MAVEN BUSINESS SERVICES LLC Scary ripoff artist Mount Joy Pennsylvania

On December 19, 2016, my company accepted a vehicle dispatch for Jae from a broker through Central Dispatch (CentralDispatch.com); a load board website which connects auto transport companies with shippers and brokers. (Refer to the attached Dispatch Sheet)   Throughout our interactions with Jae and her husband, it quickly became apparent that the broker did not inform the customer about the transport process, nor the fact that they would be subcontracting the transport of her vehicle. The scheduled pick up date was 12/20/16, and the estimated delivery date was 12/20 to 12/21, depending on the customer's availability and the scheduling of other units that were also being transported.  Both estimated delivery dates were earlier than the time frame allotted to us by the broker as one can see on the uploaded Dispatch Sheet, which gave our company until 12/22/16 to fulfill our obligation.   

Upon accepting the dispatch, a representative from the brokering company informed me that the vehicle was located at the customer's husband's former place of employment, the times that we would be able to access the vehicle would be limited due to shift schedules and on-duty security, and that as a result of the vehicle having been left for so long after the husband relocated to Pennsylvania, the vehicle had a dead battery.   None of the noted items were an issue for our company or our driver, as they are pretty standard instructions or occurrences for transporters when dealing with privately owned vehicles.  

After my initial conversation with the broker, I was contacted later in the day by the same person, informing me that his customer was being difficult, and he wanted to know if we would accept a lower rate for the transport (a screenshot of this conversation has been uploaded).  I informed him that we would not be able to transport the vehicle from NJ to PA for any less than the already contracted rate.  After going back and forth with his customer, the representative called me to let me know that the transport was confirmed, however, he was waiting on specific instructions and times that the customer's vehicle could be picked up from the location in New Jersey.  

Once all of this information was confirmed with the broker, the customer's unit was scheduled on one of our trucks for pick up on 12/20/16, and the expected delivery date would be sometime in the evening of 12/20/16.  It is our practice, and quite common, to provide a delivery window to our customers, as we are not able to guarantee precise arrival times since accidents, traffic and other delays out of our control occur; especially when transporting a car from one state to another.  To make things as convenient as possible for our customers, we stay in touch if circumstances out of our control arise, and we always provide a call when our drivers are 1 hour away from a customer's pick up/delivery location.  The same practices applied with the customer who submitted this complaint.  

On 12/20/16, Jae contacted my office to find out the status of her vehicle transport.  It is my understanding after having followed up with the broker, that she was provided with our contact information, so that they would no longer be involved.  The representative from the broker's office told me that she was becoming increasingly difficult to communicate and interact with, and he thought it would be best to just have her directly communicate with my company.  Therefore, he provided her with all of my company's information. 

Generally, a broker chooses to remain directly involved throughout the process to ensure the customer's satisfaction, that the transporter has met all of their obligations, and to prevent a company from back soliciting their customers.  Due to the breakdown in communication with the customer, the broker removed himself from his role in seeing this transaction through.

Over the course of several phone calls with Jae on 12/20/16, we encountered many of the same "communication issues".  First, Jae was displeased that her vehicle was not the only vehicle being picked up and transported by our company.  We tried to explain that this type of single vehicle transport is much more costly, and should have been discussed with her broker.  

Second, she was unhappy with the amount of time it took for my driver to go from another customer's pick up location to the location where her vehicle was parked at.  My office tried to explain to her that a truck and trailer in excess of 50 feet long cannot take the same time saving routes that a passenger vehicle can take.  

Third, once notified that my driver was at the location to pick up her vehicle, which had a dead battery, Jae stated that my driver's arrival time, which was during the hours provided by the broker, caused her to have to pay the security guard at her husband's former place of employment, so that he would stick around for my driver.  I contacted my driver to verify this, and he was told by the security guard that his normal shift did not end for another 2 hours, therefore, no overtime was incurred, and the company that he was providing security services for would not bill for additional time.  The site was simply close for the evening, and no one would be able to get passed the locked gates.  

