No truck, no communication

IK Submitted this review about A 1on1 Transport Services Inc.
Review made Live: 10/12/2012 11:02:00 AM
Order was placed on May 17 for June 25th optimal pickup day with June 21 - June 28th window. Credit card was immediately charged the $150 deposit by Erik (the broker).

Erik left the company - no notification, until I asked why his email is bouncing back. Joe is the new contact.

Two days into the delivery window - no notifications, called them and they didn't seem to be actively looking for a truck, which might be ok (standard broker procedure?).

Five days into the delivery window - no calls / notifications, I called and dispatcher Lisa promised that she will start calling trucks and give me a call next day. No calls from Lisa next day or the day after.

One day after end of delivery window - called and emailed to cancel order and ask them to take the car off the registers so that I can work with a different company. They confirmed the cancellation. A few days later, the other company told me that the car is still on the register. The other company btw was able to find a driver immediately - next day after speaking to them.

On the $150 refund, called several times to remind them, got email on Jul 8 that refund would take place on Jul 29. By Aug 20, no refund and no luck with getting any response back (call or email) - disputed through credit card company.

Delays also resulted in extra costs for car rentals and time wasted - those will never be refunded.

In the cases when they happen to get a truck, all is good, but when things fail (which I understand happens and is normal) their business model seems dysfunctional.

Lessons learnt:
1. use a carrier or at least a carrier/broker if you can - Montway did the job in a day
2. either way, use a BBB accredited company - A 1on1 isn't one
3. go by the BBB and the ratings vs the extra $50-$100 of savings. The savings are not worth it and totally lost in case where things go wrong