Fraudulent Accounting
Francois Serbeniuk
Submitted this review about
Fleet United Auto Transport
Review made Live: 11/18/2005 9:49:00 AM
Fleet United had given me the lowest quote on transporting my Subaru from Florida to Oregon, so I booked the service in March of 2005 and sent a deposit check to Fleet United for $150 to transport it. Their ad had said 1-8 days to deliver. I was told that they couldn’t do it at the original quote o $900 because the gas prices had shot up and they couldn’t find a carrier, so they tried searching at an $80 increase. The time still passed and the person who sold me the car on Ebay was moving, so I decided to go with another company. I called them to cancel the service and not cash my deposit check. I was assured that it wouldn’t be deposited, so, even though I had considered putting a stop-payment on the check, I decided to trust them. Later, since I had used a credit card convenience check, I noticed the $150 was charged to my account. I told Fleet United about this and they denied cashing it, so I had my credit card company send me a copy of the cancelled check and I both emailed and faxed it to them. Fleet United then apologized and one of their employees even emailed me that he remembered seeing the check. I was told that it was inadvertently deposited and that my refund was on its way. According to their own deposit stamp on the back of the check, it was deposited on April 9, 2005. Here it is, Nov. 18, 2005, and I still haven’t received the refund! They tell me it is their bank’s incompetence (It was Suntrust Bank on the deposit stamp on the back of the check) for not verifying the deposit took place, but this never would have happened if Fleet United hadn’t cashed it in the first place. Apparently, Fleet United doesn’t have a good enough accounting system to notice an extra $150 in their account that wasn’t accounted for. I sent them the proof of the deposit and they admitted having the check, which they no longer have. What do they think happened to the check—it just vanished into thin air?! First I was told that it wouldn’t be deposited and then, for several months, I’ve been told that my refund “is on its way.” Seven months later, no refund. Is this what you call good customer service? I kept giving them the benefit of the doubt for several months. I even asked them by email to give me the phone number of the bank, so that I can contact the employee there about this situation. I’ve received no number. I then called the owner of Fleet United directly and asked him to get me the number. He said that he would, but I’ve received no number so far. Beware of Fleet United’s accounting system. On May 18, I received the following email from Antwan at Fleet United, copied directly from my email archive, “…first and foremost, my sincerest apologies on this matter. As far as I knew the check was never cashed until I got ahold of the accountant's records. The check was cashed by mistake in a batch of checks that were sent to the bank. This has never happend before, and we have taken steps to insure that it doesnt happen in the future with any of our customers. I have spoken with the owner so he can remedy the situation. Once again I apologize for the mis-information and confusion.” On Aug. 8, I received the following email from him, “I agree it has taken way to long to have this rectified, but the representative at the bank couldn't understand that you sent in an actual check, not information for us to do a bank draft. So he basically was looking for something that didn't exist. We notified him of this before hand so such confusion could be avoided. There is no reason for alarm. If the situation was completely in our hands you would have had your refund by now. I personally saw the check you sent in from Capital One, so I now first hand whets going on. I apologize on his behalf for this fiasco. I have spoken to the owner and your refund is on its way.” Even after these admissions, I still have no refund.
