On August 1st 2007 my mother contracted A Eastern to transport her car from NJ to WA State.
This company sent a tow truck to pick up the vehicle (7 days late) and then left the car at a tow yard and refused to pay the towing company after leaving it on their lot for 21 days.
For over 30 days they consistently lied to my mother, saying that the car was in transit, when in reality they had not even taken possesion of the vehicle.
Operations MGR "John", gets aggressive and nasty and will hang up the phone if you try to hold him accountable. I am guessing that this "John" is actually the "Greg" I spoke to after my mother was unable to get any resolution on the issue.
The up to date timeline for what has occured follows this complaint.
These guys use threats, avoidance, and bullying to keep consumers at bay. They are the worst kinds of "business" people.
When the tow yard was holding the vehicle, "Greg" told me to "check my contract", all he has to do is set up the transportation, the rest is my problem. This guy will not come to the phone and deal with the issue.
I will be filing complaints with the NY Attorney General, the NY and US DOT, the BBB, and any other consumer protection websites. Please get the word out, these people need to be put out of business.
Read the mess below if you are considering doing business with this company.
We entered into a contract with A Eastern Connection on August 1st 2007 to transport a 2002 Ford Taurus from New Jersey to Washington State..
The following is a timeline of events, and after reviewing it I feel confident that
August 1: paid $1,160 for door to door transportaion from Saddle River New Jersey to Seattle, WA. Agreed that the car would be picked up in NJ on approx Aug 8 or 9. (Date is in writing)
Pick up did not occur.
Aug 10: Contacted A Eastern to inquire date of pick up. Was assured it would be picked up Aug 10.
Aug 14th: paid an additional $130 to have a "special pick up" guarranteeing pick up by August 15th. (Needed to do so because we were leaving the area and would not be there to hand over keys/car)
Arrow Towing picked up the vehicle from Saddle River New Jersey on August 15th.
August 22: An A Eastern representitive assured us that the vehicle would be delivered in Seattle, Washington within 10 days.
September 5th: we called to check on the status of the vehicle and were told that the people who could answer the question were unavailable but would call back by close of business.
September 6th:, we had not received a call back, and called to inquire again. The A Eastern rep said she would contact the driver who was carrying the car cross country and would call back. Again, we did not receive a call.
Septemeber 10th: Spoke with "Gladys" who informed us that the car hadn't actually left NJ yet as had previously been stated, but that it would be picked up on Wednesday and would arrive in WA within two weeks.
Sept 19: Called to check progress, and was informed that we would recieve a return call. Call did not occur.
September 21st: called and spoke with Juan re: car going to Washington. Juan's response was "Wasn't that Cancelled?" When he had been assured that it wasn't cancelled he apologized. We asked where the vehicle was and the response was "At our NJ terminal. We will take care of it "
September 26th: Called to check Status, informed that car would be shipping the following week.
October 5th: Called to check status, was informed that A Eastern did not actually have possession of the vehicle and that it was in the Tow Yard of Arrow Towing. Told that the car was being "Held Hostage" by Arrow Trucking over a dispute over money between A Eastern and Arrow Towing.
October 11th: Called to check status of retrieval. Was told that A Eastern would take no further action with Arrow Towing and that getting the car out was our problem. Suggested that we call the police in NJ to report the car stolen by Arrow Towing.
October 15th: Contacted A Eastern again to discuss options and was informed by "Greg", Operations MGR, that he was being "shaken down" by Arrow Towing over storage fees for the vehicle that he should not have to pay.
October 15th: Spoke with Arrow Towing and was informed that Arrow had picked up the vehicle as instructed on August 15th as instructed and were told that A Eastern would provided direction to have the car picked up or delivered to another location by August 17th.
Arrowing Towing stated that A Eastern did not attempt to pick up the vehicle or pay for the service until some point in mid September. At that point he was owed storage fees as well as the original towing fee and A Eastern refused to Pay. They later received a check for $95 and when he attempted to deposit the check it had been cancelled. As a result he would not release the vehicle until he had been paid for his services.
October 16th: Called A Eastern and spoke with Greg. He informed me that this was a problem that I would have to resolve with Arrow Towing and that our contract did not cover this problem, despite that fact that A Eastern had contracted Arrow Towing. He stated that he would "just as soon give your money back and you can deal with it"."Greg" was not able to give me any specific pick up dates or agreements with Arrow Towing to help with recovery. I gave him my fax # and he stated that "Marguerite" would fax all documents pertaining to the case to me. I still have not received the documents.
October 16th; Called the local Police dept in NJ to discuss the issue and options. I was informed that Arrow Towing was a reputable operator that was a preferred vendor for the local police and that they had not had a single issue with Arrow Towing. Additionally, I was informed that there was little action that they could take because my contract was with A Eastern. They suggested I pay the Arrow Towing bill and deal with A Eastern for resolution.
October 16th: Spoke with Greg to review options. I asked if I were to pay the fees to Arrow Towing, would A Eastern refund $150 to me since they had not paid any money to Arrow Towing. He said yes. I asked if A Eastern would still be able to pick the car up and ship it to Washington. He said yes. I asked when he would be able to pick the car up if I were able to get it released. He stated that A Eastern would have it picked up by October 23rd at the latest. He then stated that the car would be arrive in Washington within 10 days of pick up.
October 18th: Called A Eastern to confirm that fees had been paid to Arrow Towing and that the car would be released. Greg confirmed that he would refund $150 for towing fees and that the car would be picked up by October 23rd.
October 26th: Called Arrow Towing to confirm that the vehicle had been picked up. Arrow had not been contacted for an appointment nor had the car been picked up.
Please note - arrow towing was an absolute pleasure to do business with. I spoke with the owner and after explaining the story he agreed to a reduced storage fee (less than 10% of what was actually owed). When actually making the payment he waived storage altogether and collected the original towing fee itself. He stated that he couldn't be a party to fraud, and just wanted to collect enough money to break even. Class act.
October 29th: 11 AM EST Called A Eastern - spoke with "Juan". Was told that my case could only be discussed by John or Greg and that they would be back in two hours.
October 29th: 2:45 EST Called A Eastern - spoke with Kathy, she stated that Greg was with Accountants but would call me back by the close of business. Assured me that our file was on his desk.
October 30th: Call still not returned.
October 30th: Had local relatives pick up vehicle from Arrow Towing in order to avoid additional storage fees.
October 31st: Called A Eastern and asked for Greg. Was asked "why" after explaining I was placed on hold and then told that Greg was on the phone, but not avoiding me. Said that they had scheduled an appointment with Arrow to pick up the car by the end of the week. When informed that Arrow no longer had the vehicle I was again placed on hold.
"Juan" picked up the line and informed me that he had personnally picked the car up in Saddle River, NJ in August and delivered it to Arrow Towing. This is a completely false statement (ABSOLUTE LIE) as the car was picked up by Victor of Arrow Towing.
"Juan" stated that I could request a refund in writing, but that I would be charged an "Administration Fee". I informed Juan that this was unacceptable and recounted my conversation with Greg. He stated " I don't know what was said between you and Greg". I informed that I understood that and needed to speak with Greg and that this was the reason for my call.
I was assured that Greg would return my call today. He of course, has not.
0 comments