[jono213]

Before I begin this post, a quick background

My grandparents are residents of Ludhiana but often visit us in Hyderabad (around 3-4 months in a year). They own a Suzuki Dzire amt which wasn't being used much due to my grandfather's age and had only done ~7k kms in 7 years. The plan was to transport the car to Hyderabad so it could atleast be used as opposed to lying idle and would eventually be re-registered in Telangana. With that in mind, I was put in-charge of finding a company that could undertake this assignment. I went through T-BHP and read a few articles about 'scam companies' and made sure to check the websites of each and every company I got a quote from.

The company I finally settled on was "Om International Movers Pvt. Ltd."

Their website: https://ominternationalmovers.in/index.html

After contacting them for a quote, this is what i received:





I thought that 22,000 was pretty reasonable and expected them to jack the price up to 25-27k as all these companies usually do. With that in mind, I sent them a confirmation and the car was picked up on the 9th of December.

Now here begins the saga, the driver reached the house in Ludhiana and asked for the advance of 2,000 which we paid, he then informed us that the car would have to driven to Chandigarh by him as the truck is stationed there. This was not mentioned to me when i sent them the confirmation, so had to pay for the fuel cost to Chandigarh.

Now here's the real kicker, a while after the driver left, the person who used to answer my calls, sent me the actual bill and asked me to pay it in full.



32,000 Rupees??, almost a 10,000 rupee jump from the quote, with some addition of a surcharge i was never told about. The insurance was optional and I told them that unless they could send me the actual receipt of the insurance (which they couldn't), I wouldn't be taking it, but they added it in regardless and refused to waive it off stating "they couldn't change it now".

At this point I was already pissed off and told them I'd pay only 50% of the bill and the rest when the car reached the location, which they agreed to. The reason I continued with the process is that it would have been too much of a hassle for me to drag the driver back and cancel the entire process.

After this point, there were no concrete updates whatsoever. I called them to enquire about where the car was and all I got was "It probably got loaded onto the truck" and that's it. I kept following up with them everyday but all I really used to get was "The car will come", the typical "Tension mat karo sir" and everything in between. The delivery date was 18th December, and on the 18th, the car was nowhere in sight. I called a couple of times but to no avail. On 21st, I was sent a few pictures of the car and was asked to pay the remaining amount, I only checked the message on 22nd and made a call to the owner of the company, Akash, who assured me that the car had reached Hyderabad and would be sent as soon as I paid the remaining amount.

So that's what I did, I paid the amount on the 23rd, and since it was my 18th birthday, it was a nice feeling that we'd get the car on the same day as well. Akash sir informed me that their office was in Bowenpally, which wasn't that far from my house, so I told him that I'd come to pick the car up with my driver and asked him to share the location. After a few hours and no response, I called him again and asked him for the location, to which he replied that the office wasn't open yet, and that I'd get the location after they opened the office.

It was getting late, and since my driver had some other work, I called him again and asked him for the location asap. He said that it couldn't be rushed and that he'd just make the delivery happen instead, to which I agreed (do remember that the whole service is door-to-door), and told me that the car would reach by 4 or 5pm, which if you can guess, did not happen.



He neither had the decency to pick up his phone, or reply to my messages which I was very annoyed at, I had paid the amount and was assured of delivery, but it didn't happen. sigh

Now, the next day (sunday, mind you), I sent him another text asking if the delivery would be made that day and I received an affirmative from him. I Returned home from church and received a text from one of his other employees, with a location tag and someone else's number. Now I expected the Bowenpally office location, but I received a random location pin in Patancheru (50 kms away). I called up the number I was provided with and it was the person who currently had the car. I asked him firstly if the car was actually there, and secondly if he could deliver it the same day (as 25th and 26th were holidays and I didn't want to delay this further). He replied that the car was safe and sound, but if I wanted it delivered, I'd have to pay an additional 500 rupees to the driver......WHAT?

So I then made another compromise and asked him if he could get it delivered to the nearest metro station and that I would take the metro and pick it up from there, to which he said "sorry sir, unless you pay, nobody will drive it down"

So then I calmly told him that it was a door to door service and that I shouldn't have to pay anything extra to which I got the reply "I dont know sir, I'm not in-charge, please talk to Akash sir". I then compromised again and told him if I paid him the amount, would the car be delivered, to which he replied "sir there are no drivers available".





