Tips To Save Money & The Truth About Car Shipping/Auto Transport Brokers
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) April 08, 2015 -- The car shipping industry has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. Before the industry was run by the actual car hauling companies themselves. There were not many auto transport broker companies in the past and things were vastly more expensive, but also less efficient.
Fast forward to 2015 and times have changed. The internet has taken over and broker companies are popping up left and right. The industry now is complete run by brokers. The good news is that the price to ship a car has been lowered, but in terms of customer service the industry has tanked.
Now customer will do a simple Google, Yahoo, or Bing search to find the right company for their car shipping needs. The companies that are shown on the search results are broker companies and not the actual car carriers themselves. These companies act as the middleman between the customer and the actual car hauling companies. How it works is that every single broker company has to post a customers vehicle on a website called Central Dispatch to find the appropriate hauler that is able to take the customers car and have it transported. Pricing should be very similar when getting multiple quotes from various companies, but it isn't always the case. Some companies like to low ball the quote to earn the business of the customer because it is a cheap quote and then change the price at the last second right before the customers car is being picked up. The problem has come about that these brokers companies want a customer to sign a contract, give their credit card number up for a $150 or even $250 deposit upfront and give no guarantee that the car will be picked up for that particular price. When reading these contracts they state that the price may change and the deposit is for the service they are providing. It is pretty deceitful. A customer should NOT have to sign a contract or give ANY money upfront until the job has been set up. These broker companies are ruining the industry one customer at a time because of their lack of proper business tactics and lack of human decency.
Here are a few tips customers can use to make sure that they will not fall into this trap:
1. Make sure that before getting a quote read the company website to see what information they have about the service they provide, do some research about a company by finding reviews on other websites such as the BBB and Transport Reviews. Also, Google their name and see what pops up. The more information a customer has about a company the better off in the end.
2. Before signing a contract make sure that the contract is read in full. Make sure that the price given is a set price and will not change under any circumstance. If a company says they have a set deposit that they make chances are that the price will end up changing at the end of the process.
3. Do not give a credit or debit card information to a broker before they can give the name of the hauler that is actually picking up the vehicle and the time frame scheduled for pick up and delivery. At this point the broker has effectively done their job and payment for their service should be rendered. Even after payment is given to the broker, they are still the number one contact. They still have to provide great customer service until the car has been delivered.
4. Even if a company has been chosen to give them the business still try to call them periodically to see if they are answering their phones. A horrible situation comes about and cannot get a hold of the broker then the customer will be stuck with the problem. If a broker company is always answering they calls that means that they are ready to provide excellent customer service. If the customer cannot reach a company after multiple attempts then it is best to find another company because having the car transported is only part of the process; customer service also matters in this industry.
If a customer can follow these 4 tips then their car shipping experience will be a pleasant one. Car Shipping Carriers is trying to put the knowledge out to each customer in order to help make this industry a trustworthy one. The number one priority is taking care of the customer. If they have a pleasant experience they are more likely to use a car shipping service again. It is about time customers are treated like a priority to every car shipping broker company.
Nicholas Dutko, Car Shipping Carriers, http://www.carshippingcarriers.com, +1 8667442540, [email protected]
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