Company Response Review Report Review
SCAM

Lindsey DeSoto Submitted this review about Tristar Trucking
Review made Live: 4/6/2011 10:18:00 PM
I was very unimpressed by the lack of professionalism I experienced with the recent contracted vehicle transport in which I chose Tristar Trucking. I originally found the business online and decided to use Tristar Trucking to transport my car from Maryland to Pensacola FL. I first spoke with Harvey on the phone after receiving an online quote of $485 to have my car transported via open car carrier. He informed me that there were drivers available in my my area and my vehicle would be picked up within days. Therefore, I scheduled a pick up date of March 16th since that was the day that I was leaving town. I sent my deposit of $175 through the website V-Check option and received my contract. I read through the contract thoroughly and also had someone else read through it to verify that all the information was correct and terms were agreed with. However, since the charges and fees were a little confusing, I did have a few questions such at the total cost due at pick up. For that reason, I called Harvey and spoke with him on the phone and asked about the total due at pick up. On the contract it states- “Order Deposit: $175.00 against total price Amount Due: $370 Subject to paragraphs 1-19 of the terms and conditions” I specifically  asked Harvey on the phone “what is the total due at pick up” which he assured me would be the amount due of $370. I also asked if there were any hidden charges or fees that would/could be added, his words exactly were “there are no hidden charges or fees”. Going off of that phone conversation I proceeded to sign the contract and fax it in as the directions instructed. As the contract required, I had a name and number for the pick-up contact, who was only told that there would be someone there within days to pick up my car, as the contract I signed stated a pick-up date of 16 March, and I was told there was a driver “in my area”. In the phone conversation I had with Harvey, I stressed the importance of my car being available for pick up around the 17/18 of March. He did explain that there could be up to 4 days travel time which I understood. When I arrived in Pensacola FL on the 16th, I had not heard anything about a pick up, so as two or three days passed with no word, I called Harvey and he explained that the driver was “running late”. Meanwhile I had no option but to rent a car at the cheapest rate of approximately $320 per week. I did not hear anything until about the 23 of March when I received a call from the driver saying he would be able to pick up my car that sunday ( March 27th) and have it here for pick-up the afternoon of the 28th. By that time the cost of the rental car added up to $657.05 total for the time that I was here without my car. I was expecting to rent a car for a few days, however I did not plan on renting for almost two weeks. I was disappointed that my car was picked up late being that the pick-up date was March 16th but understood that things happen. After my car was picked up (on March 27th) I received a phone call from my pick-up contact saying he had signed for the pick up, yet the form he signed had a price of $700 due at pick up. I promptly called Harvey on the phone thinking that there was a mistake in the price and was told he did not have access to the bookkeeping and to call back after 10:00 the next morning when the office was open so my contract could be reviewed. I called shortly after 10am monday morning  and was told that I would get a call back in a few minutes. After waiting at least 30 minutes I asked my father to call since I was going to be in class and unable to take phone calls. My Father called and spoke with Sam and was told Id get a call from Sam, which I did not. I attempted to call Sam several times and was told either to call back or I would receive a call back. After getting the “run around”, being that I am currently active duty Air Force, I was instructed to go to my first sergeant about this situation. My  first sergeant overlooked my contract and agreed that the terms were not met on the part of Tristar Trucking. I explained to my first sergeant in detail about the contract and he agreed that it was not correct on the part of Tristar Trucking.  

So after everything has been said and done, I was expecting to pay a total of   $545.00, ($175.00 for deposit and $370.00 due at pick up) as Harvey verified on the phone, I ended up paying  $875.00 After calling numerous times with no answers, I was sent an email with the “added charges”. If Harvey was honest with me during the first phone call when I asked what the total cost would be, none of this would be an issue. As I said before-  I called Harvey on the phone and specifically asked how much I would need at pick up and if there were any hidden fees to be expected. He reassured me it would be the “amount due” - $370 as stated on the contract and there were no “hidden fees”. I will also say that every phone conversation I had with either Harvey or Sam was unpleasant. I felt as though I was bothering them with my phone call. When my father contacted Sam with the number I was given as a contact number, he said Sam acted as if hough he was annoyed that he was called by a customer. How is that a way to treat a customer?  

I think Tristar Trucking is a complete scam and being that I am an active duty military member in the Air Force I will  make sure that “Tristar Trucking”  is known as a scam and I will be sure that an e-mail is sent out throughout the Air Fore through our global email account that your company is not to be used within the Air Force and will work to name Tristar Trucking as an unrepeatable company throughout the military. I will go so far as to print out flyers and post them throughout the Pensacola Naval Air Station (NAS Pensacola) where I am based which is home to not only Air Force but Navy and Marine Military personnel also, as well file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as this letter will be an attachment. 

After doing some further research ( as I wish I had relied on before) I realized this is not the first time Tristar Trucking has misled their customers. The only response to the negative feedback is- “its in the contract” “customer did not read the contract”  however, the contract is obviously very misleading and that is exactly the reason I called Harvey to ask questions and he lied to me on the phone and when I called to ask why my pick up price went from $370 to $700, my phone calls where answered with- “we’ll look over the contract and call you back” .... which there was no return phone call, as I also realized was a common complaint of the many negative reviews I’ve come across. 
Shipment Details
Origin State:
Maryland
Pickup:
Late
Destination State:
Florida
Delivery:
Late
Customer Service
Honesty:
Knowlegeable:
Promptness:
Customer Service:
Review Details
Quote or Order Id:
41790
Quote or Order Cost:
$875

Company Response
carl from Tristar Trucking Submitted this response.
Response Date: 4/7/2011 12:39:00 PM
First of all the customer agreed to the charges upon signing the contract, as to the car being late, this is wrong, since the car was to be picked up on 3/16 estimated [standard service 5-10 day pickup as per paragraph#19], the car was picked up on 3/25 within the time frame promised and delivered within the promised time. All in all we did what we promised and with no hidden charges[ only charged what customer signed for]. unfortunately the customer is angry, because they had to pay the differences that they agreed to pay. The contract is the only means of telling these people how this works, if they refuse to read it what can we do.