Avoiding the Auto Transport Refund Runaround
Shipping a vehicle is a time consuming and expensive process, and we’ve never backed down from that statement. It’s true – it’s a stressful operation, particularly on shipments over long distances, as you’re left without your vehicle for days or even weeks while it’s being shipped across the country.
But sometimes things just don’t work out with your shipping company, and instead of stressing about when your vehicle will arrive at the destination, you’re sitting there fretting because it hasn’t even been picked up yet.
So instead of waiting another two weeks for no one to pick your vehicle up, you decide to cancel your order, for which you’ve already paid a deposit of around $200, and try your luck somewhere else – after you’ve received your refund.
Most auto transport companies will refund any monies paid to them immediately if you cancel before your vehicle is picked up. But then again, there are literally thousands of companies out there all wanting to ship your car, and they all have different refund policies – and some of them don’t really want to refund your money in the first place, particularly if you paid for the whole order up front because that’s quite a chunk of change to just send back out after collecting it.
Auto transport companies generally have no more than ten people in their office, and those are the larger ones. Many are small businesses and money can get tight considering how much overhead actually goes into running and maintaining an auto transport brokerage. They don’t like giving out refunds because they only get paid if they move your vehicle. Cancellations can be a death blow for auto shipping companies.
However, that’s not your responsibility or your worry. You do what you have to do. If you’re concerned that your vehicle will not be shipped with your current company and want to cancel, you should always make sure to review your shippers’ refund and cancellation policies in their terms and conditions.
You really should read them thoroughly before you even book, because their terms will give you the best idea as to how their operate their business and the types of businesses practices they…well, you know, practice. If you’re looking for a company that won’t give you the runaround, fill out our free quote form and get a free quote from American Auto Shipping today.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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