Extremely Frustrating
Annie
Submitted this review about
Direct Auto Movers Inc.
Review made Live: 6/8/2011 5:06:00 PM
Long story short: Do NOT use Direct Auto Movers if you expect any sort of customer service. Expect to be the one proactively calling to figure out what's going on with your car - when it's going to be picked up, who's picking it up, how much you'll be charged, when it'll be delivered. And watch out for unexpected, unauthorized credit card charges. Also expect to hear a lot of BS from Bryan about why something cannot be done.
The full story: I have used Direct Auto Movers twice - once in August 2010 to ship my car from CA to IN, and once again in May 2011 to ship my car back from IN to CA. My first experience with DAM in August was fine - I dealt primarily with Nick, who sent me dispatch sheets and was prompt with communication and keeping me informed. The car was delivered a day later than expected, but I was overall pleased with my experience.
In May, when it came time to ship my car from IN back to CA, I didn't even bother looking around for alternative car transport companies. I even suggested that my roommate use DAM to ship her car from IN to CA. This time, I dealt solely with Bryan. He quoted me a price of ~$950 to ship my car, which was fine. He also indicated that if my roommate and I agreed to have our cars picked up at the same time, we would receive a discount. My roommate and I arranged for the same pick-up time, and I authorized DAM to charge my card $200 for a deposit. I received no dispatch sheets, and no further communication from Bryan. When the pick-up date drew near, I called Bryan since I hadn't heard from him at all for maybe 2 weeks since the initial call. He said simply that there was a storm and that the truck probably wouldn't be able to pick my car up on time. I had stressed to him the importance of picking up my car on time, because both my roommate and I were permanently moving from IN to CA and there would be no one else available after a certain date to sign for the pick-up. Bryan apparently "worked very hard" to get a truck to IN to pick up our cars, but the pick-up date was late by 2 days - the day we were to fly from IN to CA.
Though in the end, my car made it safely to CA and on time [my roommate was not so lucky - her car delivery was delayed by 1.5 weeks. Of course, Bryan had no clue where her car was or when she could expect its delivery], I expressed my extreme dissatisfaction to Bryan (who has not called me back in a week despite my request):
(1) Our car shipment was actually transported via Anthony's Auto Transport (who, incidentally, was pretty reliable), even though Bryan had made MULTIPLE assurances to me that DAM "owned their own fleet of trucks." This statement is extremely misleading and I was shocked to hand my keys to a stranger who I did not expect to transport my car. I had no idea what Anthony's liability insurance was like, whether they had received good reviews, etc. Bryan, of course, NEVER told me that he was subcontracting our job. Nor could he be reached via cell or text that weekend. So really, just because DAM owns its own fleet of trucks does NOT mean that they actually use them in your car shipment.
(2) I checked my credit card statement last week and saw that I was charged $149.38 in addition to the $200 deposit I had previously authorized. Though the amount of money I was ultimately charged for shipping my car was correct (~$950), the UNAUTHORIZED charge on my card is unacceptable business practice. Bryan had my email and my cell and could have easily called/emailed/contacted me prior to charging my card.
(3) Despite my efforts to talk to Nick about my dissatisfaction, I have yet to hear from him.
