**WARNING- SCAM** Military Customers Beware!!
LT B. Gold
Submitted this review about
American Auto Relocation Pros.
Review made Live: 1/18/2008 6:30:00 PM
**Warning-SCAM** Fellow members of the United States Armed Forces beware!
I am an Officer in the United States Navy. I just returned stateside from nearly two years of duty abroad in support of the OIF/OEF/GWOT, including time at sea during heavy op-tempo.
I took orders to California in November and found American Auto relocation Professionals (AARP) on Military.com and figured that they were endorsed, or at least utilized by fellow members of the military, and I therefore trusted them with the shipping of my new truck. I sent an email to AARP (along with other shippers just to be sure about cost) and promptly received a very low (much lower) quote from Dianne.
When I called Dianne to set up the shipment, she seemed knowledgeable, told me about her family’s experiences in the service, and assured me that, with all the stress myself and my family had to endure over the past couple years, that she would “…take care of me.”
Well, I didn’t know “taking care of me” really meant taking my money through what outside evaluators have informed me is a scam utilized by thieves in the shipping industry. Here is what happened and how it works.
When I called Dianne about scheduling a shipment, she quoted 840.00 and asked for a credit card deposit of 140.00, which I gave freely. This was on 04 DEC 07. I told her that I needed the truck to get to work and had a drop dead date of 04 JAN 08, when I would be starting in my new billet. She said “…that would be no problem,” and that “…a month is more than enough to ensure your truck would be there.” She advised me to set a ship date for 26 DEC 07. I asked whether I should ship it earlier, on 17 DEC 07, and she replied “…no, that’s too early, it would get there and sit for a week. The 26th is early enough to ensure that you would meet it out there.” A couple days later I called her back and asked the date to be shifted to the 27th due to me having to check out at medical, and I asked if this would effect the arrival time in California, and she replied “…no, that would be fine, it will still get there the afternoon of the 4th or the morning of the 5th at the latest.” She then informed me that she would “…call me a day in advance to advise me of the pick-up time and then would call me an hour or two right before the pick-up” so I would know exactly when the truck would arrive.
The 26th arrived and no call from Dianne. I called and got the AARP voicemail. The 27th arrived, no phone call and no pick-up. I called and talked with Dianne late on 27 DEC 07, and she said “…don’t worry, everything is fine, we have a shipper and he is on his way, we’ll be fine regarding the 4th or 5th of January.” No phone call on the 28th. No phone call on the 29th. No phone call on the 30th. See a trend here? I did, so I called to find out what was happening. Someone else at AARP (not Dianne) answered and berated me and told me that “…if I wanted a secure pick-up date I should have asked for it and paid the additional 85.00,” and, “…that it is my fault the truck had not been picked up.” Note, I specifically asked Dianne about securing a pick-up date when I placed my order on 04 DEC 07, and she said it was unnecessary since I had called so far in advance.
Finally, desperate, I called Dianne on 31 DEC 07 and asked what we could do about getting my truck out to California. She said, “…for an additional 85.00 deposit, I can secure you a pick-up date of 07 JAN 08.” I authorized the additional deposit out of desperation and Dianne over and over again ASSURED me that she would call me on 01 JAN 08 to finalize everything. I asked her if she would be working on New Year’s Day and she replied, “…yes, especially when a customer of mine needs assistance.”
I never heard from her again until I emailed her and told her I am canceling the contract, and only then, I had to send repeated emails, each with increasing intensity, to receive a partial deposit refund (65.00 of the 140.00, AARP keeps 75.00 for “administrative fees” if you cancel a contract before pick-up).
So, here is how the scam works everyone. AARP is a broker, they own NO TRUCKS of their own. All they do is perform a search service to connect you to a truck driver. The rest of the industry works pretty much the same way. The way brokers make money is by increasing or decreasing their own margins while looking for a driver that will move your auto with the lowest bid possible, this increasing their (the broker’s) margins.
AARP (the broker) sends you a way under market quote (in my case it was 840.00 when the going rate according to ten top rated shippers on this website said it was at least 1050.00); they know that either, a) some desperate driver/owner/operator will accept a low bid due to a slow market and will move your auto under market rates, or b) that no truck driver will take that bid but it does not really matter because they keep your 75.00 deposit whether your auto moves or not. When you cancel the contract with AARP their contractual language states that they keep 75.00 for administrative fees, but what they do not tell you is that it is NOT industry standards to accept a payment and take your money before they have actually contracted with a driver/owner/operator.
I am writing this to save you from the hassle I just went through. Dianne will be happy to sweet talk with you and build your trust and confidence in her and in AARP until they have your deposit. After that, the customer service stops and the stealing begins. Don’t believe me? Investigate AARP’s rating on this website and look at all the awful reviews they get. I have reported them to the Better Business Bureau, advised Military.com to remove them from their web listings, and have retained a JAG to recover my hard earned 75.00.
In summary, I advise any of my fellow shipmates, soldiers and airman to drive their own car to your next duty station, if at all possible. This is a lousy industry that has no real regulatory oversight. But, if you must ship, DO NOT UTLIZE AARP!
I am still in awe that they would essentially steal from members of the armed forces.
