over 150% Autostar rate increase for no reason

Dirk Heinrich Submitted this review about AutoStar Transport Express
Review made Live: 7/21/2016 1:23:00 PM
I have used Autostar 3 x now. The third time I just trusted them - that was a mistake. As most of you know, brokers like Autostar will give you a quote without breakdown of the cost. You won't know how much is theirs and how much the carrier gets till you get an actual carrier - at that point you already paid and signed your money away.

Of my total of $1275, $400 went to Autostar this time.
Last time of my total $1125, $150 went to Autostar.

That is an over 150% increase in Autostar's share - I asked for the reason, but they would not give me one.

Transportation brokers are notorious for unethical business practice. They keep the transaction as intransparent as possible to make the customer believe a) these are actually their trucks, b) they have no discretion over price.
... instead they all use Centraldispatch (clearing Web Site for carriers) and just ad a random fee to it.

I thought Autostar was better, but they are just as unethical. I'll keep on looking for a better one who believes in transparency and honesty.

Company Response
Mike Cannon from AutoStar Transport Express Submitted this response.
Response Date: 7/22/2016 4:13:00 PM
Hi Dirk, we are very sorry to hear that you feel like you did not have a good experience this time working with us. We appreciate your feedback but we feel the need to clarify a few things. First and foremost, the broker fee varies depending on the difficulty of the transport: i.e., size of the vehicle, route, time of the year, etc. You were not transporting a Sedan but a 1967 Volkswagen Bus Camper and our coordinator did explain to you that Rogers, AR was a tricky location so in order to secure a carrier more work would be needed. Please also note that a) we are a licensed vehicle transport broker and we have never claimed that we use our own trucks, we search and screen for top rated and fully insured carriers for our customers. And b) you signed a contract on 07/07/2016 that fully disclose our broker fee, so that was never something that was hidden from you. You also have to take into account that on 07/06/2016 we confirmed a carrier for your transport and the vehicle was not ready when you said it would. Although is a standard procedure in the industry to charge a re-scheduling fee, we did not, and it was us who covered the expenses that emerged due to the fact your vehicle was not ready. We again had to search and screen for another carrier, which we did, and your vehicle was transported safely on the dates you requested. We feel our broker fee was well earned. This was a complicated load in an uncommon route, and we found not one but two carriers for you. Regarding your previous orders, they were placed almost 9 months ago, during a different season, on different routes, with deposits varying from $150 to $275. We appreciate your business and wish you well.