1st time shippers read this to be informed
Michael
Submitted this review about
Cascade Vehicle Shipping Inc.
Review made Live: 10/15/2009 3:45:00 PM
Due to how this site works, I had a previous review removed that contained relevant information. Therefore, I am posting a new review with the contents of both so that consumers can be informed and hopefully learn from my experience. Unfortunately I can not add the comment from Cascade shipping to my first review, as that was also removed, but have added their response to the second at the bottom.
DISCLAIMER: Please regards the positive reviews on this site with caution and pay attention to the green ‘compensated review’ logo/icon. I took the number of positive reviews at face value but then learned the hard way (and after the company offered to ‘buy’ a review from me) that they are not quite what they seem.
I just started a business restoring classic cars and am a 1st time shipper from out of state. I did the usual submit your email and get quotes forever and finally contacted Magic Carpet and Cascade in person for quotes. I spoke with Michelle at Cascade who was super nice and matched the quote given to me by Magic Carpet.
Using the information given to me by Michelle, I made an informed decision, purchased the car, booked the move and sat back to await pick-up and delivery.
6 days into the booking Michelle calls with good news! They have a carrier that can pick the car up today! Bad news, the carrier wants $150.00 more than was quoted. Excuse me? But wait, if you provide us a review, I can take $50.00 off!!!
Now you have entered the world of transportation BROKERS and low ball quotes. Like everything, the 1st time you do something it is a learning experience, and here is what I learned in a very short time.
These transportation brokers (i.e. Cascade/Magic Carpet, the top two rated companies who coincidentally are sister companies owned by the same person) quote to you what they determine to be a 'reasonable' fee to transport your vehicle. When you book the transport, they then post such on a 'board' for the carriers to review (such as Central Dispatch and USA Load).
The carriers, who are completely independent of the broker pick and choose their loads based on, you guessed it, the highest paying ones. Who can blame them, right? The amount that is posted on the board is typically several hundred dollars (the finder’s fee for the broker) less than the quote you are given. In my case, my transport was posted $100.00 lower than the other 9 cars waiting transport from PA to IL, and as such was having problems being picked up.
So there comes Michelle saying we can move it, but it is going to cost more.
Here is my take. Was Cascade honest? Well, maybe. Was Cascade up front with the process? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Did Cascade quote a fair price? ABSOLUTELY NOT
I find it interesting that the majority of the reviews that Cascade and other top rated companies have are 'Compensated Reviews'. Why is that? Perhaps it comes down to most everybody wanting the $50.00 or so they offer for a review; however, I am not seeing many negative compensated reviews…
As a consumer, if a price is quoted to me, I believe that to be in good faith. It is out of my control what Cascade determines to be their finder’s fee out of the amount, and how much they offer the carrier. That really shouldn't be my problem, but in this case it has become such as I have a car awaiting pickup!
How would you feel if you walked into a major retail store, selected a big screen TV, was quoted a price by the sales associate but when you go to load it on the cart he tells you, oh wait a minute, in order for you to take 'this one', it will be $150.00 more? If you want the price I told you before, you will have to wait for the next shipment which is coming in, sometime in the next month or two!
Cascade responded and said they were simply doing a price match and that is what I wanted to do.
When I initially contacted Cascade, I did what I am sure most consumers do; I called several other companies first. It so happened that Magic Carpet quoted me a price, and Cascade, yes, at my request, matched their price. They are sister companies after all. If Michelle at that time thought the price was too low to move the car, she should have been up front about it and perhaps even explained the process.
Contrary to Cascades response, my issue is not the time it has taken to get a carrier, and yes, I was more than willing to wait for a carrier to pick up the load. I believe the real issue is the move was quoted too low, and I was told point blank by Michelle that it probably would not move at the rate it was quoted at. However. they were more than happy to let it sit on the load board at that low rate.
How this works is the 'broker' (Cascade) quote a price. The deposit you pay to them is the 'broker' fee, and the amount due to the driver is the actual cost to transport.
In my particular case, Michelle posted the load on the 'load board' at $250.00, with a broker fee of $205.00 (quoted price was $455.00 to match Magic Carpets price of $260.00). There was also an offer of a $50.00 mail in rebate which would come off the broker fee making their net profit of $155.00 and my out of pocket $405.00.
