Grossly Unprofessional and Incompetent
Oliver
Submitted this review about
SVP Auto Shipping
Review made Live: 10/17/2022 2:13:00 PM
The only reason I am giving them one star rather than zero is because their prices are relatively affordable compared to other transport companies in Canada. Other than that, pretty much every single aspect of the transport process was absolutely terrible.
I initially dropped my car off at a compound in Calgary, AB on August. 8th, 2022, expecting it to arrive in London, ON sometime in the first week of September in time for the start of school. It ended up sitting at the compound for 5 whole weeks, until it finally left Calgary on the 13th of September. During this time, SVP Auto and its contractor Transport Car Fré provided no updates whatsoever regarding the status of the shipment, so I had to continuously pressure them for more information. Their responses were slow, confusing, and very vague. They would never give me precise/accurate information, and continuously pushed back the delivery date, citing the Covid-19 pandemic shortages as an excuse (even though that should in no way affect commercial transport that doesn't cross any national borders).
Almost right after leaving Calgary, the carrier "broke down", which even further delayed things. I was not notified of this at all, and only found out after many calls/emails on my behalf. Another week went by, and I still hadn't received my car. At this point I was furious, and struggling to coordinate all of this with my schoolwork, so I asked my dad to see if he could get any clear answers out of them. Steve told my dad not to contact the driver, or any of the contractors as they were "working on it", and "doing all they can do".
My car finally arrived in London on the 30th of September (with a half-empty coffee cup in the cupholder), 7 weeks after dropping it off in Calgary. Keep in mind I had most of my belongings in the car (bedsheets, hoodies, pants, etc.), and so was left scrambling to figure things out right as school was starting to get busy. I also had no means of transport during this time, and had to rely on transit, and Ubers to get around. To say that my experience with SVP Auto was not good is an understatement, it was extremely stressful, frustrating, and infuriating. To anyone who is considering transporting their car with SVP, I STRONGLY recommend against this - look elsewhere, and go with another company who will actually value you and your car (even if it means spending a bit more).
One last note: I dropped the car off with a full tank of gas, and when I received it, it had 3/4 of a tank left, meaning about 150km worth of gas was used during the transport. When I confronted Steve about this, he said the only time that my car was driven was when it was going on and off the carrier, and that the missing gas could be attributed to the car idling at the compound waiting to load. This may be true, but I don't see how this could have used up a quarter tank of gas - and after my horrible experience with them, I wouldn't be surprised if one of their drivers took it for a little joyride.
I did not once feel like my concerns were taken seriously, and after many weeks of waiting, was beginning to wonder if I would ever see my car again. I am genuinely surprised that it arrived in London in one piece.
