Beware if you have special needs

Cameron Submitted this review about AA Auto & Home Movers
Review made Live: 4/25/2007 10:57:00 PM
If your needs are cut and dry, you probably won't have a problem with this or any other broker out there. All these companies are, simply, brokers. So, you're not negotiating with the actual carrier. You do, eventually, deal with the actual carrier later.

In my case, I had a special need. I had a very particular window where our vehicle had to be picked up by a certain date. And, as I could not be available to recive the vehicle until AFTER around a week to 10 days later, I had a special stipulation that the transport time needed to take LONGER than usual.

So, the FIRST thing I established with AAAutomovers was that I could not do business with them unless they could guarantee that the above parameters could be met. And, George promised me that this would be "no problem."

In fact, he made this note on the contract.

To make a long story short, although the promise of our car being picked up and, finally, delivered were met, none of these promises regarding specific pickup and delivery times were honored.

And, since AAAutomovers already had our money (once I realized that my promises were not going to be kept), George's memory (and helpful attitude) quickly faded. His supervisor was ABSOLUTELY hostile. True, it is my fault for not noticing that Georges interpretation of my timing stipulations on the final contract were not articulately spelled out. But, that is exactly how George's supervisor was able to say "it's not in your contract." And, of course, George would not offer to clarify after-the-fact.

I'll admit that it was tough to keep my cool on the phone when they started playing the "well that's not what your contract says" game. But, I guess that's what I get for having special needs.

The way these brokers work is that they take your order and then secure the actual transport carrier on your behalf based on location and schedule. And, again, for cut-and-dry moving needs, this system probably works just fine.

So, when I recognized that my special schedule needs were not going to be met by AAAutmovers AND that they were not going to help me resolve this problem, I solved the problem myself by completely discontinuing discussions with AAAutomovers (as they already had their money) and by directly contacting the actual car transport company (fortunately, you are provided this information in your confirmation information).

And, the actual carrier was VERY helpful.

Once these brokers have your money, you're S.O.L. if you're going to need special help. That's why your deposit is non-refundable.

FYI: the carrier was Mapletree Transportation located in Elkhart, IN. And they do take direct public orders.


Company Response
Mark from AA Auto & Home Movers Submitted this response.
Response Date: 4/27/2007 10:08:00 AM
The poster has not provided an order number for us to research and we do not have the poster's name or email address in our database. He/she indicates the vehicle was picked up and delivered on time. Sounds like someone wanted free storage, couldn't get it and is now retaliating. This is a false compaint.