Bad Experiance

Jackie Submitted this review about Direct Auto Transport Inc.
Review made Live: 2/18/2011 12:09:00 AM
When I first call this company I spoke with Jim and asked him what the prices where just for comparison with other companies. He was very nice and told me his companies rates and what they are based on, however, when I mentioned that I was going to shop around further he became a bit combative. Telling me that I should go to this site and read "ALL" the other companies reviews so that I understood just how great this company is... I read some reviews and decided to give him a call back and use this company based on the reviews which are mostly good. IF I ONLY KNEW! I was on a budget and in need of getting my car moved asap. He told me that all of the pick ups are done based on the drivers routes and how much your willing to pay. I went way over my budget in hopes of getting my car moved faster. I've got 3 kids and having a car is a MUST and a life line. With my budget blown I was sure I would get good service and have my car in no time. Yeah, that didn't happen. I was told that my car would be picked up in a week - week and a half at the most. It took over 2 weeks for them to even pick up my car and then it was picked up my father had to drive it to a walmart and wait 2 hours for the driver to show up. My father asked how long it would take for my car to get to me and the driver said,"I'll give you the same bullshit answer I give everyone 7-10 days." Talk about professionalism. Now my car was in the care of the driver and all I could do was wait. On day 11 I received a call from "Walter" whom I assume is the truck driver at around 11 am. He tells me my car is in town, where do I want it dropped off and when. I say I want it asap, he tells me if I can pick it up I can have it at 3 otherwise I'll have to wait until the next day. I call around and find a friend to drive me to the pick up address. I was expecting some kind of truck yard or distributions center but what I drove up to was an apartment complex. I call "Walter" to let him know I'm there and he says he'll be right out. I got out of my friends car and see this "Walter" guy gets into my car and drives it to me and parks it in the middle of the street instead of meeting me on foot. I was struck at how caked in dirt my car was before I even saw the guy who had been driving it... He was in pajamas and smelled BAD! The first thing out of my mouth was, EWW. After I got over my shock I started to look my car over and Walter started in on small talk... He says, your car drives nice. Umm, why does he know how my car drives? This dirty man has been driving my car around... I say yeah it does but you shouldn't know that. He starts to tell me that it was dropped off at 1 in the morning... So why didn't I know that and why am I picking it up at 3 pm when I could have had it as early as 9 am??? I was appalled! Then he asks me to sign a form and give him payment which I did. Once in my car I saw that the gas light was on and that the engine was already warm. Yeah, that nasty man Walter used my car and didn't even put gas back into it! DON"T USE THIS COMPANY! I would NEVER recommend them to anyone! I am happy to have my car and at least now I know never to leave California again.

Company Response
Jim Winters from Direct Auto Transport Inc. Submitted this response.
Response Date: 2/18/2011 2:43:00 PM
First I would like to apologize to Jackie for the bad experience she had with the carrier. I would be extremely upset also. In dispatching her vehicle, the carrier that called on it was checked out by our dispatcher before actual dispatch. Hunsky Trucking has a 97.9% Score and 265 positive reviews on Central Dispatch. They have been in business since 6/05 and their insurance policy was current and with all the limits per vehicle we require. This met our requirements, I don't know these people personally and can only go by the stats. In talking with Jackie she had certain time constraints of 7-10 days for p/u, which dictated the price we recommended. We do not pressure anyone into higher rates, we have no vested interest in doing that, our broker fee is flat and for all levels of shipping. As much as we try, some things are just not in our control as this instance proves.