Chariots for Hire

We received the letter about a wifi complaint with the company Best Bus ID # [redacted] We do provide some of the bus service for [redacted] *** (but not all), however, Chariots For Hire is not the company that collects any of the money from the customerTherefore, [redacted] would need to take up the complaint with [redacted] *** for the refund.Jeff D [redacted] CFO, Chariots For Hire

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID *** and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. You should make it clearer on *** ***'s web site who is responsible for complaints such as thisIt clearly says Chariots for Hire
Regards,
*** ***

We received the letter about a wifi complaint with the company Best Bus ID # [redacted]. We do provide some of the bus service for [redacted] (but not all), however, Chariots For Hire is not the company that collects any of the money from the customer. Therefore, [redacted] would need to take up...

the complaint with [redacted] for the refund.Jeff D[redacted] CFO, Chariots For Hire

Review: We contracted Chariots for Hire to coach 6 of our members from the [redacted], VA area to the [redacted], PA area on Saturday June 1, 2013. We were contacted shortly before the trip and told that we had been upgraded. The vehicle that was sent was not satisfactory. The driver had issues opening the door, which the ladies perceived as a safety issue. On the drive they discovered that there was no air conditioning, it was over 90 degrees that day. Once to PA, the [redacted] escort informed the driver that they needed to get this issue fixed as the ladies could not drive for 2 1/2-3 hours in an un-air-conditioned van. The replacement bus arrived when they were departing for the day. The air conditioner on this vehicle was not working, and the driver stated that it had not worked since he left VA. Why they sent another un-air-conditioned vehicle is unknown. This was also a party bus where the seats were a lounge style, it was extremely uncomfortable for these mature women. In addition, the windows did not roll down and there was an issue with the suspension of the bus. The ladies felt very unsafe and the rear of the vehicle swayed and they bounced most of the trip. They were also concerned with the safety of the brakes. The lady that sat in the front next to the driver asked why the check engine light was one, and the driver said it had been on since he left VA.

We have asked for a full refund from the company, however they e-mailed saying that they would give 50%. We are refunding our passengers the full amount paid due to this service and expect more from the company. I have also, on numerous occasions, requested a call from the owner, which to date has not occurred.Desired Settlement: The price paid was $1,100. We requested a full refund. when told that it was not possible we requested all but the $275 depoist, however due to their lack of customer service we do feel a full refund should be issued.

Review: I rented a 35 passenger limobus for a family sightseeing tour of Christmas lights. The purpose of the rental was clearly communicated and even confirmed in writing on the invoice. The vehicle that was provided had no windows. Every passenger window on the limobus was completely covered with advertising thus preventing any visibility. Of the two destinations that we contracted for, one of them had to be cancelled since it was a drive-thru light show at [redacted] State Park. We did proceed with the destination to the [redacted] for their Christmas lights since we could exit the limobus and view the lights outside. At dropoff, the driver was asked to return for pick-up at 7:30 p.m. I called him after waiting a few minutes and he said he would be right there. Ten minutes later, I called again at which time I heard the phone pickup and then disconnect. I called several more times and found the phone to be turned off. The driver left us standing in the rain for more than 30 minutes offering no explanation or apology. When I communicated my disappointment to the company they said they were "sorry my event did not go as planned and that the limobus we rented was not the best option for seeing Christmas lights" and offered me a discount of $75. The cost for this rental was $615 for 4hours and included two destinations. I had 31 family members which included about a dozen excited children eagerly anticipating the lights and relatives from out of state who came to my [redacted] specifically for this trip. What we got was a limobus with no windows and a limobus driver who left us standing outside on a cold, wet, December night.

After bringing all of this information to their attention, they offered to increase their "discount" to $100. I think this company should have willingly offered to refund the ENTIRE AMOUNT of $615 based on their negligence. Considering the fact that we had to cancel HALF of our trip because there were no windows necessary to view the drive-thru Festival of Lights, being forced to stand outside waiting for more than half an hour on a cold, wet, December night, causing major disappointment for more than a dozen children, and not to mention the ridicule I endured for hiring a bus with no windows to see Christmas lights, I believe I would be justified in pursuing legal action and seeking damages in addition to a full refund.Desired Settlement: I think they have a responsibility to credit a minimum of $384.37 to the card that was charged. This amount reflects one half of the cost ($307.50) due to the fact that we had to abandon one half of trip plus one-eighth of the 4 hours ($76.87) for the 30+ minutes the driver left us waiting.

Business

Response:

February 4, 2014Dear **. [redacted],I am writing about a letter we received from the Revdex.com in reference to **. [redacted]. **. [redacted] ordered the 35 passenger Wrapped Caesar Limousine Bus on December 16, 2013 at 3:42 pm. The rental was booked for (4) hours on Sunday, December 22, 2013 and the total charge for the vehicle was for $615.00 The itinerary **. [redacted] provided to us was to go to The [redacted] and the [redacted] Festival of Lights.We arrived on time at the pick up location with the exact vehicle **. [redacted] had ordered on Sunday, December 22nd and proceeded to take **. [redacted] and her group on their trip. **. [redacted] claims she was told the bus had advertising on it (which it does) but didn’t realize the advertising went across the windows as well. Pictures of the exact vehicle are clearly displayed on our website and we arrived with the exact vehicle **. [redacted] ordered.We contacted **. [redacted] in an effort to make things right and to offer a $75 credit for her unhappiness. However, **. [redacted] did not want to accept. **. [redacted] then falsely accused us of charging her twice for the event. We clearly explained and showed that she was not charged twice, however, she was charged the correct amount to the card she provided. Again, in an effort to appease the customer we offered her a discount of $ 100 which she refused. We still are willing to honor the $100 credit since her expectations were not met.Thank you for taking care of this issue.Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Review: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:

