Company Response
H L Plenge from
Able Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 2/12/2009 11:30:00 AM
We would like to address the points our customer has mentioned in this complaint. The following statement is true to the best of our knowledge as relayed to us by all parties involved:
First, if you have found this website and are researching all the companies that have provided you with a quote to move your vehicle, there's a very high probability that everyone you have been contacted by is a broker. Car Shipping Brokers are a necessity in this industry for many reasons, a few of which I will briefly highlight for you now.
#1 Car Shipping Brokers act as your liaison during the entire moving process. They ensure that whomever your vehicle is shipped by has the necessary Authority to haul your car (as required by law), a good performance record and current/adequate insurance coverage (a proof of which is supplied by the Transporters Insurance Company themselves in order to confirm authenticity) to name a few.
#2 They are able to give you competitive shipping rates due to their high transaction volume and by constantly scanning the car shipping market conditions and making appropriate adjustments.
#3 They are able to offer you a rock solid contract which protects you from unfair hidden charges, fuel surcharges and last minute price increases that can be levied against your vehicle in some circumstances. (Not all carriers practice these tactics)
#4 Car Shipping Brokers oversee the shipment of thousands of cars every year and the majority of us are extremely good at their jobs....
I could go on and on about the many reasons it is to your advantage to ship your vehicle through a broker, but I really want to get to the heart of this matter. Customer placed their order with our company on January 30th and the very first notes we have in this order are the operating hours of the dealership the car was getting picked up from: Dealership Business Hours: Mon-Thurs 10 AM to 9 PM - Fri and Sat 10 AM to 7 PM. Able Auto Transport ships approximately 10,000 cars every year and thoroughly understands the necessity of relaying all pertinent details of these moves to our carriers. Later on that day we were contacted by a company by the name of Speedy's Auto that stated they would be willing to pick this vehicle up on January 31st and deliver it for our customer, however, the insurance we had on file for them had expired. We instructed Speedy's Auto to first supply us with an updated copy of their insurance and then we would give this order to them, which they did.
At 9:02 AM on February 2nd, we were again contacted by Speedy's Auto who stated that they had been trying to contact the Dealership for pickup, but they had not returned any of their calls until this morning. The Dealership informed our carrier that the customers car was not ready to be shipped due to the fact that it had flat tires. Speedy's Auto was not able to wait for the vehicle to be prepped for shipping, so they kicked the order back to us and found another load instead.
11:13 AM February 2nd we received a call from the dealership stating that the car was now ready for shipment. We re-posted the load and started looking for another carrier.
12:41 PM February 2nd a company by the name of Route 66 contacted us stating they were available to pick up this car for us on February 3rd and transport it for our customer. They had current information on file with us so we booked the load to them.
1:01 PM February 2nd a company by the name of TSS Auto Sports contacted us stating they were also available to pick up this car if for any reason the first carrier could not. We told them we would keep them on call as a backup company.
11:02 AM February 3rd we were again contacted by Route 66 who stated they had attempted to pick this vehicle up from the dealership, however, the dealership was not able to release the vehicle due to it having a Check Engine Light on that would not turn off. Route 66 kicked the load back to us so we contacted TSS Auto Sports. They had also moved on out of the area and were no longer able to haul this vehicle for us either. Later in the day we were contacted by the dealership and once again informed that the vehicle was now ready for shipment.
12:58 PM February 4th a company by the name of Danner Enterprises contacted us stating they were able to haul this car for us, but we needed updated insurance information from them.
5:29 PM February 4th we were contacted by our customer stating that they now wished to cancel their order and go get the vehicle themselves. When he asked if his deposit was going to be refunded to him the representative he was speaking with informed him that it wasn't her decision to make, therefore, she was not able to let him know if it would be or not. Customer stated that if he did not get his deposit back he would spread things around about us.
7:42 AM February 5th Order was cancelled and deposit was retained.
Able Auto Transport DID NOT make any money off of this move. The $140 deposit was evenly divided and sent to the two carriers that attempted to pick up this customers car but were denied by the dealership, in order to help cover a portion of the fuel they spent making a dry run. Making sure that our transporters are treated fairly is just as important to us as making sure our customers are treated in the same manner. We are a professional company and we do abide by our contract. In our contract will find the following statement:
If you place an order with us, you have the option to cancel any time prior to your vehicle being assigned to a transporter at no cost to you. If your vehicle is booked on a transporter before you fax or email your cancellation, an administrative cancellation fee (not to exceed $250) will be assessed to your order to pay for services rendered. Any canceled order that was paid in full or going to or from Hawaii or Alaska will lose the convenience fee (if applicable) regardless of booking status. If your vehicle is not made available to the assigned carrier, the AAT Fee will be held as a dry run fee. AAT reserves the right to cancel your order at any time. If AAT exercises this right, your deposit and any other fees paid will be refunded in full.
Due to the fact that pickup had been attempted on two separate occasions by two separate transporters, and they were not allowed to retrieve this vehicle for shipment due to no fault of their own, we deemed that this deposit was not refundable. If the vehicle would not have been picked up due to negligence of our assigned carrier(s) then the customers deposit would have been refunded upon cancellation. If you have any further questions concerning this complaint or would like to know more about the car shipping business in general, please feel free to contact us.....we would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.
As a side note, if you've read this entire rebuttal, congratulations!! You truly have sticking power!!