Almost great but a WRONG SUV delivered!

Steven H Submitted this review about AmeriFreight Car Shipping
Review made Live: 10/21/2008 12:12:00 PM
Was shipping a black MB GL450 from Ca to Dallas,TX and all seemed to be going perfect. I ordered and paid for the expedited shipping and was pleased to hear that they had a carrier ready to pick up my vehicle the very next day! Wow, that was truly impressive. As the vehicle was being transported, the various contacts at Amerifreight that I spoke to about the where abouts of my SUV were extremely knowledgeable, friendly and prompt to respond. All seemed to be going well, I got a call from the driver that we needed to meet for delivery of my SUV, and at this point I am very pleased all around. As I see the transport truck pull up to me, I see a black MB GL450...but, it is NOT my black MB GL450! As the driver and I try and piece together what happened, it seems that he transported two black MB GL450's from California to Texas and erroneously dropped off my vehicle in Houston to someone else! After much explanation from the driver, what had happened was that the people in Houston strongly argued that my SUV was actually their SUV...so he assumed that a mistake was made in the paperwork and scratched out both the names and VIN #'s on both of our invoices and exchanged our names and VIN #s on opposing forms and then gave my SUV to the Houston people. After being very apologetic and embarrassed, he then put contingency plans into place to get my SUV to me in Dallas. They were able to get me my SUV the next day and within the timeframe that was advertised.However,I can't help but feel almost violated and a huge concern about the breakdown in procedure that occurred.The driver did not go by the paperwork and VIN #'s, he just listened to the Houston people.I can't believe this could happened with a auto transport company!When I talked to the contacts at Amerifreight, to their credit, they were always pleasant and helpful, but letting my vehicle into the hands of the wrong person is really unacceptable and being "sorry" does not make me feel any better about it.A renegotiated cost in the service along with some reassurance that a hard and fast VIN # procedure seems appropriate.However,to date, none of this has happened and that is why I cannot recommend nor will I ever use them again.IF they had made a real effort to make sure that I was happy I could possibly recommend to others.After all, if I'm going to pay $1030 in expedited courier service, I expect and demand to be pleased with that service.All in all this seems like a shame, if this mishap did not occur then it would have been a completely different story.Hope this helps.

Company Response
AmeriFreight from AmeriFreight Car Shipping Submitted this response.
Response Date: 10/21/2008 1:49:00 PM
As the president and owner of AmeriFreight I am very pleased and proud of my staff in the way they assist and treat our customers. When things like this happen I can understand the view and frustration of the customer, but there was really very little we could do at the time when it happened. This was an isolated case and quite unique to transport such rare vehicles who looked identical. Admittedly it should have been handled in a more controlled manner. My staff did all they could to help fix this mess. It is hard to control things happening in the field and the way drivers make judgenments. We are therefore at their mercy at the time when things happen, and can only fix it afterwards. I am profoundly grateful that the car was found and in one piece and we can rest this case. To the credit of the carrier they acted swiftly to rectify the error on thier part and also our insistance. We continiously enforce stricter procedures with our carrier partners, but in this industry we learn every day and our goal is to in any event try to resolve issues that could not be avoided through effective and understanding customer care. We do not enjoy receiving anything less than a five star rating. This review hurts especially due to the actions of the carrier. But we accept that we had a part in it and will take it as a lesson learnt. As ever, we strive to place our service to our customers as our highest priority even at our own cost. Marius Lehmann