DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE!! (long story, worth the read)
Dana
Submitted this review about
American Pride Autoride
Review made Live: 8/11/2007 12:29:00 PM
Whatever you do, DO NOT ship your car through these people!!!!!!
I had contacted them well before I needed my car shipped, and was concerned because on their website it said that the car would be shipped from 1-10 days from the date of the DEPOSIT. Since I was making the deposit well before the car had to be picked up, I called their office to see how this would work since I did not need the car picked up right away. They said not to worry, we could make a reservation date, and the car would be picked up then. I asked if it would be picked up ON the reservation date, and they said they could not be 100% sure of that, but it would be picked up within "a few days" of the reservation. I spoke with a young woman about this, and I asked her very clearly if this meant, after the 1st of August, my car would be picked up within a few days. She said YES. I was VERY CLEAR about making sure the 1-10 day time frame was only referring to their deposit. She said it was. On their website, it is still pretty unclear what they mean. I had to plan the car's shipping carefully, so I was paying a lot of attention to pick up and delivery dates.
The first of August comes. No word from them. Since I am thinking the car will be picked up either that day or the next few days, I call to make sure everything is still on track. Well, I spoke with The Most Unhelpful Person In the History of Unhelpful Persons. She said that they had no trucks in the area and it could take up until 10 days to get the car. I was upset, and said that was not what I had been told earlier, and she said she had NO IDEA who I spoke to but they would NEVER say the car would be picked up around a reservation date, that it could be from 1-10 days from pick up date. This sounded like the SAME person I spoke to, I think it is an office about 3 people. Of course, I could NOT remember the name of the person I spoke to, since it had been over a month ago and I had no reason to suspect anything. Well, I asked how long she thought it would take.
"I don't know"
Did she think it would be at the 10 day mark (which would have the car picked up on the 10th), since if it was, we needed to make other arrangements b/c I was getting out to Oregon on the 12th and had NOT budgeted 2 weeks worth of rental car fee.
"I don't know"
I asked who the carriers were, and if I could contact them directly.
"I don't know who the carriers are"
I almost exploded at that one, but stayed calm. I asked what we could do to get the car picked up faster, and she said.....wait for it........
"I DON'T KNOW. That is out of our control"
She also said that since that very few cars go from Florida to Oregon and it was busy so it may take the full 10 days before the car was picked up.
A quick crash course in car shipping revealed that these guys are just brokers, and have virtually NO control over ANYTHING.This was the first time I had ever shipped a car, so I was admittedly clueless about this whole world. Also, American Pride, I have now learned, has SUCH a bad reputation with the truckers that they often get completely blown off by them. Of course, when American Pride gets blown off, YOU get blown off.
Well, the next WEEK was filled with nothing but frustration, with us calling every day and them continuing to offer virtually NO helpful advice, to be rude, to be condescending, and so on. However, on DAY SEVEN, the SAME GIRL who said "I don't know" when asked how we can get the car picked up faster, said they could offer a $100 bonus to the drivers, starting with $50 that day and adding $25 the next two days.
THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO DO SEVEN FREAKING DAYS AGO THE FIRST TIME WE ASKED HOW TO GET THE CAR PICKED UP FASTER.
However, this did not help. By day 8 we KNEW these wastes were not going to come through. So, we began looking for another carrier and lo and behold, found THIS wonderful site!! Found all the WONDERFUL reviews on American Pride! Felt like idiots for not researching this better!
We also knew that if we canceled at day 8, they would ~miraculously~ have a truck that VERY SAME day that could have picked up the car, so no refund would have been returned! So, we wrote them off, and called:
AGAPE.
SHIP THROUGH AGAPE!!!!!
We called them Wednesday. Our car was picked up the NEXT DAY by a very friendly, polite trucker, who assured us, since they were based in Washington state, that they would get the car to us by early the next week (that is 5 days in transit).
They were only $200 more and worth EVERY penny. They there empathetic, polite, and reliable. They LAUGHED when I said who we had first gone through, and just said, "We would not recommend them", then laughed a little more. They made me feel SO MUCH BETTER during a pretty stressful time. Watching our car being driven off by AGAPE was the best darn feeling in the world.
Of course, American Pride never came through. We called them first thing on the eleventh day for our refund, and the ONLY credit I will give them is they just said "Ok", and did not argue about the refund. Of course, we have not gotten it yet, but we only canceled today. Trust me, I will let you know if that goes sour, too.
May I say that I have refrained from calling these people the nasty names I have wanted to, both in conversation with them and on this review, because I am bigger that that. But PLEASE DO NOT SHIP YOUR CAR WITH THEM. Frankly, I am surprised they are still in business with all of these awful reviews. Go to Agape, they are a truly reputable company.