I don't know what I was expecting, he did not answer my calls and never contacted the person who currently had the car. My parents tried to argue with him, but to no avail. With no option or patience left, me and my dad travelled the 50km (30km by metro and 20km by cab), only to find the car just lying on the side of the highway, filthy. The interiors were also a mess (food crumbs and packets, everywhere). We were handed the keys and we drove the car back home.

I am severely disappointed in both myself for choosing this company, and the company itself. The whole process was not transparent, and was a complete mess. Deadlines were breached with nothing to show for and promises were never kept. I did not want to put this on a public forum, but this whole incident has forced my hand. When it comes to transporting your car, look elsewhere.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[subie_socal]

Did your car endure any further damage? It's better to get it inspected.

[Iyencar]

Sorry to hear your experience man. I have never heard of a good car transportation experience in India. The hassle of finding a good mover and then pay through your nose plus register the car again in a new state is just too much hassle. That particular niche seems to only have crooks. Have heard a first hand account of a car disappearing after it got picked up. Just like you experienced, the company reps and drivers kept stringing the customer along and finally stopped responding. Required multiple trips to the local police station. The car being in any part of India at that moment didn’t help. The only precaution one can probably take is hide a sim card based gps tracker somewhere in the car for older models so the vehicle is tracked even if it’s turned off. Also, for packing and moving we have always used Agarwal. Even there, they have had complaints of many inpersonators and mention clearly on their website to only trust those who have the exact same logo and founder’s pic.

[BhayanaV]

Cargo transport in India will never be seamless and professional. Unfortunate but true. Prefer to drive down or hire a driver for transporting a car works best.

[n_aditya]

Really sad to read about your ordeal.

I can imagine what you are feeling and how angry you must be. Similar story of mine, thankfully not as bad.

A few years ago, I moved back home from Pune to Bangalore and since I had used the services of Agarwal Packers & Movers to move household stuff couple of times (Bangalore to Chennai, Chennai to Pune), I decided to go with them to transport my Maruti 800 to Bangalore.

I made the payment which was around 20k IIRC and dropped the car off at their cargo drop point. I made a note of the odo and was assured it will reach Bangalore on time.

My family and I took the air route to Bangalore and our articles as well as the car was expected only a couple of days later.

When the car finally arrived, I observed it had been run 200 kms for some joyrides or errands. No one at Agarwal had any clue who was responsible for this and why it was plying on the roads when it was me who dropped the car at their premises.

I refused to pay any tips to the driver and thanked my stars nothing else was damaged.

[AseemYadav]

Car transport is a big problem for us people in transferable jobs. Always get the car loaded on the truck in front of your eyes. These rascals will drive it like a free taxi for a week and earn good moolah and then reset the trip meter. I found this out the hard way. My car was delayed by a week. The interior was covered in a thick layer of dust. There was a usb wire hanging from the dashboard which was used to change the km reading. Most transporters are thieves of the highest order. There is nothing called a reputable transporter. My colleagues have had horror stories of their trucks full of household goods stolen. Or the car being driven down instead of being transported and crashed.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by jono213

I am severely disappointed in both myself for choosing this company, and the company itself. The whole process was not transparent, and was a complete mess. Deadlines were breached with nothing to show for and promises were never kept. I did not want to put this on a public forum, but this whole incident has forced my hand. When it comes to transporting your car, look elsewhere.

To be brutally honest, the major fault lies with you for multiple reasons
1. In selecting an unknown movers and packers to transport your car especially when you weren't there physically. Reliable movers for usual luggage are dime a dozen. The reliable ones for car transport are limited.

2. Allowing a random driver to drive your car for a decent amount of distance to the point of loading. What if an accident happened on the way to truck?

3. Not being present physically to see how the vehicle was being loaded; if due care is being taken, etc. This of course was always tough given you weren't in the city but I would have taken additional steps.


All and all, if messy interiors and a dirty/dusty car is the only visible damage to the car, I'd say you have come out lucky from the experience. Laugh about it and enjoy the ownership of the car. The additional monetary expense and the waiting / followups should be a good learning lesson as transporting a car comes down to a few reliable options
1. Drive it yourself (or with a driver).
2. Use a reputable but expensive movers like GATI, etc.

[cka]

Sad to read your expererience.
8 years back, I had transported my Maruti Swift VXI from Pune to a tier 2 town in Bihar. Paid 50% extra than other quotes as I wanted to rely on "Agarwal Packers and Movers" brand. But alas, it was a equal bad decision and they retured the car with scratches and a broken side mirror. On argument, they just asked me to claim the insurance. This is a highly unorganized market with lot of goof ups happening as most transport people just act as intermediaries.

