Dear Transport Reviews, In response to the complaint filed by Don Barkas, may I first state that I consider his statement of reference to off colored illicit sexual acts against our established reputation of business as something less than professional and find this completely uncalled for no matter what his complaint. On the basis of this alone, I would consider removing his statement and request that Don Barkas respond in a more dignified manner. I apologize to anyone who reads this review and is subjected to it. Don Barkas contacted Express Auto Transport, and requested that we work to have his 1966 Mustang Convertible transported from Averill Park NY to Solvang, CA. What Don has completely overlooked and failed to mention is that he did not pay for or was ever guaranteed a dedicated service. Standard open service or enclosed transport can only go so far as to provide estimated dates pertaining to transport which are subject to change. Communication concerning events or delays is incumbent upon the driver in whose possession the car resides. Express Auto Transport reserves the right to contract to other carriers if our own federally regulated trucks are not available for a particular route. This is all a part of our terms and conditions which Don was sent and our system confirmed he received. Our CSR Tony worked to remain in contact through various means with Don Barkas, and was one of the key people who spoke daily (when possible) to the driver in order to provide the updates Don demanded. This is something Don both confirms and denies within his review, a complete contradiction. How can we be inaccessible and then still be listening? We helped keep Don informed the best way we could until he had safely taken possession of his car, period. Management did no wrong by re-iterating the basis of our terms and conditions, which were attached to the online quote Don completed prior to asking for our business. Express Auto Transport made every effort to educate Don Barkas before entering into the agreement he initiated, and have always made our terms accessible on our website to any online user. According to The Rights to Privacy Act, Express Auto Transport is not able to provide any driver’s phone number. Many driver’s will not take calls when driving if they deem it creates an unsafe distraction or situation while operating the gross tonnage of their rig, trailer, and load. In spite of this, every time a date was changed to the order before Don was even called he received this and every update to his order info via his verizon email. Some of this complaint is beyond our means of control including and not limited to the fact that after the car was gained by the carrier, transport was delayed. Existing carriers are still feeling the brunt of injury to their businesses that they received when fuel reached all time high prices exceeding $5.00 per gallon for diesel in ‘08. It simply is not cost effective to travel great distances with anything less than a fully loaded truck. The reason Jax Trucking loaded his vehicle had nothing to do with circumventing anything, the origin location was beneficially within the carrier’s route at the time it was contracted them. Express had no foreknowledge or control over the carrier’s decision to store his vehicle, as Don Barkas implied. The time of year Don initiated his move also has incredible emphasis on the decline of the amount of available business. Numbers tend to reduce invariably as weather and other factors provide cause and effect over the Trucking Industry. This year was no exception, and citizens in the midst of an election year were wary of impending change. Many markets reported that their shares and overall business began to drop during this time. Express Auto Transport regrets that Don has not honestly and fully advised Transport Reviews of the facts, and has presented so one-sided a complaint. We consider his responses unobjective and not without a recognizable amount of emotional response. There simply are factors within the Trucking Business that any experienced consumer knows, which we at Express Auto Transport cannot control. We have been fair of our assessment of what people may expect at times by placing all of this information into the contractual basis of our terms and conditions. This is designed to inform consumers as well as provide a level of accountability to the carriers with whom we contract. We are sorry Don Barkas view of all of the service he has admitted to did not amount to a more truthful retelling of events.