Bad Experience

Bruce Savage Submitted this review about 1st Choice Shipping
Review made Live: 7/20/2006 12:31:00 PM
I've only shipped one other vehicle (different company) and it went good but this was a terrible experience. We were moving and I needed this vehicle shipped, so that I would have a vehicle to travel to work at the new location. To select a company, I requested several quotes and read a few ratings (I should have read more). Given the things I have heard and read, I selected a company that was in the middle range of the quotes. I've heard that the low price can mean trouble but I should have selected them because it couldn't have been too much worse.

I selected 1st Choice Shipping and they told me they could pick it up in 2 -10 days which was fine by me because I had allowed extra days in case there were problems. About 8 days after the "available to ship" date passed, I hadn't heard from them and so I called. They told me they were working on it and because 10 days hadn't passed, I wasn't worried. However, at approximately 14 days out, I was starting to get a little worried. They were now using up my safetly window. So, I kept calling and getting the same answer, "we are working on it, there are not many cars being shipped from Louisiana to Utah etc.". I asked to speak to the manager but was told she wasn't in. Finally, 3 weeks after the ship date, I got a hold of the manager and talked with her. She told me she didn't understand what the problem was because the ship date wasn't until July 21 and it was only July 14. I told her that she needed to recheck because the ship date was JUNE 21. Apparently, this shook them up because the next day they had a company, Dragon Transport, lined up to take the vehicle. In fact, they gave me very little notice that they were coming. I had about 3 hours and I had already moved. I'm grateful that the neighbor we asked in advance was available on such short notice.

Dragon Transport had problems too. Their trailer axial broke which they said would delay them a day or two. I understand that sometimes things break but then they supposely "blew their engine" too. They ended up asking me if they could drive my vehicle from Laramie, Wyoming to Logan, Utah. Well, I figured I didn't have much choice because I needed the vehicle and I was begging rides from everyone to get to work. So, I finally got my vehicle and it appears to be OK except for a faint smoke smell. The driver probably smoked but at least he had the sense to do it with the windows down because the smell is just slight.

Bottom line is that I'm not impressed with 1st Choice shipping. They won't be my 1st choice or even last choice ever again. If you are thinking of using them, send me an email - I won't hold back and I'll tell you how I really feel about them.

Company Response
from 1st Choice Shipping Submitted this response.
Response Date: 10/10/2006 12:02:00 PM
First of all, we would like to apologize for all of the delays during your experience with 1st Choice Shipping. We are not at fault for the misunderstanding of your first available date as July 21st when actually the first available date was June 21st. This order was placed online which means the customer entered in all the information (including the first day that the vehicle could be picked up) As soon as we were told about the misunderstanding, we scheduled you a truck with no problem the very next day. As for giving you little notice to pick up the vehicle, you had an option to either have your vehicle picked up by a truck that was currently in the area or have us find you another driver. We were under the impression that you wanted your vehicle picked up asap so we figured the sooner the better. The driver did run into some mechanical difficulties during transit. This is also no fault of 1st Choice Shipping. Dragon Transport was the company that hauled your vehicle. Your vehicle was a few days late on delivery, but you were told when you had placed your order that we can never gaurentee the delivery date exactly for these kinds of reasons. The delivery date is approximate not official. Precisely because of delays that can happen such as the ones you encountered. We are not sure about the smoke smell in your vehicle. Your vehicle was on a truck the entire time and no miles were put on the vehicle so not sure where the smell came from.