I have had a series of unbelievably bad experiences with ABF that need to be addressed immediately. Several months ago I purchased a small brewery that was located in Lander, WY and called several shipping companies to get quotes to ship the brewery to Virginia. I have never had anything commercially shipped before. I chose ABF after calling 800.610.5544 because I received a quote of $692.60.
I received a variety of quotes ranging from about $800 to several thousand from other companies. I explained to the representative that I had never shipped anything before and would need some help understanding the process. The representative asked me for information including the class, weight, and dimensions of all of the pieces that I wanted to ship. I explained all items in detail. The representative took down all the information and issued me the $692.60 quote. I was told to call the local ABF office in WY at 307.634.3486 to schedule pickup.
I called 307.634.3486 to schedule a pickup and spoke with Bill. We scheduled a pickup for June 26th, confirming the dimensions, quote, weight, etc. I asked Bill if there was anything else that I needed to do, such as any paperwork, etc. I told him again that I had never shipped anything before and didnt know if I was supposed to pay now with a credit card, or send a check, or pay once it arrived, etc. Bill said that it could be done any however Id like, but we never decided on a method of payment. I assumed that ABF would bill me for payment at some point.
The brewery was picked up and loaded onto a small North Park (the local WY carrier) trailer on the 26th. I can provide an account of the order and method in which the trailer was loaded upon request. On the afternoon of June 27th I received voicemail from Bill at ABF that stated that he initially had an order for a pickup for 1 piece at 500lbs, but now had an entire trailer full of things and wanted to know if North Park had picked up the correct equipment or not. I couldnt believe the message because Bill was the same person that I had originally described everything to over the phone when I called to schedule the pickup.
I called ABF back after receiving the message and Mike Hutton answered. I asked for Bill since he had left the message. Mike told me that Bill was unavailable. I started to tell Mike about the message, and before I got too far, he stopped me and said, You must be John. Mike explained to me that I had been misquoted and that the cost would be nearly 4 times what I was originally quoted. He said that the best that he could do would be no more than $2,165. He mentioned that he would try to knock off some money because of the confusion thus far, and at that point I expected him to do so.
He said that I could try another carrier since ABF hadnt touched the freight yet, as it was on North Parks trailer in Cheyenne, WY, but that I would have to pay North Park for delivery thus far. I told him that I would make a few calls and call him back. He also gave me the number for Ron Betts at North Park and said that I should see if he could do anything.
I made several calls to other carriers including Yellow. I explained my predicament to an extremely polite woman at Yellow. She took the time to explain to me the difference between LTL and volume and quoted me for a volume rate of $1,950.55 from the equipments current location in Cheyenne, WY. I wish someone at ABF had explained to me what LTL and volume meant when I had initially mentioned that I had never shipped anything before and would need some help understanding the process.
I then called Ron Betts at North Park. He told me that Mike Huttons price was reasonable and that I wouldnt do any better anywhere else. I decided that I would give ABF a second chance and continue with the delivery. I gave Mike Hutton (who was now at the loading dock at North Park) the go ahead to continue delivery for the best price that he could do, with an understanding that it would not exceed $2,165.00. I was told that I could expect arrival in VA around July 3rd.
On July 1st I called to check on the status of arrival and was told that it was now expected to arrive at the Roanoke terminal on July 8th and would probably be delivered on the 9th. I scrapped my plans to unload on the 3rd and rescheduled my out-of-town help for the 9th. I called the Roanoke terminal at 540.366.3666 on July 5th and spoke with John who was very helpful. I told John that the equipment was going to a storage facility and that I would need to know a window of time for arrival so that I could be there to unload. John told me to give him a call on the morning of the 8th and we could schedule a time for delivery on the 9th.
I called John back on the 8th and he told me that there was a problem with the shipment and he wasnt sure who was supposed to be paying for it or how much it was. I gathered that he noticed the discrepancy between the initial quote and the actual price and was worried that I still expected a bill of $692.60. John said that delivery couldnt be made until he could get a bill of freight and that he hadnt been able to get one yet.
I then asked John if it would be possible to re-route the equipment to Christiansburg, VA, 35 miles away from the original drop off point in Roanoke. He told me that he could do it, but would still need to get the bill of freight and figure out the price, which would be more due to the rerouting. I was OK with that and cancelled my plans to unload the truck on the 9th, now hoping for a delivery in Christiansburg on the 10th.
I called John back on the 9th to check on the progress. He explained to me that he still didnt have a bill of freight, but should be able to get one that day and that he could deliver to Christiansburg for a total charge of $2,165. I agreed and he told me that the truck would come on the 10th after lunch and that they would call me when the driver left Roanoke.
By 2pm I had heard nothing, so I called and spoke with Chip who put me on the phone with the driver. The driver told me it would be an hour or so. I waited and the truck arrived about an hour and a half later. All appeared to be well and the driver left the trailer for us to unload. He said that he would come back for it later.
We began removing items from the truck. After about an hour of work we could see that several of the items towards the very front end of the trailer had been severely damaged. I was pretty upset, but couldnt get close enough to inspect the damage until more items were removed. I was shocked at the extensive damage once we got to the pieces up against the front wall of the trailer.
I called John back at ABFs Roanoke terminal at 8am on the 11th to tell him about the damages that I had found. John said that there had been a notation of scratches and dents when the equipment arrived at the Roanoke terminal. I couldnt believe that no one from ABF bothered to mention the damage to me prior to, or during drop off of the trailer. I suppose that ABF just hoped that I wouldnt notice or care.
John faxed me the proper form to file a claim and then proceeded to tell me that it was unlikely that I would get anything back, completely contradicting the statement on your website that Errors are not acceptable to us as a company or as individuals.
I filed a claim and received a reply stating that because my shipment was subject to a Volume Price Quote, ABFs liability was limited to $0.10 per pound for used equipment. I found that pretty ironic since I was actually quoted for an LTL rate. Again, this type of information should have been given to me when I initially asked for assistance, explaining that I had never shipped anything before.
The reply to my damage claim went on to state, The damage notation of some dented and scratched, which was placed on the bill of lading, indicates that there was some incumbent damage prior to ABFs handling of this freight. Perhaps the partner carrier, North Park, damaged the equipment prior to ABFs handling, but I can prove that the equipment left in a radically different condition in which it arrived.
I cannot believe that after all that has happened thus far, ABF is now taking a position of no responsibility. The bottom line is that the equipment was severely damaged in transit. I saw the equipment with my own eyes, and have pictures of the condition in which it left WY.
The equipment arrived damaged and loaded in a different order and on a different truck than it was originally loaded on in Lander, WY. I paid nearly 4 times what I was initially quoted for the shipment of valuable equipment, and more harm was done than good.
I would like to be contacted by someone in the company that can tell me how any of this could have happened and what can be done about it. ABFs website states, We have the responsibility to compensate you for the actual loss unless the loss was due to an act of God, the public enemy, the authority of law, an act or default of the shipper, or natural shrinkage.
I expect to be fully compensated immediately. I never imagined that I would have so many horrible experiences with such a major freight company who claims to be committed to quality!
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