Beware!! Given the opportunity, these guys WILL take advantage of you!!

DOsborne Submitted this review about Montway Auto Transport
Review made Live: 11/6/2015 11:47:00 AM
Beware!! This company excels at financially taking advantage of their customers due to unfair and crooked business practices.

I decided to utilize Montway for transport after making on online purchase of a vehicle through Ebay. There were two factors that made me choose Montway, their time frame published for being able to pick up and deliver, and their online reviews/ratings. Price wasn’t the most important factor; I just wanted the delivery to be completed quickly and safely (without worry of issues in transport to the vehicle). I booked Montway many days in advance of needing them to allow for extra time that they could procure a driver or add me to their schedule; at that time, I paid a $200 deposit. My total cost for transport was going to be $619, with the balance to be paid in cash only to the driver upon drop off. Clearly this now is obviously that Montway actually only benefited from booking the transport and their fee was $200 as a broker. At any rate, eventually in this process, the deal fell through because the seller decided to abandon my accepted offer in order to accept a higher back up offer (Signature Auto Sports, Davie FlL- another review for another time), however the good news (or so it seemed at the time) was that at worst my return deposit with Montway was guaranteed since they only would keep a deposit once they verified availability of the vehicle with the onsite contact and a driver actually arrived onsite. Clearly, the deal wasn’t going to happen, they had not verified availability, and I contacted Montway to inform them of such. So despite their posting of best practices on their website, sharing that they would confirm the availability prior to dispatch, despite reiterating it online when placing the order by collection of the pertinent data, despite regurgitation of this yet again via email and by telephone, and finally after all of the aforementioned preparation and communication above, they did not confirm availability and unjustly rolled their driver onsite as to guarantee that their deposit was secured and non-refundable. So the only loss in this entire process, was to a company that I thought was reputable and trustworthy based on the majority on online ratings. To give them credit, I am sure had things went on without a hitch, the transport may have worked out fine. But, isn’t honor and integrity defined in the moments when they are needed most, not in times that are the easiest? I feel that the company played a very underhanded set of cards in order to benefit themselves financially, at a cost to me, when every effort I could make to communicate, be respectful of their time and effort, pay quickly, etc. was made.

I’m certain this review will never affect the business of Montway, but I do hope that the effort to share my experience (my first review by the way) will save at least one person from having to experience the same unfair financial loss generated by an out of town company, who unjustly takes advantage of their customers financially with no repercussion. As far as I am concerned, I buy vehicles online frequently. And Montway has lost a potential customer for life.

Company Response
Montway from Montway Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 12/5/2015 11:20:00 AM
Dear Devin Osborne we are truly sorry to have lost you as a customer. It is however imperative that customers have a clear understanding of the terms they accept when entering a contractual agreement. Our terms are publicly published on our website, disclosed prior and during booking, written in the customer agreement and within all communications thereafter. The vehicle MUST BE ready and available for pickup at the date the customer specifies that it is. In this case, Mr. Osborne had not even purchased or paid for the vehicle but yet had already ordered the pickup for it. It is solely the customer's responsibility to make sure the vehicle is ready and available before he tells us that it is ok to send the carrier to pick it up. Mr. Osborne booked the transport order on 10/13/15 and gave us a date of availability for the vehicle of 10/16/15. On 10/15/15 we dispatched a carrier that signed the transport contract and was to pickup the vehicle on 10/16/16 as per Mr. Osborne's requested date. When the carrier arrived at the location on 10/16/16 the seller of the vehicle stated that the vehicle is not paid for and he is not releasing it to the carrier. The carrier had to leave without the vehicle, which is considered a dry run with no load to pickup, wasted gas and wasted time, which sets off his schedule. After this, Mr. Osborne stated he needs to cancel the order as the seller would not sell him the vehicle. We cancelled the order, however the fees for our dispatch service are non-refundable as service is rendered. Cancellation Policy states that the customer must request cancellation in writing BEFORE the carrier is dispatched. After a carrier is dispatched they have a signed contract for the transport and our dispatch service is rendered and the dispatch fees are no longer refundable. It is not our responsibility to interfere in customers private sales dealings or confirm with the seller if they are still selling the vehicle. It is the customer's responsibility to order service only after he has confirmed that the vehicle is paid for and 100% available for pickup. The dispatch service was rendered according to the pickup date Mr. Osborne requested and according to the terms and conditions Mr. Osborne accepted when he booked this order, therefore the service must be paid for. Please note that carrier dispatch service is a paid service. Once consumed it cannot be returned. The dispatch service is intangible and thus cannot be reversed. We always advise our customers to pay attention to all details in the terms and conditions in any type of contract or order they engage in. Integrity is one of Montway's company core values. We demonstrate our integrity by being transparent with all of our terms and conditions of service because we understand that transporting a vehicle is not a common occurrence. Nothing within our process is hidden. That is how we became one of the largest auto transporters in the United States. We remain in business because we are industry experts transporting over 6,000 vehicles a month and have a network of over 13,000 carriers. Both customer and company bare a responsibility to any business transaction. We understand that not everyone may be satisfied with our service, for which we will continue to strive for improvement. However as part of accepting our service, we do expect that our terms and conditions are understood and that we are appropriately held accountable to our terms and conditions. Montway is 100% dedicated to the customer and our service and care is unmatched! Montway stands by its services and will go above and beyond to assist customers with any issues. Had Mr. Osborne contacted us prior to posting inaccurate reviews of the chain of events, we would have been able to address and resolve the issue at hand.