I contracted to move a vehicle from California to South Carolina from BT Auto Transport. BT brokered the order to Grizzly Auto Transport... A BIG problem with them btw!!!
The agreed upon price was $850, with a $200 deposit by way of credit card. No problem right? WRONG!:) This story gets twisted as you go along... Would turn this into a mini-series, but it's worth the read if you want a warning
Nobody called to confirm by pickup, but when I called to inquire they THEN gave me the name of the company they brokered it to... Grizzly Auto Sales/Transport. Their address is 160 Jensen Street in Reno, NV. Their phone number is 775-772-1117. Dave is the driver (maybe the only one?!!?), and his wife is possibly the only other employee (?). Anyway...
I was told by BT Auto Transport my car would "probably" get to me a day later than anticipated due to the holiday. No problem, but I HAD TO INQUIRE to even get the info. I was told Friday evening or Saturday am at the latest by BT Auto, but the driver would call to give me a "heads up" so I could plan accordingly. She assured me I wouldn't have to take delivery late Friday evening if it was dark, so to look over the car in daylight before signing off on it.
Thursday passed, so I was confident a Friday delivery would be out of the question. When Friday noon came and passed, a Saturday delivery was now fading into the distance, so I called the driver of the truck, Dave. THAT is where the problems started to mount!
Dave said his truck was broke down for 3 days and such and began cussing profusely. I called Grizzly office to find out where he was broken down and when could I possibly expect my car. Check this out... SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT STATE HE WAS IN?!?!? HELLO?!?! I knew Saturday was out of the question and she kind of blew me off and told me simply, "Sometime next week". That's it?!?!? Ok... I would wait.:)
Dave left me a voice mail late Friday evening now saying he would roll in Sunday. Well... 1st of all I wasn't even going to be in town (this was the 1st mention of Sunday)... His dispatcher (wife) had told me earlier in the day it would be "sometime next week". I called him back, but got his answering machine... I simply said I wouldn't even be in town, and was told anyway that he wouldn't be here till sometime next week (July 14th week).
I called Dave on Saturday to try to speak directly to him, and NOW it starts to unfold~
He answered the phone, "Yea... What do you want?" I said, "Dave I got your message of course, but again... I won't even be in town on Sunday and your dispatch indicated next week on top of that". He said, "Look... I'm trying to get some blank-a-dee-blank sleep, and neither will I!!!" The phone went dead%
I thought, this isn't how you end a phone converstation so I called him right back... I told him I didn't know if we got disconnected or what happened. He said, "She (his dispatcher) doesn't know blank! @#@#$#$# and he hung up!
I emailed BT Auto... Left emails, etc letting them know there's a loose cannon out there.
On Monday late morning JUly 14th I get a call from Dave... (again... I have NO IDEA when/if my car will get to me right? I was hung up on simply told that he wouldn't be here Sunday either after I told him I wasn't going to be in town).
Dave is now asking which exit to get off on to get to me. He asked if there were any trees on the road because my car was on top, but went on to say..."I don't care... It aint my car". I then told him to meet me at a gas station. I wanted to be in a public place in the event this guy goes "postal" with me.
He went on to say..."Oh... You know there's an extra $100 due don't you?" I said... This is the 1st mention and the agreement was for $650... Not $750. HE WENT BALLISTIC!!! You're gettin' me my $750 #$#@#@! $#$ dollars or you aint gettin' your car!!! ARE YOU GONNA GIVE ME $750$#$#$*&... Yes or no?!?!!?"
I "tried" to tell him I would call him back (I was going to call BT to brief them to the scenario as it unfolded). I left my office to be able to do so, but the driver called my office cussing in a big way to other employees inquiring about where I was and talking about my piece of #@$#$*#&$ car he had on his #$#*$#&$* truck, etc... You get the drift.
BT told me..."Kevin... Give the driver the extra $100 and I'll credit your card back. Let's just get your car unloaded and I'll take care of you.
I went to the bank to get the "extra" $100... A total of $750. The driver called me on my cell saying, "YOU GOT MY F% $?!?! I said, "Yes".
5 minutes later he pulls PAST the gas station and I see him get out of sight... I don't know where he's headed... To my house?! He calls me back in 3 minutes and asks if I know where he's at. I told him no, and he said I'm just past the gas station in the middle of the road... The middle land people use for turning, etc... AGAIN, he asks about the $100.
Check this out... My car was NOT on top, but on the bottom... At the very back, with the planks already laid down on the road. Dave is at my auto with his clip board and when I approached him he asked about the money. I said, "I've got it right here for you... Let's unload it so I can do a walk around inspection". Protocol right? He said, "That aint the way it works pal... You aint gettin' your car". I repeated myself and he said "NO", and began to put his clipboard away. I shook my head in disbelief and turned to walk back to my other vehicle and I began to call BT Auto.By the way... I had been speaking with the OWNER each time, Billy Turner.
Interesting part here...
As I'm on the phone talking to Billy telling him that Dave is not giving me my car, Dave had run just ahead of me by 10-12 feet and squatted down a bit in front of me while I'm walking and talking and snapped a photo of me saying, "HAHA... This is proof that I was here!!!".
Off he drove with my car. Hey... There are NUMEROUS calls/things that took place after this, but here's what happened...
I got a phone message from Billy at BT... He has my cell, but chose to leave me a message instead (afraid of more confrontation?). His message at the office was this, "Kevin... Grizzly has dropped off your car in Augusta, Georgia. You'll need to call them and get the details".
The car being "impounded" at the wrecker company was a $185 fee and $15 each day. They were NOT releasing the car (understandably) to me till Grizzly sent them confirmation that they had been paid. I was going to get my car and called them, but the wrecker company said, "Dont come now... BT lied... They told Grizzly they sent the money, but later called to ask WHERE to send the money, and we aren't releasing the car till Grizzly let's us know they've been paid". There were MANY details involved here, but what transpired finally is this...
I drove to Georgia (not South Carolina) to get my car, &I paid storage for 3 days (wasn't even notified as to the whereabouts of my car till a day after they dropped it off!?!?!?!?), and paid the $185 to the wrecker company.
Billy Turner has not even credited my credit card back the $100 he initially said he would when he told me to get the $100 to pay the driver... He's returned no phone call I've placed to him since the other day, and I've got no response to my last email I sent him earlier this morning.
BT got their money... Grizzly got theirs.
There are MANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNY lessons to be learned. I've moved several cars in the last 14 months, and this has been a nightmare to say the least.
Suggestions PRIOR to moving a vehicle...
1. Have the company fax any bill of lading to you... It will give you their ICC # and disclosure of pertinent info about them. Ps... GRIZZLY DOESN'T HAVE ONE!?!? They're not even "legal"? They're a "run by the seat of your pants" company it seems.
2. Get a faxed copy of their certificate of insurance with deductables.
I could go on and on... A phone call could better explain some of this if you're that concerned. Email me with your phone number if you're interested and I'd be GLAD to fill you in with other details.
0 comments