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Report: #1247454

Complaint Review: AutoStar Transport Express - Miami Florida

  • Submitted:
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  • Reported By: Mike Miller — Ladera Ranch California USA
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  • AutoStar Transport Express 80 SW 8th St., #2000 Miami , Florida USA

AutoStar Transport Express Mark Dugger Deceptive Sales Tactics, post service Libel when customers voice complaints Miami Florida

*UPDATE Employee: AutoStar Transport Express

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My expectations, as communicated to EVERY broker I interviewed: 

Expectations were clearly communicated via email to provide consistent and clear documentation on my expectations.

- Looking for a Flat Bed, 3 Car Hauler (no 6-8 car haulers) 
- My cars only. (I was shipping 3 cars at the time.) 
- Door to door service. (no terminals or meeting in a parking lot someplace) 

AutoStar (Sofia) assured me they could find a carrier to do this for $2500.00. 

(3) days before my cars were to be picked up I finally heard back from AutoStar.  At first, they said they'd found a carrier with a 3-5 car hauler, but the carrier wanted $200 more. An hour later, this turned out to be a 6-8 car hauler, but it was "just my cars", and still door to door. 

What I got was this: 

- 6-8 car hauler. 
- Loaded with other cars. 
- A driver who spoke (8) words in English- "Big Truck, No park, you street. Come Meet." 
- Tail pipes on my Porsche are all scratched up from bottoming out during loading/unloading. 
- Steering wheel covered in grease  
- Pick up- I had to drive (3) cars over 5miles to meet the driver. (not exactly door to door) 
- Drop Off- Driver refused to come down a 4 lane wide road, with an open turn around area, citing 
""Big Truck, No park, you street. Come Meet." So where does he unload? In the middle of a busy road, by parking in the turning lane and unloading my cars in the middle of the road, at night. 

AutoStar gave me a bunch of BS about "thoroughly screening carriers they use". Hmmm. Might start with A) Do you speak English B) can you back up your truck? (Carrier was "Z Trans" out of LA) 

Upon posting the review above on Transport Reviews.com the company responds with clearly libelous statements citing that I only disclosed my intentions after the fact and they had a contract absolving them of wrong doing as the contract states that they "do not guarantee the carrier or type of transport."   Ironic, because after getting their contract, post making my reservation, I raised issues with the contract to them.  I also refused to sign it.

My email on 6/25:

 

On Jun 25, 2015, at 12:45 PM, Michael Mi <(((REDACTED)))> wrote:

 

Hi, Sofia
 
Looking to book this.
 
Couple of details:
  • 1985 Land Rover Defender - you asked about height.  It’s 82” tall.  (Just under 7 feet)
  • Pick up location:  5 Jenny Ln.  Ladera Ranch CA 92694
    • Pick up date:  
  • Drop Off location:  231 Meandering Drive, Lebanon TN 37090
 
Questions:
  • How long or what window should I plan on for transit time/delivery?   Asking as this could affect my pick up date and drop off location.
  • Cost if I only ship the 2014 Infiniti QX60 and the 1985 Land Rover Defender 110.   (I might sell the 2010 Porsche 911S vs. shipping it.  Thus would like to know the projected costs associate with shipping only 2 cars.)
  • Transport- will the shipment of my 2 or 3 cars be via 1 flat trailer/truck and not a multi-level semi?
 
 
Let me know and we’ll get this booked shortly.
 
Thanks, 
Mike

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you can see, from the onset I was asking about a flat bed with only my cars vs. being on a 6-8 car hauler with other vehicles.    Ironically, AutoStar chooses to always call the customer back vs. responding in writing.   This allows them to later dance and recend all previous sales statems with "we never said that" and "our contract states otherwise".

 

In short, these guys are a bait n' swith shop and other consumers should be warned.   BBB rating cites similar customer experiences.   

I would expect they also have someone on their payrol to offer up rebutals to online reviews and this person clearly does ZERO homework before heading down the path of libel.   

