NEVER GIVE A DEPOSIT UP FRONT!
J Zezima
Submitted this review about
All Coast Auto Transport
Review made Live: 6/29/2013 6:58:00 PM
Sounds like I'm "PO-ed" and I'm really not...I'm writing a $200.00 review {which I paid for}. You can go ahead and pay up-front, or ...READ-ON.
{NEVER-PERIOD} provide any transport brokerage a deposit prior to your vehicle being loaded in or on the carrier. Deal only with brokers that request their fee AFTER your vehicle has been loaded. I contracted with All Coast Transport on June 4th at which time John S. provided me the steps over the phone on how to get the process going to move a vehicle from NY to AZ. John S, impressed me to be a very professional individual, of which I'm sure he is. I goggled All Coast Transport reviews {recommend you do the same} and All Coast came up with 4 plus stars and few un-happy customers. That aside I signed up. I was looking for just ONE enclosed transport company to deliver a vehicle using the service provided by a brokerage.
When I finalized my contract with All Coast on June 4th 2013 @10:00 AM, I was told; {1} All Coast ships over 10,000 units a year {Quick math, that comes out to over 800 a month, over 26 a day}, {2} All Coast deals with over 1,600 transport companies, and {3} All Coast requires that each transport carries $125,000 per vehicle insurance.
I provided the $200.00 {non-refundable} brokerage fee on a bid of $1300.00 for an enclosed carrier to move a vehicle from up state NY to AZ {the bid was provided by John S. based on his computer model and findings}. At that time I asked, "What if the transport company requested additional funds", John S. replied " Tell them to pound salt!"
The seller of the vehicle requested that All Coast Transport arrange for the pick up after June 17th. That provided All Coast Transport a FULL 13 days to start the process and find just one of the 1,600 carriers they deal with.
I sent several e-mails to John S. which he responded to all of them. John S. provided the All Coast dispatcher's phone number and advised that I speak with them. On the week of the 17th I started calling every day for an update on my order. Each time I called I spoke with a different person. I was informed, {1} "I'm waiting on two drivers to respond", {2} " The price of fuel has gone up, Maybe you should increase your bid"{which I did}, and {3} "We're waiting on drivers to respond". I started to think, this could take months, never once did I get a call from All Coast in 20 days to inform me as to the status of my order....each and every call was initiated by me, to see what was going on.
In the course of these 20 days, not one bid {from 1,600 companies which All Coast deals with..... REALLY ????}. I finally had enough and canceled my order on the AM of June 24th. That very same morning, June 24th, I made three calls to other companies which offered enclosed carriers. United Routes LLC {Kasey}, in "ONE HOUR" had a carrier committed and at 3PM {a total of 6 hours had passed} the vehicle was loaded and on its way. Kasey phoned me 3 times, in less than two hours keeping me informed as to what is taking place. I spoke with the owner of the vehicle and the driver to assure all was in order and that the vehicle was in the enclosed carrier. I understand that All Coast Transport is a brokerage, that they put their low-bid out there for drivers to accept or reject... for a $200.00 non-refundable fee.
On the afternoon of June 24th, I received my first of two calls from All Coast, the first said, "We have a carrier available", {remember, I just canceled my order that morning}. Their call came TWO hours after the vehicle was loaded and on it's way by the professional efforts of United Routes LLC. Then, I received one final call from All Coast 30 minutes later, this time stating, "Your vehicle was picked up and put in storage". All Coast even sent me an e-mail showing that United Routes LLC was looking for a carrier {just like EVERY broker who post their bids on a central dispatch, United Routes LLC had not removed their bid after the vehicle was picked up in this 6 hour window}. My response was, "I spoke with the owner, he assured me the vehicle was placed in the enclosed carrier and the driver was on his way to MO to pick up another vehicle". I added, "It's insured and we'll have to wait and see who is telling the TRUTH".
FOR THE RECORD.....The vehicle was delivered in AZ {door to door} on June 29 @ 1:00 PM, TWO days ahead of the promised date. Mike Anders {driver} whom I spoke with when the vehicle was loaded, keep in touch me 3 of the 5 days on the road. We inspected the vehicle singed the Bill of Lading everything was good to go, I paid, him and he continued on to CA with 6 more drop-offs.
Moral of this review, Don't ever put yourself in a position feeling that you have to be "locked-in" because of a non-refundable deposit... Deal with a company that can provide a carrier which you don't pay one dime UP FRONT {I believe they will work harder for you}. It's possible, All Coast has several thousand satisfied customers even with a BBB rating of "F". I'm sure All Coast Transport will write a rebuttal, there are always two sides, this one is mine. Pay the price, get what you pay for. The industry appears to be unregulated with brokers and companies who over promise and under deliver.
