Delivery was 8 days late - very little info could be provided
Amy
Submitted this review about
Dependable Auto Shippers
Review made Live: 8/11/2009 10:27:00 PM
DAS was recommended to me by a friend who has used them with good reviews. The door to door pick up was on time (he was early and waited for me to meet him). The reps that helped me set up the service were knowledgeable and friendly, but that is where the good service stopped.
My delivery quote was 10-14 days (from cali to pennsylvania). At day 10, i called the automated number to find that my car was still in California. I figured, wow, guess they condense the actual transit time to 4 days. I called back at day 13 and found that my car was in Texas, with an estimated delivery 2 days passed the 14 day window - I dialed in to speak to a rep and waited on hold for 20 minutes (i looked at my phone timer when the rep finally picked up). They had no info as to why my car was still in Texas, could not tell me when they expected it to leave, and had no guarantee for when it would arrive. I continued to call in daily to check the status and had my delivery pushed out further and further. Every time I wanted to speak to a rep, I had to wait on hold for 15-20 minutes, and they would provide very little information for me as to when my car could be expected and why it was late. I had to travel out of town and the delay forced me to make alternate arrangements that were extremely inconvenient. After my car was about 6 days late, I frantically called in on a Sunday (again I had travel plans that this delay was jeopardizing) and found it was delayed yet again. I dialed in to speak to a rep, but this company does not have reps available on Sundays, so I left a very emotional message begging them to call me first thing Monday morning and please tell me when my car would arrive. I was facing having to rent a car to travel, something I could not afford, and I felt like my car had been taken hostage. I received no phone call reply to that message.
FINALLY, I spoke to someone the next day when I called in and waited on hold again. They were able to tell me that my car was en-route to the destination city and said it would be Tuesday or Wednesday. The deal is that someone is supposed to call you 2 days prior to delivery to schedule a drop off (or so they told me when I scheduled the pick up). I was given the number to the local drop off yard who would be dropping off my car just in case I wanted to call and check the status. I never received a call to schedule a drop off but had to call the drop off yard to see if my car was there and when it could be delivered. Thankfully, the nice people there (who are not DAS workers but I think a locally contracted out tow service) located my car and promised me they would come within the hour and showed up when they said they would. My car was 8 days late, meaning it took 22 DAYS to deliver to me when they promised 10-14.
The contents of my glove box and center console had been taken out and littered across my front seat when the car was returned to me, there were multiple stickers all over my windshield, back window and drivers side window that took a long time to scrape/scrub off. I asked the rep I was dealing with if there was a customer service line I could call about receiving a partial refund since the service was not performed as agreed upon. I was told that that was the customer service department and they did not generally give refunds. I asked to speak to a manager about a refund/discount (as you have to pre-pay in full up front) and they gave me an address to which I could write a letter and that was all I could do. I wrote a letter and mailed it within 10 days of receiving my car. Almost a month later, I still have no reply at all.
Trust me, I am not a continual complainer. I was nervous about shipping something as valuable as a car and wish that I had done a little more research to see which company I could trust based on others' reviews. That is why I am writing this review - I would encourage you to read this and others and make a decision for yourself. It was one of the most frustrating, upsetting processes that I have been through. I just think that for almost $1000, you should be able to know exactly where your vehicle is, exactly when it will arrive, and it should arrive when promised - not 8 days late. And in rare uncontrollable weather or traffic related issues, I would expect the company to either proactively update me about the delay or provide a discount for not fulfilling the terms of the contract.
