ComplaintsforShip a Car Direct Inc

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 5/10/2024, a carrier (KG Group), booked by Ship A Car Direct picked up my 2010 ****** Rav-4 in *********, ** and carried it in on an open air truck to *********, **. When I picked up the car in ********* on 5/14/24, there were four very obvious marks on the roof where the paint had peeled or been scratched off during transit. I chose Ship A Car Direct because they have a "damage free guarantee" on their website and after arguing with the carrier for several minutes about the damage, I was told by my contact at Ship A Car Direct (******) that if I pay the vendor and sign the **** I'd be reimbursed for the damage. I paid the driver the $1,200 that I owed (on top of the $150 I paid directly to Ship A Car) and trusted their word. I got a quote from a local auto body shop for damage repairs that came out to $1,229.92. As directed, I submitted it back to Ship A Car and they told me they'd handle it directly with the carrier. The carrier came back and refused to take responsibility for the damage. I have both documented photographic evidence that this damage was not on the car prior to it being under their care. Additionally, the bill of lading documented during pickup indicates "major damage" by the carrier. Ship A Car reimbursed me $500 plus my original $150 booking fee, but not enough to cover the full amount of damage done to the vehicle (I also filed a claim with their carrier's insurance, but was told that the carrier would have to pay out of pocket to reimburse me for the damage). I'm writing to (1) call Ship A Car out for deceptive marketing and misleading language around their "Damage Free Guarantee (as I can't find anywhere on their website where it indicates that this guarantee is only up to $500) and (2) in hopes that the BBB can help put pressure on Ship A Car direct to live up to their promise and cover the remaining $579.92 in damage repair costs. Photos and documents relating to the complaint are labeled and attached for reference.

  

  Business response

  06/13/2024

  Dear Better Business Bureau,
  
  We appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns raised by our customer regarding the *************************** of their 2010 ****** Rav-4 by the carrier KG Group, coordinated through our services at Ship A Car Direct.
  
  We would like to clarify what our "Damage Free Guarantee" is and is not. The guarantee on our website states: "But, in the very rare case of damage, the carriers insurance will cover it. If they dont, weve got your back. We will step in to help pay via our Damage Free Guarantee program." This program offers coverage up to $500, as detailed in our terms and conditions. We do step in to help pay, but we cannot cover anything and everything that can possibly happen, that is what insurance companies are for, and the responsibility for any damages during transit lies with the carrier from the moment the vehicle is picked up. If the carrier's insurance does not cover it, and it is more than our $500, most customers will simply file with their own insurance to get covered and use our $500 payment for their deductible.
  
  In this specific case, when the customer reported the damage, we promptly paid the $500 as part of our Damage Free Guarantee program. Additionally, we went above and beyond by reimbursing the customer an extra $150, totaling $650, in an effort to assist and satisfy their concerns. It is important to note that if the customer had chosen another broker, they would have potentially received zero compensation.
  
  The damage reported involves peeling paint on the roof of the vehicle. Based on our experience and the nature of the damage, it appears more likely to be due to wear and tear, possibly exacerbated by the elements during transit. This type of damage is not typically indicative of direct actions by the carrier which is the reason they are denying the claim. I have also included two before photos that show there were previous scratches and paint removed from the front and rear bumpers. The before photos previously submitted were angled in a way that don't show any damage on the vehicle.
  
  We have advised the customer to file a claim with their own insurance company and use our reimbursement to cover their deductible. However, the customer indicated they had canceled their insurance policy and did not wish to contact their insurance provider for a claim. Unfortunately, this situation is beyond our control and responsibility.
  
  We believe that the customer should ********************** their complaint towards the carrier, KG Group, as they are ultimately responsible for any damage that occurs during transit. We have fulfilled our obligation under our Damage Free Guarantee program and have taken additional steps to assist the customer.
  
  We hope this clarifies our position and the actions we have taken in response to the customer's complaint. We remain committed to providing transparent and supportive service to all our customers.
  
  Thank you for your attention to this matter.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****
  Operations Manager
  Ship A Car Direct

  Customer response

  06/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21825877
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I cannot find on their website where it states that their damage free guarantee is only up to $500.  Despite having an  asterisk next to the promise, theres nowhere to find what the asterisk indicates, and the link directs you to A Comprehensive Guide for Shipping Your Car to Another State. 
  

  Ship A Car Direct should be held responsible for the carriers they choose to work with. They stated that I should take the issues up directly with KG Group, however I had no say in the carrier that was chosen for me. They make claims specifically around the quality of the carriers they work with, yet fail to take accountability when one of them causes damage. 

  
  Yes, they reimbursed me $500 and my initial booking fee of $150. But the damage repair is going to cost me an additional $579 for damage that occurred while in their care.

