Really Not Good - Really Disappointing - Bad Business

laure Submitted this review about AutoStar Transport Express
Review made Live: 8/13/2015 1:17:00 PM
I did not have a good experience with autostar at all. They never picked my car up - told me on the phone they would be able to get it within 2 days , waited and 8 days later they did not get my car. then they sent a carrier that broke down - and did not have a reliable vehicle to transport my car - uhm NO THANKS for that! what if it broke down with my car on it?! that is not safe.

i told them i was in a rental car and on a budget and needed my car fast - they stated that their paperwork locked me into 10days in fine print which no one verbally ever told me. It just seemed all very shady and not really ethical or kind. I told them i had found a company that could ship my car that day and if they could please refund my $150 deposit and they refused because of the "10 day thing" but i kept saying that i didnt have 10 days and i didnt know what i was signing and it didnt seem ethical to tell me on the phone 2 days and then have me sign something that was never discussed. I signed it on my cellphone so couldnt really see it that well and didnt anticipate that they would be so tricky.

Then i submitted a cancelation. and afterwards talked to another company - and then the manager said i was in another "breach of contract for talking to another company" even though it was after i submitted the cancelation request. The manager kept telling me "$150 is not alot of money for us we dont care about it"... i told him that it was for me so why wouldnt he jsut refund it that is the kind thing to do... but he wouldnt. they kept trying to string me along and say they could find a carrier but not for another 6 days!!! it was just not right.

LONG story short - i called SAKS autotransport... and they got me a carrier within 2 HOURS! It just arrived here in asheville this morning and it is in great condition via the shipping they took great care of it - the drivers were kind and all of the employees i talked to in customer service were AWESOME so kind, so helpful, and wanted to help me stay within my budget. HIGHLY recommend SAKS auto transport - and sugguest you do NOT hire auto star they will be sneaky to take money from you and delay to transport your car. if they are such a big company why couldnt they find a carrier - and the other company could find one within 2 hours?!?!

Upset they dont want to give me my money back - "contract or not" sometimes it is just about doing the right thing and having a heart... which this company doesnt seem to have one.

Company Response
Mike Cannon from AutoStar Transport Express Submitted this response.
Response Date: 8/13/2015 2:32:00 PM
We appreciate the feedback, and very sorry the customer did not have a good experience. It was the customers own expectations that have set herself up for disappointment. Customer admits that she wanted to ship the car in a hurry, but was on a budget. In the automobile transport business, this is not a good recipe for a successful and happy experience. It was explained VERY clearly to customer that lower paying vehicles do take longer, as carriers will always take higher paying vehicles first. NO ONE ever told her a carrier would pickup in two days. We assumed she understood this clearly as the very next day after placing her order, she signed and returned our contract. There is NO fine print on the contract!! Every clause in our contract is clearly written in the same font throughout. It is written on more than one occasion that all dates are estimated, and first available pickup date, and our 10 business day policy is VERY clearly written in layman terms. Customer placed an order with our agent on 08/03. The first available release date had been set for 08/04. On 08/10, we screened and assigned a carrier for transport. Pickup was scheduled for that day. Later in the day the carrier called us and advised us that he was having mechanical issues with his axle. Mechanical failures are never expected, nor welcomed, but they do happen. We apologized for the inconvenience, but a mechanical failure is simply something that cannot be controlled. On 08/11, the customer sent a written cancelation email. This was on day 5 of the 10 business day agreement we had in the way of a signed contract. Customer was advised via a phone call from our customer service manager that even though she had cancelled the order, and was NOT eligible for a refund, we would overlook that cancellation and continue to try and help her since we had a potential carrier for pickup the next day. We also noticed that the vehicle was now posted by the other broker. When informing the customer of this, she promised us she was NOT working with anyone else. As it turns out that was clearly a lie. She intentionally attempted to deceive us by telling us she was not working with another broker. The very next day, we confirmed with the carrier that they could do this order. When notifying the customer, she informed us that she had a carrier coming to pick up her car that day! By her own admission, she HAD been working with the other broker. What the customer is failing to mention is that she paid MORE with the other broker, and as it turned out, the carrier we had ended up accepting this load from the other broker for more money! Exactly what we told the customer would happen in the very beginning. We tried very hard to accommodate customers schedule by calling many of our preferred carriers, but there were just no carriers available during that time, willing to accept the customers budget price. We worked very hard on this order, but customer broke her agreement with us, and lied to us. We feel that a no refund is justified. We wish the customer well.