Company Response Review Report Review
CONSUMER BEWARE – LOW-BALL, BAIT & SWITCH Company

Luba F. Submitted this review about State-By-State Transporters
Review made Live: 5/23/2012 1:18:00 PM
I contacted State by State Transporters (SBS) on April 19 and was quoted $590 ($100 to SBS, $490 to the driver) by Carl Johnson to transport my 2001 Toyota Sienna minivan from Florida to New York. The car was supposed to be picked up on Saturday, May 12 and I was supposed to be contacted on Friday, May 11. Kelly from SBS subsequently confirmed the pick-up date and the price. Not hearing from anyone on May 11, I attempted to contact State by State via a phone call and e-mail and received no response until Sunday, May 13 (a day after the car was supposed to be picked up) where Mr. Seymour wrote the following: “Hi, I’m the fleet manager with SBS Transporters. We received your email and in regards to your shipment, we are still waiting on a driver to accept the load at a cheaper price. We will get back with you as soon as we can get the driver to accept it for the negotiated price of $590 and $490 c.o.d. to the driver”. And later that evening, another e-mail from Mr. Seymour stating “…I would recommend you raise it (the price) by 300 because nobody at this price got accepted in the last two months.” If nobody got accepted at this price in the last two months, why quote the price in the first place if not to bait & switch. I replied that $300 increase is not acceptable, but would be willing to go for $100 more, so $600 c.o.d. to the driver. Kelly contacted me on Tuesday, May 16 and told me that she can get a driver for $650 to which I said no, $650 is too much and Kelly said “ok, I will try to get at $600”. On Wednesday, May 17 I received a phone call from Kelly telling me that she found a driver and my Sienna will be picked up Thursday or Friday. On Friday, I was contacted by the driver who informed me that he ran into some problems and will pick up the car on Saturday. He was in contact with me throughout his trip and on Monday, May 21 delivered my car to me, but said the c.o.d. to him was $700. The $700 c.o.d. was never discussed or agreed to. I contacted SBS and began a 45 minute run-around telling me that the price increase due to Sienna being a minivan (it was always a minivan, so should not be a surprise), I misunderstood when they quoted me the price, etc. Meanwhile, the driver said if I don’t give him $700 he will put the car back on the truck and proceed with his other deliveries. I ended up paying the extra $100 in extortion money just to have my car 1 week later than promised. I promptly contacted my credit card company to dispute the $100 SBS charge and did what I should have done originally – I went on the Better Business Bureau site. Not surprisingly, State by State has a D rating on the A+ to F scale. Again, CONSUMER BEWARE.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Florida
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
New York
Delivery:
Late
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
27490-UP
Quote or Order Cost:
$800

Company Response
Lance from State-By-State Transporters Submitted this response.
Response Date: 5/25/2012 10:42:00 AM
Below is the emails between Mr. Seymour and Luba Fishman Please read them and see which response makes sense. Mr.s Fishman new exactly what she was doing Max Seymour Sun, May 13, 2012 at 6:14 PM To: fishmlx@cox.net Hi, im the lfeet manager with SBS Transporters. We received your email and in regards to your shipment, we are still waiting on a driver to accept the load at a cheaper price. We will get back with you as soon as we can get the driver to accept it for the negotiated price of $590 and $490 cod to the driver - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Luba Fishman Sun, May 13, 2012 at 7:44 PM To: Max Seymour On 5/13/2012 6:14 PM, Max Seymour wrote: Hi, im the lfeet manager with SBS Transporters. We received your email and in regards to your shipment, we are still waiting on a driver to accept the load at a cheaper price. We will get back with you as soon as we can get the driver to accept it for the negotiated price of $590 and $490 cod to the driver Hi Mr. Seymour, This is my first shipment. I did not know your rules and that $600 is a cheap price, because I got several offers with the same price, even one was $550. I have a flight tomorrow at 3pm, so approximately at 1pm I have to go to the FLL airport. On April 19-th, when I signed this contract, Carl Johnson did not explain to me that the shipment date depends on a price I pay. Later, I got confirmation from Kelli on the date and price. It is very surprising to me that on May 13 you are still looking for a driver. I hope that tomorrow by 1pm my car will be picked up. Thanks in advance, Luba Fishman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Max Seymour Sun, May 13, 2012 at 7:49 PM To: Luba Fishman This is the exact reason why Carl himself gave you a higher price because we know cheaper prices won't be accepted first by the driver. The other companys know this also but they give you low prices to start, all we do is lower the prices and try to get you accepted by the driver.. I would recommend you raise it by 300 because nobody at this price got accepted in the last two months. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Luba Fishman Sun, May 13, 2012 at 9:41 PM To: Max Seymour As I said in a previous e-mail I got confirmation from Kelli that everything is OK, so I assumed that you have found already a driver, because 4 of my neighbors left with the price $550 to NJ, 2 of them to NY for $600, one for $650 to NY also. Raising the price by $300 is not acceptable to me. Luba Fishman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Max Seymour Mon, May 14, 2012 at 8:10 AM To: Luba Fishman ok well when everybody on this route clears out who is paying the driver 800 for a van then your vehicle will be next in line. Keep in mind you have a van not a car, or SUV. Kelli said everything was ok with your order being process not the driver but we're working on trying to get a driver to accept it at the price you wanted to go for. Sorry about the inconvenience so far - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Max Seymour Mon, May 14, 2012 at 8:13 AM To: Luba Fishman What can you do on the price so it can help us get more drivers interested in your Van? $150 -$200 more?