Save Yourself Grief; Stay Away From This Company!!
Steve
Submitted this review about
Allegiance Auto Shipping Inc.
Review made Live: 1/7/2009 9:11:00 AM
(Note: This is a long review. If you do not have the time, please do take the time to contact other Allegiance customers. This is a very interactive website. The people posting will respond to you. I am so thankful to all the help I received from some very nice and well informed customers who endured the Allegiance experience. If you decide to contact with Allegiance, you too will understand what is behind the negative reviews; this company can produce high levels of anxiety and emotional turmoil..BEWARE)
Simply put, stay away from Allegiance!! I placed an order on December 18, 2008 and my credit card was immediately charged for a $195 deposit and a contract was signed on December 19, 2009. This shipment was not a rush (I contacted them 6 days before the earliest day I wanted a pick-up), and pricing was not an issue; customer service was my top priority. I selected Allegiance because of the high ratings on this website; I did not receive a quote by email from one of those lead generating websites. I selected Allegiance and contacted them.
When I contacted Allegiance I spoke with Adi G. I explained that I had purchased an auto from an elderly aunt in California who had become unable to drive anymore. Having the car around was distressing for her because it represented her loss of independence and was a daily reminder of how her life was changing. She had visitors coming during Christmas and wanted to have the car available, but it would be ready for pick-up on December 26th. Adi was very sympathetic to the situation and said a pick-up be available the very next day, December 20th. (This claim turned out to be untrue; it’s a sales tactic) I told him December 20th was too early. Because of the holiday, he recommended that the best pick-up day would be Monday, December 29th. I clearly asked if this was a guarantee and he informed that there was a 90% chance that the car would be picked up that day, but it might be a day earlier or a day later. They could not guarantee a specific date. I also asked about the availability of drivers given it was Christmas week and then New Years. He said that would be no problem and this was the slowest part of the year. He told me he could arrange immediate pick-up because my route was Sacramento to Atlanta and that was a very traveled route and there would be no problem in getting a driver. On more than one occasion he reassured me that my pick-up day would not be problem.
On Friday, December 26th I contacted Adi to make sure arrangements were made. He informed that the job had not been posted because he didn’t want the car picked up too early and he had scheduled it to be posted on Saturday, December 27th. It did take him several minutes to even find my file or recognize me as a customer. He informed me that a driver would contact my aunt on Sunday to confirm a pick-up time. Well Monday, December 29th came and went. No phone calls from anyone. I contacted Adi late in the day on Monday and he said the weather was bad, drivers were running behind and something would get scheduled soon. (Yes, the weather was very bad and his excuse sounded very plausible.) The week went by and no word. As I became frustrated over the process, my elderly aunt became more anxious; Adi stopped taking my phone calls and would not return messages. Finally, Elle became involved and said that the job had not been picked up by any drivers and thought something would get scheduled within the next few weeks. This was a big change from “no problem” for the December 29th to “we don’t know.” As I started raising questions as to what I was told on the initial phone call, Elle very clearly said, “you need to look at your contract; we don’t make promises of pick-up dates.” She went on to say that if I wanted expedited service that’s what I should have ordered. No one ever offered that service or even recommended it.
As the week went by there were numerous phone calls with Elle. No one else in the company would speak with me. On January 2, I spoke at length with Elle or actually she spoke at me explaining they were doing all they could. On Thursday, January 4th she talked at me for over a half hour and she promised to update me on Monday January 5; no call from her.
In the meantime during the weekend I carefully read the negative reviews posted on this site and started contacting the posters. Surprisingly, I received some very kind emails detailing similar experiences to what I was encountering. Each and every person recommended other companies, gave me detailed suggestions of how to deal with Elle and basically said, get out of the contract; they will never deliver.
On Tuesday, January 6 I contacted Allegiance to get the exact location of their office; two are listed with the Better Business Bureau. I was asked why I wanted the info and I informed them I was preparing to file a complaint with the BBB. In an hour Elle contacted me and said that the only way to make me a satisfied customer was to refund my money; the credit card refund was processed quickly.
After getting off the phone with Elle, I contacted another Broker who was recommended by a past customer of Allegiance who I had contacted through this site. I explained the situation with my aunt and my experience with Allegiance. I was informed that the price being offered to drivers by Allegiance was low, there were 71 vehicles waiting to be transported and there was a very low chance my car would be picked up anytime soon. I then went to the website, Central Dispatch.com, where the trucking companies pick-up the jobs from the brokers. What I was being told by the company I contacted was true.
I contacted the new company, offered a price that was competitive with the current orders and my car was picked-up in less than 3 hours! This is less than 4 hours when Allegiance was telling me that it was not possible to get the car picked-up. On numerous occasions I informed Elle that price was not the determining factor in this transaction; customer service was my deciding factor.
Allegiance will make nice during the sales process, but be aware. Their verbal statements are not to be trusted and they are quick to immediately refer back to the contract. If you chose to fall for the sales pitch of Allegiance, please read your contract very carefully; especially item 14!! When they do not deliver the verbal promises made on the phone they will consistently go to the contract. They act as if the phone calls never happened. When pushed Elle will say in a very demeaning tone they have recordings of all phone calls. In my situation I told her I was glad they had the recording and to please go back to the call and listen to what was promised and what my expectations were.
According to the reviews on this site, there are many satisfied customers. Even Elle admits about 5% are not satisfied. With so many brokers out there, why take the chance that you could be one of the 5%. Please before booking with Allegiance, take one day to email other people who have rated this company. I learned that people will respond very quickly and with good information. These not angry or emotional responses, they are very businesslike and everyone I communicated with gave excellent advice and wonderful references.
After this review, Elle will post her response. I’m sure her viewpoint will be different and have some spin. I am not angry with Allegiance; my wish is that they would have been open and honest about the market conditions and advised me on the most effective way to move this car from my aunt’s home so it would not be a cause of anxiety for her. Indeed, Elle did call my aunt and explained what was going. Elle informed me that my aunt was comfortable with the situation and very understanding. Indeed, that is the type of person my aunt is, she does not let on to total strangers how she is really feeling. Elle tried to use this phone call to downplay the emotional and family issues I had to deal with on a daily basis. Elle seems to operate with a viewpoint that her perception of the world is reality.
Again, please contact other people before contracting with Allegiance. Take a day to save yourself days, if not weeks, of aggravation. There are good brokers out there who really do care about you. Do talk with some of the smaller brokers. The high numbers of the number of reviews is not necessarily a good guide. Lower number of reviews may mean that it’s a newer company. And guess what, a newer company may not be jaded in dealing with customers with needs and expectations. I can’t overly stress how important it is to contact people who have written reviews. I wish I had from the beginning. I learned this lesson when encountered the brick wall of Elle of Allegiance. My gosh, once you’ve been turned over to her all red flags should go up!! If you contact other customers, they can help you find a broker who can meet your needs. I did and got results in less than hour. Feel free to contact me about Allegiance. I and many other people will give you the real story of this company. And as you read Elle’s response keep in mind that she is a master at spin and has an answer for everything. This company spends more time making excuses than delivering results. If only they could redirect their energy, it may be a more positive experience for everyone.
