credit card information prior to me calling Good Sam. But I was told they would not take it unless they had the card in hand.Well, the mechamic took the information from my son and hit my card for $560.00 for 30 minutes work. Good Sam paid for service. Meanwhile I get an email reciept for the $560.00 instead of a contract. I emailed the service provider and told him I did not authorize that charge on my credit card. he emailed back and said if I canx it through my credit card company he would have me arrested and charged with a felony crime.I sent all the emails with the threats to Good Sam. At this point I don't know what to do. Good Sam's staff got the provider to offer a $107.00 credit but the provider started playing games again and I finally authorized the full $560.00 so I wouldn't be arrested.I can't believe Good Sam would use service providers that threaten disabled / senior citizens to get outragous amounts of money from them. Most of the customers that use Good Sam are elderly. I feel like I was bullied, intimidated and threatened with a felony arrest if I didn't pay them money.That is NOT the Good Sam Roadside Assistance that I have had in the past. This particuar event was the worst thing I have ever gone through with any roadside service.

You are not a senior/disabled citizen. You are a customer. Welcome to today business model. You should have taken the $453 offer. Seems about fair for a road trip and mechanic work for a minimum of an hours mechanic time.

bgum wrote:You are not a senior/disabled citizen. You are a customer. Welcome to today business model. You should have taken the $453 offer. Seems about fair for a road trip and mechanic work for a minimum of an hours mechanic time.I did accept the offer and then they began jerking me around. I don't mind paying a fair price. However, I never authorized the charge on my credit card to begin with. Nobody from the company called and told me how much is was and asked if they could charge my card.No worries, they got the whole $560.00 they wanted

Thank you for the post, PortWentworthSam. My name is Frank and I am a member of the Good Sam Roadside Assistance Headquarters Team. I would like the opportunity to speak with you concerning your questions. I have sent you a PM requesting your Good Sam Roadside Assistance membership number and contact information: telephone number and e-mail. I will contact you, and I look forward to speaking with you. Thank you for your membership.

While I do not like Companies threatening me, I also make sure I know what I am paying for before I pay it. I am little confused on how they were able to get your card number. You said they would not take it from you, nor would they take it from your son and daughter in-law, but somehow the provider got it. I would never give anyone my CC Number unless I knew what I was paying for, and due to the rampant fraud these days, I would not take one from anyone who did not have ID and the physical card, I know here they will not do it unless you are a company. I have used a mobile mechanic, they do have a minimum on-site charge, which was explained to me when they arrived, as well as the hourly rate and any parts cost when he needed them. Unfortunately you are at the mercy of the actual service provider when you go that route. Always ask for an estimate upfront before they do any work.

With all due respect, it is your son you should be upset with. He gave the provider the credit card number but failed to get the amount of the charge. Or if he did know how much the charges were, he should have at least contacted you to get your approval before signing off on the charge. Perhaps GoodSam will provide some assistance, but I don't see why they should.

Serious issue with Good Sam Roadside Assistance

17 Replies

PortWentworthSa
Explorer
Jul 23, 2014
wbwood wrote:
PortWentworthSam wrote:

The issue is not with Good Sam so I don't expect them to do anything. My issue is with the service provider that told me in advance he would not take a credit card over the phone.

But you title this posting as "Serious Issue with Good Sam Roadside Assistance".

And by the way, he can not have you arrested for having your credit card cancel the charge. It's not a felony. He can take you to court for it. But you will not be arrested. Thank you for your service. But as a veteran myself, please don't try to play the "I'm a disable veteran" card. I work with many folks and know others who are considered "disabled". If you are bad off enough to play the card, then you should not be driving such a huge rig. Sorry that you got ill. Hope everything is ok with you. You might want to consider Good SAMs service that they have for when you do get sick and have to be flown somewhere. I do believe they also make arrangements with your rv. I would at least look into it.

Thank you for your information. I am looking into the provision you speak of with Good Sam and will be getting it. I did not know they offered such a service until this happened.

As far as me driving such a huge rig goes, my coach is only a 31 footer and very easy to drive. Well, at least that's what my wife says as she does the driving. She is also retired military and can drive anything.

I am feeling much better. Thank you for your concern. Actually felling better than I have in years. I had a heart attack in Orlando and had stints put in. The Doc in Orlando thought it best I fly, not drive back home. So I did and I'm glad I listened to him.

As far as my title of the post goes, I did have serious problems with Good Sam's Roadside Assistance. They sent these people to my coach. However, as you can see from my previous post Good Sam stepped up and took care of the problem. For that I am thankful.

Also, the threat was made in writing and forwarded to Good Sam by me. It isn't the validity of his threat but the fact he used that type of tactic while representing Good Sam. That's why I insisted all communications between myself and Orlando Emergency Roadside Service be via email instead of on the phone. That way I had a record of what was actually said. And yes, Good Sam has my emails to him as well.

Sorry if you are offended by stating the fact I am a Disabled Veteran. I don't consider that playing a "card" just as I don't consider anyone stating they are a Senior Citizen playing a "Senior Citizen Card".
wbwood
Explorer
Jul 23, 2014
PortWentworthSam wrote:

The issue is not with Good Sam so I don't expect them to do anything. My issue is with the service provider that told me in advance he would not take a credit card over the phone.

But you title this posting as "Serious Issue with Good Sam Roadside Assistance".

