Company Response
Mike Cannon from
AutoStar Transport Express Submitted this response.
Response Date: 8/13/2015 2:32:00 PM
We appreciate the feedback, and very sorry the customer did not have a good experience. It was the customers own expectations that have set herself up for disappointment. Customer admits that she wanted to ship the car in a hurry, but was on a budget. In the automobile transport business, this is not a good recipe for a successful and happy experience. It was explained VERY clearly to customer that lower paying vehicles do take longer, as carriers will always take higher paying vehicles first. NO ONE ever told her a carrier would pickup in two days. We assumed she understood this clearly as the very next day after placing her order, she signed and returned our contract. There is NO fine print on the contract!! Every clause in our contract is clearly written in the same font throughout. It is written on more than one occasion that all dates are estimated, and first available pickup date, and our 10 business day policy is VERY clearly written in layman terms.
Customer placed an order with our agent on 08/03. The first available release date had been set for 08/04.
On 08/10, we screened and assigned a carrier for transport. Pickup was scheduled for that day. Later in the day the carrier called us and advised us that he was having mechanical issues with his axle. Mechanical failures are never expected, nor welcomed, but they do happen. We apologized for the inconvenience, but a mechanical failure is simply something that cannot be controlled.
On 08/11, the customer sent a written cancelation email. This was on day 5 of the 10 business day agreement we had in the way of a signed contract. Customer was advised via a phone call from our customer service manager that even though she had cancelled the order, and was NOT eligible for a refund, we would overlook that cancellation and continue to try and help her since we had a potential carrier for pickup the next day. We also noticed that the vehicle was now posted by the other broker. When informing the customer of this, she promised us she was NOT working with anyone else. As it turns out that was clearly a lie. She intentionally attempted to deceive us by telling us she was not working with another broker. The very next day, we confirmed with the carrier that they could do this order. When notifying the customer, she informed us that she had a carrier coming to pick up her car that day! By her own admission, she HAD been working with the other broker. What the customer is failing to mention is that she paid MORE with the other broker, and as it turned out, the carrier we had ended up accepting this load from the other broker for more money! Exactly what we told the customer would happen in the very beginning.
We tried very hard to accommodate customers schedule by calling many of our preferred carriers, but there were just no carriers available during that time, willing to accept the customers budget price. We worked very hard on this order, but customer broke her agreement with us, and lied to us. We feel that a no refund is justified. We wish the customer well.