Be careful of shady drivers

Mike Submitted this review about Reliable Car Transportation
Review made Live: 1/24/2010 2:35:00 PM
My problem is more directed to the driver they sent me, although Reliable seems to wash their hands of responsibility if any problems occur. I was originally going to ship just one car. When I was ready to leave, my truck was really heavy and I didn't think it would be a good idea to also tow a car. When Alan (driver) arrived, I asked about adding a second car. He told me he had room for one more and so my second car was loaded.

When he arrived it was raining, so we didn't Aspen to much time closely inspecting the cars. I was mainly concerned with getting my nice car inside and checking it out. There was some drops of oil from the car that was above it, but I didn't mind that to much. I have a lot of wax on the car so I just wiped it up and put another coat on. There was no damage.

Now is where the problem came. After Alan left I went to move my other car and I noticed something on the roof. When I got closer, it was a few big dents and some scrapes that went through the paint and deep into the metal. You could also see where Alan wiped the area but NEVER MENTIONED SEEING IT! I immediately called him to tell him about what I found but didn't mention that I saw where he wiped it. He didn't deny anything and said he would have to pay for it out of his own pocket. He didn't write up an order for the car and was just going to keep the money from the side.

When I talked with him, he agreed to send me back what I paid for the second car and we would call it even. All I received after countless calls was "the check is in the mail" excuses.

I called to let Brian (original agent I dealt with) know what had happened. He told me he would try talking to Alan but I didn't hear back from him. I called back and he said he couldn't reach Alan. Brian then told me he would have someone call me back that could help me. After a week of no calls, I called again. This is where I got transfered to Ken (manager). All I got from him was excuses of how they were only brokers, and they weren't responsible for the drivers actions.

All in all, if you like to gamble with the safety of your car, Reliables prices were low. Keep in mind, you get what you pay for. This turned out to be a very expensive lesson for me. I'm still going to pursue this matter and take Alan to court for the full price of the damages. I will also leave reviews of what I'm going through to let people know what to expect when dealing with Reliable. I went with them based on the reviews I read. I'm not saying don't use them, a lot of people have used them with no problems. Just know that if there is a problem, they do not care about the honesty or integrity of the drivers they send to you. I personally will never consider using them or recommend them to anyone.


Company Response
from Reliable Car Transportation Submitted this response.
Response Date: 1/28/2010 8:26:00 PM
We appreciate the feedback and apologize that Michael's car was damaged. Michael hired us to find him a carrier to transport his vehicle. We found him one within the timeframe in which he requested, however when the carrier showed up to pick up his vehicle, Michael negotiated a deal with the carrier to transport a second vehicle. Consequently and unfortunately for Michael, that second car he added to the order without our knowledge was damaged during the transport. We have no paperwork correlating with the transport of his second vehicle. We are brokers, everyone in this industry is. The price has nothing to do with the quality of the transport. We take your information "the customer" and post the vehicle on a load board. The load board is a national load board to which all brokers share. We do not own it nor do they. If we priced the vehicle at a high price or what he calls a lower price it wouldn't change what carrier called to commit to the transport. We post the information on the board and wait for responses from a wide range of carriers. If he went with another broker for a much higher price he would have still been dispatched to the same carrier based on the dates the customer requested and how many trucks were in that area. We understand the driver did not send a check for the damages and is trying to escape from the alleged damage. However, the only thing we can do is submit a claim with that carrier companies insurance. Brokers do not have nor have the ability to obtain insurance, we do not own a truck in order to submit a request for insurance. We would need vin numbers, DOT numbers etc. No broker has any insurance. We are licensed and bonded. We are more than happy to help a customer that has dealt with an unfortunate situation. Regardless, we have still made several attempts in contacting the driver for Michaels well being.