MY A1 horror, let's see if they respond this t
christy ormsby
Submitted this review about
A1 Auto Transport
Review made Live: 5/31/2005 7:04:00 PM
Below is my ordeal with A1 from last summer. I see that someone from A1 has been on here posting responses and bogus "positive reviews" so here is my experience:
My wife shopped around and got a few quotes online and A1 turned out to be the lowest price, and they said they would deliver our vehicle from WA to PA in 14 - 17 days so we used them.
After 7 days we went online to use their tracker to see how close the car was getting. It said the car was not yet picked up so we called customer service. After an extended hold time, they explained that the warehouse we dropped the car off at did not notify them they had the car, but they would make sure it was picked up that day. I thought this was strange since we had arranged a July 1st drop-off. How could they not know they had our car in their possession???
After another 7 days (14 total) I checked the cars online status and saw it still was not picked up. I called customer service (and was treated very rudely) and they said they overlooked the car and would ship it that day. They promised me it would be 7 to 10 days until I saw the car which would put it about a week late.
After another 4 days, the car being shipped from WA to PA was in CA??? and marked cross docked. I called customer service and they told me they do not ship from WA to PA so they sent it to CA. Nobody ever mentioned this when they quoted me 14-17 day delivery time but they tell me this now. They said the car was definitly leaving CA that day (July 19th) and a manager named Marie promised the car would arrive in 5 days on Friday July 24th.
On July 23rd I called to check my cars status because it has been marked "cross dock" on their website for 2 weeks now. A1 said the car was on a truck in CA headed east and it should be another 7-10 days. I explained my previous issues and the manager (Marie) telling me I would have the car the next day and they had no answer to that.
July 28th rolls around and my car is now 2 weeks late. I call again to see where the car is and now they say it has left CA and is in AZ heading east, wait another 7-10 days.
On July 29th I call again to see how much progress the car has made from AZ and wouldn't you know it, it never made it to AZ, it was still cross docked in CA. They had downright lied to me the day before. They told me the only info we can give you is that your car is on a truck in CA headed east.... note the car had been in CA for 2 full weeks now supposedly headed east, but was still sitting there.
August 2nd. My car is nearly 3 weeks late now and is literally further away then when I dropped it off. I am getting very impatient as my wife can not start a job, or even get around anywhere.
I chose A1 Auto Transport because they told me they could ship my car in 14-17 days and for a decent price, but in the long run it ended up costing me much more than if I had used a higher priced more reputable carrier.
Throughout this whole ordeal I have been hung up on, had calls not returned, not given straight answers, down right lied to, and talked down to. When I address the issue of the car being nearly a month late they tell me I can file a claim, but their claims dept only takes correspondences through the mail and don't take phone calls. They also said they won't ever refund any of my money for late delivery.
ALL IN ALL THIS COMPANY COULD NEVER ONCE ACCURATELY TELL ME WHERE MY CAR WAS OR WHEN IT WOULD BE DELIVERED. VERY BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR SOMEBODY IN THE AUTO TRANSPORT INDUSTRY!!!!!
Anyway, as of August 4th after 35 days and counting my vehicle is still in California. Mind you I shipped it from Washington to Pennsylvania. The only response I have gotten in nearly 3 weeks is that "the car is on a truck headed east" "It should be there in 7-10 more days" I have gotten this exact quote at least a dozen times on a dozen different days. Had A1 accurately told me up front they would take over a month to deliver the car I would have gone elsewhere.
NEVER EVER EVER USE THIS SERVICE!!!!! They are incompetent, rude, and have no respect for you, your time, your money, or your car. If you ask any service people what their name is for documentation purposes they refuse to give you last names. They never let you speak to any managers or dispatchers. They never return a phone call. Most days they have ONLY ONE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP working, one dispatcher, and one very ignorant lady answering the phones.
Finally after 47, yes 47 days I received my car. I decided after my car was nearing a month late and customer service could not tell me where my car was or when I would receive it that I would request another quote from an A1 sales rep on how long it would take to move my car.
Once again I was quoted "14-17 days, but probably much closer to 14 days this time of year". Knowing that in real life it took my car 14 days just to be picked up I decided to ask the rep how long the car would sit before being picked up. He told me absolutely no longer than a few days.
I then asked him if they shipped directly from WA to PA. He never mentioned during his "14 days" quote that they did not, but I now knew otherwise. He now told me that the car would go through California, but that is only "a day or two, only up to a week" of the transportation time. I had already known better as my car sat there for 3 full weeks.
I then asked him how long it would take to deliver once it was actually on a truck, and he said "about a week" It actually about took 2 weeks once it was on a truck. They took my car from WA to CA to AZ to CO to Texas,,, and then to MEXICO!!!. Finally they came back thru TX to OK and onto PA.
In addition to the dozens of phone calls to customer service I had emailed the company to get a written response after 3 weeks of my ordeal and they sent me 2 responses!!! One said the car was at a dock called "next day delivery terminal" and another email said my car was on a truck headed east. Did they have any clue where the car really was??? The 2 emails were sent only minutes apart and both were wrong as my car was actually still sittimg in CA at their terminal. Very Typical A1 service, nobody knows, nobody cares.
Finally after I got my car the battery was dead and the alternator died. Most likely due to the long period of time the car sat (47 days). After the car was jump started the alternator died on the way to the gas station costing me an additioal $500. Mind you this was a 2 year old car with low mileage. The driver also washed the car before delivery, but he could not clean off the numerous tar marks and chips taken out of the paint. The driver was very nice, obviously he was not part of A1, and I had mentioned to him that it 47 days to deliver the car. I asked him also about how he felt about A1 and he told me that "47 days is a pretty good delivery time for coast to coast shipments using A1". He mentioned that most of the people he delivered cars to for A1 are usually in a pretty pissy mood because of the long wait and poor service.
Knowing that it takes over a month to ship coast to coast A1 should not continue to quote 14-17 days. this is nothing more that a generic number that they give to everyone to gain their business. Once the contract is signed they could give a shit less what you think. You get caught up in phone call limbo trying to get an answer from ignorant, unprofessional, rude service people.
I do not ship cars coast to coast often, but I am a buisness person and a consumer of many goods. If A1 was in a business where they relied on repeat customers they would not survive long. Fortunately for them they get somebodys money once and thats the last they care about that customer. Absolutely the worst company i have ever dealt with in my entire life, worldwide!!!!!! A1 Auto Transport Sucks!!!!
They claim to have 98% customer satisfaction which is absolute B.S. They never called me to see if I was happy with the service. I would guess that they have 2% of their customers complain to the Better Business Bureau. You have to really piss someone off to be reported to the BBB, and A1 has dozens of claims against them right now. A1 is a sham and without a doubt the worst company I have ever dealt with. I would be ashamed to be a part of this joke of a transport service.
NEVER EVER EVER USE A1 AUTO TRANSPORT.
NEVER CALL THEM FOR ANY REASON, YOU WILL BE SORRY YOU DID!!!
YOUR CAR WILL BE LATE
YOU WILL BE TREATED RUDELY
YOU WILL REGRET IT, ABSOLUTELY THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