Once I was contacted by Michelle to say they had a carrier that wanted more money, I was told it would be $150.00 more. So the carrier now wanted $400.00, but Michelle offered to reduce the broker fee by $50.00 for a review, good or bad. So, now we have $400.00 + $205.00 - $50.00 for a review, totaling $555.00, minus the $50.00 rebate for a new total of $505.00. Confused? I was.
So, while I am thinking it through and doing more research on this 'industry' (as most smart consumers would do), I posted a pre-review (as Michelle called it) which was not positive. As a result, Michell now tells me I am no longer eligible for the mail in rebate because of that pre-review! My bad! And no Michelle, you did not say that a pre-review would void the rebate.
So now, because I said something bad, I was looking at $555.00 for the move. How did that happen?
With all due respect;
there is a huge difference between honesty and providing full disclosure. Was Michell honest up front, yes, I guess she was? Did she fully disclose the process and what might happen, no, she did not!
To Michelle's credit, she was very honest by the time we were done and that was well appreciated, and also remained polite and professional.
And, yes, I got the terms and conditions and I never stated you violated those. You should probably stop throwing them back into your (potential) customer’s faces whenever they question something, especially since I did not accuse you of doing anything wrong!
In hind sight, I think the customer would appreciate a REALISTIC quote, even if it is higher than what the competitors are offering. That seems to be what the reputable companies do. I know Cascade stated that I asked for a price match, which I did, but when you are pricing your own company, one would believe it was a good price match and given in good faith.
The bottom line is after all of this, and as Cascade identified, they would not under any circumstances adjust their broker fee to get the car moved. I strongly feel that the broker has a little more responsibility/liability in quoting a good price, and as such if the quote was bad, then adjusting their broker fee to make it work. For this particular situation to end up how it did, with rebates being withdraw, promises for reductions for a review etc etc it certainly leaves one to question Cascades intentions. If what Michelle was saying was really true about this wonderful and caring company, owner etc, then I would have expected the broker fee to be reduced and rebates honored to get the job done.
It is obvious that this company highly values its customers (sic) and their reviews on this forum. Michelle was truly upset by the first part of my review, but like I said, it was honest and from the consumers point of view. I find it interesting that the reviews are so highly acclaimed, when most are compensated (yes, I know, good or bad), yet these two companies are not BBB (or any other legitimate institute for that matter) accredited.
So in the end I decided to reduce your broker fee for you by going with a different company! So now instead of $50 - 100.00 you will be getting nothing. Actions speak louder than words I say.
Response: Posted by a representative of Cascade Vehicle Shipping, Inc. on 10/15/2009 1:46:00 PM
SO after this novel that you wrote, I only have a few things to say. You were not disqualified from the rebate, we deducted the rebate from the total cost because you posted a review. So you were not disqualified, it just meant that we would not have to send you a check. You had already received the rebate before hand, if you would have continued to use our services.
Sorry to lose you, but with as much work as we did on the phone in the last 24 hours it would have been more than the 50-100 bucks that you wanted to give us. That is why we would not lower our fee, not commission. It should not matter how the breakdown goes, you have an over all price you have to pay and it should not matter who gets what as long as you pay what you are suppose to. You are not paying anything to us or the truck we would have assigned for you. Good luck with the carrier that has told you that they have a truck for you. Make sure you check their insurance to make sure they are valid. And yes we will refer to our terms and conditions, and no we do not throw them in our customers, it is your responsibility to read them before arranging transport. You did not accuse of of doing anything wrong? In your last review you accused us of being dishonest, and if you would have read your terms and conditions you would have noticed that what you received was a quote not a guaranteed price.
Good luck.
Final comment since the board does not allow you to respond to Company responses:
1/ in regards to the rebate, how was it I got that in advance when I paid $155.00 deposit, and you were telling me that the shipper wanted $400.00? Does that mean the total was actually $605.00 so now there was a $200.00 difference?
2/the breakdown of the price absolutely matters. Consumers should be aware of how it is broken down so they can make educated decisions, such as, how much is this broking offering the carriers? How can that NOT matter?
3/you imply that the carrier I choose to go with is not trust worthy. Is that an issue in this industry? Offering me good luck and telling me to check their insurance. They have a 5-star rating on this website, does that not mean anything?
For future consumers, make sure you ask anyone you speak with at any company how much the broker fee is, how much they are posting the load for on the board, what the current average amount on the board is and how many vehicles are on the board for your route. Hopefully that will help you in making an informed decision on who is giving you the right information and quoting you a good price.
