In July of 2015 Auto start transport express was hired to hire a carrier to transport my car fro CA to NC . The carrier in which Auto Star transport express hired LHC Transport. LHC drove my car instead of transporting on the flatbed that they came to my home and picked my car up in CA. When I received my car I had an additional 2717 miles on my car.. When contacting the company they refused to address the issues because I had missed my 24 hr reporting period..Auto did not honor there own contact it mention to report damages only as it relates to the outside of your car. I still feel that damages is also not honoring the fact that I paid to have my car transported by carrier not driven.
We assist all our customers with damage claims to the best of our ability, however there are certain conditions that need to be met. We are merely here to assist, and accept no responsibilty for the alleged actions of the carriers. In this case, as explained to the customer, damage must be reported within the first 24 hours. This is to show that damage was done during transport and not while in possesion of the customer. It is very easy to make accusations, against the carrier, but it all comes down to what can be proven. If customer does not report damage in the first 24 hours, how can it be proven that damage was not done after delivery while in their possesion. As far as the mileage goes, we spoke to the carrier and they deny driving the car. Carrier has no motive to drive a car clear across the country, and again, customer has no proof of this with documentation of mileage.
This company will undersell any other service out there and promise to ship your vehicle on your requested date; however, they will take your deposited up front and offer drivers a joke for delivery payment. Needless to say, no driver will want to take delivery of your vehicle and the company will continue to promise that they will find a driver who will take the job. In the mean time they already cashed your deposit and not be concerned with delivery any longer. I had to pay over a week of hotel because no driver would consider their low ball payment and two weeks later they hit me up with a driver who would do it for twice the fee we had agreed to in the beginning. I was told that if I paid the driver what he asked for, my deposit would be returned but this never happened either. If you don't care about throwing your money away at these scammers then go ahead and do business with them. They will apologize a thousand times for the issues and state that it never happens to them while they continue to milk you for more money. At the end of the day, none of their apologies will give me back all the money they made me loose with their scam. Read other reviews and realize that the problem is very repetitive. Notice how the only good reviews they have are from a "Google user" and the only one with a name is from a Latino who probably works for them. I am a Latino myself and it is because of scammers like these that we sometimes get a bad reputation. These scammers are an embarrassment to the Latino community. Follow-up to their response: This company has no integrity and replied to my review by generating brutal lies as to everything that happened; however, it doesn't take a genius to figure out by reading everyone else's reviews that we have all had the same issues or similar ones with this company. When everyone rating you has the same issues, that makes you the problem and your company could care less about fixing your customer's problems.
My expectations, as communicated to EVERY broker I interviewed:
Expectations were clearly communicated via email to provide consistent and clear documentation on my expectations.
- Looking for a Flat Bed, 3 Car Hauler (no 6-8 car haulers)
- My cars only. (I was shipping 3 cars at the time.)
- Door to door service. (no terminals or meeting in a parking lot someplace)
AutoStar (Sofia) assured me they could find a carrier to do this for $2500.00.
(3) days before my cars were to be picked up I finally heard back from AutoStar. At first, they said they'd found a carrier with a 3-5 car hauler, but the carrier wanted $200 more. An hour later, this turned out to be a 6-8 car hauler, but it was "just my cars", and still door to door.
What I got was this:
- 6-8 car hauler.
- Loaded with other cars.
- A driver who spoke (8) words in English- "Big Truck, No park, you street. Come Meet."
- Tail pipes on my Porsche are all scratched up from bottoming out during loading/unloading.
- Steering wheel covered in grease
- Pick up- I had to drive (3) cars over 5miles to meet the driver. (not exactly door to door)
- Drop Off- Driver refused to come down a 4 lane wide road, with an open turn around area, citing
""Big Truck, No park, you street. Come Meet." So where does he unload? In the middle of a busy road, by parking in the turning lane and unloading my cars in the middle of the road, at night.
