Not to be trusted
Judy
Submitted this review about
UI Express Inc.
Review made Live: 1/27/2010 7:46:00 PM
Mike's review of 1/24/10 is an almost word-for-word description of my terrible, terrible experience with Vladymir Botiuk. Damage he caused to my car included a rip or gash about a foot long between the hood and the fender- and wide enough to see the car's engine through it. There was no indication whatsoever of this damage on the bill of lading. In addition, three people who had recently seen the car in Iowa (two from the car lot in Iowa City) told me they did not remember seeing a gash, which was so conspicuous it would be impossible to miss. The man who was at the lot when the car was picked up said he signed a bill of lading that indicated scratches and dents, but nothing "gouged," "loose," "missing, "broken, or "cut," which were the other options on the bill. One of the people at the car lot said Vladymir had been very unprofessional and rude to him, and couldn't remember seeing any gash in the car when he'd walked around it to inspect it the night before Vladymir picked it up.
When Mr. Botiuk delivered the car, he refused to take it off the truck until I had paid him in cash. When I saw the car up close and questioned the damage, he insisted it was there when he picked up the car. He kept saying he was in a hurry, had to get to other jobs, and pressured me to sign the bill of lading immediately. He frightened me- he's big- and because I felt threatened, I did not sign but only printed my name on the bill. But because I also didn't remember seeing such serious damage to the car (which had not been driven since the last time I had seen it in Iowa), I asked Vladymir to speak to my contact at the lot in Iowa City. However, when I got him on the phone, Vladymir started up his truck and drove away fast without speaking to us.
Mr. Butuik did not deliver the car on time, but because I was not in a hurry to get it, I was very accepting of his delays, especially since the weather in the Midwest was very bad.
When the broker first called me to say he had a driver, but that he wanted to raise the price fifty dollars, I told the broker I was not comfortable and preferred to wait for another driver. A day or two later, the broker called to say that Mr. Butuik had agreed to the original price and that I was getting a good deal. Partly because I'd felt pressured to pay more, a day or two later when Mr. Botiuk told me on the phone that the car battery was dead and that for fifty dollars (which he upped from twenty-five dollars in the middle of the call) and the price of a new battery, he would buy and install a new battery for me, I agreed. Mr. Botiuk hung up on me a number of times during the week, but sometimes would apologized later, saying that he was in a rush.
I'm a really nice, honest person, and because I respect the hard job that truckers do, I would never want to give them, or anyone, a hard time. I even made numerous phone calls to insurers in Iowa and the Midwest just to check whether there had been any serious damage to the car before Mr. Botiuk transported it, to avoid accusing him unfairly. Although I never write bad reviews, and even go out of my way to give employees rave reviews to their supervisors whenever possible, unfortunately Mr. Botiuk has ripped me off (please excuse the pun.) I have just put in a claim with his insurance carrier, which was hard to locate, and provide the information here, hoping, however, that no one else will need it: Sentry Select Ins. Co., telephone 800-610-4888.
I thought that I had protected myself through extensive research of reviews on this and other websites, but unfortunately the broker did not tell me the mover was UI Express. At this point I don't want to give the broker a bad review (he's a very small business and has had no bad reviews so far), because he didn't cause the damage and has been just the opposite of Mr. Botiuk- patient, willing to help, genuinely decent. I just wish, though, that I had worked with a different broker, especially a company that had many more reviews than just the seven listed (which were all favorable).
I hope that this review will be helpful to others, and would be very grateful for any information about your experiences that I might be able to use in pursuing my claim with the insurer (and thank you, Mike). Please wish me luck getting the money from Sentry insurance to repair the damage to my car that was caused by Mr. Butiuk, and that I won't have to go to Small Claims Court.
Thanks very much.
