Company Response Review Report Review
These people don't care about you or your car...

Mark Lee Submitted this review about Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 1/7/2012 1:56:00 PM
Wow - where to begin... As I write this, my car was delivered several weeks ago - but with $2000 worth of damage that I am still trying to get an insurance company to address. The first thing I would say regarding my experience with this company is PROTECT YOURSELF! From double-checking the carrier they assign to using an AMERICAN EXPRESS card to pay their fee, your top priority should be protecting yourself. The reason I say this is because, based on this experience, once they have your money they consider their obligation to you complete - end of story. The day after I took delivery of my damaged car, I repeatedly asked Casey to contact me. The result? I received a single email a week later stating "...it's out of my hands...".

But things started off well enough. Magic Carpet makes a great first impression because someone always answers the phone quickly. Many other companies do not, but don't be deceived by this. I was assigned to Casey and he arranged for my brand new 2012 Highlander Hybrid to be shipped from Alabama to Texas. These models are fairly hard to find, but I located an Alabama dealer that had exactly what we wanted and also gave us a good deal. Casey found a shipper very quickly - Ryan Hauling - and we had our car delivered within a week or so. Unfortunately, it was damaged in transit to the tune of $2000. Oh don't worry - I'll get into the details of how the shipper screwed up in a separate review.

So by now it's late December and I'm emailing Casey to have someone call me because of what has happened to the car. Five emails, two calls, and one week later, he finally replies saying "it's out of my hands". No words of advice, no willingness to place calls on my behalf, no indication that he would be following up with the shipper's insurance company, no request to have a manager contact me. Nothing but silence.

So I called again and spoke with Nicole, expressing my dissatisfaction with their service and reiterating my request for a full refund. She was very professional and basically told me what I wanted to hear. So I wait a couple of days but no response from anyone involved - not the shipper, not his insurance company, not Magic Carpet. It was like talking to a wall.

Now prior to speaking with Nicole, in my multiple emails to Casey, I warned him that I would resort to disputing their fee via my credit card company (thank God for American Express!) if I did not get a response from the company. By now I was well past the end of my rope, so I did exactly that. And guess what - that got their attention alright. The last time I spoke with Magic Carpet, Jennifer basically told me to screw off - that they had no intention of assisting me any more in any way. How's that for customer service?

It's extremely important to note that every time I spoke with Magic Carpet after my car was damaged, it was through a call that I had to originate. NOT A SINGLE PHONE CALL WAS MADE TO ME BY THEM AFTER THINGS WENT DOWNHILL. Again, once they get your money, they simply wash their hands and wait for you to give up and go away. Contrary to their website propaganda, they don't care about you and they don't care about your car.

So in conclusion, Magic Carpet can argue that they play no role in what happens after the car is picked up, and hide behind that company policy all they want. However, they did play a role in assigning that company to transport my car. And if there's damage caused by the shipper that THEY assigned, they cannot simply brush you off and say 'sorry, not company policy'.

SINCE YOU ASSIGNED THAT CARRIER TO TRANSPORT MY CAR, YOU BEAR SOME LEVEL OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE END RESULT WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.

If you don't agree with that statement, look at it another way:

When you assign a carrier who hauls my car with absolutely no problems then you take at least some of the credit for that positive outcome, right? We both know the answer is YES as evidenced by the many reviews on this website - and Magic Carpet's website.

So if this scenario is true, why is it that you bear absolutely ZERO responsibility when something bad happens? You can't have it both ways.

Again, protect yourself folks - by using a credit card that fights for your rights as a consumer. They are the last line of defense when the stuff hits the fan, and they will protect you against companies like Magic Carpet.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Alabama
Pickup:
On Time
Destination State:
Texas
Delivery:
On Time
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
1630363
Quote or Order Cost:
$730

Car Condition
  • Vehicle was dirty
  • Vehicle was damaged
Company Response
Terry Williams from Magic Carpet Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 1/9/2012 8:22:00 PM
Mark, I completely disagree with your account of what happened. Magic Carpet chose a reputable carrier to transport your vehicle; as a matter of fact this same carrier transported another one of our customer’s vehicle on this very same transport. Unfortunately some damage occurred to your vehicle which the carrier has taken full and complete responsibility for. We never anticipate damage during transport but if damage does occur the carrier holds up to $500,000 cargo insurance to cover events just like this. According to our terms and conditions in Paragraph 11) All claims for damage must be taken up directly with the carrier, and if there is any damage, the liability for damages lies solely with the carrier. MCAT will assist client with necessary carrier information (name, phone numbers of that particular motor carrier used for transport). The same day we were notified of the damage to your vehicle you received ALL of the necessary information to start a damage claim with this carriers insurance directly from our office. Your representative Casey even went as far as contacting the carrier and their insurance company to try to sort everything out for you. Legally as a broker we cannot get in the middle of a damage claim as we are the “Middle man” it is not our vehicle nor our trailer the vehicle was hauled on, this is why all damage claims must be taken up with the insurance company directly. Outside of the actual damage to your vehicle you had stated that the transport went well and Casey was very easy to work with. Our company could not help you in the means you were demanding as the reasons stated above. You felt that because the damage occurred that the transport of your vehicle should be completely refunded and unfortunately the transport itself still requires the payment it is the insurance company that will take care of the condition of your vehicle. When I spoke to you last you completely understood and AGREED with me on this fact and turned around and CHARGED BACK YOUR CREDIT CARD. YOU HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO OUR COLLECTION AGENCY and will be responsible for the payment in full back to our company for the services we rendered to you. We are very sorry that you experienced damage to your vehicle, BUT taking short cuts as a consumer and lying to your credit card company to get a refund is considered fraud. We wish you well.