AutoStar gave me a bunch of BS about "thoroughly screening carriers they use". Hmmm. Might start with A) Do you speak English B) can you back up your truck? (Carrier was "Z Trans" out of LA)
Upon posting the review above on Transport Reviews.com the company responds with clearly libelous statements citing that I only disclosed my intentions after the fact and they had a contract absolving them of wrong doing as the contract states that they "do not guarantee the carrier or type of transport." Ironic, because after getting their contract, post making my reservation, I raised issues with the contract to them. I also refused to sign it.
We feel Customer has left out some extremely important key details in his narrative.
Where to begin??
June 25th, customer requested a quote for two vehicles, possibly three. One was an SUV which our trained coordinator qualified with the customer about height, running condition, etc. NO MENTION OF HIS REQUEST FOR 3-5 CAR HAULER.
June 26th, customer places his order online. When placing an order online, the terms and conditions of the contract must be accepted to place the order. Contract clearly states that we do not guarantee any specific driver/carrier. Customer also adds the note when placing the order online of his request to have a 3-5 car hauler. This was the FIRST time that we been made aware of his outrageous requests. First available release date had been set for July 20th.
Fast forward to 11 days later.
July 8th. Customer sends us an email questioning the contract and specifically the part about specific driver/carrier. Seriously?? Customer read the contract 11 days ago BEFORE he placed the order online, then makes an unreasonable request when he places the order, and NOW he wants to question it??
Our agents explained to him that his request for a 3-5 car hauler to transport cross country is not going to happen. 3-5 carrier are local carriers that transport within state or at best state to state. They do not have the required permits for each state to travel across the country, besides the fact that it is not cost effective for them to transport cross county.
July 16th. Four days BEFORE his first available release date, we secured the best available carrier for pickup exactly on his first available date. We notified the customer, and the customer refused to accept this assignment stating it was his request to have a 3-5 car hauler. AGAIN, it was explained why we are not able to accommodate his request, and that this was his best option. Customer not only refused this, but also now informs us that one of the vehicles has an oil leak and it has to go on top?? SERIOUSLY? He wants us to transport a vehicle that knowingly leaks fluids, and he wants it to go on top so it can potentially damage other vehicles?? You get the picture now of what kind of unreasonable and demanding person with which we are dealing.
July 17th. The carrier we had assigned was informed of the situation, and graciously agreed to transport the vehicles, even the one with an oil leak, but it had to go on the bottom rack. Customer reluctantly agreed, and then started making more demands, that these be the ONLY 3 cars on a 6-8 car hauler, but he was not willing to pay for the 3 empty spots on the carriers truck! SERIOUSLY??
July 18th. Two days before scheduled pick up, customer calls to inform us that there will now only be two cars. Never mind the fact that the carrier has reserved three spots on his truck, and turning down other offers because he had reserved those 3 spots, the customer does not seem to care about anyone but himself and his contemptible demands.
July 20th. The scheduled day of pickup, the customer calls again, and now wants to transport the original 3 cars!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Fortunately the carrier was not able to find another vehicle, and still had room on this truck.
AutoStar and its customer service and dispatch team did an amazing job of overcoming the constant obstacles Mr. Miller seemed determined to place in their path - Sofia saved Mr. Miller $300 off of her quoted price - despite having agreed to a 1-5 day window of pickup, he suddenly changed his mind, demanding at the last minute that he receive an expedited pickup with only a 1 day window, for which HE DID NOT pay an expedited price- indeed, he did not even pay the normal rate for transport.
As for the carrier, if there was a communication issue, we would have been happy to handle it. However, the pickup location in the hills of Ladera Ranch is a closed neighborhood on a dead-end street, as can be seen in Google maps. Again, as explained to him, certain neighborhoods may have weight restrictions or may not be navigable for trucks this size, in which case he would have to meet the carrier in a place conducive to loading. Furthermore, this is the first we have heard of the alleged scrapes to his tailpipe. If this had happened, why did he NOT note it on the bill of lading and contact us to begin a claim?
Mr. Miller, we wish you the best at your new residence, and should you need this service in the future, please do not contact us! Thank you!
