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-   -   Car Transport Scam! Customer vehicle being used as an Intercity Taxi (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/278956-car-transport-scam-customer-vehicle-being-used-intercity-taxi.html)

With the ever increasing need of Auto logistics in our country, I felt the need to write this as an eye opener for every individual planning to get his vehicle transported.

This was back in August 2023 when I had to visit Bengaluru for a day. Since it was an impromptu plan, the easiest way was to check available seats on Carpooling Apps. Consequently, I found a few riders, contacted them and finalized one. Interestingly, This particular rider was happy to accept my negotiation attempts which had been against my previous experience while carpooling. Also, he hadn't mentioned his make and model of the vehicle which was again a red-flag.

However, I joined him within an hour at Aramgarh Cross Roads in Hyderabad. He was driving a silver coloured 1st gen Maruti Swift Dzire whose condition reflected good maintence by the owner. Once settled, The next red flag was to see his speedometer disconnected. His crazy driving further confirmed my belief that he is not the owner of this vehicle. Flying through crater-like speedbreakers at speeds north of 40 km/h was just making my heart cry for the car.



Observe the speedometer. In reality, he was showing the least amount of mercy towards the accelerator!



At a toll gate around Anantapur, we were waiting in the queue when the engine just died. He turns towards me with a grin and exclaims "Petrol Khatam!". This was the final nail in the coffin that made me burst on him. With a smile on his face, he opens the boot and takes out 2-3 bottles of fuel and pours it in. This was actually to minimize the fuel cost for him.

The least amount of fuel is filled just to make sure the vehicle reaches the destination with a bone dry tank and heavy pockets.


He had about 3 bottles of fuel.


After a few hours into the drive, and some long conversations, he revealed the dirty trade secrets of auto logistics which blew my mind.

Turns out, this particular vehicle is owned by an army official who has been transferred to some southern state in India. I could see the army associated permits on the windshield. The vehicle has been given to some car transporter which is further handed over to agents like these. Since the transporting company couldn't arrange a space on their trailer, they opt for these hacks as they have a deadline to meet.

These agents have a network across the country who handle particular sectors. By the time the vehicle is delivered at the final destination, it has been through quite a handful of brutal drivers. As far as the finances are concerned, The agent gets a significant amount from the transporting company for driving each section excluding fuel costs. Apart from this, the cash he gets from the car-pooling riders are an additional earning.

When I enquired about the companies involved, He mentioned some of the top players in this field.

Through this platform of T-BHP, I feel obligated to inform all car-loving citizens about these horrendous acts. Therefore, Stay safe and drive yourself!

Regards
2TR-FE

Thanks buddy. Well, I own two cars and one of them is sent by a transporter whenever I move on transfer. This post is making me feel worried about the fate of my loved possession.

Innovative money making I would say:Frustrati

Thanks for sharing an eye-opener thread. This is another low-low to have any trust on logistic companies.

This could be their modus operandi to disconnect the speedometer, since owner might be knowing the last ODO reading.

No doubt all of us have trust deficit when others are dealing with our cars.

So the Army gentleman paid this company to get his car transported to another place. The transportation company, instead of loading the car on a trailer, gave it to another person, who is driving the car to the destination and also earning money on the side. Wow!

Instances such as this might be an open secret, but I'm sure it would make one's blood boil when encountered personally. Especially if you are someone who cares for their cars. If such jobs are outsourced to some third party who only cares about making money, then one can only imagine how badly the vehicle would be handled. The "driver" could very well be someone contracted for such jobs with minimal pay, and who would see it as an opportunity for a joy ride with reckless abandon. There are instances of vehicles transported by truck that end up with scratches and other damage, so I shudder to think at the kind of beating a vehicle would take at the hands of these people with a need for speed.

Whoa!!:Shockked:

I believe most of us would note down or take a pic of the odo and fuel level if we were to get our car transported. Disconnecting odo works for these scammers, but what about the fuel level? How would they ensure the same level?

Secondly, what if this car is involved in an accident and gets damaged? Worse, kills someone? Who’d be held responsible here?

Can the customer use the receipt (provided by the transporter) to prove that he wasn’t behind the wheels and hence, is not liable for any damages and casualties? :Frustrati

Quick question, how did the car pass through tolls? Pretty sure the owner might have got multiple messages?

"Saar, the fastag works even when the car is inside the trailer."

One solution is to use AirTags or the likes and hide it in the car. Or if you have a connected car, track it through that.

Sarcasm aside, I was thinking about this seriously, and wondering how viable it is for passive RFID to be read when the tag is inside a truck, when I read this post a couple of months back.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5720389

There is very little chance that the RFID was read if the car was in a metal-covered truck. Chances are low even otherwise - that car would have to be oriented correctly relative to the RFID reader.

Now I am thinking whether that was an instance of this scam!

Oops! The post says the car was transported on a flatbed. So, it is quite possible that Fastag was read at tolls. :eek:

Easy peasy. Transport companies require you to empty the fuel tank before handing over the vehicle. The tank might contain the bare minimum amount that usually cannot be siphoned out. This probably explains why the refilling was done with petrol in bottles (in addition to minimising cost).

This had earlier happened to one of my friend, in the past, even before Covid-era, when he shifted from Mumbai to Hyderabad. At that point of time, i thought it was a one-off case, but i see it more often now, even with reputed transporters.

These companies must be charging a bomb as transportation costs. Its best to hire a driver , go with him in the car and come back. Probably the cost will be lower/or same, but will consume time.

You can also take a detour during journey, make a short holiday out of the drive.This will work out better than handing over our loved possesions to unknown people.

Do mention the players he mentioned. This might be a one-off case for all we know. It's best to not extrapolate one case to a larger problem unless there's more data that supports this.

He might be just lying to you. I'm sure if these are top companies, you'll hear justifcations from other bhpians who have used those particular company services for car transportation. On the other hand, if there's enough known cases of a particular company known to do such cases, it'll only strengthen what he told you.

So, do share. Otherwise, your experience can be most construed to a one-off case by some random 2nd-tier or a local movers and packers.

This is the review I gave one such unscrupulous Transporter. Us army guys are the most gullible and vulnerable to such scams.

Unprofessional thieves. Gave me a 12 year old truck first. Luggage had to be shifted to another truck. Drove my new car as taxi for 10 days before delivery. Interior of car was covered with thick layer of dust. Dashboard had wire used for changing kilometre reading sticking out of it. These guys can't even steal properly. Stay away.

Received multiple calls later to delete the review. Nothing doing.

This is not a one off case. This scam is routine now.