Company Response Review Report Review
Very unsatisfied customer

RC Submitted this review about AmeriFreight Car Shipping
Review made Live: 10/21/2009 11:27:00 AM
I first contacted AmeriFreight when I saw that they had an amazing rating on Transportreviews.com. Among various other quotes, I had direct carriers (AmerFreight is a broker company) contacting me with lower prices, but I decided to go with AmeriFreight. I had read too many negative & scary reviews online and didn't want to deal with bad carriers. AmeriFreight claimed to only use 95% rated carriers. I was transporting both of my cars for my relocation to Houston, so a dependable company was important to me.

The agent that was assigned to my online quote, Jeremiah, called me days after I had left a couple of messages. He was apologetic for the delay (said he works better by email, not voicemail)... so I let it go and signed the contract with AmeriFreight. He promised me that if the carrier was not able to pick up my car before I had to take my flight (Sept. 24th), he would do whatever it took to make sure he found another carrier. I never heard directly from Jeremiah after this conversation.

I got a call the week before (from someone other than Jeremiah) that a carrier was willing to take both my cars on my preferred pick up date and will deliver the cars within 3-5 days of the pick-up for an extra $40. I was elated, so I agreed. When I called the carrier, Safe Transporters Inc., to confirm pickup, they said there was a problem with the truck, so they would be delayed (typical story from the reviews I had read online). When I called over and over again over the next two days, no one responded. Amerifreight said the driver was in the hospital and they had to cancel my pick-up. The carrier never called me back.

I got another carrier assigned to me, Ambela Inc., on Sept. 23rd. They said they may be able pick up the car later that week. I pleaded with them to come on Sept. 23 since I had a flight to catch the next day... I had no one else I could leave my car keys with. Their driver picked up the cars late that night (I was so grateful), but we couldn't do a complete inspection of the scratches & dings on the cars. The carrier said the cars would be delivered by Sept. 29th and promised to keep me in the loop on the status. I didn't hear from them for days, so I called the carrier and the driver... no answer. I contacted Jeremiah SEVERAL times to send me the contract with Ambela (voicemail, email, messages with other agents) - I got nothing. When I did get a hold of the carrier, I got a new story every day for the delays... something wrong with the truck, a new part ordered, etc...

When you are going through a relocation across the country and have to call several people every day to get follow-ups on your cars, it is extremely frustrating. I wasn't even sure my cars would be delivered to me.

My cars were finally delivered on October 3rd... 4 days later than the carrier (Ambela) promised, and 6 days later than I had initially expected. One of my cars had 52 miles driven on it and smelled strongly of smoke (I don't smoke). I had personally recorded the mileage of both cars but because of the late night pick-up, I had forgotten to make note of it on the bill of lading.

I called AmeriFreight to get some resolution on my issues - delay, lack of communication, extra mileage, and filthy cars. Other than apologizing, the only compensation they could offer me is the $40 extra they had charged me for the speedy delivery. The extra days that I paid for the rental cars was my own problem. They called the carrier and the carrier denied any extra mileage or smoking in the cars. Because I had not noted the mileage on the bill of lading... there was nothing they could do. They said the lack of customer service I received was a rare case that "fell through the loop" because Jeremiah was transferred out of their sales department. I find it horrible business practice to let your clients "fall through the loop" due to staff turnover. I also don't believe that they contract with 95% rated carriers... I had horrible experiences with BOTH the carriers I dealt with.

AmeriFreight pays every customer $25 for an 'excellent' review... which is why they have so many excellent reviews. They will probably get transportreviews.com to remove my review or will offer a rebuttal to my story... there are two sides to a story but in my circumstance... the service I received is unacceptable... they even admitted that to me.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Pennsylvania
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
Texas
Delivery:
Late
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
910001151
Quote or Order Cost:
$12802

Car Condition
  • Vehicle was dirty
Company Response
AmeriFreight from AmeriFreight Car Shipping Submitted this response.
Response Date: 10/29/2009 11:29:00 AM
We are always disappointed when a customer puts there trust in us to ship their vehicle and they leave very unsatisfied. Unfortunately, sometimes carriers do breakdown; which in that event, we will work to secure another carrier as quickly as possible. We do apologize for the lack of communication. Our goal is to offer excellent service from our staff and our carriers. Unfortunately, this did not happen in this case. When damage is noted on the Bill of Lading, the customer can file a claim. When carriers fail to offer excellent service, their company is reviewed and reconsidered for our Preferred carrier list. AmeriFreight does not pay for excellent reviews. We simply ask customers to call us and let us know the reason for the less than excellent review. This customer did receive their shipping order rebate.