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Big Unfair Damage Troubles with Passport Auto Transport

Started by Bill Podany, August 28, 2006, 01:17:17 PM

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Bill Podany

Hopefully a fellow member can offer me some advice and direction.  I engaged Passport ($5,000 cost to me)to transport four cherished vehicles of mine from Wisconsin to Tennessee. I also paid for $100K insurance for each car against loss/damage.  Sadly, my 41 Cadillac 60 Special was badly damaged across the entire roof of the care.  The car was loaded incorrectly, as it bounced on its suspension hitting the platform above it which supported another car of mine. Passports insurance refuses to transport the car or to have it restored in the shop of my choice (RM Restorations, Ontario).  Their policy dictates if the car is "drivable" it must be repaired locally.  This is a 100 point senior and premier award winning classic, and the insurance company is not recognizing its value, rarity or prestine restored condition.  Now I know why most Americans distrust and dislike insurance companies.  I need all the help and advice that I can get.  Thank you.

Bill Podany
Knoxville, TN

Tom Hall 7485

As a member of a that most-hated profession, I suggest you contact an attorney in your state.  Passports liability to you depends on things like your contract with Passport and whether they were negligent in the transport of your car, not necessarily whether their insurance covers this type of loss.  

Martin Rod

Thats a shame. Johnny raved about Passports service when he had his car transported to Florida.  I used Passport and thought they were overpriced but my car was delivered intact without a glitch.

Marty

Yann Saunders #12588

Sorry to hear it.  I used Passport Transport to move my 42 Fleetwood from St. Louis (MO) to Columbia (SC) and was very satisfied with the servive I got for the price.  As for insurance companies, having worked as a claims adjuster in Paris, in the early 60s, company policy was for us to find a way to say "No", as nicely as possible; then, if the insuree put up a fight, we would open the file again and gave him an "OK, well, maybe" and then offer him a ridiculouly low settlement. If he got real mad and threatened us with a law-suit ...we usually stopped and listened. Nasty tactics, but putting them into practise saved the company thousands!

Bill Podany

Tom,

I am prepared to engage an insurance lawyer if necessary.  Presently, I am working with my insurance company, Hagerty, which I think is an excellent company, and they have given me excellent service in the past.  They may intervene on my behalf. I will study my contract, however more carefully with Passport.  Thank you,

Bill Podany

Bill Podany

Marty,

I also have used Passport in the past, and even transported the same 60 Special without incident which is why I chose them to move my collection to my new residence in Tennessee.  I believe that the husband and wife driver team (who were very considerate and careful) were not experienced in positioning and stabalizing vintage automobiles in their transport van.  I cautioned them when loading that the car had a soft suspension, and to anticipate that the car will move up and down.  However, I cannot believe the trickery that the insurance company is trying to pull over my eyes to settle this claim.

Bill Podany

Jim S. CLC#21340

Im not an attorney, but I would think that if Passport violated their contract or didnt exercise reasonable care, they would be liable, period.  If they dont carry adequate insurance for their negligence, its THEIR problem, not yours.  Your contract is with Passport, not the insurance company.  I dont understand how can they hide behind a third party.

Bill Podany

Hello Yan,

Thanks for the insight regarding how to deal with a damage claim and an insurance company not committed to helping their premium holders.  I will follow your advice.  I am also engaging my insurance company, Hagerty, who I think is just great to intervene on my behalf with this recalcitrant insurance company deployed by Passport.  On a personal note, I follow your Cadillac Data Base site often, and just love it.  And I would like to send my appreciation to you for all the work that goes into that project for the benefit of many collectors and restorers.  I follow your forum posts also, as I am always impressed with your knowledge and helpful attitude to others in need.  Sincerely.

Bill Podany
Knoxville, TN

Tom Hall 7485

If the shipper warns the carrier of special needs for the car, such as a bouncy suspension and a need for more room at the top, and the carrier disregards the instructions due to inexperience and the desire to stuff four vehicles onto the trailer, that sounds to me like a pretty good negligence case.  Bill in Tennessee, while the conversations are still fresh in your memory, you need to write them down as nearly verbatim as possible, with no fudging, and then go see your lawyer.

Harry Carlson #16432

This is an opportunity for the CLC to be of service.  

If passport were to receive a letter from the CLC President, saying that a membership has been notified of a complaint about the problems he is having with Passport, it might persuade Passport to take better care of the customer.

After what I have read about Passport, I wouldnt want to use them.  They should be told they are being discussed on the Forum!

Harry Carlson #16432

Lou CLC 19028

<b>Passports insurance refuses to transport the car or to have it restored in the shop of my choice (RM Restorations, Ontario)<b/>

I have been in the Collision business for almost 20 years. This I can tell you for sure from some of my experiences with insurance companies,
You are entitled to "pre loss condition"
You are entitled to use the shop of your choice(in your area).
You are NOT entitled to have your car transported if it is safe to drive.
You are NOT entitled to have your car fixed by a shop in another country.
The insurance company will make a strong argument that there is a competent repair shop in the area. You will need to make an even better argument that XXX Auto body is the only shop capable of repairing the car to pre loss condition.  

