Extortionist carrier. Late and damaged nightmare
B
Submitted this review about
Motor Movers Auto Transport
Review made Live: 6/25/2015 8:16:00 PM
This review is mainly about the carrier Pro Logistic Transport and the literal nightmare they caused me. Motor Movers (the broker) chose this carrier to transport my car, and the carrier’s horrendous behavior reflects poorly upon Motor Movers for contracting with them. The broker was not always prompt with responding to me or giving me updates about my transport, but he made a real effort after the carrier was revealed to be so awful. Motor Movers’ major sin was putting me in the hands of this atrocious carrier to begin with.
In writing this review I hope to find catharsis for this traumatic experience by giving warning to others. The main lesson of my story is to read the contract you sign (or are emailed) carefully. The tiny print explicitly states that delivery times are only “estimates”, and nobody is responsible for any expenses caused by delays. You are agreeing to pay a fixed amount for your car to eventually show up sometime, not on the dates given to you, unless otherwise guaranteed. They charge you more for that, and given my experience, you would still have a hard time pursuing a claim. When a carrier decides to hold your car hostage, there is nothing you can do other than pay the extortion, or call the police.
I purchased a car from Washington State and wanted it delivered to Boston. I filled out a form online and got dozens of emails and calls with estimates to move my car. After some research I responded to the estimate from Motor Movers after reading their stellar reviews for on time and undamaged transports. They were not the cheapest offer, but I wanted my car delivered undamaged in a timely manner. I spoke with the broker on the phone, and the next day he called back to say he’d found a carrier called Pro Logistic Transport to pick up the car the following week. So far so good.
The car was supposed to be picked up Wednesday 6/3 and delivered Wednesday 6/10. After repeatedly lying, the carrier showed up on Saturday 6/6 at 2:15 AM to pick up the car. They bullied the exhausted seller into signing a blank bill of landing form, then filled in what they wanted afterwards (of course not giving him a copy of the form). They promised it would still be delivered on time to me the next week. After no communication until Friday 6/12, 2 days past the promised delivery date, they called to say it was delayed until “sometime the following week, hopefully.” They told me they had taken it off their truck somewhere since they were overweight from too many other cars. They chose to delay my car for a week because of their incompetence. I had no idea where my car was or when I would ever see it again. After much fighting and days of evasiveness by the carrier not responding to phone calls, the broker was able to get me a promise of delivery by Thursday 6/18 and a $150 discount from the carrier. This was not an offer I could choose to accept or reject, this was the deal I was given if I wanted to get my car. This amount didn’t cover anything close to my expenses for a week’s delay. But no one is obligated to cover my expenses as per the contract.
When two drivers finally showed up on Thursday 6/18, 8 days after the original delivery date (13 days after the car was picked up) and off-loaded the car, it was damaged. There was a deep paint chip/dent on one door and a couple smaller chips on the hood not present when the seller took pictures the day the car was picked up. One driver endlessly lied about having a damage report on the bill of landing with an array of unintelligible squiggles showing the car marked as previously damaged. When I showed him the pictures from the seller he told me “I don’t believe any pictures.” He showed me the bill of landing form hastily signed by the seller at 2:15 AM that had boxes checked off saying “Auto is in generally poor condition. Damage too numerous to list. Goes as is,” and “Unable to inspect due to darkness.” among other ridiculous statements absolving them of any responsibility for damages. These are printed statements on their forms they can check off at any time. He insisted they gave a copy of that form to the seller (they had not). The driver told me I was wasting his time by keeping them while I called the broker about the damage. When I angrily said they had kept me waiting a week, the driver responded, “that’s not my problem, the delivery dates are not guaranteed”.
After much back and forth with the broker on the phone, I wrote on the bill of landing that the car was damaged in transit and the carrier was responsible. I wrote that by his signing the document, the driver was agreeing to this statement. I told the driver I would sign after he signed agreeing to what I had written. He signed, handed me the document, and I signed it, thinking I now had in writing their accepting responsibility for the damage. Nope. The driver then took back the document and began scribbling on it “I’m not agree” [sic]. That’s right, he was changing the legal agreement I had just signed right in front of me. When I yelled at him for falsifying the legal document after it was already signed, he physically threatened to “put me on the ground”.
He then drove off with my car, and the other driver began to make motions to drive off with the carrier truck so they could escape. Having signed the bill of landing, they were literally stealing my car at this point. Wanting this nightmare to be over I begged the other driver to bring my car back and I paid them the ransom money in disgust. Given their propensity for lying, forging documents, and generally criminal behavior, I cannot realistically pursue an insurance claim against them and hope to win anything but more misery.
The broker told me this carrier has been given negative reviews, and will not be used again by Motor Movers. He said this carrier is “horrible”, and the worst delays he’s seen before are a couple of days at most. He apologized to me for the headache this caused. However, given the nature of this industry and its problematic contracts and forms, there is nothing you can do if a carrier decides to hold your car hostage. At various points in this ordeal the broker suggested I could call the police and report the car stolen. Of course doing so would permanently hurt the resale value of my own vehicle, cause myself higher insurance rates, and create additional hassle for myself on top of this debacle. I decided to pay the extortion instead, and I just want to put this whole thing behind me. I will never, ever, transport a vehicle this way again.
The broker’s main responsibility is finding a quality carrier who will not extort you. In my case, Motor Movers failed.
