Absolutely Horrible
Christopher
Submitted this review about
Total Car Shipping
Review made Live: 12/12/2011 3:33:00 PM
In all honesty, I have never before written a review, good or bad, for any company, for any purpose. Still, the absolutely horrible service I recently received from Total Car Shipping was so deplorable, that I will also be reporting them to the BBB (of which they falsely claim accreditation from on their LinkedIn profile).
The sum total of my experience was this:
Moving from the East to West Coast, I put out an online query for car carriers and was emailed by my first Total Car Shipping (TCS) agent, JC. I read the reviews and in spite of those mixed ones, decided to take a chance and I gave JC a call. He was congenial and a real smooth-talker who came across more friendly than professional, but I assumed this was simply part of his sales charisma. I provided him with my personal information and he sent me a contract via email to proofread, sign and return. His errors were numerous, including my address and phone number, and so I corrected these in my response to him.
Approximately a week later, he emailed me that he’d found a carrier and that my fee ($200.00) to him and TCS would now be charged to my credit card. He provided me with an email to the car carrier, along with their contact information and a pick-up date.
As it turns out, the contact information that I corrected was never changed by JC and the date for pick-up that was provided to me was also incorrect. As it turns out, they attempted to contact him when they discovered the error in my phone number, but he did not respond to them and did not reach out to me through email. They came three days earlier than I was told they would (the day following Thanksgiving while I was still away for the holiday) and again, they tried contacting him after getting no answer from my incorrect phone number (provided to them by him). Once again, he did not reply.
On Saturday, having returned home, I reached out to JC through voice message and email to ensure things were aligned properly for what was supposed to be a Monday morning pick-up, but got no response (and still have not to this day, weeks later). I did manage to catch him on his cell phone at one point, but he was too engulfed in his own "stuff going on" to handle anything I had to say and immediately pushed me off to other agents in the office.
The first agent I spoke to was entirely apologetic for JC's typographical error and the inconvenience that it had caused me and noted that he'd get back to me within the hour. I allowed two days for him to resolve the scheduling mishap before calling him back. I got no reply, but left a message. Eventually, another agent, Cheri, assured me that she would be taking care of my shipment because JC would be “out of the office.” She contacted me on Wednesday and once again, she was incredible sweet sounding and apologetic; that too, turned out to be more words than actions.
I explained to Cheri that I had been working on this vehicle shipment for weeks and that I only had two-days left before my one-way flight to the West Coast and that I would have to leave my car behind if a pick-up could not be rescheduled in the short time I had remaining. Again, I was assured she would handle it and get back to me promptly. And so, once again I waited 48-hours, until the Friday before my Saturday flight to allow TCS to get their ducks in a row and to find me a carrier. I was not called back and had to take the initiative to call them once again, in my final hours of desperation. Numerous unanswered calls and voicemails later (and for the record, they have caller ID there, because she DID answer the phone to address me by name and so when you THINK they are busy, they are ACTUALLY just ignoring your call) she finally picked up and advised me how I could prepare my vehicle and leave it at a friend's residence for pick-up the following week (after I'd boarded my flight and left MA).
Needless to say, I did as I was advised, continuing to put more stake in the goodness of a company that has no soul at all. I have been in CA for 9-days now and have reached out to TCS through pleading emails and unanswered phone calls to get them to make good on our agreement and reunite me with my car, but to no avail, and all the while maintaining absolute calm and composure, even as I write this review.
I don't fly off the handle. I do not overreact. And I do not write unjustified reviews because I understand how damaging they can be. Still, I only hope that the drain this experience has put on me can be a drain on this company when you hear my words and take your business elsewhere. You will thank me for steering you in any other direction you have at your disposal. Corrupt and inconsiderate: that’s the Total Car Shipping way.
***Additionally, I would like to add that now, 20-minutes after posting this review, I have finally received a call back from JC and TCS. I'll spare you the added, run-around excuses I received, but if that doesn't speak volumes in and of itself about their priorities - on image and cash-flow as opposed to providing caring, committed service - than what does?
The one redeeming part of it all was that I was finally able to officially cancel my order with Total Car Shipping today.