And by the way, he can not have you arrested for having your credit card cancel the charge. It's not a felony. He can take you to court for it. But you will not be arrested. Thank you for your service. But as a veteran myself, please don't try to play the "I'm a disable veteran" card. I work with many folks and know others who are considered "disabled". If you are bad off enough to play the card, then you should not be driving such a huge rig. Sorry that you got ill. Hope everything is ok with you. You might want to consider Good SAMs service that they have for when you do get sick and have to be flown somewhere. I do believe they also make arrangements with your rv. I would at least look into it.
PortWentworthSa
Explorer
Jul 23, 2014
winnietrey wrote:
Did he explain what his rate was, call time etc ? Or did he just jump to I am going to have you arrested. If the latter I suspect he is a bit of a shark, and knows what to say to an out of towner to get the bill paid.

As a side note it would be interesting for you to call around and see if what he charged you is the fair and going rate.

I can tell you from the prospective of a small business man we get very tired of people not paying their bills. They will have every excuse under the sun.

Perhaps this has happened many times to your guy and that is the reason he played hardball. I think you should look at it from his side as well. Espically if the charges were ligit and the going rate

I can report that according to this email I received the following:
(in part)

"Orlando emergency road service has been deactivated for future use".

I am in charge of the network of providers for Good Sam and work with Brandi at the dispatch center.

Thank you,

Tony Garcia

Fortunately, I had all the email conversations between myself and Orlando Emergency Road Service in which the threats were made. I was able to provide Good Sam with those emails to back my claims.

My main concern in this whole issue was NOT the $560.00 as much as it was the tactics used by the provider of the service. The important thing is all of this is Good Sam saw what had happened and how one of their customers was treated by a provider of service and took the needed action.

Orlando Emergency Road Service got my money but they lost a tremendous amount of future revenue from Good Sam in the Orlando area. I doubt they think it was worth it now.

I want to thank

Frank Stofa,
Senior Program Coordinator, Roadside Assistance & TravelAssist

and

Tony Garcia
Allstate Roadside Service
(who is in charge of the network providers for Good Sam)

These two individuals saw to it that the customers who depend on Good Sam during their RV Travels are not subjected to the type of threats and bully tactics by a provider.

I have been with Good Sam for over 10 years and will stay with them.
This proves to me and should prove to everyone else that Good Sam demands their customers be treated fairly, professionaly and most of all honestly by their providers. It should also prove to everyone that if you have a legitimate complaint with a Good Sam service provider that Good Sam will listen, evaluate and make a just decission quickly.
winnietrey
Explorer
Jul 22, 2014
Did he explain what his rate was, call time etc ? Or did he just jump to I am going to have you arrested. If the latter I suspect he is a bit of a shark, and knows what to say to an out of towner to get the bill paid.

As a side note it would be interesting for you to call around and see if what he charged you is the fair and going rate.

I can tell you from the prospective of a small business man we get very tired of people not paying their bills. They will have every excuse under the sun.

Perhaps this has happened many times to your guy and that is the reason he played hardball. I think you should look at it from his side as well. Espically if the charges were ligit and the going rate
PortWentworthSa
Explorer
Jul 22, 2014
In the end the provider of the service got all his money. The motorhome is in the shop being checked out. My only beef at this point is with the tactics used by the provider supplied by Good Sam.

For those that have posted here believing it is my fault this went down the way it did that is your opinion and I respect that. Let's just say I hope you NEVER breaj down in Orlando and Good Sam sends out "Orlando Emergency Roadside Service" to you. Then you will know what I had to deal with.
winnietrey
Explorer
Jul 21, 2014
Bigger issue, maybe, "your son lost the breaks". But all was declared fine.
Brakes rarely cure themselves. Sticking caliper maybe? I would sure have them gone through. If it happened once, chances are high it will happen again. Once they cool down they can seem fine, but they are not, in most cases
bgum
Explorer
Jul 21, 2014
You use the term "contract" do you mean bill. Most of these outfits call for "payment due when services rendered." If you can't pay at that time then your rig is impounded until the bill is paid. He did you a favor by taking your card. It sounds like you threatned the provider. You said you would cancel the payment and he "informed" you that he would file charges with the police. I would suggest next time that you get an estimate of the charges prior to giving anyone authority to do the work and a full amount of charges before giving you credit card informatioon. The fact that you provided your credit card information is defacto authorization. He can't charge your card if he doesn't have your information.
TinyoneRV
Explorer
Jul 21, 2014
I'm sorry this happened to you; however roadside service is expensive in most cases. I'm also afraid you did verbally approve the charge. I don't like this any better than you; howeve, I think you're out the dollars in this case.
PortWentworthSa
Explorer
Jul 21, 2014
Jack_Diane_Freedom wrote:
If you or someone else gave them the CC number then that is all the authorization they need. If you did not want it authorized how/who gave them the CC number? It seems to me that you 'authorized' your son to give them the CC number and approval.

Had the owner/dispatcher not said "I will not take a credit card over the phone" I would agree. Therefore the CC issue was off the table at that point. He was to send me a contract to sign and return with payment.

Yes, I gave my son the credit card info over the phone PRIOR to me calling Good Sam. But the owner/dispatcher said he would not accept it. I didn't bother to tell my son that because I was to get a contract. Yes, my son gave the info to the mechanic. However, I did not approve the charges and he didn't sign anything.

My frustration is not with the CC issue as much as it is with the threats of felony arrest by the service provider if I disputed the charges. I did finally "authorize" the original $560.00 due to the stress these providers put me through and my health.
Jack_Diane_Free
Explorer
Jul 21, 2014
If you or someone else gave them the CC number then that is all the authorization they need. If you did not want it authorized how/who gave them the CC number? It seems to me that you 'authorized' your son to give them the CC number and approval.

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Serious issue with Good Sam Roadside Assistance

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