Damaged car when subcontracted to VLS

Dennis Profitt Submitted this review about Agape Auto Transport LLC
Review made Live: 7/28/2011 11:36:00 AM
My car was delivered at 10:30 pm- the night before I began my new job. I thought I was going to have to rent a car to drive to work. The truck driver, Denny, did not regard my instructions of where in the area of the hotel in which I was staying to unload the car. Rather than the well-lit large parking area I recommended, he pulled onto a poorly lit side street that separated two hotel properties. He unloaded my car and asked me to sign that there was no damage. Because it was dark, I could not do a sufficient inspection. But I had to sign the form in order to get my car. It wasn't until the next day in the sunlight that I noticed the swirling scratches that were all over the hood of my Infiniti G35 that I had just bought three months prior. I contacted Candi at Agape Transport (1-866-990-7447) who had always been nice and helpful to me when setting up the subcontract with VLS, LLC, but, she absolved Agape of any responsibility for the damage and recommended I call Alek at VLS. Alek was never helpful. He kept requesting that I send photos of the damage and the receipt of payment to MAACO I made to fix the damage. I sent this information to him several times, but he never made it right. I kept calling him, but he eventually stopped accepting calls from me. I would ask for him when I called, but I would just sit on hold for a half hour at a time. Finally, I called Agape again. This time, I spoke with another woman instead of Candi- although the woman spoke to Candi about my case while I was on the phone with her. She recommended I call the company who insures VLS, LLC. The person I spoke with at the insurance company asked if I had sent VLS all the necessary documents. Of course, I had, so I informed her that all that had been done. She stated that she would contact Alek at VLS and call me back. She indicated that by some convoluted process, I would eventually be reimbursed. That has been 8 months ago now.

Company Response
Rebekah A from Agape Auto Transport LLC Submitted this response.
Response Date: 7/28/2011 2:11:00 PM
Although damage is extremely rare, damages cases usually take only a couple weeks to settle. Mr Profitt is fortunate that the carrier’s insurance company is even going to accept liability for the damage. Per the contract, once a customer signs a bill of lading accepting a vehicle as noted of not having damage the claim is not covered. The reason this claim has taken the insurance company a lot longer is because the Bill of Lading on delivery was signed by Mr. Profitt as being in good condition with no damage. It is always very important to not sign a Bill of Lading if you are unsure of the condition of the vehicle under any circumstance. We make sure that customers are well informed on this during the order process. The carriers have this inspection report to protect them in case a customer claims damage after the transport has been complete and signed for. This ensures that the carrier delivered the vehicle in the condition that the customer signed for. The industry had to put this system in place because there had been a lot of cases where customers were claiming damage that occurred shortly after the transporter had delivered an undamaged vehicle. Please read your terms and conditions agreement before transporting your vehicle. It informs you of everything you must do in order for this process to go smoothly. I would like to add that Agape was not notified there were any problems with this claims process other than this bad review. We always assist in helping our customers with the claims process. We are here for you and always strive to do what is honest in every situation. Thank you.