Review Report Review
STAY AWAY: Listen to the bad reviews- total thieves and cheats

Stephen Ernst Submitted this review about American Auto Transport (FL)
Review made Live: 7/27/2015 8:12:00 PM
I called AAT to book transport and made a preliminary reservation "with no obligation."

Issue 1: Despite that, Alan called me every day but Sunday to badger me to book the trip. His company would also promise lower rates on a recorded message but when I asked about this, Alan got offended that I did not think his offer of $750 was good enough. I explained that if you're going to call me and offer lower rates, that you should be able to do it and not just waste my time. Alan did not seem to understand this concept and was generally very pushy with the sales.

He then told me that I would be "guaranteed a driver" for my desired itinerary of pickup on 6/10 and going to Texas "because they had their own drivers unlike other brokerage companies" and that I "was on a good route." He said his company would take care of it for $750 either with their own drivers or a 3rd party. I then booked and signed a contract for $750. I signed the contract the next week. As of two days before my pickup day, I had not heard anything. I called that day to let them know of my pickup address in Texas. Later that day, they call me to say they cannot get a driver for $750 but can for $850. I balked at this shady business practice and asked for some time to shop around. They gave me 16 hours or so to do so. I was also told that my pickup date had been set to the 12th, which was two days after my scheduled pickup.

Issue 2: Essentially AAT promised me a rate of $750 with the guarantee of fulfillment of that rate due to having their own trucks, access to 3rd party drivers and that I was "on a good route" yet did not deliver. Instead, they led me to believe I was in good hands and got me to stop shopping around for a better company. They then pulled a fast one and jacked up the price after it was too late for me to get a better deal from a competitor on such short notice (<48 hours until pickup).

Issue 3: They got the pickup date wrong despite my being very clear that I was leaving the 12th in the AM and the pickup had to be completed the 10th. I have no doubt that this error caused further issue in getting a driver since they had to find one for 2 days out instead of 4 at the last minute.

I then told them to send the contract over for the $850 driver but the contract was never sent. I then called them to tell them that but only received the voicemails for both Christina in "customer service" and Alan in sales despite calling them four and three times each, respectively. I left a voicemail for both parties. I never received a response about my contract that was never signed.

Issue 4: They never sent me a contract for the $850 price and were completely unresponsive to my calls. They also failed to provide any information to demonstrate they had booked me a credible new driver.

I then was called by the driver who told me he had broken down on 6/10 and could not honor the 6/10 pickup date. AAT did not call me the rest of the day despite the fact that their contractor missed the pickup day. I was later told by Christina that they were supposed to call me in such instances but instead they went ahead and booked me another driver without informing me and telling me what was going on. I had rented a Uhaul trailer because I had ZERO contact from them regarding the driver who had broken down despite the fact that he called me and them 4-5 hours before AAT closes and rightfully assumed they were just going to leave me out to dry since it had been 36 hours+ since I first called and left a voicemail regarding the contract issue with two different people.

Issue 5: They never called me to let me know the driver broke down. Instead of presenting the facts, they tried to cover their butts and book without letting me know what was going on and that they couldn't pick the car up on the date promised. Christina ever said they were supposed to have called me and that a ball was dropped by not doing do. I cannot believe that anyone would think that was appropriate but this company appears to be full of deceitful idiots.

Issue 6: They did not give me any information on the new driver who only announced himself with his breakdown call. I had no ability to figure out whether or not the 6/10 pickup would be honored due to this and the lack of contact from them for 2 days.

I then get a call on 6/11 from them saying they have a new driver. I called them back to say no thank you. Christina argues with me for 10 minutes about me taking the new driver. I tell her about the contract and she had nothing to say other than "oh that should have been sent to you" and "I don't know why it wasn't sent to you." Despite the lack of a signed contract, she still acted like the jack-up in price deal was valid and that I was responsible for the deposit. She continued to say "we've provided everything that was agreed upon" in some pathetic attempt to act like she understands contract law. Unfortunately for her and AAT, the company and I failed to agree upon any conditions for a deal of $850. The deal at $750, which was signed, was voided by AAT. She also proceeded to question my account of calling them and said she had no voicemails or missed calls on her system. She essentially called me a liar and that I had dialed the wrong number. I have screen shots of my call logs to prove otherwise and offered to show them to her, but she did not seem interested in factual information or logic; only accusations and deflections of responsibility for her company's many dropped balls.

Issue 7: They demanded that I honor a contract that I never signed. They also admitted that contract should have been sent and that it wasn't. They said they had no written contract for the $850 deal to which they were holding me and my deposit.

Issue 8: The "customer service" rep accused me of lying and completely discredited my story about calling them, on tenuous grounds of not receiving any notifications. I find that hard to believe and that it is more likely that they messed up with communicating that to her and Alan, just like they did with the dispatcher not calling me when they had a the truck break down.

Issue 9: This appears to be a company that make reservations and then steals deposits after jacking up the price last minute. They then lie to cover their butts and then call you the liar.

This company is a bunch of under-handed idiots. While this whole industry seems like a bunch of crooks, AAT has to be one of the worst offenders out there. Listen to the poor reviews- they are representative of what happens when things don't go perfectly. Maybe you will have better luck than I and there'll be a driver to cover their shady promises, but you would be a fool to take that risk with AAT. Stay away and if you can, tow your own car or book with another company. These guys don't give two cents about anything other than making a buck. They make promises that they can't or won't fulfill and then expect you to make up the difference and deal with the stress and fallout.

STAY AWAY
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Virginia
Pickup:
Never
Destination State:
Texas
Delivery:
Never
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
Schmidt
Quote or Order Cost:
$750