Don't be tempted by the low cost & promised of exceptional service.  Do your HW and read all the reviews on this company.  I wish I had, but got in a hurry and honestly, they were the one company who promised a 3 -5 car hauler with just my cars.  EVERY broker I called said "you'll be hard pressed to find a 3 car flat bed for just your vehicles on this route".   Oddly, the other brokers were upfront vs. AutoStar who simply said "no problem, we can do it."    No other word for it....just lies.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 08/10/2015 04:06 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/autostar-transport-express/miami-florida-33130/autostar-transport-express-mark-dugger-deceptive-sales-tactics-post-service-libel-when-c-1247454. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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Updates & Rebuttals

REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
0Author
1Consumer
0Employee/Owner

#1 UPDATE Employee

AutoStar Transport Express

AUTHOR: Autostar Transport Management - (USA)

POSTED: Friday, October 30, 2015

We feel Customer has left out some extremely important key details in his narrative. 

Where to begin?? 
June 25th, customer requested a quote for two vehicles, possibly three. One was an SUV which our trained coordinator qualified with the customer about height, running condition, etc. NO MENTION OF HIS REQUEST FOR 3-5 CAR HAULER. 
June 26th, customer places his order online. When placing an order online, the terms and conditions of the contract must be accepted to place the order. Contract clearly states that we do not guarantee any specific driver/carrier. Customer also adds the note when placing the order online of his request to have a 3-5 car hauler. This was the FIRST time that we been made aware of his outrageous requests. First available release date had been set for July 20th. 
Fast forward to 11 days later. 
July 8th. Customer sends us an email questioning the contract and specifically the part about specific driver/carrier. Seriously?? Customer read the contract 11 days ago BEFORE he placed the order online, then makes an unreasonable request when he places the order, and NOW he wants to question it?? 
Our agents explained to him that his request for a 3-5 car hauler to transport cross country is not going to happen. 3-5 carrier are local carriers that transport within state or at best state to state. They do not have the required permits for each state to travel across the country, besides the fact that it is not cost effective for them to transport cross county. 
July 16th. Four days BEFORE his first available release date, we secured the best available carrier for pickup exactly on his first available date. We notified the customer, and the customer refused to accept this assignment stating it was his request to have a 3-5 car hauler. AGAIN, it was explained why we are not able to accommodate his request, and that this was his best option. Customer not only refused this, but also now informs us that one of the vehicles has an oil leak and it has to go on top?? SERIOUSLY? He wants us to transport a vehicle that knowingly leaks fluids, and he wants it to go on top so it can potentially damage other vehicles?? You get the picture now of what kind of unreasonable and demanding person with which we are dealing. 
July 17th. The carrier we had assigned was informed of the situation, and graciously agreed to transport the vehicles, even the one with an oil leak, but it had to go on the bottom rack. Customer reluctantly agreed, and then started making more demands, that these be the ONLY 3 cars on a 6-8 car hauler, but he was not willing to pay for the 3 empty spots on the carriers truck! SERIOUSLY?? 
July 18th. Two days before scheduled pick up, customer calls to inform us that there will now only be two cars. Never mind the fact that the carrier has reserved three spots on his truck, and turning down other offers because he had reserved those 3 spots, the customer does not seem to care about anyone but himself and his contemptible demands. 
July 20th. The scheduled day of pickup, the customer calls again, and now wants to transport the original 3 cars!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Fortunately the carrier was not able to find another vehicle, and still had room on this truck. 

AutoStar and its customer service and dispatch team did an amazing job of overcoming the constant obstacles Mr. Miller seemed determined to place in their path - Sofia saved Mr. Miller $300 off of her quoted price - despite having agreed to a 1-5 day window of pickup, he suddenly changed his mind, demanding at the last minute that he receive an expedited pickup with only a 1 day window, for which HE DID NOT pay an expedited price- indeed, he did not even pay the normal rate for transport. 

As for the carrier, if there was a communication issue, we would have been happy to handle it. However, the pickup location in the hills of Ladera Ranch is a closed neighborhood on a dead-end street, as can be seen in Google maps. Again, as explained to him, certain neighborhoods may have weight restrictions or may not be navigable for trucks this size, in which case he would have to meet the carrier in a place conducive to loading. Furthermore, this is the first we have heard of the alleged scrapes to his tailpipe. If this had happened, why did he NOT note it on the bill of lading and contact us to begin a claim? 

Mr. Miller, we wish you the best at your new residence, and should you need this service in the future, please do not contact us! Thank you! 

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