They took advantage of us because we were desperate

Michael Carrato Submitted this review about American Century Transport
Review made Live: 2/4/2009 12:09:00 PM
My mom has advanced breast cancer and can no longer walk. She is confined to a chair all day. We ordered a mobility van from California, but during transit to New York State, the original delivery truck (not from ACT) got stuck in Dayton, OH.

The original delivery company was not resolving the problem and we really needed the van, so we turned to American Century Transport. That was a huge mistake.

I spoke to a nice sounding woman named Mercedes and explained our predicament. I explained that we were desperate for our vehicle and needed it this week, Saturday at the latest. I told her "if it doesn't ship by Friday, I will drive to Dayton and pick it up myself"

Mercedes assured me it would "probably go out Wednesday or Thursday morning". I asked her REPEATEDLY if I could cancel should it get delayed past Friday, and she assured me I could. REPEATEDLY. So she faxed me the contract and said I had to sign the contract quickly because they could possibly get a truck out the next day. This sounded like a hard sell, but I was desperate and she sounded honest, so against my better judgement I signed quickly and paid the deposit.

You know what happened next. I called today (Thursday) and spoke to Mercedes, who quickly transferred me to "dispatch" without even giving me a chance to talk. I called back thirty seconds later and asked for Mercedes again, but the receptionist said Mercedes was "out until next Wednesday" - this was thirty seconds after she had cut me off! So I spoke to someone else and asked whether our van had been picked up, she said it was "scheduled for Saturday"

I said I needed to cancel, and of course she told me I would lose my deposit if I did. I told her Mercedes had ASSURED me I could cancel if it didn't ship by Friday. Her response: "sir, didn't you read your contract, we have 14 days to deliver!" After going back and forth a bit, I told her I had trusted Mercedes word, and she basically said I was stupid to trust them. I know, I was stupid to trust them, but with my mom's predicament I was desperate enough to trust someone who sounded honest.

Lesson: there are people like ACT who prey on those who are in a bad situation. They heard my desperation and they saw profit potential. They went into hard sell mode and took advantage of someone in a bad situation. READ YOUR CONTRACT and don't listen to a word your rep says.

Company Response
Evelyn Molly Monica from American Century Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 2/9/2009 7:05:00 AM
Mr. Carrato contacted us at American Century Transport and told us that the company he had contracted to move his vehicle had broken-down in Ohio and explained that he couldn’t wait anymore for them to complete the transport of his vehicle , he remembered us from a quote we had given him which would include a $300.00 gas voucher, he told us that he needed The vehicle moved as soon as possible preferably by that Friday or Saturday .As soon as the contract was received our dispatch department worked intensely in locating him a driver and successfully located him a driver and dispatched the vehicle to be picked up on that Friday ,Saturday The latest depending on when the driver would be getting to Ohio . When we contacted Mr. Carrato to let him know of the dispatch thinking he would be releived that his vehicle would be picked up in such short notice and be delivered by his timeframe , we were told by him that he wanted to Cancel because he was transporting it with someone else , and he demanded a full refund . This let us to believe that he must of double booked his transport with someone else at the same time .We informed him that we had found him a driver and dispatched his vehicle for pick up why was he cancelling and he told us that at that moment his vehicle was being picked Up by someone else and he was cancelling , he then was told that we were cancelling his order but he was not entitled to any refund because his vehicle was dispatched as to the terms and conditions of the contract he signed and agreed to. And as to his suggestion that he was told his vehicle would be picked up the next day that is a figment of his imagination we cannot and do not guarantee any pickup or delivery dates,and still we located him a driver and were going to get his vehicle delivered within three days and he still cancelled .