Company Response Review Report Review
Move from VA to CA - worst experience ever!

Nicolette Submitted this review about Elite Auto Shipping Inc.
Review made Live: 3/7/2011 12:45:00 PM
I recently moved from the DC area to Northern California and had the worst experience with this company. I did a lot of research online, received a number of quotes and read tons of reviews on various different auto movers.
Even though Elite Auto Shipping seemed to be a young company, they had good reviews and quoted a decent price, so I decided to confirm the shipment of my car with them.

Off course you have to pay a deposit the second you confirm that you'd like to use their services. I spoke to one representative most of the time who emailed the contract to me and confirmed the 3day pick-up window. He guaranteed that they had a driver who was available to pick up my car on the first day of the 3 day pick-up window, which would have been perfect, since it was on a Friday, and they guaranteed that my car would be delivered in California 7 days later, the next Friday, just in time for me to start my new job the following Monday.
On the Wednesday before the Friday pick-up I spoke to a different representative about my contract who again confirmed that the driver would pick up my car on Friday.

I never heard from them again.

By Saturday I assumed that my car would be picked up on Sunday, day 3 of my pick-up window - but by 3pm on Saturday I had still not heard from anybody! I started phoning Elite Auto Shipping to find out what was going on, and when somebody finally answered the phone, he told me I'd have to talk directly to the driver and gave me a telephone number to phone. I phoned the driver who told me that they were coming on Tuesday or Wednesday!! I told him that that was unacceptable, and he informed me that Elite Auto Shipping confirmed that a Wednesday pick-up date was fine. This after I confirmed at least 3 times that they would pick-up between Friday and Sunday and that the car would be delivered in 7 days because I needed my car to start my new job in California 10 days later.
I made dozens of calls back to Elite Auto Shipping that Saturday and Sunday, left at least 3 messages for them to phone me back so that we could sort out the confusion, but to this day nobody ever returned any of my calls.

I ended up making arrangements directly with the driver since nobody at Elite Auto Shipping picked up the phone or phoned me back. But pick-up was still 5 days after the agreed-upon date with Elite Auto Shipping since they confirmed a different date with the driver without letting me know. At the last minute I had to arrange for a friend to meet the driver and hand over my car since this pick-up date was also after I had already left for California by plane. And I had to rely on others to drive me to / from train stations in California because my car was still en route by the time I started my new job which included commutes to San Francisco from San Jose.

I will never ever use Elite Auto Shipping again, or recommend them to anybody. DO NOT TRUST THEM! They took my deposit, lied about the pick-up date, confirmed a pick-up with a driver 5 days later than they promised me without letting me know and never bothered to return any of my calls or answer the phone when I called to figure out what was going on.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Virginia
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
California
Delivery:
Late
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
Contract #8481-PF
Quote or Order Cost:
$985

Company Response
Ruben from Elite Auto Shipping Inc. Submitted this response.
Response Date: 3/7/2011 3:40:00 PM
The driver was trying to reach you that Thursday and Friday on the phone number that you provided but was unsuccessful. The driver left to pickup other vehicles in your area and the main offices were closed that weekend, and this is why you couldn't reach anyone on Saturday or Sunday. Since that happened we made sure the driver contacted you to reschedule for a different day which was Monday and you told the driver that Tuesday would be better for you. There is a reason why we have good reviews, its because we provide good service. Even though your car was picked up late it was delivered on time. The deposit that you payed is 100% refundable, if you didn't like the service you should have canceled your order and we would have refunded the deposit. We apologize for any inconvenience and try to do a better job in the future. Thanks.