Lastly, when my driver contacted Jae to provide her with an estimated time of arrival, she became irate and informed my driver that she had been promised delivery of her vehicle by 7pm.  My driver tried to explain the time required to drive from Union, NJ to her location in Harrisburg, PA, especially in relation to the time her vehicle was picked up, that other customer deliveries were made along the way, federal Hours of Service regulations that supercede any potential company scheduling, and that specific delivery times are not set by our company.  Jae was difficult to communicate with, and my driver reached out to our office for assistance in dealing with her.  

During the final two calls that my office had directly with Jae for the evening, it became very obvious to us that she was unhappy with the arrangement she had coordinated with her broker for her vehicle's transport, as one payment was made to the broker to arrange her vehicle's pick up, and a balance was owed the transporter (my company), for delivery of her vehicle.  She threatened to not pay for delivery of her vehicle, and she further stated that she didn't know who we were and that we were not the contracted carrier for her transport service, and she had no obligation to our company or owed us any money.  However, she had previously been provided with all of the contact information that she had initiated calls to us with, by her broker, and it was also my understanding, during my last communication with the broker, that she was well aware of the COD (Cash on Delivery) balance owed to the transporter.  

Our final call of the evening regarding this transport was with Jae's husband, who informed my office that they would accept delivery of the vehicle on the morning on 12/21/16.  It was our impression that he was trying to give his wife time to collect herself after a barrage of calls and threats she had made to our office.  The balance owed was restated to her husband, he was advised that after the ordeal we had dealt with a cash payment was required, and that we would make an exception to our policy, and set an appointment time for 8am, calling one hour prior to arrival to make sure he or Jae would be available to accept delivery, sign the Bill of Lading and pay for the transport.  Sadly, this was all spelled out in a very elementary manner, but Jae's husband agreed and said none of it would be a problem. 

We make a point of hiring qualified, experienced and professional drivers that do not require us to do ride alongs, or micro-manage their daily responsibilities or interactions with customers, however, after the afternoon/evening of erratic calls and communications with Jae, I made the decision to accompany my driver for this delivery.  

At 7am on the morning of 12/21/16, I made the first of several unanswered calls to Jae.  Then at 7:13am, with my calls still unanswered, I texted Jae to let her know her vehicle was on its way, and to restate the payment terms.  During the drive to her home, I contacted the Pennsylvania State Police to obtain information on theft of services, our rights as it pertained to returning the vehicle to our yard to be stored in the event that Jae were to once again refuse to make payment, and to essentially put on record the situation we may be walking into, as we had never dealt with a customer like this up until this point. My driver and I arrived in front of Jae's home, in separate vehicles, at 8 am on 12/21/16. 

I instructed my driver to drop the ramps on his trailer and to jump start the vehicle, so that it would be ready to unload.  I proceeded to the front door, and knocked.  After a short while, it appeared that no one was going to answer.  As I got back into my vehicle to try to call Jae again, she appeared at the front door.  I exited my vehicle and walked over to the front steps of her home, where she stood at the top of them and demanded her vehicle be unloaded and the keys given to her.  I explained that the vehicle was ready to be unloaded, and my driver was waiting to do so, once her payment was made.  To say she flew off the handle would be an understatement.  As Jae went on a tirade about not knowing who my company was or how we came into possession of her vehicle, that she could call the police and report that we stole her vehicle, and more, she stated that she did not have cash on her to pay for the transport.  She informed me that I would have to accept a credit card.  My company does not accept credit card payments, and I tried to explain this to her.  As she continued to become more irrational, my driver left his trailer and walked over to my side in order to keep an eye on things, as Jae appeared to become aggressive.  She then informed me that she would gladly go and get cash, but would not return until 11am in order to make us wait on her, like she had to wait on her vehicle.  I tried to remind her of the conversations from the day before, and the fact that her husband was the one who instructed us to deliver her vehicle on 12/21/16.  I further informed her that once my driver left her area, he would not be able to return until later in the afternoon, or the following day, because he had other transports already scheduled for that day, and her deliberate delay wouldn't benefit anyone. None of this got anywhere with her. 

