I received a couple recommendations to use American Auto Shipping, but it's been an absolute nightmare for me. Besides the recommendations, I was also lured in by their reasonable prices and the promise of a free car wash. Before booking them and for a few days, they were extremely nice on the phone as well. Then I realized they preferred to do everything by phone so there wouldn't be a written trail.
Below is the timeline of events:
Before and around 12/4/2021, I inquired with American Auto Shipping for the service of shipping my family's car across the country. The latest shipping quote I received on 12/4 was for $1669. On 12/6 I tried to accept the quote, but kept getting an error online. I initiated a live chat on the website and Jasmine called me. She took my details over the phone and took my credit card information over the phone for $319. ($1275 due upon delivery).
I informed Jasmine that the car was available starting Monday, 12/6 and must be PICKED UP before Saturday, 12/11 because the family member in possession of the car was moving out of Massachusetts on Sunday, 12/12 (therefore, Sunday was not an available pickup option). She advised that STANDARD service should be sufficient because it had a 93% chance of being picked up within 1-5 days, with Monday, 12/6 being Day 1. Therefore it had a high chance of being picked up by Friday, and if it wasn't, I could cancel the order for a full refund.
After I signed the contract, I sent an email stating that I was anxious to get the car picked up by the end of the week. Aerin gave me a call and reassured me that 93% of the time, my kind of shipment would be picked up within the time period, and if not, I was entitled to a full refund.
On 12/7 I sent another chat to support to indicate my anxiety and stress that the car did not receive any pickup dates yet. Aerin called me again and advised that if they were still unable to secure a shipping company by mid-day on 12/8, I should increase my payment by $200 to increase the chances of getting a pickup within 1-2 days. She reassured me that the vehicle would then have a very good chance of being picked up quickly (93% chance).
On 12/8, American Auto Shipping increased the invoice by $200. I did not sign a new contract nor make any additional payments at this time.
On 12/10, I received an email saying my order was assigned to a carrier and the pickup date would be between Sunday 12/12 and Monday 12/13 (!). As I had mentioned multiple times to both Jasmine and Aerin, the vehicle had to be picked up by the end of the week, Saturday 12/11, and would NOT be available afterwards. I immediately tried to call the driver and left a message asking if it was possible to pick up on Saturday, but he did not reply. I called driver's company as well and was unable to reach anyone.
I then called American Auto Shipping three times and was passed through a couple representatives before I finally reached Aerin again, who stated that I was not eligible for a refund and she strongly advised finding someone to release the vehicle, leaving it at a dealership, or leaving it in a public place unattended. I attempted to find a friend, but it was too late notice and inconvenient, and I tried to call the car dealership, but was unable to reach anyone to ask if it was ok to leave it. Leaving the vehicle unattended in a public parking lot was not an option for me.
With the help of a friend, I immediately made other arrangements for the vehicle and cancelled the shipment by calling and emailing my cancellation request and reasons to the email listed in the contract for cancellation, which was support@americanautoship…. It bounced back as address not found, so I emailed it to Aerin instead at 2:45 pm. We also spoke on the phone and confirmed the cancellation. She wasn't very nice anymore at this point and said that any chargeback would be hard fought by them because they had already fulfilled their service. Absolute BS.
On 12/11, I received a voicemail from Jasmine saying that the car would be picked up on Tuesday or Wednesday and if I still wanted to cancel it. I had to laugh. If I had stuck with them, Tuesday or Wednesday would now mean that my car would be unattended in a parking lot for 3-4 days. LOL. In order to have further documentation in writing, I sent a chat to their support team, which was marked as read by a human.
TL;DR: The contract states that my vehicle would be PICKED UP in 1-5 weekdays from the first available pickup date, which was 12/6, at the agreed-upon price, or I would be issued a full refund including the down payment. 5 weekdays was 12/10. The vehicle was assigned to a carrier on 12/10 but was not able to be PICKED UP until 12/12, which is 7-8 days after first available pickup day. Then they delayed it until 12/13 or 12/14, which is 9-10 days. Therefore, the vehicle was not picked up within 1-5 weekdays as promised, and according to their contract I am due a full refund.
I initiated a chargeback and the company has indeed been fighting hard saying things like if they allowed cancellations, people could just go behind their back and cut a deal with the carrier at a lower price. Yeah like I even know how to do that? I did try to contact the carrier to let them know my car WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE AND TO CANCEL THE ORDER and they never even responded. So I'm pretty sure the carriers and brokers are in cahoots with each other so a carrier would never go behind a broker's back and cut a deal with the customer.
