Company Response Review Report Review
AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL Experience. Kathy was the worst! NEVER AGAIN!

Ruth H Submitted this review about Magic Carpet Auto Transport
Review made Live: 8/19/2010 3:11:00 PM
I am more than happy to leave this negative review after the hell that I have been put through the past 2.5 weeks. I will say that the girls who answer the phone have been generally friendly, my favorite being Hilary...if only she was in management. Nothing else about the process was good. I paid extra money to expedite the shipping (pick up within 3 days) and was told that the carrier company could not pick up for 7 days AND wanted an extra $50. I was willing to agree to this just to have the car in my possession.

The carrier did not notify anyone he was late and would not pick up on time. Magic Carpet had to frantically look for him and it was confirmed he would be a day late. On the day of, I received an email from Magic carpet saying the car had been picked up...great news, righ? NOPE. Turns out there was a mix up and the car was NEVER picked up even though I had an email confirmation stating so. This sent Magic Carpet once again searching frantically for the driver to see what happened. The vehicle was picked up and I was given an estimated delivery of 6 days (the following Monday).

Sunday night (the day before) I received a call from the driver saying he broke an axel and was missing a wheel and could not make it for the Monday deadline. That's fine, things like that happen. He promised he would deliver on Tuesday morning at 9am . I received a call Monday night and the driver informed me that he had continued to drive with the broken axel/missing wheel and was pulled over by the police and given a ticket and a 10-hr no-drive ban. This meant he would not be able to deliver the vehicle on Tuesday. By now, it was too late...we had already taken Tuesday off work to pick up the vehicle, so we were less than pleased. The driver promised he would deliver the following day (wednesday) at 9am and said he would call me Tuesday night to confirm. I never received a call Tuesday night so I called the driver myself at 9:30pm on Tuesday night, and the driver confirmed that yes, he would indeed be there at 9am Wednesday with the vehicle.

Wednesday morning, we both took another day off work and drove to the meeting point in Blaine, WA which is 2hrs away from our home in Vancouver, BC. There was no truck at 9am...so we waited until 9:30am...still no vehicle. I decided to call him and when I got through the driver nonchalantly informed me that he was 4 hours behind(!!!!!) I asked him calmly if he had intended to fill me in on this very relevant information earlier and he was silent. Then I asked if he thought he should have called Magic Carpet to inform me...he was silent again. My husband and I proceeded to sit in a parking lot from 9am until 4pm....SEVEN HOURS after our initial meet time which again was CONFIRMED the evening before.

I called Magic Carpet to notify them of this and asked to speak to the manager/supervisor. This is where I met Kathy who berrated me on the phone and was so downright nasty...even I was speechless that a company so highly recommended could have such a person. She was quick to deflect any reponsibility and blame onto either myself or the carrier and wanted nothing to do with me. Basically, once they have their fee...they DO NOT CARE what happens to you, the car, the transport itself. She basically told me, "take it up with the driver." That's it. Absolutely no compassion or apologies for my experience or frustration. just told me to take a hike.

When he arrived, we inspected the vehicle and found the right side of the vehicle 3/4 of an inch away from the metal side of the trailer. Immediately my husband saw scratches corresponding which showed that our Mercedes Benz had been run up against the side of the trailer with scratches measuring 6" long and a huge gauge that was deep to the metal and measured 1cm deep. When we confronted him, he was angry and denied any wrongdoing and said he picked up the vehicle like that. He proceeded to shove the transport sign in our face for signature when I noticed a small discrepancy between his two copies. You see, when he first picked up the vehicle, the person releasing the car signed off on any existing damage (ie. Paint chips). Our driver SNUCK in the new damage that he caused and tried to have us sign off on it as though the car came that way. When I looked at the photocopy...it was clear that he had added the new damage on with his ballpoint pen. We confronted him about this and he was irate and denied it and claimed the ballpoint pen marks were from the photocopy. for real.

Next, we stood on the side that was 3/4" from the metal trailer to videotape him driving our car off the trailer. He was SO angry, he yelled at us and commanded us to stand on the other side (driver side) so we could not witness and videotape him hitting our car yet again. My husband refused and therefore watched him brush our vehicle against the side yet again. UNBELIEVABLE.

We asked him how we could document the damage and he....wait for it...WOULD NOT TELL US HOW. We quickly read through the form and managed to find a way to do it and signed off with the damage.

The driver reminded me that he had driven with a broken axel, missing wheel, received a $400 ticket from the police and not slept in 2 nights...just for me. Wow. I'm not sure what to say about that...and actually kind of feel sorry for him. Who could be so foolish?

As I got home, I had the seller fax me his original form to show that yes, my form had indeed been tampered with. I then called Magic Carpet again and got to speak with Kathy again who remembered me from the previous day. She again was rude and condescending and told me the damage was not their issue and to take it up with carrier. They honestly do not care who they are outsourcing the job too so long as they get their fee. She was quick to get off the phone with me.

I called the carrier company and.....here is the icing on the cake....am surprised to hear the driver answer the phone. Turns out the driver IS the owner and single operator!!!!! Talk about lack of screening on Magic Carpet's part. The driver...er...owner, without me saying anything goes: "listen. i have a buddy who owns a car repair shop. just take it to him tomorrow and he'll fix it for you. i'll pay for it. just go there." I thought to myself..."right. I'm going to take my mercedes benz to your 'buddy' and have him fix it." the driver offered no other option and forbid me to put through a formal claim to the insurance company...even threatening me that nothing would be done if I decided to go that route.

To clarify...I have never left a comment on any site. I read them, I do not contribute. This experience has been so god awful I felt compelled to do so. I hope it changes your mind about Magic Carpet Auto Transport and will encourage you to do screening yourself and NOT use a broker. Like I keep telling friends...I could have found a lunatic driver on my own...I didn't need to pay $250 to Magic Carpet to have them find me one. I hired them to take the headache out of this process and got nothing but! Stay far, far away and save your money!!
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Oklahoma
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
Washington
Delivery:
Late
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
1324886
Quote or Order Cost:
$1495

Car Condition
  • Vehicle was dirty
  • Vehicle was damaged
Company Response
Terry Williams from Magic Carpet Auto Transport Submitted this response.
Response Date: 8/20/2010 2:18:00 PM
Ruth, When you called yesterday you were very upset and frustrated. I understood but you were looking at us to resolve the situation right then and there. All I was trying to say is the carrier provide the insurance and we were doing what we can to make sure they compile, you didn’t let me get a word in. We are trying to help you but it takes a little time. It sound like you are very frustrated with the driver and really not us because of their lack of communication. We are doing everything we can to expedite the claim you have. I’m sorry again you took this as me not being caring in your situation.