Atlas Auto Shipping (in both CA & NC) Patricia East same as Patricia Coffman) Scam! Delayed to give me the carrier's insurance info for long time and finally wrote me false info intentionally-- the insurance company is the insurance agency. Supported the carrier to falsify that Beverley Hills, California

BERTHOUD Fair Deal Autos in Colorado, the sole carrier, shipped my Honda Accord 2001 V6 (VIN# 1HGCG16521A018059) from Plano, TX on Sept 26^th, 2009 to Blaine, Washington. On Oct 1^st, 2009, when I received my car in WA, I immediately noticed the three damages where were not there before, and noted them down on Bill of Lading (shortened as BOL later) in the presence of the truck driver. I was also instructed by him to mark the three new damages on the chart and initialized beside them. I took photos of car in front of the driver and my witness. Later after I went home, I called the broker, Patricia East at Atlas Auto shipping that day to tell her what happened and ask for the carriers insurance companys information. I was asked by her to email my BOL in the attachment to her and also told to get at least two estimates.  

 I went to get three estimates the next day, Oct 2^nd 2009. I sent two low estimates (CAD$1038 & CAD$1163) late that night to the carrier and clearly wrote that I did not scan the highest estimate to send it together since that high amount might not be reasonable, same as I told the broker.  After that Patricia East gave me all kinds of excuses to delay in giving me any information about the carriers insurance company. I asked her the carriers insurance info already on Oct 1^st and pursued every day, it was not until Oct 9^th (a Friday) late evening she did reply with some content.  In the end, the information provided by the broker on the carriers insurance was False. In her email on Oct 9th This was sent out to you from the insurance company directly .  They sent you the cert of insurance THe Insurance Company is Timberline Insurance Agency , Inc. (please see the screenshot in the attachment). She did not type her name at the end, but it was still from the old email address she always used with me. I believe she intentionally gave me false information and she wrote that on purpose to mislead me.

The next Monday, Oct 11^th, she finally forwarded me the certificate of insurance issued by the insurance agent without reviewing at all, unlike what were agreed on our contract the order I signed and sent. While a certificate (issued on Oct 9^th, 2009) is not that necessary to simply provide me with the insurance company information, it is for the broker to shed her responsibility and mislead me. The insurance companys information was concealed anyway with  4 other pieces important information by the insurance agent.   Diane. E. Martin at Timberline Insurance Agency in Wyoming continued the scam, trying to act as an adjustor on behalf of an insurance company. She refused to take my claim many times verbally and twice in writing using the first excuse saying that the carrier agreed to compensate me directly, and then the second excuse that carrier said I added more items to BOL later, which is untrue. I did manage to find the correct insurance companys name and contacted them myself on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations website and made a claim in late Oct, 2009. It took a whole month for the adjustor, Peter Corrick to tell me that my estimate fell under the deductible (US$1000).  

In the same email from the broker on Oct 9^th, Patricia East wrote that the carrier said I added more items to the estimates. I told both the carrier and the broker already on Oct 1^st there were three damages, and wrote to them again on Oct 2^nd there were three damages when I emailed the broker my copy of BOL signed at delivery and sent the carrier the 2 estimates with the BOLs (before and after the shipment). The broker also asked me both verbally and in writing why specific parts and jobs are on the estimates. I never knew I needed to know everything on the estimates.   Regardless, I tried to be patient and prove that those things on the estimates are what need to be done for those three damages the carrier caused during shipment only. The two estimates I sent before mixed the jobs/parts together, but the third estimate did sort the jobs, parts and prices out according to the three damages.

So I sent it to them on Oct 12^th , only to show each estimate only estimated those three damages. I clearly wrote on the cover page of my fax on Oct 2^nd already that I will not use the highest estimate, otherwise I could have sent it on Oct 2^nd, instead of the lowest one at CAD$1038.  Ironically, Robert Gabielson called and accused me of fraud furiously, and accused me of adding more items to the BOL after signing at WA, which I never did. In an attempt to release their unnecessary anger I went back to the body shop that offered me the lowest estimate and asked them to re-examine the estimate. They specified on their estimate the same three damages they estimated the first time and I sent it back to the carrier and the broker again to prove the body shop did not estimate anything else but those three damages. But they kept on ignoring me.   Patricia East was the one who told me to get at least two estimates but after that she said that I gave the carrier two different amounts at first, then sent to him a 3^rd one(the highest) laterthen went back to change on the lowest estimate and sent him again and had the audacity to tell me, I have nothing to do with any documents that have fraudulent information. She kept on manipulating facts and never gave me a chance.

She always says I was told or I was given, no responsibility on her part. But in fact she only listens to the carrier, never me. I was only her once time coustomer, not like the carrier, which gives her long term business.   I got no help and had to find all the information regarding this matter myself. Since the time that this began, I have found out that all the 3 businesses involved are not accredited with BBB. Both the carrier and the broker are rated F at their own state BBB. And the sneaky insurance agent in Wyoming did not even register with the local BBB.  The broker did not even register the company 'Atlas Auto shipping' in North Carolina with either the Secretary of State or its countys Registrar of Deeds Office (MooreCounty). The Moore County Tax Dept cannot find that company's name either.

Only by that address (

1220 Saint Andrews Dr, Pinehurst, NC28374

) on my Vehicle Transport Order with Atlas, they found 'Patricia Coffman', not 'Patricia East' as it appeared on the order. It could be her, but the Tax Dept told me the companys name is supposed to be there too if she is using this address. I checked the record of 'Atlas Auto shipping' on www.fmcsa.gov by their MC#615103, and got its record, but it is in California only (not in North Carolina) with no name of the DBA (Doing-Business-As). I recall when I got the offer and called Patricia East the first time, she told me she is in California office while her head office in New York. But I did not find this business have any place in NY. By saying that she is in CA will makes the customers like me difficult to check it rating at BBB because its only registered with BBB North

Carolina. I believe I can get more information from the intentional concealing if I keep on researching.  Anybody out there who has similar experience/frustration to deal with any of these 3 businesses and need help, please feel free to write complaints to Federal Trade commission at www.ftc.gov,FMCSA CA (where Atlas got licensed, although it's NC on the order form), and the federal level of Dept.of Transportation at www.protectiveyourmove.gov, BBB.org and State Attorney General. If you need more detailed information or some other help, please write to me at (((email redacted))) to me. I will be more than willing to assist you. 

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