Car delivered with 150+ more miles, and reeked of cigaret smoke
Diana
Submitted this review about
Ship a Car Direct
Review made Live: 8/12/2015 2:16:00 PM
I used Ship a Car Direct to send my vehicle from Houston,TX to Western Massachusetts. The price was fair, but I had a terrible experience with the carrier LLC Universe Express.
First off, after the car was picked up for shipping, I could not reach my agent at Ship a Car Direct. The car got picked up on July 6 and was scheduled for delivery on July 13. However, the car was not delivered until July 17. The driver kept dodging the question about when he would deliver my car when I would contact him, since he was my only contact. Then, on the night of the 16th, the driver calls me to tell me if I can meet him thirty miles away from where the car was supposed to be delivered. Then, he offered to drive "his" car and my car to me. This sounded very sketchy, so I was worried that this man was trying to steal my car. I called Ship a Car Direct's 24 hour line, and they weren't very helpful. They just told me this wasn't unusual, but I don't think the man on the phone understood that the driver wanted me to drive 30 miles to meet him.
The next day, I finally got a hold of my representative, and she said my car had been delivered on the 15th. So then I was really worried because my car had not been delivered. Even though I was concerned, I will say she was helpful at contacting the driver because I no longer wanted to make contact with him because of how rude he was. He lied to her about telling me that he wanted me to drive to meet him 30 miles, and said he had mechanical issues. This was lie number two.
When I finally met up with the driver, he didn't want to give me the keys until I paid him. I told him I wanted to check the inside of the car, and he would not let me sit in my own car or turn it on. He went in there and turned it on himself, he also cranked up the AC to the highest. When I checked the mileage, there were over 150 miles more on the car than when he picked it up. I called the broker to tell them, and they told me to write all this down on the bill of lading. During the call, I turned the AC down and realized my car smelled like cigaret smoke. As it turns out, this man had been taking a joy ride in my car and he claimed that he was allowed to drive it at least 100 miles (this was of course a lie). My car reeked of smoke, and there were ashes all over the dashboard.
In the end, the broker promised to compensate me for the terrible service and the miles the car had. Ship a car direct did give me $60 to clean my car and a promise to compensate me for the miles this man had put in my car. I believed them. In the end, it turns out they changed their mind and made it seem that the $60 was to compensate me for everything. I feel like I was robbed $1050, and in the end the company did not compensate me for anything. I think they decided that they didn't want to deal with the carrier and just left me in the dark about it. So now my car has over 150 miles more and reeks of smoke.