Driving to/from delivery/pickup location to nearest hub is standard practice and sometimes this extend upto 300 kms with no insights on how the driver is ferrying the vehicle.

[texens]

I used Agarwal Packers and Movers to transport my car from Delhi to Bangalore in 2018, and paid about 20k. When I received the car, it had a broken tail lamp. I had not taken insurance for transportation, as it was quite expensive. I spoke to the bangalore incharge, and he asked for before and after photos. He asked me to get a quote for the repair - and it came to about 4k. He said he'll pay 2k and settle it then and their. I accepted it, and received the payment shortly. Definitely, not the best experience, but still better than a lot of cases of theft and joyrides, etc. that we keep hearing about here, and in other forums.

[jono213]

Originally Posted by subie_socal

Did your car endure any further damage? It's better to get it inspected.

No further damage, but will get it inspected and serviced regardless.

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Sorry to hear your experience man. I have never heard of a good car transportation experience in India.That particular niche seems to only have crooks.

I'm inclined to agree, talked to a few more people and apparently this type of service is the norm, I wonder why there's absolutely no regulation on the same.

Originally Posted by n_aditya

When the car finally arrived, I observed it had been run 200 kms for some joyrides or errands. No one at Agarwal had any clue who was responsible for this and why it was plying on the roads when it was me who dropped the car at their premises.

Really sorry to hear that, I checked the odometer and thankfully, other than the distance driven to Chandigarh, there wasn't any additional kms added.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

To be brutally honest, the major fault lies with you for multiple reasons

All and all, if messy interiors and a dirty/dusty car is the only visible damage to the car, I'd say you have come out lucky from the experience. Laugh about it and enjoy the ownership of the car. The additional monetary expense and the waiting / followups should be a good learning lesson as transporting a car comes down to a few reliable options
1. Drive it yourself (or with a driver).
2. Use a reputable but expensive movers like GATI, etc.

I take all the blame in this case, It's very difficult to find a reliable company due to the lack of information online and our general lack of experience in this area as well. If I were to do this again, I'd somehow get the car driven down myself for sure.

Originally Posted by texens

I used Agarwal Packers and Movers to transport my car from Delhi to Bangalore in 2018, and paid about 20k. When I received the car, it had a broken tail lamp. I had not taken insurance for transportation, as it was quite expensive.

Sad state of affairs, thankfully nothing was broken on my vehicle when i received it, although it would have been a very likely scenario.

[youknowitbetter]

I had transported my car (BOM to DEL) using Agarwal Packers around last year. They were responsible and were regularly updating us. Actually, the reason to go for them (aside the trust) was the fact that there charges were exactly the same as other carriers (who were known). Further, the way they spoke about the process and gave details of the exact warehouses and prospective timelines, convinced us fully!

[kapilsharma80]

All these Packers & Movers whether Indian or MNC outsource the operations to 3rd party transporters.

Few companies like Transworld, Writers, etc have tie ups with reliable transporters who are organised and have certain SOPs.

As a thumb of rule, I prefer to deal with such companies only and my experience has been positive:
- cost estimates are transparent
- car survey and videos are made prior to pickup and all documents are countersigned and handed over to the owner
- GPS tracking is available on request
- realistic delivery timelines

I believe not to compromise peace of mind & vehicle safety for few thousands

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by jono213

Before I begin this post, a quick background


I am severely disappointed in both myself for choosing this company, and the company itself. The whole process was not transparent, and was a complete mess. Deadlines were breached with nothing to show for and promises were never kept. I did not want to put this on a public forum, but this whole incident has forced my hand. When it comes to transporting your car, look elsewhere.

Thank your stars that you just paid 10K extra and travelled 50 kms to get the car. This market is highly unorganized and run by certain people who give a dime about customer service. Irrespective of whatever agency you choose to transport the vehicle, they leverage this chain to save on cost and end up sacrificing on quality of service.
I am not exaggerating but there have been cases of lost cars (not kidding) , accidental total loss, missing spares and so on. I have heard these first hand countless experiences since last 7-8 years.
One tip which I still do: go to transport nagar of your city, verify the person/shop and then negotiate a deal. It may be little costlier but you will have a person to catch hold to.

[drsnt]

Felt like my car transport story from 2021. These companies hook people with low prices and finally jack up costs once the car is in their hands. I paid almost 26000 Rs for this offer of 18000. Thankfully my car was delivered to my place after being driven from the national highway 50kms away.