JES CLASSICS

JES CLASSICS AND ANTIQUES Eric Stith UNRELIABLE and UNTRUSTWORTHY,(See below for explanation. STONY CREEK, Virginia

27th of May, 2011 by User591554

In my personal experience, Eric Stith (Stith Transport, LLC) has proven to be UNRELIABLE and UNTRUSTWORTHY (See below for explanation).

I used this person's service initially thru UShip, with a bid of $2400 to haul my boat from Maryland to Arizona. There were other haulers with a similar quote, but this person had good reviews on UShip, so I went with him. He required half the fee in advance and cash on delivery, which was very inconvenient for me. There were delays and failure to stay on schedule at both ends of the haul, that is, both arranged pickup and drop off. For example, I drove an hour out to be there to coordinate pickup of the boat, but he didnt show. There were so many delays that he offered to knock-off a hundred from the fee. However, I was more concerned about receiving the boat when I was available prior to starting my new job; which didnt happen. As he got closer to Arizona, we arranged for him to make the drop first thing in the morning, so I could go to my new job at the usual time. He called just as I went to work, emphatic that he was there and I should meet him to receive the boat, so I had to inform him that he was still 2 hours from the drop-point. He waited all day and I received the boat at the end of the day. I took him at his word that the delays were beyond his control and paid full fee, and felt happy to have my boat there with no hard feelings. When it came time to move the boat again back to the East-Coast, I thought I would give him the business and give him time to coordinate the move with another haul. So, on October 8th I emailed him about transporting the boat back to the east coast. He said he would do the move for $1.25 per mile. The goal was to get the boat into a storage lot on the East-Coast until I could get relocated to Florida. We talked about getting a trailer to store the boat on. He offered to handle that, which seemed sensible since I had no experience with trailers. I advanced him $3000 on December 7th. A reliable trailer was estimated at $2000 and a $1000 down payment on the haul. He had delays in December until we were into the holidays. I told him we could do it immediately after the holidays. When that time arrived he was difficult to reach via email, and generally unavailable doing other transports. Finally we arrived at a date that he would be in Arizona with my trailer on January 14th. After more delays he admitted that he had picked up another haul moving a boat to Florida with my trailer. When he did make it to Arizona on January 24th, we loaded the boat on a trailer that appeared in bad shape e.g. lots of corrosion and tires that looked like they would go flat anytime. He said he was going to swap out the wheels/tires before leaving town. After the boat was loaded and the straps were on ready to roll, he said he needed to be paid for the rest of the haul and talked about a price of $3800 to take it to Florida. I reminded him of his quote of $1.25 per mile and we worked the arithmetic from the GPS mileage giving us a total of $2600. He said he paid $1400 for the trailer, which was the 3rd price I heard. I told him I would pay him $2000 based on his work getting the trailer, plus the $1000 advance on the haul, leaving me a balance of $1600 due on delivery of the boat. At this point he said he couldn't do the haul without being paid now, as he doesn't have expense money. I told him I would transfer the money to his bank-account when he was a day out from delivery in Florida. I didnt want to pay him in advance because I was beginning to doubt what he told me, and concerned he might leave my boat in the middle of the country if he got another hauling job. He became angry and said he was going to unstrap the boat and leave the trailer there in the ramp parking lot, which he did. I tried to talk to him, but he was not to be reasoned with, and drove away leaving the boat where it was. I suspect he had been contacted about another haul in the area, so dumped his commitment to me in favor of getting more cash. That was the last I saw of Eric Stith of Stith Transport, LLC.
In conclusion, I paid this operator a $3000 advance to move my boat on a trailer of his selection. I received a questionable trailer that probably needs new wheels and tires before it can be moved to Florida. I suffered numberous delays and loss of my personal time waiting for him to do this haul. His contribution to the haul consisted of getting the boat on the trailer and dumping the trailer at the ramp lot. And finally, I had to arrange for another boater on the ramp to haul my boat/trailer somewhere that would be safe to leave the boat; all of this done now after sunset. I regret putting my trust in this man. I would caution anyone else about dealing with this company. If you must, be weary that he can not be depended on to stick to any kind of pickup and drop-off schedule, and realize that he will make a lot of excuses about why hes not sticking to the bargain. Also, he is a poor communicator; youll wonder where he is and if hes even doing your delivery. Especially, be careful about advancing money, because he will get your deposit and then do your haul at his convenience, not yours. In the case I describe above, he took my deposit and then abandoned the job when I wont pay him 100% in advance. I got very little for my money. Essentially, I paid $3000 for a trailer that is worth about $500, because I trusted him. Wrong! Check this on under the name estith34

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