My Awful Experience with an Auto Transport Scammer

I’ve been wanting to write an article now for quite some time regarding a terrible experience I had a few months ago with an auto transport scammer. When I had requested a quote online, I received dozens of calls for weeks until I finally decided to go with a company that sounded knowledgeable over the phone. I requested pick up on a specific date due to the fact that I was flying out the next morning and nobody would be there afterwards. They gave me their word that one of their carriers were going to pick it up in the afternoon on the date I had requested for and charged my credit card $300.00 to reserve a spot on their carrier. Then, on this day, I sat in my living room waiting and waiting and waiting until I realized it was 6:00pm and nobody had called or shown up yet. I took it upon myself to try contacting the number I was given for the driver which I soon discovered was disconnected and no longer in service. When attempting to call my broker, it would send me straight to voicemail which I found strange considering they told me they were one of the largest companies in the industry. I tried calling every extension on the list including their customer service line with no response and no answer. I also tried emailing my broker with hope for a response and never heard back from them. I decided I’d put my trust in them and hoped that someone would show up later on during the evening to pick up my vehicle, but I went to bed with no responses and still no answers from either the driver or the broker. I woke up the next morning and had zero missed calls or voicemails. All of a sudden, my phone started ringing and when I picked up, it was my broker. He was frantically asking me if I were still home because he had another carrier that could pick up my vehicle before I left for the airport. I would’ve rather hired someone else at this point, but I was in a major time crunch and just agreed to it and the carrier showed up and loaded my vehicle on successfully before I left for the airport. My broker had given me an estimated transit time of 2-4 days and on the 4^th day, I still had not heard anything from anyone. I took it upon myself to contact the broker and this time, they did immediately pick up and told me they would try contacting my driver and give me an estimated delivery time. Hours went by and I still hadn’t heard anything so I tried calling them and nobody answered my calls. The next day, I still hadn’t heard anything from anyone so I started to get worried and called my father to see if he could assist me. When my father called in, my broker picked up immediately (ironically) and my father threatened that if they didn’t figure out where my car was, he would contact their local police department and file a stolen vehicle report. They must’ve taken my father’s threat seriously because they called back in 5 minutes with an update. Unfortunately, my carrier’s engine blew out and was stuck at a mechanic’s shop 200 miles away. They explained to me that they wouldn’t be able to make it to my home and if I wanted my vehicle, I’d have to drive all the way over to him to get it. After learning this news, I called my broker and demanded a refund for the $300.00 on my credit card and a reduction in the fees owed to the driver due to me having to figure out a method of transportation to him. They were of no assistance and explained to me that my deposit was non-refundable and that there was nothing they could do for me. So, I decided to call my credit card company and dispute the charge and luckily got my roommate to agree to take me to the mechanic’s shop for an extra fee. I had no other options, so I took off to meet the driver. When I arrived, I couldn’t find the driver and he would not pick up my calls. I asked one of the mechanics if they knew where he had gone, and they said he had left a few minutes ago and said he should be back. So, I waited inside with my roommate for this driver that decided to show up an hour later and by this time, I was frustrated, very upset and went off on the driver. He apologized and explained the situation and took me outside to unload my car from his trailer. After unloading my car, he handed me a receipt of the fees owed so that I could pay him, but I noticed his fee had increased by $200.00 from what my broker had originally quoted me! I was fuming and attempted to call my broker, but of course, they did not answer their phone so I was left with no other choice but to take out money from the ATM and pay him even more money. After this whole experience, I was left feeling scammed and used with a lot less money than I originally thought I’d have. My broker never once apologized to me or returned my phone calls, but luckily my credit card company was able to refund me my $300.00. I really wish I would have done more research into this before I committed to going with this company. If I would’ve gone with a reputable company with great reviews, I probably would’ve never gone through this horrible experience and could’ve avoided the delays and extra fees.