Criminal Organization

Carlos Rivera Submitted this review about Dependable Auto Shippers
Review made Live: 1/11/2009 5:39:00 AM
My vehicle is a 2001 Lotus Esprit. It was picked up by DAS on 12/13/08 going from Florda to Washington State on a Enlosed carrier. They initially threw my vehicle in a bad part of town in a dirty parking lot in St. Petersburg, FL. I didn't hear from them for week so I decided to call them since I paid for expedited service. They guaranteed me 12 business days. When I called them, they told me they had a problem, my vehicle would not start. Since they let my expensive exotic vehicle sit outside for 8 days without starting it or putting the battery on a charger, the vehicle's alarm system drained the battery. They refused to charge to battery of my car and said they would charge me $35.00 to come on the lot if I flew down to Florida to charge the battery. So I bought a whole new battery and had the previous owner of my car go replace it. I re-imbursed him the $35.00 they charged him to go on the lot to swap batteries. The old battery was perfectly good after testing. So then I called Armando Alonzo from DAS and told him I replaced the battery and that the car was ready to load again. Another week went by, my vehicle continued to sit outside collecting rust and dust. Then they finally scheduled a truck to come and get the vehicle. The truck driver decided the car looked a little to low and didn't want to load it. So he left it there, even though they picked it up the first time to hold the vehicle hostage and my vehicle is stock with a 5.75" ground clearance and they knew from the beginning that it was a Lotus Esprit. So I called them back again and again and again. They keep telling me that they are sending out a truck that might pick it up. If this truck doesn't pick it up then they are going to refuse me service, but we have to wait and see whether the driver feels like it or not. Its now been a month since they picked up my vehicle. I am 3000 miles away, I know from the report given to me by the previous owner who changed the battery for me that my vehicle is in poor condition. DAS sub contracts to chop shops anywhere whether legit or not. It is dirty, the brakes have rusted, and it has more then likely been vandalized in the type of neighboorhood they threw the car in. They may be striping my vehicle down and parting it out for all I know. On top of that its at the very least getting weather beaten every day. At this point I am going to pursue legal action against DAS. I am going to turn everything over to an attorney and report my vehicle to the police as stolen. Hopefully my insurance company and the police can go after them and recover my vehicle. I have provided a link to the vehicle I am talking about below. It was pristine and perfect. DAS has managed to steal my vehicle and probably destroyed it. I have never dealt with a company this shady in all my life.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___2001-Lotus-Esprit-TTV8-5950-original-miles-Pristine_W0QQitemZ120329806253QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item120329806253&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A-1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Company Response
J Krueger from Dependable Auto Shippers Submitted this response.
Response Date: 1/16/2009 1:30:00 PM
The reason this shipment was delayed is because the battery died, plain and simple. Certainly a car with a propety wired alarm system should not have a battery drain to dead in just 5 days. Unfortunately, DAS cannot be held responsible a problem caused by a pre-existing mechanical issue. The vehicle was not "thrown" anywhere, nor has it been stolen or chopped. In reality, it is currently in trasit through Texas. DAS uses reputable, fully insured tow services as their terminals and has never had a car vandalized or stolen from the St. Petersburg facility.