I just came across this website and thought I'd share my hideous experience with A-1 Auto Transport back in 2004.
I moved from Los Angeles to New York on June 1st and handed my 2003 VW Passat over to A-1 Auto Transport for them to ship cross country for me. When they picked up my car on June 1st, they said I would receive it in New York in 10-14 days, which ended up being an outright lie. Not only did my car not show up until July 3rd (over a month later!) but it arrived with a smashed front windshield!
When I would call them to try to find out where my car was, more often than not, they would hang up on me. If I was really lucky, they would ask if someone could call me back. I never received one phone call back from A-1 Auto. The ONLY way I could get any kind of response from these people was by emailing customer service via their website, and even then the email responses were generic, extremely vague, and I never had any idea who exactly I was speaking with.
When my car finally DID show up to my house on July 3rd it arrived with a smashed front windshield. The driver of the truck it arrived on showed us a contract that was signed by the cross-country driver who was employed by A-1 Auto, stating that he was fully aware AND responsible for the damage to my windshield. It turns out he dropped a ramp on the front windshield of my car. Conveniently enough, when I complained to A-1 Auto about the damage, they let me know that, as stated on my contract, they are not responsible for any damage to glass and that they were NOT going to reimburse me for the damage. I can understand if a rock flew up and dinged my windshield in-transit - that would not be A-1's fault. However, the damage was 100% the driver's fault, and therefore should be A-1 Auto's responsibility. It's unfortunate that no one at A-1 Auto had the ability to handle this in a professional manner.
I would also like to point out that A-1 Auto Transport charged my credit card the FULL $835 I was quoted on MAY 4th - a full MONTH before the car was even picked up, and FOUR DAYS after I made my reservation with them.
I have no one to blame but myself for not doing the appropriate research when looking for a company to ship my car to New York — I'm a young female who was preoccupied with my big move, and finding a decent company to ship my car was not a priority at the time. However, I cannot believe a company such as A-1 Auto Transport is still in business, and it's frightening to know that I am not the only person they've taken the pleasure in screwing over. It would please me to no end if I can help expose this company for the frauds that they are.
$835 to be car-less for 33 days. $500 worth of damages to my vehicle. Unreturned phone calls. Anonymous and uninformative emails. Rude and unprofessional customer service representatives. Irresponsible drivers. Endless complaints with the Better Business Bureau. THIS, my friends, is what you get when you use A-1 Auto Transport.
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