AutoStar Transport Express Reviews
In July of 2015 Auto start transport express was hired to hire a carrier to transport my car fro CA to NC . The carrier in which Auto Star transport express hired LHC Transport. LHC drove my car instead of transporting on the flatbed that they came to my home and picked my car up in CA. When I received my car I had an additional 2717 miles on my car.. When contacting the company they refused to address the issues because I had missed my 24 hr reporting period..Auto did not honor there own contact it mention to report damages only as it relates to the outside of your car. I still feel that damages is also not honoring the fact that I paid to have my car transported by carrier not driven.
Additonal miles
We assist all our customers with damage claims to the best of our ability, however there are certain conditions that need to be met. We are merely here to assist, and accept no responsibilty for the alleged actions of the carriers. In this case, as explained to the customer, damage must be reported within the first 24 hours. This is to show that damage was done during transport and not while in possesion of the customer. It is very easy to make accusations, against the carrier, but it all comes down to what can be proven. If customer does not report damage in the first 24 hours, how can it be proven that damage was not done after delivery while in their possesion. As far as the mileage goes, we spoke to the carrier and they deny driving the car. Carrier has no motive to drive a car clear across the country, and again, customer has no proof of this with documentation of mileage.
This company will undersell any other service out there and promise to ship your vehicle on your requested date; however, they will take your deposited up front and offer drivers a joke for delivery payment. Needless to say, no driver will want to take delivery of your vehicle and the company will continue to promise that they will find a driver who will take the job. In the mean time they already cashed your deposit and not be concerned with delivery any longer. I had to pay over a week of hotel because no driver would consider their low ball payment and two weeks later they hit me up with a driver who would do it for twice the fee we had agreed to in the beginning. I was told that if I paid the driver what he asked for, my deposit would be returned but this never happened either. If you don't care about throwing your money away at these scammers then go ahead and do business with them. They will apologize a thousand times for the issues and state that it never happens to them while they continue to milk you for more money. At the end of the day, none of their apologies will give me back all the money they made me loose with their scam. Read other reviews and realize that the problem is very repetitive. Notice how the only good reviews they have are from a "Google user" and the only one with a name is from a Latino who probably works for them. I am a Latino myself and it is because of scammers like these that we sometimes get a bad reputation. These scammers are an embarrassment to the Latino community. Follow-up to their response: This company has no integrity and replied to my review by generating brutal lies as to everything that happened; however, it doesn't take a genius to figure out by reading everyone else's reviews that we have all had the same issues or similar ones with this company. When everyone rating you has the same issues, that makes you the problem and your company could care less about fixing your customer's problems.
My expectations, as communicated to EVERY broker I interviewed:
Expectations were clearly communicated via email to provide consistent and clear documentation on my expectations.
- Looking for a Flat Bed, 3 Car Hauler (no 6-8 car haulers)
- My cars only. (I was shipping 3 cars at the time.)
- Door to door service. (no terminals or meeting in a parking lot someplace)
AutoStar (Sofia) assured me they could find a carrier to do this for $2500.00.
(3) days before my cars were to be picked up I finally heard back from AutoStar. At first, they said they'd found a carrier with a 3-5 car hauler, but the carrier wanted $200 more. An hour later, this turned out to be a 6-8 car hauler, but it was "just my cars", and still door to door.
What I got was this:
- 6-8 car hauler.
- Loaded with other cars.
- A driver who spoke (8) words in English- "Big Truck, No park, you street. Come Meet."
- Tail pipes on my Porsche are all scratched up from bottoming out during loading/unloading.
- Steering wheel covered in grease
- Pick up- I had to drive (3) cars over 5miles to meet the driver. (not exactly door to door)
- Drop Off- Driver refused to come down a 4 lane wide road, with an open turn around area, citing
""Big Truck, No park, you street. Come Meet." So where does he unload? In the middle of a busy road, by parking in the turning lane and unloading my cars in the middle of the road, at night.
