Company Response Review Report Review
Bunch of Con Artists

N. Adams Submitted this review about All America Auto Transport
Review made Live: 10/5/2005 12:22:00 PM
This experience took place in September, 2004. It's taken this long to get over being so irritated that I didn't want to talk about it.
Other reviews here have covered the salient points. There are a few I want to repeat througn my story:
AAAT (Bethesda) is a BROKER only. Boy, are they helpful and friendly in order to sign you up. After that service is an alien concept for them as they have contracted it out with ________ who may or may not provide good service, has had no previous contact with you, you have no way to communicate with, etc., etc.
Their contracted truckdrivers apparently have no intention of using the pick-up and drop-off points you provide. They pull off where it's convenient for them and you MUST make arrangements to get your car to them and to get it from them within their timetable which, for me. was not too bad for pick-up (after much conversation with the driver, he finally drove to the agreed-upon pick-up spot (huge, empty parking lot 1/2 mile from the freeway exit as opposed to the shoulder of a very busy highyway just off the previous freeway exit where he wanted me to go - plus I had arrangements with a friend to pick me up in the defunct shopping center parking lot.)
So Driver A picks up my car and drives off with it. Two days later, Driver B calls to tell me he was there to pick up my car. After much frantic phone calling (remember what other posters have said about the company's attitude AFTER you sign the contract and make the deposit), that was straightened out.
We'd carefully arranged for drop-off in an industrial park's large parking lot located less than 1/2 mile from the parkway exit. At 5 PM the driver called: get the car NOW or else. I was still on the way to Pittsburgh in a rental van full of house pets, etc., so my son-in-law had to scramble to find someone who knew how to and willing to drive a stick shift. Where did the driver stop? On a short, sharply curving, uphill, busy one-lane freeway exit during the worst part of rush hour. Of course he unloaded the car so it was facing traffic !! (To get back on the freeway, the driver had to drive past the industrial park but he adamantly refused to try it. After my son-in-law and friend had finally gotten their hands on my car, they refused to give the driver directions to the freeway entrance -- petty, I know, but one tries for some small amount of satisfaction!)
I had sent a certified check for the remainder owing to my son-in-law. The driver wouldn't accept it -- said the amount was wrong (it wasn't) and that it had to be made out to his employeer (which was NOT AAAT-Bethesda) so to get the car, my son-in-law had to rush to the bank to get a new certified check and pay an extra fee as it was "last minute". (I did get a refund in a reasonable amount of time - but definitely not prompt - and only after having to deal with a now very hard-to-reach and surly Stepen Myers and, of course, nothing for the additional bank fee.)
I can't speak to how timely the service was as I had some leeway with pickup and delivery. My car did have additional scratches on the trunk but as it was already scratched...
I actually did have a GOOD auto shipping experience: when I moved from Southern Calif. to Florida, the car was on the moving van. It was in perfect condition, etc. If I ever have to move a car again, that's what I'l do - the extra $$$ saves the stress.
Good luck.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Florida
Pickup:
Not Provided
Destination State:
Pennsylvania
Delivery:
Not Provided
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
40169
Quote or Order Cost:
$699

Company Response
Steve Walter from All America Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 9/27/2006 1:23:00 PM
The public needs to understand that our being a Broker is not a bad thing. We list our Broker's license number on our contract and our website for all to see. As a broker we incur the high cost of advertising for all the carriers, and have access to over 500 trucking companies. This enables us to ensure that our customer’s cars will be picked up in a timely manner. As a Broker if a carrier is consistently giving poor service to our customers, we take note of that and will stop giving them business. We do strive to provide carriers that have a consistent record of quality service. It is stated in our contract that our Carrier will deliver to the door unless there are residential restrictions, and therefore the customer is required to meet the driver in a commercial loading zone that is close by. We do not know the exact situation why the driver did not deliver this customers vehicle to the industrial park close to the customer’s home. Usually the Carrier’s are very accommodating and will make it as convenient as possible for the customer to meet them. We do apologize if this trucker was rude and did not show our customer the respect they deserve. As a Broker we are the advocate for the customer. We are in place to ensure that resolution can and does happen, that is beneficial for our customer. Unfortunately the customer service agent who dealt with this transaction no longer works for All America so it’s hard to determine the exact chain of events that happened with regard to this shipment. In regard to the payment issue, our Carrier should have taken the cashier’s check made out to All America from our customer, as this situation is very typical. Numerous customers get a check made out to us the day the order is placed, before we can inform them who to have it made out to. We have a good reputation with all our carriers, and they know we always pay on time and without question. On occasion a carrier does need the money right away in which we inform the customer that they should have the check made out directly to them to avoid situations like this. Some blame does fall on the driver as he should have informed the customer from day one that they needed a cashier’s check made out to them directly.