Gave them a clean Mercedes, got back a dirty scratched one, a day late.
JC
Submitted this review about
Reindeer Auto Relocation
Review made Live: 4/3/2014 2:31:00 PM
I moved for a recent job an the relocation company my company uses recommended Reindeer Auto. Allow me to preface this forthcoming diatribe with the notion that I come from a family of mechanics and body shop workers, so I feel comfortable around cars and I tend to notice mechanical and body related car issues.
In January 2014, I had my relatively new 2010 Mercedes E350 picked up on a roll back tow truck. I had the car washed 45 minutes prior to pick up by the Reindeer associate. Walked around the car with this associate, and noted what little there was to report; it is worth noting that in addition to being newer and just washed, the car is also black making visible blemishes pretty easy. So I signed the paperwork, and after going back inside he rang the door bell, saying he had found another blemish, which I confirmed and then took back the paperwork, not re-examining it. Truth be it, I was also busy with the kids and movers, so my full attention was elsewhere. Prior to delivery I was getting emails with no additional information in them, simply stating that the car was "in transit". So why send an update that doesn't update the customer with any new information? Tip of the iceberg. The car was supposed to arrive on a Thursday, it arrived late, on Friday with an update from Reindeer on Thursda, so no real heads up on their end, which caused us to have go to the rental car agency and extend the rental agreement for an additional day (at an increased price). Although Reindeer is a crafty group as their emails say "The anticipated arrival date is subject to change", so they leave themselves an out. So when I finally do get the car, it is incredibly dirty, a very thick layer of dust/dirt over the entirety of the car (obvious with a black car). I walk around the car with the Reindeer delivery representative and there is a huge 1.5 to 2 inch gash (not a scrape) down to the metal on the passenger door and a noticeable scratch below one of the tail lights. Neither of these were noted at the time of pickup and were NOT on the paperwork, while other minor blemishes at pickup were noted. I note this difference with the delivery guy, make additions to the paperwork, and notice on the paper work that it says "dirty and hard to inspect". Do you see the cop out? Before pickup I had just cleaned the car, it's black so you can see everything on it, maybe there were some watermarks, but it didn't' get in the way of the Reindeer pickup guy's ability to find much smaller findings. I next send to Reindeer pictures of the car after drop off, along with the paperwork documenting the new damage, and my claim form. I then get a quote for the body work, submit that. The claim is denied, solely based on the "dirty and hard to inspect" comment, all other information was cast aside. I try to contact them for two weeks, no calls back. I call back and send an email and finally get a call telling me that they reviewed it further and the decision stands as is. You got me Reindeer for ~$2400 (cost of repairing the damage). Congratulations.
So after this experience, what can I say regarding Reindeer? Read the reviews. They all point in the same direction, not to be used, trusted, or otherwise associated with. The one silver lining in all of this is that I work in an industry where moving is not uncommon and I have ~30 years left in my career, and as long as I am breathing air on this Earth, I will NEVER use Reindeer relocation again and nor will anyone I know.
