Company Response
J Krueger from
Dependable Auto Shippers Submitted this response.
Response Date: 11/5/2008 6:26:00 PM
As “Lorne” does not provide enough information on this post, it is not possible to address his specific move. However, here is some general info to address his comments:
The DAS standard enclosed service is set up so that the vehicle is picked up and delivered locally via flat bed by our one of 95 local terminals. The long haul part of the shipment (between the origin and destination terminals) is performed on a soft-sided enclosed transport. This process is explained to every customer at time of booking. For any customer requiring a 100% door-to-door enclosed move, that option is available through our Specialized Logistics group.
Regrettably, this customer is not familiar with the industry definition of a broker, and has a few misconceptions about DAS. A broker accepts your shipment, collects the funds and farms out the move to one of many independent carriers who move cars throughout the US. While some brokers may only use selected carriers, most use whichever carrier will take the move at the lowest price. The other vehicles on the transport may or not be from the same broker, so the broker has little or no control over the routing of the truck. Additionally, the vehicle will move under the carrier’s BOL (Bill of Lading) and therefore all liability is on the carrier, and not the broker. In the event of a claim issue, the broker is out of harm’s way and the customer has to deal directly with the carrier for settlement.
DAS owns its own fleet of open and enclosed transports. Approximately 90% of the freight we haul is shipped on DAS owned trucks using DAS employed drivers. During peak seasons, there are times in which we will use third party carriers to pick up the over-flow. These carriers are carefully selected and required to go through DAS process and safety training. These carriers are also required by contract to give us exclusive use of any transports used for DAS shipments. Therefore, DAS controls which cars are on the transport and which routes that truck will travel. Finally, every DAS shipment (except for Specialized Logistics moves) ships under a DAS BOL. That means that, DAS, the company you booked your order with, has full responsibility and liability for the entire move.
Hope this helps to clears thing up.