Rollz Royce Transportation Renege on verbal agreements/Lie Palo Alto California

This is about an event that occurred back in June during which the Rollz Royce Limousine Service broke verbal agreements and proceeded to lie and misrepresent themselves to the Better Business Bureau. The BBB did not post the complaint. So, for the sake of other consumers, I feel that it is my obligation to point out the disreputable practices of this unprofessional company.

Here are the facts of the transaction: Through the recommendation of my event planner, I booked a wine tasting tour in Paso Robles with Rollz Royce Limousine Service. I spoke personally with the owner, Maurice Brewster, who promised that he would make the day special for my best friend. As the Maid-of-Honor for her approaching nuptials, it was my duty to set up a special bachelorette weekend. This trip was to be the main event.

In my initial discussion with Mr. Brewster, he promised that the bus would include champagne and food platters. This point was important to him as he explained, we wouldn't want you guys to be getting sick by drinking without having food in your stomachs. He promised the champagne when I asked whether they did anything special for brides.

As far as payment, he quoted that the fee would be $125 an hour for a minimum of four hours. I told him that I anticipated the trip taking around 5 hours. He suggested that he put it down for 6 hours and if we went under, our account would be credited. I asked, twice, whether they would be taking money out of my account immediately or at a later date. He assured me, twice, that I would be paying the day of the event.

Several days later, I discovered that they had, in fact, debited my account for $500 dollars. We resolved that first mix-up, although I didn't ask him to return the money. However, a couple weeks before the event, I was horrified to discover that they had debited another $475 from my account. When I brought this to Mr. Brewsters attention, he again apologized for the mix up. I questioned him about the amount, as it was much more than the $750 that would constitute 6 hours at $125 an hour. He explained that it was for the taxes, gas and 20% tip for the driver. As these fees were never discussed, he offered to comp them. This is where things started to go bad.

Mr. Brewster, as he complained to my event planner, felt that I had been lying about never receiving the confirmation email that outlined these fees. In order to clear this up, I sent him a copy of the confirmation email I did receive, which did not mention anything about extra fees. This did not placate him as to my honesty.

The day before the event, I received a call from the company informing me that there might not be any air conditioning, despite the heat in the area. I told him that I wanted to have a bus with air-conditioning, or get a discount. It was much too hot to be traveling and drinking in a sweltering bus. He claimed that there was nothing he could do and that we would be getting whatever they sent.

Day of the event, I called the company an hour before our scheduled pick-up to confirm. They informed me that the bus was on its way. Fifteen minutes after they were due to arrive, I called the company again to discover their whereabouts. They confided that they were lost but it was not their fault as the directions they printed out were not good. They promised they would arrive soon.

One of the guests, a native of the area, got on the phone with the dispatcher in hopes of helping him find the right route. When he told her about a dead end which had prevented them from arriving on time, she corrected him saying that it was not a dead end, but a T and that they should have turned at that intersection. The dispatcher became hostile with her saying that she was wrong and that she didn't know what she was talking about. She, in turn, informed him that we would not be paying for the hour that they had now eaten up as the driver had turned around and gone back to Paso Robles for better directions.

A short time later, the dispatcher called me and informed me in ever more hostile tones that he had contacted the owner who had gave him leave to tell me that either we would pay for the whole trip, adding the hour to the end, or they would turn around and go home. I asked him to please not yell at me. He then proceeded to complain that they had driven from Palo Alto as a favor, thus giving me no right to be upset with their tardiness. My response was that they had no obligation to take the job. I was unaware that they were coming so far and that they also did not know anything about the area or wineries.

The bus finally arrived and we set out. There was no air conditioning, no food, no champagne and the driver got lost several more times. When I asked the driver if he had brought food, he replied in the negative. While we were at our first winery, the driver motioned me away from the other girls and explained that he had called the owner and was told to offer to get us something to eat or drink. I declined the food as we had brought a basket of food for our lunch, but was encouraged by the other girls (after I asked their advice) to ask for half a case of champagne. We figured that a half case would cost about what they would have spent on a few bottles and the food that we had been promised.

The driver went back to the bus and was not seen again until we were preparing to leave for the next stop. When we questioned him about our request, he claimed that he didn't have any money and they wouldn't take a check. We dropped it at that.

In the end, we decided to just tack on the lost hour at the end rather than trying to argue anymore with the company because talking to their dispatcher had been such an upsetting experience. A week after the event, I had still not received a refund for the extra charges and, to top it all off, they took out another $270 from my account for the last hour. The driver had not informed the billing department that he had been an hour late.

I decided to go to the Better Business Bureau to try to get back the $200 we had spent on champagne and extra food for the bus. The entire trip was upsetting and disappointing, but I was willing to pay for the service as it had been rendered, albeit grudgingly. All I wanted back was what they had promised in that first conversation to cover. Mr. Brewster argued back that he had taken away the extras because he had comp-ed the taxes, gas and tip. He never informed me of his decision to do this.

In his BBB rebuttal, he not only lied about the conversations, he belittled me saying that I was both a liar and unable to be pleased no matter what lengths he went to. This, of course, only added to the painful experience.

My event planner informed me that he has done this to some of her other customers. My only hope is that he will not be allowed to ruin anyone elses special event.

Lori
Saratoga, California
U.S.A.