The following is my poor experience dealing with National Auto Transport (NAT).
I purchased an RX-7 from someone in Tennessee. About a week and a half before it was to leave TN, I used the internet to solicit 10-15 estimates for moving the car to my house in Bothell, WA. The bids ranged from $1,100.00 to $975.00. Then I got a call from Luis Molina, a Sr. Transport Coordinator from National Auto Transport. He quoted me $925 door-to-door. He went through his sales pitch saying their service included Door-to-Door service, Primary Insurance coverage, etc. I doubled checked the rate and the insurance because $925 was $50 less then the next best quote I had received. He assured me of both and then took a $200 deposit on my bank ATM card. He said he would work out shipping arrangements with the sender. All was fine, they arranged to have the car sent off 1 week after the phone call. Now the story begins. March 20: The car is picked up. March 25: I receive the contract, nearly 2 weeks after our phone call and 2 days before the car is to be delivered. It states that the total bill is $1,125, a $200 deposit paid and $925 due on delivery. I'm fairly upset that it took so long to get to me and that it's incorrect. I calm down and my Girlfriend and I decide that it must just be a billing mistake. March 26: I contact Luis. He explains it was just a billing mistake and that he'll contact dispatch and take care of it before the car is delivered. I'm happy that it was just a simple mistake and that he has no problem resolving it. March 28: I get a call from dispatch, she tells me I owe $925 and that the driver will be delivering the car later in the day. I explain that I only owe $725, and I ask her if she has spoken with Luis. She says that they haven't heard from him. I tell her I'd have him call to get it changed, that I only owe $725 on delivery. March 28: I call Luis. He tells me he'll take care of it. March 28:3 Hours later, I call Dispatch back to verify that he has fixed it. They say Luis didn't call and that "they never do". March 28: I call Luis. He says He'll take care of it with Customer Service and request that they credit me the money. March 28: I call back the woman at dispatch and let her know I'll pay the $925, that the broker (NAT) will take care of the billing mistake after the fact. March 28: My Car is delivered and I pay the shipper $925. April 01: I contact Luis and verify the refund, not wanting to leave anything the chance. He assures me that he's submitted it to Customer Service and I should see the refund in 2-3 weeks. April 15: I have not seen the refund, so I contact Luis. He is very stern with me and says the refund has been denied. When asked by whom and why, he states it has been denied by Customer Service because the car has already been delivered. I ask who can reverse the decision and he transfers me to Jason or "Jay" in Customer Service. April 18: I explain to Jason how I was over billed. Jason says he will resubmit it to Billing and will call me back in 2 days or I should contact him if I don't hear back. April 18: I don't hear back from Jason, so I call him back. He tells me billing has denied my refund for the over billing. I ask who can I talk to, who can make a different decision. He says no one, after asking him a couple of times and reiterating that I'm due a refund, even according to Luis, he transfers me to the Customer Service Manager, Anna Molina. April 18: I give as much of my story as Anna has time. I explain how I was over billed and I need my refund of $200 as promised by Luis. She confirms that she makes the final decisions and that I'm not getting a refund. She explains that as a Broker, the $200 non-refundable deposit is the amount of money they make on the transaction. The $925 is what the actual shipping charge is from the shipper.in response to why Luis quoted me $925 door to door, she just repeats that that is the shipping charge. The $200 deposit is what they make, that they certainly won't be giving me a refund because then they wouldn't have made any money. I end the conversation letting her know I'll wait for her to call me to give me my refund, with her response that I won't be getting a call. I want to make a note to you, the reader, that I had hoped to get my money returned, so I never lost my calm in any of the conversations, even whet it was clear that I had been defrauded by Luis. Editorial: Is it possible that I misunderstood Luis, that the deposit was an additional charge on top on the $925 door-to-door service? It could have been, except if that was the case, why would Luis be so willing to refund my money up until I paid for the delivery of the car? Is it possible he misunderstands that the $200 deposit is what his company makes on these transactions? I suppose so, but a) I would hope that someone with the title of "Sr. Transport Coordinator" knows how his company works and at what price to sell their services, and b) that "one of the largest transporters" who "offers an unprecedented level of service and commitment" would stand behind their sales people, or at least educate their "Sr. Transport Coordinators".
Because of these beliefs, I have come to the conclusion that at a minimum, Luis Molina, fraudulently misrepresented at what price his company offers the transport services in order to make a sale, and that he strung me along saying "everything would be taken care of" (a phrase he used during most conversations) until I paid for the delivery of the car. It also seems a bit shady that I never received a contract until the car was about to arrive. The whole company seems a bit suspect due to the fact they claim to be one of the largest transporters, yet they don't stand behind their sales person's verbal contracts. Even the Manager of Customer Service wasn't willing to offer a settlement in a lesser amount to keep me a happy customer, though I treated her with respect and never yelled or lost my calm.
So on a final note, I have learned a lesson, and have to take responsibility for the fact that I heard a good price, which while it wasn't too good to be true at only $50 less then the next bid, I still should have gotten a contract before putting any money down. Hoping that a company that looks to be of decent size and have a desire to deliver good service from their forms and website and email literature would stand behind their verbal contracts, isn't enough. JeffBothell, Washington
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