Company Response Review Report Review
Bait and Switch - Price is going up

Brad Submitted this review about Viking Auto Transport
Review made Live: 6/7/2010 10:15:00 AM
I initially settled on Viking auto transport because they had good reviews and they were the cheapest quote. I called Tony at Viking Auto Transport to sign our contract to ship the car from Nevada to Michigan. The quote was for 670.00 total. We signed on 4/26/2010 to have the car picked up on 5/13/2010. As the pickup day approached, I did not hear from anyone. I called and spoke with Tony at Viking Auto Transport who seemed annoyed that I would express concern for not having heard from any transporter, he repeatedly told me “don’t worry, give me another 48 hours, someone will call”. Days passed and still no communication with anyone. I called Viking Auto Transport again on 5/17/2010 and Tony jokingly said, “Oh, looks like we are late on this one, give me another 48 hours”. In the next breath, he said “Some drivers wanted to take your car, but they wanted more money, do you want to increase your offer by $150, I am sure a driver would pick it up then”. I declined to offer more money because Tony and I had a contract, which at this point was already passed the scheduled pickup day. Finally, on 5/20/2010, a full week past when the car was originally scheduled for picked up, I had enough and called Viking Auto Transport to cancel my contract as Tony still had not found a driver to transport my car. Tony insisted I would have the same problem with anyone if I tried to find someone else to broker the deal. He said it would be best to offer more money and let him find a driver. Seems like Tony baits you with a low quote and waits till you are desperately close to the transport date to say he needs more money to offer the drivers to actually get the car moved. Does this sound like a Bait and Switch game to anyone else? I located another broker (five star rating) within an hour of canceling with Viking auto transport. They were able to secure a trucker within twenty minutes of signing the contract, that same day! I wish I could say my nightmare with Tony ended here. On his cancelation email on 5/20/2010 it reads: “Your deposit will be fully refunded within the next 48-72 hours” As of 6/01/2010, a week and a half later, I sent another follow up e-mail because I still had not received a refund. Viking’s response was: “We apologize for the delay in your refund. I will forward your e-mail to the accounting department so they can issue a credit immediately…” And as per usual with Tony; still waiting… If you like waiting around with nothing better to do, wondering if your car will ever get transported, then this is the company for you! Tony, thanks for the opportunity of allowing me to babysit you!
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Nevada
Pickup:
Never
Destination State:
Michigan
Delivery:
Never
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
42865
Quote or Order Cost:
$670

Company Response
TONY D. from Viking Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 6/7/2010 4:05:00 PM
Brad you should really say it the way it really happened! Share the many different conversations and different Ideas that Viking and yourself had with our dispatchers in order to pick up your oversized Hummer coming out of a remote area in Reno, Nevada.. We want to make it perfectly clear that your deposit has been refunded to you in full, as you already know and it was done shortly after you canceled with us. Absolutely no bait and switch. Yes it is a fact that we were having some issues in picking up your oversized vehicle out of Reno. We went back and forth with you in coming up wit different ideas since it was taking longer than usual to find you a driver coming out of Reno, even as to meeting the driver in Las Vegas, offering a little more money to the driver since you had an oversized vehicle and you were in a remote area in Reno, Nevada were it was difficult to get a truck up to you. No Bait and Switch Brad! Just some constructive ideas to get this job done. As it turned out you decided to cancel and your deposit has been refunded in full. And you booked with another company for the upgraded price that we were suggesting to you. Thank you very much for taking our advice and paying a little more and booking with another company, and see you got you Hummer picked up. Upon our advice..