I am writing this review as a warning to ALL who may be considering using Rocket Auto Haulers to transport a vehicle across Canada...
I truly try not to view things in a negative light and ALWAYS give benefit of the doubt when dealing in both my professional and personal life. As I type this review it takes a great amount of restraint not to go off on a tirade as I know that would only delegitimize the content.
Upon initial contact with David (the contact at Rocket Auto Haulers) things went as one would expect. He was pleasant and answered all my questions. He assured me this was a safe and reliable way to ship my vehicle across the country (from Calgary, Alberta to New Brunswick) and I would be happy with my experience. I was moving from West to East as an employment opportunity was offered and so this was of a bit time sensitive issue. My new employer required that I be available for February 1st and so I should have ample time to get my vehicle to the destination for my start date. David told me that the move would be 2 to 3 weeks total. He took my information and we set payment arrangements.
I dropped my car off at the Rail-yard on Monday, December the 13th, filled out the paperwork and made the down payment for the service. Bearing in mind that this is 7 weeks ahead of the start date for my new job, I thought this was ample time to ensure my vehicle would be at the destination in time. I was informed that I would receive notice when my vehicle was added to inventory and loaded on to a rail-car and headed East.
I hadn't received word from David, so I reached out late the next day (Tuesday, 14thof December) saying that the car was loaded and shipped out of Calgary. I thought, GREAT! Things were going as planned.
This is where the journey takes a twist... I waited 3 weeks (January 7th) before I contacted David to see how much longer it would be before my vehicle would arrive. I was told it had not arrived in Toronto but that it wouldn't be much longer. I thought this was odd but said OKAY. What else was I to do?
I waited another full week and called again on January 14th. Got voicemail but could not leave a message as the "Mailbox was full" according to the automated phone service. I tried several more times over the course of the weekend and NEVER got a response. I sent text messages, but no reply. At this point I asked a family member to call on my behalf. This time David picked up straight away and said the car had just now arrived in Toronto and that there was a problem with the truck that was being used to transport the car the remainder of the distance to its destination but that it was leaving that very day. He said that there had been storms in Toronto that were causing some problems as well. David then told me that he would give me an update that coming Wednesday. The storm he was talking about was the previous Sunday and should not have affected this timeline.
I never received an update. No Call, no text, nothing. I was in panic mode as you can imagine. I called several times but got no answer and could not leave a message for the same reasons as before. I had several people call for me. I went to the online tracking portion of Rocket Auto Haulers website and requested an update on my vehicles whereabouts as well. NOTHING!
By that Sunday morning (January 23rd) I was looking into my options to report my vehicle mission/stolen to the RCMP... around Noon on Monday, January 24th I received a call from Debmar Trucking out of Nova Scotia saying they were now in possession of my vehicle. I was relieved but still a bit apprehensive after all I had been through up to this point. I asked how many more days it would be before I would have my car (keeping in mind the deadline I was under to start my new job) and the gentlemen seemed shocked by my question. He said "Days" You will have your car tomorrow... he kept his word as I picked my car up at the specified location the next day (Tuesday, January 25th) at 7pm.
Now, to some this may seem trivial and that I had been overreacting, but I believe if just about anyone else had gone through what I had with the deception, half-truths and avoidance, their reaction would be the same and maybe even more severe.
David told me regarding Final Payment that when I received my vehicle, the Rocket Auto Hauler accounting team would be in contact to collect the balance owing. There was no follow-up to see if I was satisfied or if I had received my vehicle without damages. Hours following the vehicle pick up, the money was taken from my account without notice or authorization.
I will NEVER use or recommend Rocket Auto Haulers to ANYONE! read more