On Wednesday, Dec. 13 I entered into a contract with North American Auto Transport to ship my vehicle, a 1964 Lincoln Continental, from Ohio to California. Salesman Devin Thompson told me that day "We have a truck leaving Ohio this weekend and we can get your car loaded."
I provided Devin with my bank account information to transfer a $150 deposit via "check by phone." The withdrawal was made successfully from my account toward the $910 transport fee. My Confirmation # was 153181
The estimated pickup date given was Dec. 18, or within a three-day window. December 18 came and went, with no pickup and no communication. I made several telephone calls and got the telephone runaround and spoke to Devin.
He, apparently has know knowledge of transport procedures, so he transferred me to customer service where I spoke with a woman named Marina. She didn't know the situation and said she would get back to me.
I received no report that day or the next. After leaving repeated messages I finally received a call back saying that their truck driver was experiencing problems but would have his rig repaired and ready to transport by Monday, Dec. 24.
The day came and went without the car being picked up. After the Christmas holiday I called back to inquire as to the why, when, and how. I received the same response. Truck problems. Will be fixed today. Pickup will be made before Friday. The words "set in stone" were used.
But, Friday came, no pickup. My next few phone calls in the first week of January went unanswered. But, after I finally got hold of Marina she informed me that Puckup would be made on Jan. 5.
It didn't happen.
On Jan 8, I called and the woman I spoke to said that they had given up hope on the truck repair and would pay to have a third-party transport company come in and do the job they were supposed to do. I said I would think about it.
The next day another woman called me, saying that they weren't going to pay for another transport company. And that I would have to fork over approximately $1,350 to them to get my car transported. I immediately told them that I would be canceling my contract with them.
On Jan. 9 I received an e-mail message from Customer Care with a cancel form. I filled it out, signed it and faxed it back to them. My reason for canceling was stated as "North American Auto Transport unable to facilitate transport."
I called the next week to find out the status of my refund. Marina stated that they never received the fax. I re-sent the exact same fax while on the phone with her. She stated that the fax was received and that an inquiry needed to be started before they would refund money.
I called the next week, now the third week of January. Marina told me that it would take three weeks to review my request for a refund.
As of today, February 19, three weeks and three days after my last contact, and more than 40 days since I canceled this contract, I have not received my $150 refund. And after a phone call today, they have stated that they don't know anything that's happening with the process. It's as if they have no intention to refund this money.
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