At this point, I informed Jae that after her previous threats to not pay the balance owed for her vehicle's transport, the discussion the night before with her husband, the text message sent well in advance of our arrival restating the payment and terms, we would not be able to unload the unit, because she gave me no choice but to assume she was not going to pay for the transport once the keys were given to her.  I let her know that I would gladly go down the road to buy my driver a cup of coffee, and to give her time to get dressed and go to a nearby ATM or her bank to get money for the transport.  I further informed her that in anticipation of headaches with her delivery, that I had already contacted the Pennsylvania State Police, and I would have no issues if she would like to have the police present, as we had all of the documentation needed for the transport that we had performed.  She screamed something unintelligible at me and my driver, went into her house and slammed the door.  I told my driver strap the vehicle again, to get in his truck and to follow me out of the neighborhood, so that I could try to contact her husband in order to get things resolved. Prior to pulling away from her house, I texted Jae to restate our company policies and terms that were unsuccessfully said to her in person, in order to avoid any misunderstandings. (Screen shots of the conversation have been uploaded.)

While briefly speaking to Jae's husband on the phone, Jae called me to inform me that she had the payment.  I instructed my driver to return to her house, and to once again get ready to unload her vehicle.  Prior to her husband's arrival, Jae stormed out of her house and said she had the money and to give her her car.  My driver was still in the process of unstrapping the vehicle and jump starting it again, and I told her that it would be off of the trailer momentarily, and that during those few minutes I needed to complete her Bill of Lading and count her payment.  

With the cash in her hand, and no sight of her husband, who apparently had her debit card, she insisted on counting the money in front of me.  After signing for the delivery of her now unloaded vehicle, she proceeded to write a note on the Bill of Lading and then shoved the clipboard back at me.  I gave her one of the carbon copies of the signed paperwork, and I was once again met by my driver who walked over as a result of Jae continuing to make threats about what she would do to my business's reputation, and so forth.  When asked where she wanted her vehicle parked, she told my driver "just to leave it" (at the back of his trailer) and to give her her keys.  He and I walked over to her vehicle and his trailer, so that he could put his ramps away in order to leave, and so that I could get her keys, and we were met by her husband who had just pulled up to give Jae her missing debit card.  

When Jae's husband exited his vehicle, he asked me about the payment for the transport.  I informed him that his wife took care of the payment, was given a receipt and had told my driver to leave her vehicle where it was, even though it was clearly in the road and blocking another car.  His response to me was, "You guys have been f****ing this up from the start just leave it." Given the amount of time and energy already exerted with this customer, we needed to move on, and my driver needed to leave for his next pick up.  I simply informed Jae's husband that we did our best to meet the commitments that we made, and any other issues should be directed to the broker who coordinated their transport.  

Having been in business since 2010, we have encountered a variety of customers, from private residents to corporate accounts, and our transport with Jae and her husband was a first on many levels, and one that won't be forgotten.  

We make it a point to always operate in a professional manner, from the briefest telephone interaction to our company's branding, as proven in the attached photo of our clearly lettered truck in front of Jae's home on the morning of 12/21/16.  In addition, we have strict hiring standards, we are in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations requirements, including, but not limited to our business's insurance and drug testing policies, and we make it a point to hire experienced professional drivers.   

We try to be as flexible as we can with our customers, and we do realize that we cannot always please everyone, however, we still strive to operate with integrity and respect.  This approach has earned our company regular customer's, a solid reputation and many compliments (see the attached emails).

Without going through and discrediting the original complaint line by line, it is my hope that this lengthy rebuttal and attachments suffice to illuminate the holes and false accusations made against my company, and further demonstrate the level of professionalism that continues to be be exercised by everyone at Maven Business Services, including, but not limited to our level of record keeping and our desire to stand apart from companies that do act in the manner concocted by Jae.