Luba F. review for State By State Transporters

Review Description

I contacted State by State Transporters (SBS) on April 19 and was quoted $590 ($100 to SBS, $490 to the driver) by Carl Johnson to transport my 2001 Toyota Sienna minivan from Florida to New York. The car was supposed to be picked up on Saturday, May 12 and I was supposed to be contacted on Friday, May 11. Kelly from SBS subsequently confirmed the pick-up date and the price. Not hearing from anyone on May 11, I attempted to contact State by State via a phone call and e-mail and received no response until Sunday, May 13 (a day after the car was supposed to be picked up) where Mr. Seymour wrote the following: Hi, Im the fleet manager with SBS Transporters. We received your email and in regards to your shipment, we are still waiting on a driver to accept the load at a cheaper price. We will get back with you as soon as we can get the driver to accept it for the negotiated price of $590 and $490 c.o.d. to the drivera. And later that evening, another e-mail from Mr. Seymour stating I would recommend you raise it (the price) by 300 because nobody at this price got accepted in the last two months.a If nobody got accepted at this price in the last two months, why quote the price in the first place if not to bait & switch. I replied that $300 increase is not acceptable, but would be willing to go for $100 more, so $600 c.o.d. to the driver. Kelly contacted me on Tuesday, May 16 and told me that she can get a driver for $650 to which I said no, $650 is too much and Kelly said ok, I will try to get at $600a. On Wednesday, May 17 I received a phone call from Kelly telling me that she found a driver and my Sienna will be picked up Thursday or Friday. On Friday, I was contacted by the driver who informed me that he ran into some problems and will pick up the car on Saturday. He was in contact with me throughout his trip and on Monday, May 21 delivered my car to me, but said the c.o.d. to him was $700. The $700 c.o.d. was never discussed or agreed to. I contacted SBS and began a 45 minute run-around telling me that the price increase due to Sienna being a minivan (it was always a minivan, so should not be a surprise), I misunderstood when they quoted me the price, etc. Meanwhile, the driver said if I dont give him $700 he will put the car back on the truck and proceed with his other deliveries. I ended up paying the extra $100 in extortion money just to have my car 1 week later than promised. I promptly contacted my credit card company to dispute the $100 SBS charge and did what I should have done originally I went on the Better Business Bureau site. Not surprisingly, State by State has a D rating on the A+ to F scale. Again, CONSUMER BEWARE.