This response is based completely on inaccurate information. It is obvious that Chariots For Hire has no intent to take responsibility for any of the issues descibed in the original complaint and continues to attack me in order to divert blame. According to their response, they now indicate that pictures of the vehicle are on their website. However, there was no picture of this bus on their website when they offered this particular bus to me. As a matter of fact, my request specifically asked "for a limobus on Sunday Dec 22nd from 5pm - 9pm for 25-30 people with a bathroom" **. [redacted] responded with pricing for a 27 Passenger Titus and a 28 Passenger Little Ceasar and also offered a 35 Passenger Ceasar Wrapped for the same price as the smaller limobusses and informed me in writing that "The only difference between the Caesar and Caesar wrapped is that the wrapped bus has a CW TV advertisement on the side of it." It was not until the bus arrived that I had any indication that the windows on this bus were not functional despite having spoken to **. [redacted] several times over the phone as well as in writing regarding this trip to see the Christmas lights at the [redacted] and the [redacted] Festival of Lights. In addition, they now claim that I falsely accused them of charging me twice. In reality, the first time I spoke to **. [redacted], I explained that the reservation was for my father and I would have to get his payment information and call him back. He said he would need a card at that time to hold the reservation, so I gave him my debit card information. I called back on Dec 17th and gave him the information for my father, but he said the full reservation amount had already gone through on my debit card, but he would credit my card and place the full amount on my father's card. On Dec 30th, I still had not received the credit. It was not until this time that they said anything about having a problem with my father's card information. There was no indication throughout this time that there was any issue with my father's card. I have numerous email exchanges leading up to the reservation date and never was it mentioned that **. [redacted] had an issue with the card information. So it was my understanding, based on what I had been told by them that they charged my father's card $615. They then told me that they didnt refund my card because they never did charge his card. **. [redacted] then said **. [redacted] said he tried to call me but I never responded. I received no voicemail message, nor did anyone attempt to email me or even have the driver inform us when the bus arrived on Dec 22nd that there was a payment issue. This is yet another attempt to deflect the issues that were the basis of my original complaint.

Review: Chariots For Hire guarantees satisfaction, punctuality, and safety, all of which were not met in this instance.

1) The driver was 1 1/2 hour late picking up guests

2) In an attempt to make up for lost time the driver's speed and driving practices were erratic and unsafe

3) Guests were prematurely dropped at the final destination by 30 minutes

4) Representatives were not truthful about the driver’s tardiness. The driver in actuality had been overbooked.

5) Unclean vehicle. The condition of the vehicle represented a previous party having been in the vehicle and not cleaned prior to our guests being picked up.

6) Existing damages to the vehicle were unsafe for passengers

7) Rude and disrespectful customer service representatives up notification of my concerns as a customer

8) Management (Mr. S[redacted]) has failed to address my concerns rather made mention of his management p[redacted]s that could have cancelled my reservation.

9) Denial of my request for contact information to reach upper level management

10) The services provided do not constitute the final invoice

11) Failed to provide a reasonable compensation for poor quality services

The enjoyment of the evening was largely dependent on Chariots For Hire's services. I wanted this to be a pleasant event and unfortunately the evening was less than so as a result of the things mentioned above. Just short of being completely ruined. There were other reservations effected as a result of the driver’s tardiness. In addition, because this was a group of teens, several exhausted parents were inconvenienced as a result of the unplanned late arrival to the final destination that evening.

I emailed regarding this concern resulting in no response, followed by a call into Chariots For Hire at which time I was spoken to extremely rude by representative, Kelly, who initially refused to provide her name, abruptly cut me off, and seemed to be completely insensitive of my needs as a customer. I am still taken back by her method of communication. I don't often make recommendations however she should not be speaking to customers. If she had been my first encounter with Chariots For Hire, her tone alone would have made me decide to seek transportation services elsewhere. Perhaps she's had a long day however I am the paying customer with the unpleasant experience, her tone was hurtful, degrading, disrespectful, and offensive.

This level of service was extremely below standard and needs to be properly addressed by upper level management. I have exhausted a tremendouse amount of time and energy to seeking a reasonable resolution versus and insulting resolution. I will not consider services offered by Chariots for Hire in the future.

To this point I had not requested a full refund, which at this stage I stringly feel is owed, rather a more modest refund request.Desired Settlement: To compendate for the poor quality service offer by Chariots for Hire I intially entertained a refund request which encapsulates approximately 1/2 of the service fee however at this stage I would appreciate a full refund in the amount of $600.00

Review: Tour charged an extra $100 for running over. It wasn't our fault. It was the tour guide and the bus driver. Did issue partial refund of the $100 but not full refund.Desired Settlement: Still waiting for full refund.