My truck was being repaired at a body shop in Pennsylvania when I began searching for a reasonable solution to having it returned to New Mexico. I began contacting auto transport companies 2 weeks before my vehicle was scheduled to have repairs completed. The transport company (see Parker Auto Transport) I originally planned on using bailed out of our agreement the day (1/3/2011) we had projected for pickup. This left me scrambling for another company as my truck was sitting in a parking lot in Pennsylvania with all work completed. I began reevaluating the other companies that had submitted quotes…reading reviews, evaluating their web sites, etcetera. I was sold eventually by Polar Express’s reviews (at the time nearly all were 5 stars) and their web site (very professional, and only one glaring spelling error). The original quote given to me for a pick up on 1/3/2011 by their representative, JANELLE TANIA BENDOVA (apparently a sales person as I never heard from her again after my down payment), was for $840. I believed this to be somewhat low, but still felt this was a reputable company. When I contacted Ms. Bendova, she assured me that Polar Express would be able to pick my truck up between 1 and 6 days, but as the original quote date (1/3/2011) had passed and it was now 1/4/2011 gas prices had increased so much that it would cost $950. I wanted my truck moved as soon as possible. One hundred dollars more was not a problem. I paid the $175 down payment with my credit card, completed a contract, etc. The rest of the money ($775) was to go to the driver. I foolishly assumed Polar Express had contact with drivers that they knew would want this job for that price. From what I have since gleaned, they merely put the information on an electronic bulletin board to see if there were any takers.
I emailed Ms Bendova on Thursday (1/6/2011) to find out the status of the transport. I received no response. I tried again Monday (1/10/2011) morning and again she did not respond. I called Polar Express later that day (6 days after my down payment and on the day they said it would be moved at the latest). After being put on hold for a while I was told that the “dispatcher” would call me back later in the day or Tuesday morning. That didn’t happen. I called again Tuesday and I believe Wednesday with the same responses…apologies, someone would call me back etc. More silence. Someone finally called back and said my truck would “probably” be picked up Friday (1/14/2011). I tried to believe her. The following week was more of the same. Finally on Wednesday (1/19/2011), “one of the dispatchers,” Lucy, told me, “not to worry” my vehicle would be picked up on Friday (1/21/2011). There was no communication from Polar Express on Friday until I called them. There was more time on hold before I was told that “the driver canceled” and they were trying to get in touch with his dispatcher… “he’s usually so reliable”, etc. My experience on the phone was not unlike the TV commercials where you are talking to someone who is using sound effects to mimic a busy office… “my assistant is on the other phone trying to contact their dispatcher at this time” and other such nonsense. Lucy (or someone that sounded like her only using another name) assured me that on Saturday she was going to work on my case and get a driver. I called Saturday…they were working on it. Then lo and behold I received an email that a driver had been contracted…for $1200! This was $425 above our contracted price! I called…angry. I was going to cancel and fly back to Pennsylvania. Drive the truck to New Mexico. She replied that to make up for the problems, Polar Express would immediately send me $600 in prepaid Visa credit cards that I could use for food and gas! How is that possible? I knew it was a lie…, which it was. Ten days later, I received two $300 GASPASS vouchers that were a scam unto themselves. Reading the fine print was more than any horror story I’ve read in years!
The bottom line is I called the driver. Spoke to his wife. Real people with a real truck…and my vehicle was eventually delivered. He picked it up on 1/26/2011 and I received it on 2/6/2011. Lots of snow and ice along the way, which is the reason I didn’t want to go back in the first place. Polar Express could have made this a lot easier if they presented a reasonable quote to begin with and didn’t misrepresent what they were actually doing, which was basically nothing for their $175 cut of the payment. My vehicle was picked up 22 days after I made the down payment, 16 days after the day their sales representative said it would be picked up “at the latest.” I received my vehicle 33 days after signing the contract. I paid $1375. Their original quote was $840. I made approximately a dozen phone calls to Polar Express. They called me back 3 or 4 times. This is the service you can expect at Polar Express Auto Transport