IMHO, you dont have much to stand on
unless you agreed in writing, that in the event of vehicle damage the vehicle must be repaired by XXX Auto Body.

Just curious, you claim they are not recognizing the value of the car. How much was their estimate written for? Do you have your own estimate as a comparison?  

I understand your passion about whom shall repair your car & I would demand the same, but most Insurance Companies do not share our passion.  
Please keep us posted,  
Lou

Jim S. CLC#21340

Tom:  I would think he has a good case even if he didnt warn them about the special needs of the car.  If they purport to be in the antique car shipping business, arent they supposed to be familiar with the requirements even without having been informed?

Johnny #662

Quote from: Martin RodThats a shame. Johnny raved about Passports service when he had his car transported to Florida.  I used Passport and thought they were overpriced but my car was delivered intact without a glitch.

Marty

As a clarification, my car was shipped by FedEx, which I believe owns or bought out Passport.  Im not sure about how the company is now structured, as to who handles the actual shipping, but my car was shipped by a truck that said Fed Ex, and I could not have been more pleased with the service.  The driver was very through in shipping my car, and I would still strongly recommend them.

Johnny #662

As a fellow enthusiasts with a special attachment to my "Pride and Joy", I can relate to how you must have felt when you received your vehicle with damage.  Hopefully you will be able to resolve this situation in a way that is to your liking.

Without going into detail of my almost "drastic situation" when it came time to ship my car, let me just say that even in the best of situations when dealing with a reputable company, one has to be very alert to all the details involved in doing the shipping.

When shipping a car, one must do their "homework", and fully research the company they are doing business with.

Bill Podany

Hello Lou, the Devils Advocate,

Thank you for your insight on the insurance practices of car carriers.  I appreciate your honesty.  Yes there are other shops in the USA that could do the job, but I have used RM in Chatham, Ontario (across the Detrioit River from Detroit)on this same auto, and would prefer them; but I do know others in Wisconsin and Chicago.  When I get comparative estimates, I will follow your suggestion and post them.  I will keep this site updated as it gets resolved.

Bill Podany
Knoxville

Bill Podany

Johnny,

I agree, and I did do that in this case, and selected Passport because of their expertise in special autos, and also because of my previous experiences in having Passport transport cars for me long distances with never an incident, including this same Cadillac.  The cause of this I believe was a husband and wife driver team who seemed to lack depth of experience in securing, tieing down, and the proper loading of large vintage automobiles, each having their own individual nuances requiring special care....which I provided to them.  In hindsight, another car (in this case a Porsche) should not be stacted above this 41 60 Special.

Johnny #662

From your post it appears to be that the problem was caused by the inexperience of the team that actually handled your vehicle.  The gentleman that handled my job couldnt have been more professional.  He was scheduled to arrive at my home at apprx. 2 PM.  He was coming from the Boston area to the South Jersey area, and got jammed up in the New York area, which is to be expected, and arrived some 4-5 hours later.  He called me 3-4 times with updates.  Once he arrived, he throughly went over my car, with flashlight around his head, like a surgeon.  Before he loaded it onto the ramp to be hoisted to the second row, he put a cover on the steering wheel and seats.  Since I was his last stop, I was in the back of the top row.  His equipment, tractor and trailer, looked almost brand new.  Inside the tractor, looked like NASA, with all the latest tech aids.  In the trailer, underneath the top row, was plastic, to stop any fluids from dripping on the vehicles on the bottom row.

The reason I post so much about my experience, is in the hopes of helping others to not make the mistake I almost made, and alleviate the problem you are having.  While it might appear that I might be a cheerleader for Passport, its just my only intention to relate how my experience went with them, and some of the things a person that would be shipping a car, to look for.

Bill Podany

Johnny,

Thanks for your recent response.  I have used Passport on other occasions without incident; it is this singular incident which will cost thousands of dollars to repair (hoping not to dimminish the value of this Classic).  It goes without saying that the husband and wife team loading these vehicles were not experienced in handling specially valued 65 year old and precisely restored vehicles.

However, Passports indignant and arrogant response to solving a serious accident which their personnel created is not only irresponsible, unethical, but plain bad business practices.
I will spread the word to any collector and car guy I can about Passports recalcitrant behavior, and unfriendly policies.

Bill Podany
Knoxville, TN

Jim S., CLC #21340

Have you made any headway recently?

Johnny #662

Bill Podany,

While my post about shipping by FedEx, I might have appeared to be somewhat of a cheerleader for them, my primary purpose was to warn others who never shipped a car before to the pitfalls and problems they might encounter when they ship.

As previously stated, my experience with FedEx went off without a hitch and I was 100percent satisfied.  In rereading the original post I notice that you used Passport.  It is my understanding that FedEx does subcontract at a somewhat cheaper price.  I went with FedEx and the trailer was designed to handle cars with the greatest of care. It only held 6 cars, 3 on top and 3 on bottom.  They had plastic sheating running the length of the trailer under the top level, so no fluids would drip on the lower cars.  The think I liked the best about FedEx was that they ship COD!  A real plus!

In any event, my advice to anyone that does any shipping is "Buyer Beware"!