Too good to be true, bait and switch

A.D. Submitted this review about Suncoast Auto Transport Inc.
Review made Live: 12/11/2012 3:12:00 PM
got the quote through one of those websites that submits your details to a bunch of shipping companies. I liked their rates and was under the assumption that they could get my car shipped at that price in a sane timeframe. What they DON'T TELL YOU (and frankly, what NO BROKER wants to tell you) is that it is a very common practice in this industry to LOWBALL the customer! They will give you a lowball quote to get you to sign a contract. then they'll put you on the central board at the very bottom of the list (you end up at the bottom since they sort it by price and they will often give you the lowest quote possible!). Then weeks pass and you wonder why nobody has picked up your car yet, well I'll tell you why, it's because they stick your lowball order up there and leave it to rot! You can't blame the actual carriers, because if it costs them 45 cents a mile to haul your vehicle, why should they accept 40 cents/mile listings? Nobody should have to work for free. So you sit there on the central board for weeks, wondering why you don't have your vehicle yet. The only people to blame are the shady brokers who make this their bad habit! Suncoast very clearly tells you that sometimes your car can't get picked up at that price, but it's more than just sometimes, it's every time!

don't let these guys waste your time. pay a little more and go with a reputable broker who will give you a fair and honest price from the get-go, or even better, skip the brokers all together, keep your orders off that stupid central board, and just go straight to the carriers! Talk to a company that owns their own trucks and has agreements with other companies that own their own trucks. cut out the middle men, all they will do is sweet-talk you and lead you on with lowball quotes and false promises, and then leave you hanging when you need your stuff shipped NOW instead of NEXT MONTH. The money you'll save not having to pay a $200 broker fee can go towards getting your vehicle picked up by a carrier THIS YEAR as opposed to next!

I suppose after the ribbing I gave them I should compliment them on something: i like how they don't charge you a deposit until your order gets picked by a carrier. This means if you get sick of waiting on them you can cancel at any time without losing your deposit. i just wish they would use that as an incentive for THEMSELVES to get more drivers to accept their orders, because otherwise, how will they even make any money on those deposits if they're never able to charge them?

Company Response
Becky from Suncoast Auto Transport Inc. Submitted this response.
Response Date: 1/7/2013 11:22:00 AM
Suncoast does not give 'lowball' quotes to customers or potential customers. As this customer states, we never charge anything until a vehicle is dispatched to a carrier so for us to give quotes that will not move a vehicle does not make since at all. We price everything to move within your time frame. At customers requests, we will match lower quotes received from other companies but as this customer has also written, "Suncoast very clearly tells you that sometimes your car can't get picked up at that price.." We will try our best to get your vehicle picked up at a lower price than we quoted if requested by the customer but we also take our time to explain this industry to our customers and the problems they may run into when trying to locate a carrier at a lower rate. Customers always have the option to adjust the rate back up to the original quoted price if their vehicle does not move for the price they requested. This person also states that it is better to go directly through a carrier but unfortunately that is just not how this industry works. It is designed so that customers can have access to thousands of carriers thus allowing their vehicle to get picked up at a reasonable rate within the time frame requested. This also allows carriers to leave with full loads, also lowering rates for customers. As previously stated, we take the time to answer all questions, explain the industry and give our professional opinions regarding pricing, dates, ect. Ultimately the final decisions are left to our customers but when they do not take our advice regarding pricing there are unfortunately times when locating a carrier takes longer than the customer would like.