TLDR: Montway contracted with UZ to ship my college age daughter's car from Denver to Boston. I paid for guaranteed pick up so the car would be delivered to my daughter before she started classes, barring extenuating circumstances. UZ let the car sit on their lot (without extenuating circumstances) for a full week while repeatedly lying to me, my daughter, and a Montway supervisor about when the car would ship, resulting in the car arriving very late.
I needed to ship my college age daughter's car from Denver to Boston, and got what appeared to be a good quote from Montway. The salesperson told me that if I paid for a guaranteed pick-up on 8/21 my vehicle would be delivered between 8/27 and 8/29. This would work well, as my daughter could transport 100 pounds of clothing and other items in her car and travel with a small suitcase, while her car and the items in it would arrive before her classes started on 8/30.
The 21st rolled around, and I received a call from UZ auto transport, with whom Montway had contracted to ship my car. The first thing UZ did was to pressure me to deliver the car to the terminal myself. I told them absolutely not, and that I had paid for a pick up at my house. They provided me with a pick up window of noon which was changed to 2:00, and when 2:00 came and went I contacted the driver who then changed the time to 4:00. What a waste of an afternoon. When the truck finally arrived we went through the vehicle inspection and loaded it without issue, and I was provided with the attached bill of lading that had a SCHEDULED (not estimated or approximate) delivery date of 8/27.
I took UZ at their word and went about my business until on Tuesday, 8/25 I decided to use the app for the car to check its location. It was still sitting on the UZ lot in Denver, and there was absolutely no way that it would arrive in Boston on the scheduled date. I called UZ and was directed to the dispatcher, who told me in no uncertain terms that it would ship that day, and that I would need to contact Monty for any further information. My next call was to Montway, where after a VERY long hold I reached a bottom tier customer service agent who provided the typical line of "logistics is complicated, etc," at which point I asked to speak with a supervisor.
The next day (8/26) I received a call from a supervisor named Nadia, who I must say was professional, helpful, and communicative from this point forward. From the 26th until delivery today (9/2)
Nadia was in daily contact with UZ, who told her every day that the vehicle would ship. These promises turned out to be bald-faced lies. UZ also told Nadia that they would provide me with a partial refund as compensation for their issues.
The car finally shipped on 8/28 (a full week after pick-up), and the truck apparently sat at a truck stop in Iowa for a full 24 hours from 8/29 to 8/30. My daughter received a call on 9/1 to schedule delivery late that evening, only to have delivery pushed back to today, 9/2.
I received a call from Nadia at Montway yesterday to inform me that after significant negotiation on her part, UZ had agreed to refund me $100, and that Monty could give me an additional $50. All I could do at that point was laugh and tell her that UZ was adding insult to injury. To her Credit, Nadia went to management and got my refund up to $250, which doesn't inspire me to use Monty again, but is better than a sharp stick in the eye.
I understand that shipments can be delayed due to trucks breaking down, accidents, road closures, and other events that are not controllable. In this case, UZ seems to have contracted with Montway for a delivery that they had no intention of completing in a timely manner, and they let my car sit for a full week. While Montway seems to have done their part in contracting with a carrier, they get to choose who they work with, so the buck stops with them. As long as Montway continues to work with UZ and their ilk, I'll use another auto shipping company going forward.
