Gouged

Iona C. Submitted this review about AmeriFreight Car Shipping
Review made Live: 7/26/2020 5:32:00 PM
Order #: 1501900694-IO On June 9th, I inquired with AmeriFreight about a quote to move my 2016 Hyundai Sonata and my parents' 2000 Lincoln Navigator from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. I chose the Open Carrier type and was almost immediately sent an email that quoted me $925 for my car and assigned Danielle Roth as my agent. I emailed Danielle to inquire about a quote that included my parents' car and she replied that it would be $1,900. Danielle sent me a more thorough list of questions to answer and when it came time to confirm my order, after which she could post for bids from transport companies, the cost was $1,900 with a $608 deposit (by credit card) and $1,292 (in cash to the transport company upon delivery). A carrier ended up responding on Thursday, July 2nd and someone named Lisa sent me a voicemail message. I called her back and this time she told me that the total was $3,700 - $800 deposit via credit card immediately with the carrier being paid $2,900 in cash. At this point in time, my family and I had already been in North Carolina for two weeks with a rental car and just wanted to have our cars transported so I paid the $800 deposit and then used money orders from the US Postal Services to pay the carrier (Aledi LLC). Aledi LLC ended up picking up our cars that Sunday, July 5th and said they'd have the cars delivered by Friday, July 10th. The carrier got me the driver's information on Saturday, July 4th (name and direct phone number) and I was able to coordinate with my aunt and friend who were still in California for pick-up. The original pick-up window was 1-4 PM PST on Sunday, but the driver ended up missing it by an hour because he said he had difficulties contacting the person he was either picking up from/dropping off to ahead of me. At around 4:30 PM PST, the driver also let me know that he couldn't pick up from the originally agreed upon location because of the size of the trailer. We ended up scrambling via text to find a good location and he ended up choosing a place near the off-ramp of a freeway. Thankfully, my aunt and uncle were really flexible and willing to assist. It was stressful, though, and I truly wish such details were ironed out ahead of time. When it came time to do the delivery, they were actually a day early and dropped off the cars on the evening of Thursday, July 9th. It was completely dark by the time my dad and I got the cars so it was pretty impossible to do a thorough check of their condition. The actual process of checking the bill of lading consisted of being handed the driver's phone to sign off that I had received it. I hated that I had to essentially do that because there was no more daylight and we were in a poorly lit area (again, another change to the delivery address location). At the end of the day, I'm happy to have my car and I think that's what matters. However, I'm disappointed that the quote was $1,800 below what the actual cost of moving the vehicles was. Had AmeriFreight been honest about the quote, I would have gone with a different vendor. Lessons learned I guess. Danielle sent me a text on Thursday, July 7th (4 days after the actual pick-up) to inquire about whether or not there were any issues with the carrier. I informed her of the missed timeframe and changed location and got crickets. Not even a token "I'm sorry to hear that" or "I'll look into it." On Monday, July 20th (11 days after the actual drop-off), I get another text from her asking about the delivery and then informing me of a quick survey sent via email. So here we are and this is my honest recollection of the events. Other people seem to have had great experiences with AmeriFreight, but mine was horrible.

Company Response
AmeriFreight from AmeriFreight Car Shipping Submitted this response.
Response Date: 8/7/2020 6:32:00 PM
While we do understand that the rate increased for the customer, they had opted for our Economy rate which is only suggested for customers with a wide open window of time for pick up and delivery and the understanding that rates could likely increase. It is always ultimately the customer's decision whether to agree to the rate and dates offered by the carrier or to wait for additional offers. We are proud to say that this rate has saved many of our customers hundreds of dollars. Our customer support team looked into the order, and were unable to find any communication from the customer indicating that there were any problems with the shipment. Our customer service agent checked in with the customer multiple times while the vehicle was in transit, to ensure that all was going smoothly. We do hope this customer will give us the chance to assist in any future auto shipments.