Dan 4/29/2007
Complaint against:
National Auto Transport, Inc.
P.O. Box 630845
Miami, Florida 33163
Web Site = www.auto-transporter.com
Phone: 888-296-2886
Dear Chase Credit Service Administrator:
Please read the below Chronology of events which lead to my cancellation of the contract # 325912 with National Auto Transport and why I am demanding a refund to my charge card account. I have also attached copies of emails, a web page, as well as the contract I had faxed to the company under duress due to misinformation and a shrinking timeline.
Chronology of events:
I was in Florida to aid my parents in a time of need due to my father having open-heart surgery and my mother being hospitalized for a week with heart issues also. We needed to have their vehicle trucked back to NY due to their inability to drive.
April 11th: I viewed several web sites offering auto transport.
I called 3 and emailed 2 others.
I spoke to National Auto Transport last, Sal Nicoletti was the specific representative who promised that the time frame I gave him was the perfect time with which his company was presently booking for and there should be no problems. The rate he quoted was competitive with others at $945.00.
4/12 Thursday: I had thought about our options overnight and decided on Sal’s company due to his positive responses and can-do demeanor. I called him back at 1-888-628-2886, ext. 2208 and made the agreement to have his company arrange the transport. I specifically questioned him about the contract due to my being in Florida without a fax machine or printer to be able to make a copy of the contract, which he said he needed signed. He said it would not be a problem for the transport driver to bring the actual contract and have it signed by my father at the time of pickup. I asked him to email me the contract so I could at least read it before the actual pickup. Sal agreed to email the contract to myself and my brother, who would be in Florida at the time of the proposed pickup, due to my parents need for family aid and my need to return to NY on the 13th (Friday). I gave him my charge card information so his company could bill the $200.00 deposit. He gave me the Confirmation and Tracking number of #325912. I felt comfortable that Sal was handling things professionally for my family.
4/16 Monday: 4 days passed and neither my brother nor I had received the promised emailed contract. I phoned Sal about this and he promptly apologized and promised to send it out ASAP. He did, and my brother and I both received it and reviewed it that day. I called Sal back and questioned him again after reading the contract, that the steps we had set up (contract to be delivered by the carrier driver) were sufficient for the pick up to be made, and also that there was enough time for a carrier to make the arrangements, Sal agreed that all was fine and the driver would be calling my parents the Sunday (April 23) before they would be leaving to make the arrangements to pick up their vehicle on Monday or Tuesday of that week (April 23 or 24th). My parents were leaving with my brother for NY by plane on the 24th. Again, I felt reassured by Sal that all would be handled appropriately as promised.
4/22 Sunday: My parents did not receive any contacts from a driver and called me with the concern. I told them to call me on the 23rd if they still did not here.
4/23 Monday: I phoned Sal first thing Monday morning and got his voice mail and I left a message for him to return my call ASAP. By noon, I had not received a call back from Sal so I phoned the main number and asked for a supervisor. I was connected to Amber after a long delay. I explained to Amber the entire history of the agreement and she told me that what I described is illegal because the drivers cannot carry contracts and they never would have agreed to this without a signed contract. She also said that Sal should have known that arrangements could not be made without a signed contract. She later told me that “Sal is new and probably did not know” but Sal signed his email to me as “Sr. Transport Coordinator” which I take “Sr” as Senior. There seems to be a discrepancy with Sal’s status in the company.
I asked her if I could fax her the copy I had in possession (that I copied days earlier when I got back to NY which was eventually emailed from Sal) and she said yes. I signed it immediately and faxed it to her in hopes of salvaging the situation and time line previously set up.
I called Amber back to verify her receipt of the contract and she said she did receive it. She also told me that someone would need to be the contact for the driver if he could not get to my parents before they left the next day. Amber promised a driver would contact either my parents or the contact person on Tuesday or Wednesday (24th or 25th) and it would be approximately 6 hours before the driver would come to pick up the vehicle. I made the contact to my parents who scrambled to get a neighbor to accept the responsibility. I phoned back Amber, who could not take the call and spoke to Alejandra (? Spelling) who took the new contact information and added it to the contract. Once again, I believed the promises given by National Auto Transport representatives and felt that maybe this time, things could work out as promised.
My parents were both very recently hospitalized for heart problems (father had a heart attack and open heart surgery) and that was why they were coming back to NY. They took on the plane enough medications to get them through the auto delivery time when the rest would be delivered with the vehicle. They felt safe in this plan due to National Auto Transport’s promises of a reasonable delivery timetable of 7 to 10 days. My parents are now going to be short of their needed medications due to National Auto Transports mishandling and broken promises of the arrangements and have to scramble to replace them.
4/19 Thursday: I received a phone call at work around 11:00 am from my parent’s neighbor who had taken the responsibility to meet the driver and they told me that they have not heard a thing from anyone and wondered what was going on. We had been promised to be contacted one to two days prior to this! They had plans over the weekend and would not be available for some of that time. I immediately called National Auto Transport to inquire why the contact had not been made. Alejandra answered, I asked for Amber or another supervisor and Alejandra said she was “a customer service supervisor”. I asked her to get to the bottom of why a driver had not contacted the neighbor. She said she would have to contact the dispatch office that would then have to contact the driver and then get back to me. She should have an answer within an hour. At 4:00 (5 hours later) I called Alejandra back but got her voice mail. I left a message again and asked her to return my call ASAP. I never heard back from her the rest of Thursday or Friday.
4/28 Saturday: I phoned the company several times and was put on hold automatically for very lengthy time periods waiting for the next available customer service agent who never answered! I hung up after waiting at least 15 minutes each occurrence.
4/26 Thursday: My brother found National Auto Transport’s web site and inquired as to why they were late picking up our parent’s car. He received an email back with no answers but a promise that one of their service rep’s would be in contact shortly. I have enclosed a copy of this correspondence.
4/29 Sunday: Having Sal’s extension, I called and left a message expressing my dissatisfaction with his, and his company’s terrible handling of my parents vehicle and told his voice mail, and the main message center voice mail that I am canceling my contract, I will be contacting the Attorney General’s office, as well as the Better
Business Bureau. I also called my charge card company and protested the charges. I will refuse to pay the deposit and demand a full refund.
This situation has caused unnecessary stress to my very ill parents and their family, as well as inconvenienced myself, doctor’s office’s, my parents, and their neighbors due to National Auto Transport’s false promises.
Every contact person I spoke to either failed to return calls and emails, made promises they did not keep, or gave me misinformation.
Eventually, my nephew flew to Florida and drove the vehicle back. National Auto Transport has still not responded in any manor. I emailed them again just today (5/5/2007)!
Thank you for your attention and review to this situation. I look forward to the refunding of the $200.00 deposit I had made in good faith to what appeared to be a reputable firm.
Sincerely,
Dan