  
  The car is 14 years old and the first sign of wear and tear happened while under the care of Ship A Car Direct and KG Group. The existing paint damage that was on the bumpers that they use as proof of wear and tear was done directly by me. So, I fully reject the argument that wear and tear was already occurring on the vehicle. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Initially, my experience with Ship A Car Direct was positive. I worked with an employee named ****, who was very helpful and provided me with a quote of $800 for the shipping service. I was informed that this was just a quote but was assured that it would most likely be the maximum price. **** claimed that Ship A Car Direct was the best in the industry for car shipping. However, upon agreeing to the car carrier service, the actual price increased by over 50% from the quoted $800. Despite this significant discrepancy, I was only offered a modest discount of approximately $50 as compensation for their mistake.I was initially given an estimated delivery date of 06/07/2024. Later, I was informed that the delivery date was moved to 06/08/2024, which I accepted. However, I then learned from the carrier service that the actual delivery date would be 06/10/2024. This contradicted the information I received from Ship A Car Direct, which insisted that the car would be delivered by 06/08/2024. I felt misled by Ship A Car Direct. When I spoke directly with the carrier service, they told me that they face issues with Ship A Car Direct providing unrealistic delivery estimates/misleading customers. This inconsistency between what I was told by Ship A Car Direct and the actual carrier service has caused me significant frustration and inconvenience.I attempted to contact Ship A Car Direct to request a refund for the service fee, as their website states that they offer 100% refunds. Despite multiple attempts, I have not been able to reach anyone at the company for assistance. It is alarming that a company with such practices has an A+ rating on the BBB. When calling the employee who has been assisting me (****), he still says that the car may still be able to be delivered on 6/8/24, even though the carrier service told me the earliest would be 6/10/24. **** does not know what is truly going on and feels like he is telling me only what I want to hear.

  

  Business response

  06/19/2024

  After the date this complaint was submitted the car was delivered and we reached out to the customer and processed a refund as requested.

• Initial Complaint

  10/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am dissatisfied with my experience with this company and I would definitely not recommend using this carrier to ship your vehicle. This company has poor communication skills and the truckers that they utilize are shady at best. Firstly, the rep I worked with told me that it would be $1100 to ship my car from the Midwest to the west coast, I confirmed that I wanted to move forward and then shortly after the price I was originally quoted went up $100. This should have been my first red flag but I needed my car so I decided to move forward. We set a date for them to pick up the vehicle and the date was confirmed, my family made arrangements with their work schedule for the agreed upon date. Then the driver called and said that he was not coming that day and came on another day instead. My mother had to take another day off from work and was extremely inconvenienced. We did think ahead and place an AirTag in my car to keep track of its progress on its journey. After leaving Michigan my car was in ********. My car stayed in ******** for over a week due to the driver that was supposed to pick it up was caught transporting stolen vehicles across state lines so he was detained. The company did not say anything until after repeated attempts to get ahold of my specialist and after seeing that my car had not gotten any closer to its final destination. My car did not get to me in a timely fashion and communicating with this provider was a nightmare. I wasted so much money on Ubers/lyfts to get around.

  

  Business response

  10/24/2023

  We reached out to the customer by phone to help resolve the issue with communication and delays. We are disappointed that our carrier did not uphold the standards that we are used to and will certainly follow up with them. The customer has every right to be upset with the service and we have refunded her fee back to her card to help reimburse for the extra costs associated with ubers taken due to the delay. 

  Customer response

  11/01/2023

  I spoke with someone from this company in regards to my negative experience and I appreciate them reaching out and apologizing about my experience. My concern has been resolved. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  August 18. 2022 I placed an order for my car to be delivered from ** to VA.. I request the dates August 23,2022 for the car to be picked up and delivered August 24. The person I talked to *****, informed me that they would call when they have and I let them know the urgency of have my car by the following Friday which is August 26, 2022. His response was exact yes maam, Im working on that and I will call you back. Never received a call back, I had to call him back the 22nd to get an update. Thats when he decided to tell me they still havent found anyone to deliver my car. I re-explain the urgency of having my car. He responded by saying yes maam once again. August 23 comes, and no phone call or notification. On the 24th is when they found someone to reliever my car. The email stated Your estimated pick-up date is currently 08/25/22 and your estimated delivery date is 08/26/22. Which is really pushing it since I have an important event. They apparently picked up my car on the 25th but I was not notified until I talked to my actually car dealership. No updates at all. Since then, they had push the date back to the 27th and now the 29th. They are terrible with communication, lied to me over the phone, and still do my have my order but they want me to pay 800+ dollars. Lets not mentioned they hung up on me 3x already

  

  Business response

  08/27/2022

  Hi *******,

   

  Thank you for speaking with me over the phone about this issue. We are currently trying to reach the carrier to find out what is causing the delays and confirm their exact eta for you. I will provide an update to you as soon as we have it, and I will reach out to you tomorrow even if we don't reach the carrier. I apologize again for the lack of communication up to this point and we will make things right. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We got a quote for order number *******. The person we were dealing with required we put a credit card number on file for the quote. He said NOTHING about a deposit or charging my card. He could not give us a definite date for pickup and we were working with a short time frame. We decided to go with another company. When we told him we weren't going with him he told us we wasted his time and he charged my card $500 knowing full well we weren't using him. We have tried several times to contact this company only to be told that a supervisor will call us. No one has called us. They fraudulently charged my card.

