Company Response Review Report Review
Shady company! Over 3wks & still no refund, Had post removed!!!

Jimmy P Submitted this review about Phoenix Auto Transport Services
Review made Live: 6/30/2009 4:45:00 PM
Wow, I can't believe this company! I just checked my email and got something from Transport Reviews. To my surprise and amazement someone from Phoenix went ahead reported that I was NEVER a customer and had my post removed thus hiding the truth of what happened!!!

***BEWARE OF COMPANIES LIKE THIS IF SOMETHING EVER HAPPENS AND YOU WANT A RETURN!***

I sent a screen shot of my bank account to Transport Reviews PROVING that on 5/29/09 I did pay Phoenix Auto Transport for the service I never received!

So PLEASE DON'T REMOVE MY POST AS I'M STILL A CUSTOMER TRYING TO GET A REFUND!

On my original post that got removed, I started it off by giving possible praise to the company for only interstate mainland transfers as I've seen there are a lot of positive posts here from customers who had shipped their vehicles this way. I'm happy at least some people got good service but now I completely change my mind with the type things they're doing to cover up a problem situation that still isn't solved with myself and Phoenix Auto Transport!

I'll start from the beginning and sorry if this gets pretty long but the truth needs to be told about what this company has done and is continuing to do about my experience with them. Everyone should be wary and post the truth if anything like this happens to them.

I found Phoenix by Googling transport companies and stumbled upon this site. I did see mostly positive reviews and very few negative ones so I figured that why not? I understood every company can't have a 100% satisfaction rate. So I initiated contact with Phoenix and got Michael O'Hara as my representative to assist me in the process.

I'm not sure if I had provided too short a time span between my initial contact to the point where my vehicle was to be shipped but I NEVER was told or even hinted of the fact that it was a problem until Phoenix responded just the day before yesterday to my original post that was removed. I guess maybe about a 2 week period is too short for Phoenix to handle things. I have emails to prove my first initial contact with Phoenix. Was I supposed to know?

Also In Phoenix's reply to original post, they indicated that I made a change only 4 days prior to the shipping date? That's completely wrong and incorrect as I sent an email on 5/22/09 and the vehicle was to be shipped out on 5/29/09. I sent it around 2pm Pacific time which should be more than enough to make 1 change in your computer changing the port from one city in LA to another. I highly doubt its a super complicated process that would take longer than 5-10 mins to do. I know for a fact that Michael at least comes in on Saturdays as he called me that next Saturday on 5/30/09 after I emailed him about the problem of not being able to ship my vehicle.

Phoenix Auto Transport has to understand that 99.9% of it's customers and potential customers don't work in the auto transport industry, thus having almost no clue as to what the policies, procedures, and requirements. That's why we entrust that when we pay them to provide these services to us, they know EVERYTHING that is needed in order to safely and confidently ship your vehicle where ever it may be from and going to.

Well, during the whole time I was in contact with Michael, I CONSISTENTLY kept asking him if everything on my end that was required had been done and EVERY TIME Michael assured me that it was and that the process would go through easily and smoothly without any problems. I was extremely worried and wanted to ensure that everything that needed to be done was. I only had a one shot deal to making this work and I even told that to Micheal. Well to my surprise when I got to Matson, I found out a couple of things. First was the fact that Matson had NO records of payment from Phoenix and said that in order for me to ship the vehicle, they had to receive $1072 from me or Phoenix. Of course I don't have thousands of dollars laying around so I couldn't pay nor should I have to since it wasn't my responsibility! The second problem was that I didn't have a letter of authorization to ship my vehicle from my bank. I didn't know I needed that as Michael never told me a thing about it! I honestly had been let down by Phoenix and boy was I incredibly upset and disappointed. Well I contacted Michael and found out that supposedly Matson had changed their payment acceptance system so the payment never went through. What was I supposed to do about that? Phoenix should take the responsibility on behalf of the customer to double check that every "I" is dotted and every "T" is crossed before their vehicle is shipped all the way up to the day of vehicle shipping. For most people, they do it right before they relocate to where ever they may be going. I was going from Hawaii to California so it's not so simple for me to just go back and fix the problems caused by Phoenix!

On 6/5/09 I contacted Michael via email and requested a refund. At that point I had too many problems with Phoenix and decided at that point I might not be shipping the vehicle anymore. I was left a message by a female representative on 6/8/09 indicating that I would be receiving a refund within 3 weeks. The rep said it usually doesn't take that long but sometimes it does take the full 3 weeks. So I waited 2 weeks and contacted Michael to see if he could check on the status of my refund. That amount of time seemed a little long to me also considering that I paid Phoenix with my debit card, so I took the initiative to call Matson which is the company that Phoenix uses to ship the vehicle anyway, and asked about the time it takes them to refund the money to Phoenix. Matson confirmed with me that it normally takes only about 2-3 days. I also asked why the refund was taking so long also considering what I had found out from Matson.

Well here we are today, still NO REFUND YET and it's been OVER 3 weeks now. There has been no response directly to me about my refund. It's strange that I have given Phoenix more than enough time to respond but they still haven't said a word to me yet about it. They however did have time come onto Transport Reviews and post a lame response to my original post and even enough time to LIE to Transport Reviews and telling them I was NEVER a customer and had my post removed.

I have all the proof needed to corroborate my experience posted here. Please email me if you would like the truth before deciding to go with this company! Make a completely informed decision before choosing a company that could possibly do things like this to their customers. Companies like these should be exposed and the truth shouldn't be hidden.

Oh I apologize, on my original post I posted that the cost was $1297. It wasn't actually that price, it was $1197. My original quote from Phoenix was about $1297 and I mixed it up. At least I can be honest enough to admit my wrong.

Also it's kind of sad that I never received an official apology from Phoenix regarding the troubles I've gone through. Still to this day, my vehicle sits waiting at a friends house in Hawaii waiting to be shipped once I get my refund back from Phoenix. I know for a fact that Phoenix will not compensate me for all this lost time, the troubles, and the amount of money I'm spending to rent a vehicle while mine sits in Hawaii.

Phoenix Auto Transport, the most expensive and worst mistake ever for me.
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Hawaii
Pickup:
Never
Destination State:
California
Delivery:
Never
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
107192-TF
Quote or Order Cost:
$1197

Company Response
John Ryan from Phoenix Auto Transport Services Submitted this response.
Response Date: 6/30/2009 5:35:00 PM
Hello Jimmy, The facts of this transport are that you delivered the vehicle to the port after we closed on a Friday night and ahead of the agreed date. We attempted to reach you by phone on Monday after many calls, you finally answered. You told us that you wanted to proceed so we made arrangements for you. The following day you decided to cancel so we requested a refund for your shipment. We told you at that time it could take several weeks to get your refund because after Matson refunds, it still has to run through the bank service. You have never contacted me here about your refund regardless of what you keep writing on the review board. The fact of the matter is that you do not answer our calls to resolve your refund. I have left a message again for you today but instead of a reply you continue to post incorrect information on transportreviews.com. I suggest you contact our office to take care of business in a professional manner. Kathy Gant