Worst Shipping Experience Imaginable - NEVER use Abdul's Towing
Belinda
Submitted this review about
Abdul's Towing
Review made Live: 8/24/2010 2:18:00 AM
My father passed away a year ago and left his prized possesion, a 1994 Ford Mustang GT convertible to me in his will. I contracted with a Broker, Mercury Transport, based on a referral from a good friend who had used Mercury and had a good experience. This was my first time shipping a vehicle and I did a lot of research on Brokers.
Mercury Transport contracted with Abdul's Towing to ship my car. The car was picked up by Abdul's Towing at approximately 1:00 PM Eastern on 8/14 for delivery to California by Saturday, 8/21. The car was picked up from a business. A family member was present for the pick up.
Rasheed, the driver parked his flat bed tow truck in the lowest part of the driveway. As he was attempting to get the car on a flatbed tow truck, he tore the underside of the Saleen bumper. The family member had to tell him to stop trying to get the car on the truck otherwise he would have ripped the bumper off. My family member also told him he needed to move the tow truck to a better position in order to not do more damage trying to get the car on the tow truck. The driver even asked for a clothes hanger so he could try to tack the bumper back on and cover up the damage. My family member refused to give him a clothes hanger. He even asked where the dumpster was located so that he could find something to "tack up" the bumper. My family member told him she would not allow him to go through the dumpster. He moved his tow truck to a higher part of the driveway and was able to get the car on the truck by backing it in. He appeared to not know how to operate the controls in the flat bed tow truck! If he was the tow driver, I would expect that he would know the best way to get my car on a flat bed truck!
My family member called me to relay what had happened at the pick up. I then called Abdul's Towing and spoke with the owner. When I described the damage that had occurred, he proceeded to yell at me and tell me there was no damage. He told me there was no way for me to know if there was damage because I wasn't there when the car was picked up...neither was he. He said what do you want us to do "pick the car up with a forklift?" I found him to be very rude, impatient, combative, unreasonable and difficult to deal with. He then proceeded to go on a tirade about how I called him several times the day before pick up. And, he asked me if I knew how things worked with shipping a vehicle. No, I didn't know how things worked. It's not my job. Yes, I called him several times the day before pick up as I was trying to get a timeframe for the pick up, since he had not bothered to call me. I told him that I wanted the car shipped to California and that I would discuss dealing with the damage with my Broker at Mercury Transport.
At 6:15 Eastern on Saturday, 8/14, I got a call from the driver, Rasheed, who did the damage to my car. He proceeded to tell me the bumper was torn before he tried to put the car on the bed of the truck. This was not true. He then went on to acknowledge that he parked in the lowest part of the driveway and that was an error on his part. He acknowledged that he tore the bumper a "little bit, like the length of a fingernail." He also acknowledged that he offered to tack it back on after he tore it, but my family member would not allow him to do it. He told me that the bumper would probably have to be repaired or replaced. He said he had had a hard night the night before, trying to load 5 cars and had not gotten much rest. So, he admitted to the damage.
I reported this to Mercury Transport and spoke with the investigator, Michael Cespedes. He told me that he would look into the matter by calling my family member and the owner of the tow truck company.
On Wednesday, 8/18, I got a call from another driver, Ken, who said he was in AZ. He said he might be able to deliver the car that night. I told him I would not accept delivery of the car at night as I needed to inspect the damage. He told me he would call me on Thursday, 8/19, or I should call him to arrange a time. He had not called me by 9:30 AM pacific, so I called him. He told me he would deliver the car after 12:00 PM on 8/19. I made arrangements to take off of work to be home for the delivery. I called him at 2:30 PM, 4:00 PM and 5:30 PM. I also sent him a text message. I never heard a word back from him. So I took off of work and missed a half day's pay, for nothing. I was livid.
At 7:00 AM Pacific on Friday, 8/20, I received a voicemail message from Rasheed. He told me he would deliver my car before noon. I returned his call and asked what happened to Ken, who had promised delivery of the car the day before, but never returned my calls. He said due to "unforeseen reasons, Ken could not deliver my car." I could not believe the level of unprofessionalism. So, I got a bait and switch. Rasheed showed up at approximately 10:00 AM on 8/20. My car was the only car on the truck. I took pictures of my bumper. I could see where someone had attempted to tack it up with a hanger so that it wasn't hanging down to the ground when it was delivered. So they tried to cover up the damage.
Also, this is NOT the type of service I was expecting based on the $795 price, my conversation with the Broker about the importance of quality and my brokers reviews on this website, and A rating by BBB. I was never told by the Broker that my car would be picked up by a flatbed before it was loaded onto the truck that was driving across the country. Who knows how many times and how many trucks it was loaded on and off of? The more a car is loaded and unloaded on a tow truck, the more damage can be done.
I will be filing a claim to cover the repairs to my car.
Abdul's Towing is unethical and they lie, from he owner to the drivers. NEVER use them or allow your broker to contract with them.