  

  Business response

  07/23/2022

  Hi *****, 

  Thank you for taking the time to talk to me over the phone about this. Please accept my sincere apologies for the issues you experienced on this order and especially for ***** saying you wasted his time. That is certainly not acceptable and we will follow up with him on that to make sure that never happens again. It looks like from our system, when you texted ***** that the other broker said it would not move at that ********************** raised the price and a carrier had accepted it, causing our system to automatically charge your card. When you informed us that the date of pick up would not work and that you would go with the other broker, the order was canceled and the charges reversed. It should come off your statement within the next few days, but if there are any issues with the charges not coming off your bank statement please contact me directly so I can help resolve it. Thanks again for the feedback you gave me and I hope the rest of your move goes smoothly. 

• Initial Complaint

  04/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My initial contact with Ship A Car Direct was via their website on March 25th 2022. I was inquiring about the cost to ship a car that I was interested in from ******************** to ******, **.Timeline: - 04/04/22: Car was officially purchased from ****************** - 04/04/22: *********************** from dealership uploaded images of car using companies app showing no damage.- 04/06/22: Ship A Car Direct secured Good2go LLC as the carrier to ship my vehicle.- 04/07/22: Good2go LLC picked up my vehicle from dealership - 04/09/22: Good2go LLC delivered my vehicle late at night up the street from my house in the dark. Carrier provided no type of documentation for me when delivering vehicle. He simply wanted his money. Rear bumper damage was evident once I parked the car in my garage which is well lit. I uploaded images using Ship A Car Direct app showing damage.- 04/14/22: I supplied two repair shop estimates as requested by Ship A Car Direct.- 04/25/22: Owner of Good2go LLC left me a 92 second voicemail. He acknowled his driver damaged the car but disagreed with the cost associated with fixing the vehicle and offerred me $500 for the trouble. - 04/28/22: Recieved call from Ship a Car Direct from *******. She instructed that I reach out to carrier's insurance company to file a claim. I contacted ******* **************** who informed me that the carrier canceled their policy effective March 21st 2022. I have attached the following:- two car repair estimates. - Insurance policy that was on file for this shipper.- FAQ from Ship a Car Direct indicating they verify hired shipper's insurance on file is valid (IT WAS NOT).- Clear statement on company home webpage that Ship a Car Direct will help pay for damages to vehicle.

  

  Business response

  05/03/2022

  We reached out to the customer, *****, to try and help resolve this complaint. I have attached a screenshot of the conversation by email. We certainly apologize for the oversight with insurance and have since submitted the proper details for the claim. The adjuster reached out to us today and we provided him with all of the information requested. We also refunded our fee back to the customer. We will continue to follow up and help push this through insurance to get reimbursement for the repair.

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Placed order#****** with shipacardirect on 09/20/2021 to have 4 cars shipped from Orlando, FL to San Diego,CA. I was advised by shipacardirect that the carrier assigned was Kansas Frieght Inc. ************. Per shipacardirect they only work with trusted carries however it seems this is not the case here. The carrier damage my dodge challenger and planned to deceive me upon delivery to collect payment. There intent to deceive me was successful as they actually worked on my car to hide damages and then pulled a classic delivery at night. I did walk around car and driver pointed out damage to front bumper lip, what he did not state was that they actually had completely removed the front bumper lip and replaced it with a less damaged lip so that I would not notice or suspect any additional damages. When I got the car home from the delivery location under light I actually discovered that they had damaged both front fenders on the inside and the passenger side inner fender guard was completely gone. They had just ripped it out and not even tried to replace it, which in this case is very difficult to see as you have to look behind the wheel. I actually had to take the car to the body shop where they discvered additional damage underneath the car caused by the carrier. The estimated cost for damages $1713.36 as there maybe even more once they begin the work. I notified shipacardirect immediately, provided photos and submitted the auto body shop estimate on Oct 6th and still have not received any resolution. Shipacardirect only emailed that they are making another follow up with carrier. The carrier doesn't seem to be what they state as prequalified and trusted company if shipacardirect can't even get in contact with them for resolution. Seems they just state this in there advertisement and call to gain customers trust and money! Request full refund from them of $850, while this won't cover the complete damages, seems the best outcome I can request at this point.

  

  Business response

  11/23/2021

  Hi ****,

   

  Thank you for taking the time to speak with us about the issue over the phone. To recap, we will be refunding you the total amount that you paid us, $850 as requested to help reimburse for your damage claim with the carrier. We will also try to pursue their insurance on your behalf to see if we can get additional reimbursement. We will be in touch with you by email with an update. We apologize again that you had to go through this with the carrier and we will remove them from our list of trusted carriers.

  Customer response

  11/29/2021

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