PACIFIC ATLANTIC FREIGHT PACIFIC ATLANTIC INSURANCE EXTRA CHARGES ALONE 2.6 TIMES ORIGINAL QUOTE Westlake Village , California

8th of Oct, 2011 by User336485

I contacted Pacific Atlantic Insurance regarding a shippment. The gave me a quote, then mentioned that they had a shipping service company ( Pacific Atlantic Freight), and gave me a low quote for shipping also. I accepted. The charged my cc card the quoted prices. They then arranged for pickup/transportation/delivery. Following delivery, they immediately charged my cc an EXTRA $655. To date, they have given me 4 different/conflicting/confusing/half truth reasons for the extra charges, none believable, and none supported by requested documented proof. The extra charges are 2.6 times the original quote, The total is 1.5 times the undiscounted quote directly from the actual carrier. PAF promices, without restriction, a savings of 62% to 88%. I get the price at a 360% increase! The issue of correctly identifying the freight class is also involved.I have a complete set of all the email messages from PAF. I hope that someone is interested, as I believe the following issues are involved: 1] CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN PROVIDING BOTH INSURANCE AND SHIPPING 2] INTER STATE BAIT-AND SWITCH 3] INTERSTATE DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRATICES 4] INTERSTATE PRICE GOUGING 5] MISLEADING THE CUSTOMER BY STATEMENTS NOT CORRECT AND/OR INACCURATE

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4783 days ago by 87654

This customer told us his shipment weighed 50 pounds but when the carrier picked it up and weighed it, it was actually 500 lbs! Since the carrier bases their charges for transport on weight, the shipping price went up substantially from the original quote which was based on 50 lbs, per the customer informing us so. As per the terms and conditions in the freight shipping agreement this customer signed, the client is responsible for any additional charges from the carrier associated with the transport of their shipment, including additional charges resulting from incorrect information provided by the client, such as incorrect weight or freight class or any additional services not requested that are needed to facilitate the transport of the shipment. This is standard protocol with every freight company and is fully disclosed in bold font on our schedule shipment form, before they pay, as well as in the terms and conditions he signed.

The carrier charged us for the transport service based on the actual weight of 500lbs and we simply passed these charges on to the client, per the freight agreement/terms he signed. We also provided this customer with the documentation from the carrier to proove the weight he claimed was incorrect (it weighed 10 x what he claimed) and the additional charges we were charged for by the carrier because of this. Everything was and is always fully disclosed. The carriers always confirm weight and class after pick up and charge for transport according to the actual class and weight they discover and this is also disclosed in the terms he signed in order to deter anyone from trying to take advantage of our freight carriers by providing false information.

Here is the bold font paragraph on our schedule shipment form that was fully disclosed before this customer ever paid or booked the shipment:

I authorize you to charge my credit card provided above for all charges associated with the transport of my shipment, including any additional charges if the carrier determines that the shipment information I have provided (which my original quoted price was based on) is incorrect (such as weight, freight class, NMFC #, description of goods or dimensions etc) resulting in an increase to my shipping price OR if additional services are needed to transport my shipment (such as a lift gate or inside pick up/delivery etc.) resulting in additional charges. Freight company agrees to notify me in the event this occurs and provide supporting documentation to verify charges such as weight certificates and class verification from carrier. I agree and authorize you to charge my credit card, provided above, for the quoted shipping price plus a credit card merchant fee of 3% of the quoted price ($5 minimum) and any additional charges associated with the transport of my shipment as determined by the carrier after shipment delivery. I agree not to dispute charges for transport services already rendered.

It is also listed again in the terms and conditions he signed.

4783 days ago by 87654

In addition, this customer did receive our discounted broker rate, had he been charged the full retail rate from the carrier it would have been much much more. The additional 2nd charge is so much more then his original quote because the original quote was based on 50 lbs and the shipment actually weighed 10 x what he claimed. He claimed 50 lbs and it was 500 lbs, we trusted him and booked it at 50lb but the carrier weighed it after pick up and therefore he was charged for 500lbs from the carrier through our account with them at discounted rates. As mentioned above, all this was fully disclosed before he booked or paid and also in the terms he signed at booking. He authorized us to charge his credit card for any additional charges associated with his shipment for situations such as exactly what happened, incorrect weight provided by him! Now he is upset that we did so. Seems like this was intentional on his part and he was hoping the carrier would not catch it (by weighing the shipment) and he would get away with it. However, they did. This customer is the one pulling the bait and switch on us and our carrier with the weight. We are an honest and ethical company and fully disclose everything up front, as you can clearly see by reviewing our website and booking forms. If we were out to scam people we would not have been in business for over 25 years.