Company Response Review Report Review
No Communication

Dian Submitted this review about AutoStar Transport Express
Review made Live: 3/26/2010 11:51:00 AM
The beginning of the move was good. The problem was communication. I had made the request at the beginning of the week, thinking it was a close move so should not be a lengthy haul. I spoke to Jenny and she took my debit card for the initial 100.00. After that I never talked to her again. There was no contract sent to me as promised. I heard nothing for days and finally emailed the company. Still no response. Over the weekend it became necessary to go to D.C. for a funeral held on Tuesday. Finally someone called me on Mon. am to tell me the move was on for Tuesday. I told her that I would not be in town until Wed. and to please tell the driver that this was a problem. We left it that she would contact him and let him know the situation. Didn't get her name. The garage that was holding the truck had not been paid in full because I hadn't received a bill. This is where things began to go bad. I was on an airplane to DC Mon. afternoon. When I landed I had a message from another person from the transport co. I returned his call and he had left for the day. This to me is a problem with the companys policy I couldn't reach anyone at an after hours number. I did speak to the shop owner and agreeded to pay the remainder of the bill by phone. He said the driver had been there but he couldn't release the auto to him. After taking care of that, he called the driver back and the driver turned around and came back to pick up the auto. I then asked him to give the driver my phone number. The next am I got a call during the funeral from the dispatcher. I called him back after the funeral and he began telling me that the driver needed extra money for the cost of the fuel spent by turning around. This whole situation could have been avoided by better communication from the beginning. I was at the least very annoyed and in the middle of grieving for my uncle angry for the intrusion. The driver was very accomidating and extreamly nice upon delivery the next am. I hold him harmless in all the transactions. If you are going to run a company for transporting anything for the public, you must have an after hours contact for emergency reasons. I ended paying the driver 50.00 extra dollars for the fuel which should have been absorbed by the Auto star Transport Co. in my opinion. I had a lengthy conversation with the rep from the company trying to explain my feelings. All he would tell me was that I was responsible for the extra payment. By the way I never received a contract. I thought the the company acted very unresponsible and unprofessional. They did quote a very resonable price in the beginning but I didn't expect to have to pay extra once the auto arrived at my home.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Alabama
Pickup:
Early
Destination State:
Georgia
Delivery:
On Time
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
103377
Quote or Order Cost:
$300

Company Response
Mike Cannon from AutoStar Transport Express Submitted this response.
Response Date: 4/15/2010 4:58:00 PM
This review is extremely inaccurate in its portrayal of the timeline of events, and is not at all a fair representation of what actually occured. First, upon placing the order, Dian was sent the contract, and again when she made us aware that she did not receive it. Also, the vehicle was made available to us on 3/9, meaning we could pick it up anytime from that day on. We assigned a carrier on 3/15. BEFORE we dispatched this vehicle to the carrier, we took the time to call the pickup location to make sure it was ok to pick up Dian's truck, since we knew she was going to be 'out of town' - we did not know WHY, - all she said was, 'You won't be able to reach me tomorrow.' Since she was not the pickup contact, we were confident we could still provide our services and made arrangements for the driver to deliver whenever she was back in town,, at no extra cost for her. I don't think there are many other companies that would, or could, make such arrangements for it's customers. The pickup location gave us AND the driver the OK to get Dian's truck, only to refuse releasing once the trucker was there DUE TO NON-PAYMENT BY DIAN, making the driver burn fuel, waste time and lose a spot in his truck for nothing. Keep in mind, Dian's vehicle was supposed to be ready 6 days before this occurred. We began calling every number we had listed for her to get the issue resolved. We got ahold of her the next day. Also, we found out that, after the carrier was cancelled by the body shop where it was being repaired, the person in the pickup location called our driver and asked him to please go back and get the truck. Again, more fuel burned and time wasted. Unfortunately, we were not here when this took place (our hours of operations are M-F 10AM to 6PM E.S.T). Despite our schedule, the vehicle was not ready to go when it should have been. When I finally spoke with Dian, she informed me she was at a funeral to which I responded courteously and asked her to call me whenever she wanted - no rush and not before giving her my condolences and apologies for calling her at such a bad time. Once again, I apologized to Dian and her family for the intrusion. WE NEVER DEMANDED ANY EXTRA MONEY FROM HER. When she called me, I explained what had happened, and that the driver was asking for a small tip since he had to do the route 3 times in order to pickup her truck. Our rescheduling fee is $100, so a $5o tip for the carrier (half of our fee) seemed reasonable. Diane felt we should pay for it. I do not understand the reason for this, as we had verbal confirmation from her pickup contact and from her that the vehicle was ready to go. She was given the option to NOT PAY ANYTHING ELSE, but she chose to do so, mainly because it was common sense and only fair for the unfortunate driver assigned to her load. Once again, NOBODY EVER DEMANDED ANY EXTRA MONEY. The way she portrayed the whole situation and our company is misleading, deceiving and unfair to the efforts we made to make her transport possible. Bottom line, the facts are: we charged her a very small deposit to meet HER BUDGET, we did everything possible to ensure a smooth transport, and her car was not ready 6 days after the first available date provided by Dian. The body shop should have received payment on the unit before transport was arranged. We endlessly tried to contact her with no success. Obviously, she had NOT communicated with her pickup contact either. We are happy that she got her truck moved despite all of the obstacles to overcome. We take pride in our work and we are as customer- oriented as it gets. We strive to please each and every single one of our customers with each and every one of their, sometimes extremely difficult, needs. As Dian shows in this review, this is not always possible. We wish Dian the best and are very sorry for the loss of her beloved family member.