Because of the Canadian government imposed mandatory 3-days quarantine for travellers arriving in Canada we booked our flight back to Buffalo. I contracted Canam Limo to bring my family from Buffalo to Toronto. Since the very first contact I developed a growing mistrust with them. They seem to focus on getting the most out of us. My flight was to arrive 17:24 but I scheduled the pick up around 6 pm to 6:15 pm, in order to account for flight delays and our need to eat something or go to the bathroom before we leave the airport. They kept the arrival time at 17:24 and told me I had 30 minutes after that, when they would start charging me for extra time. It was good I insisted on my original request of 6:15 pm because our flight got late and we arrived at Pier 13 at 17:55 h, 1 minute after their proposed time. Then, we saw the Cadillac SUV parked 50 feet from us. As I approached it the lights blinked as someone has closed the doors. There was no one inside. I waited with my family for 15 mins and when it was exactly 6:15 this lady driver approached us. For sure she was there before and could have approached us before but I guess she let us waiting to give us a lesson. She didn't seem to know anything about the exams requested but started to want to see our papers, passport and proof of vaccination. This delayed our departure in further 15 mins. She told us our vaccination had just expired and that she was going to charge us an additional US$ 190 if we were turned down on the border. She tried to inflict terror on both my wife and I, but I tried to calmly tell her she was wrong and that we wished to proceed. She said she would prefer if we paid almost $1,000 to do the PCR tests before we headed to the border but she didn't seem to understand that usually molecular tests take longer than a day to get a result. So, I told her that with all due respect, we were the clients and it was not her decision to make. She left us near the car and went make several long calls to ask someone what to do. We left the airport 6:50 pm, with just minutes for our tests to expire, due to all the delays caused by this lady. When we arrived at the border the officer asked us some questions about vaccination and tests, and we responded them honestly and super respectfully. We were 3 double vaccinated and our 10 yo was not, because he was too young. The officer let us go, but the lady driver left the car and returned after 10 minutes, without any explanation. Our next stop a few metres ahead was the nurse, in order for us to apply the quick test before entering Canada. Our driver started to cough and increased the coughing... That made my whole family worried. As we were about to finish our 4 tests she left the car again and returned 10 minutes later. It was 7:30 pm when we entered Canada. My contract with the Limo company establishes we could have only spent 30-45 mins on the border, before being charged extra, so I am not sure if that is what the driver was trying to do. During our trip to Toronto I felt I was on a coffin. The very dark tinted windows could barely allow me to look outside and my kids on the third row didn't even have a window. At some point, I need to take a medication and we were out of water. I asked her if she would have an extra plastic bottle. She said NO. I asked her to stop somewhere so I could buy 2 bottles of water, since my kids were thirsty too. Suddenly she found a pocket between the front seats where she had 3 bottles of water. She gave me one of them. I could not believe it! It is in the Bible! To deny water is a sin! That is one of the necessities of life. I was paying them almost Can$ 600 and she could not even give me a bottle of water? What? And, by the way, her 15% gratuity was forced upon us when we made the payment, so she was well paid. Also, why gratuity if according to their web site this lady was the owner? When we got near Gardner with Kipling she took an alternative route that delayed us at least another 15 mins. By the time we got home she parked her car 4 feet from the sidewalk on the front wheel and 3 feet on the back wheel. It was almost like she was under influence. And, although she was paid her gratuity, my wife and I were the ones to load and unload each one of our 5 travelling bags. They were not even heavy so the excuse of having a bad back didn't even apply. Do not use Canam Limo. We are traumatized by the whole experience. The whole time I was holding myself not to protest too much because I had the clear feeling we would be let on the side of the road. Also, it took 3 days for them to send me the receipt with their HST number. I was about to send a message to CRA. Horrible people. Horrible company. read more