AutoStar gave me a bunch of BS about "thoroughly screening carriers they use". Hmmm. Might start with A) Do you speak English B) can you back up your truck? (Carrier was "Z Trans" out of LA)
Upon posting the review above on Transport Reviews.com the company responds with clearly libelous statements citing that I only disclosed my intentions after the fact and they had a contract absolving them of wrong doing as the contract states that they "do not guarantee the carrier or type of transport." Ironic, because after getting their contract, post making my reservation, I raised issues with the contract to them. I also refused to sign it.
Unreasonable Requests
We feel Customer has left out some extremely important key details in his narrative.
Where to begin??
June 25th, customer requested a quote for two vehicles, possibly three. One was an SUV which our trained coordinator qualified with the customer about height, running condition, etc. NO MENTION OF HIS REQUEST FOR 3-5 CAR HAULER.
June 26th, customer places his order online. When placing an order online, the terms and conditions of the contract must be accepted to place the order. Contract clearly states that we do not guarantee any specific driver/carrier. Customer also adds the note when placing the order online of his request to have a 3-5 car hauler. This was the FIRST time that we been made aware of his outrageous requests. First available release date had been set for July 20th.
Fast forward to 11 days later.
July 8th. Customer sends us an email questioning the contract and specifically the part about specific driver/carrier. Seriously?? Customer read the contract 11 days ago BEFORE he placed the order online, then makes an unreasonable request when he places the order, and NOW he wants to question it??
Our agents explained to him that his request for a 3-5 car hauler to transport cross country is not going to happen. 3-5 carrier are local carriers that transport within state or at best state to state. They do not have the required permits for each state to travel across the country, besides the fact that it is not cost effective for them to transport cross county.
July 16th. Four days BEFORE his first available release date, we secured the best available carrier for pickup exactly on his first available date. We notified the customer, and the customer refused to accept this assignment stating it was his request to have a 3-5 car hauler. AGAIN, it was explained why we are not able to accommodate his request, and that this was his best option. Customer not only refused this, but also now informs us that one of the vehicles has an oil leak and it has to go on top?? SERIOUSLY? He wants us to transport a vehicle that knowingly leaks fluids, and he wants it to go on top so it can potentially damage other vehicles?? You get the picture now of what kind of unreasonable and demanding person with which we are dealing.
July 17th. The carrier we had assigned was informed of the situation, and graciously agreed to transport the vehicles, even the one with an oil leak, but it had to go on the bottom rack. Customer reluctantly agreed, and then started making more demands, that these be the ONLY 3 cars on a 6-8 car hauler, but he was not willing to pay for the 3 empty spots on the carriers truck! SERIOUSLY??
July 18th. Two days before scheduled pick up, customer calls to inform us that there will now only be two cars. Never mind the fact that the carrier has reserved three spots on his truck, and turning down other offers because he had reserved those 3 spots, the customer does not seem to care about anyone but himself and his contemptible demands.
July 20th. The scheduled day of pickup, the customer calls again, and now wants to transport the original 3 cars!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Fortunately the carrier was not able to find another vehicle, and still had room on this truck.
AutoStar and its customer service and dispatch team did an amazing job of overcoming the constant obstacles Mr. Miller seemed determined to place in their path - Sofia saved Mr. Miller $300 off of her quoted price - despite having agreed to a 1-5 day window of pickup, he suddenly changed his mind, demanding at the last minute that he receive an expedited pickup with only a 1 day window, for which HE DID NOT pay an expedited price- indeed, he did not even pay the normal rate for transport.
As for the carrier, if there was a communication issue, we would have been happy to handle it. However, the pickup location in the hills of Ladera Ranch is a closed neighborhood on a dead-end street, as can be seen in Google maps. Again, as explained to him, certain neighborhoods may have weight restrictions or may not be navigable for trucks this size, in which case he would have to meet the carrier in a place conducive to loading. Furthermore, this is the first we have heard of the alleged scrapes to his tailpipe. If this had happened, why did he NOT note it on the bill of lading and contact us to begin a claim?
Mr. Miller, we wish you the best at your new residence, and should you need this service in the future, please do not contact us! Thank you!