BEWARE of Magic Carpet Auto Transport!
Julie
Submitted this review about
Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 4/20/2010 2:10:00 PM
BEWARE of Magic Carpet Auto Transport! I had my car trucked from Maine to Matson's Long Beach, California port. From there, it went to Maui. My "personal account executive" (Kathy) was not available when I called nor would she respond to e-mail. Her personal service was non-existent. To book my order, she collected $1,273 ($399 Magic Carpet fee, $874 Matson fee) up front. She said she would call me back shortly with my Matson booking number (which the truck driver would need) but never did. My job was dispatched in less than an hour of placing my order. When the truck driver called me for directions to my house and a Matson booking number, I had to call Magic Carpet again because Kathy never called me back, as promised.
When speaking with the truck driver, he said he would only accept cash. His fee was $925 (grand total $2198). I gave him the cash but, once again, in my original conversation with Kathy, I asked lots of questions and she told me drivers accept cash, money orders or certified bank checks. That was not true. Most truck drivers only accept cash because they need the money immediately to pay for fuel.
Magic Carpet claims to have a "Guaranteed Price Match" which says: "Our company will match any price quoted by a 4 or 5 star rated Company on Transport Reviews. The matched price is only valid for up to 5 days. If a carrier cannot be dispatched within the 5 days the price will go up to the original quoted price." I booked my order with Kathy on March 15th. On March 16th, I forwarded a March 12th price quote to her from State2State Auto Transport for $2125. Because State2State is a top-rated company on this Transport Reviews website, I requested Magic Auto's guaranteed price match. However, Kathy never responded to my e-mail.
The next day, I called Kathy to ask her if she received my e-mail requesting the guaranteed price match. She said she'd been busy and hadn't seen it. She then said, "Companies can quote any price to get your business. It doesn't make it real. This job has already been dispatched to a truck and contracts have been signed. I can't change the price now." I couldn't believe she just said that to me! I was so floored, I had to write it down. I was requesting a $73 price match guarantee and this is how she responds? Wow! I met all the criteria of Magic Carpet's guaranteed price match, yet was disrespected and made to feel stupid. Is your $399 broker fee (commission) really that important to you?
The truck driver picked-up my car early in the morning on March 19th, as scheduled, with no problems. Kathy said I would receive a call when my car reached Long Beach, California. I was given a timeframe of 7-10 days. On April 2nd, I still hadn't heard from Kathy, so I called Magic Carpet. Of course, Kathy wasn't available. However, Hillary said, "Ummm . . . yeah . . . it arrived in Long Beach today, as a matter of fact." According to the truck driver's "Bill of Lading," he dropped the car off in Long Beach on March 29th. Once again, Magic Carpet was not being honest with the customer. Why lie? What does it accomplish?
From that point on, I tracked my car myself through the Matson website. All I needed was my booking number. Via their website, I knew when my car made it to Oahu and when it left. I followed as it arrived on Maui on March 18th. I picked my car up from the Matson dock yesterday (March 19th) and, as I write this (March 20th), I still haven't heard a peep from Kathy at Magic Carpet. Good thing I'm not waiting for her to contact me because port storage fees at the terminal are expensive!
One final thought for you to consider, Magic Carpet claims they will send you a $50 check if you review their company on this Transport Reviews website. Based on my encounters (or lack thereof) with them, I'm not holding my breath. I'm a Sales and Customer Service Quality Trainer for a Fortune 100 company. Based on how Kathy treated (and ignored) me, there is NO WAY I would positively recommend Magic Carpet to anyone. They have no attention to detail and lack both integrity and ethics. Please keep in mind that these brokers also own Cascade Vehicle Shipping Inc. and Domestic Auto Transport Inc.
