Craters & Freighters

EXCELLENT experience with Craters and Freighters! Very professional, exceeded my expectations in handling high end art. Very pleased with every aspect of their process and would do business with them again and recommend them to others.

The retail world has changed too much to describe as many customers prefer to shop online world-wide to receive a better value and conveyance and many companies are still trying to change their approach to this New Retail World which require a large portion of their sales to be shipped. Rock Star Gallery is truly the Ultimate Experience offering the perfect balance of Celebrity Art, Hand Signed Custom Designed Album Covers, Signed Guitars, Rock Photography for music fans, collectors and artist. For the past 12 years we have chosen to utilize the services and expertise of Crater & Freighters for all shipping needs domestic & international as Craters approach to our industry is beyond refreshing with everyone involved with every shipment taking complete responsibility for incredible packaging and exhausting every effort to locate the best carriers to be involved to insure all Rock Star Gallery items get to their destination safely. Companies that must ship a large portion of their business realize very soon that shipping is the only variable in our industry that a company has no control over and every company has choices in this industry and there are many very good shipping companies to consider and this is why we will only choose Crater & Freights because the owner [redacted] is the perfect example of integrity & character taking 100% responsibility for every shipment and if something does not work out perfectly [redacted] makes every effort to resolve. Companies must realize that a relationship means much more than just business!

I would like to express my genuine appreciation of this company. Had to have one (1) piece of furniture moved from Phoenix to Chicago. I called these people and within 3 days they went out to Mesa and picked the piece up and shipped it to me for a real reasonable price! I want to thank you [redacted] and [redacted] for your timely concerns and keeping me up to date on what was going on with my piece of furniture. This is a fine company with class when it comes to shipping things of real concern! Thanks again,

My sincere regards, [redacted]

Review: I shipped a pallet of electronic's and related equipment with this company. I stressed to them the very sentimental nature of some of the items. Mainly being a vintage & vary rare stereo cabinet & equipment that went with it. The cabinet showed up absolutely destroyed! Some of the electronic equipment not working & things rattling inside! I specially requested insurance and more so to be careful! They promised me all precautions would be taken. After I discovered the damage I called and was told id be taken care of. ( Really I want my stuff the way it was & that is not possible) Well later I receive an email stating no insurance was purchased! I SPECIFICALLY requested insurance not only because of the items mentioned I also had them ship a [redacted] receiver that originally cost $899.99 And over 300 DVD movies & more. There is that huge issue! Then they LIE to me and tell me they encased it in foam & there were fragile stickers on the pallet. This is an absolute LIE!!! The person who revived told me absolutely NO foam and no fragile stickers. I am the one who removed the bubble wrap & found the damage and Im telling you NO foam was used! They are liars! Unethical! I specifically requested insurance & even paid for insurance on items I recently shipped via USPS ( Also electronics)Desired Settlement: What I really want is to have my property in the condition that I left it with them in. That is not possible at this point.

I want a full refund. ( and that would not be able to replace what was lost) I will NEVER recommend this company to anyone! However if they do the right thing I will not spread my horrid experience. If they continue to Lie about how they supposedly packed my equipment and tell me im out of luck. I will make sure I vent to every public outlet.

Business

Response:

This letter and the associated attachments are in response to the frivolous complaint made against Craters & Freighters of San Diego. The Client received his first quote on May 19, 2015 at 11:15 AM to pack ship and insure his electronics for $877,39. On May 20" the client called back and said it was too much money and he wanted to ship his item as cheap as possible. The proper packaging was removed as per his request to just palletize the electronics and wrap them in foam and bubble wrap and put a fragile sticker on the outside. We instructed the client that our insurance company would not allow Craters & Freighters to insure his item, because it was not packed properly. He was fine with that and he received the revised quote of $588.60 on May 20, 2015 at 11:19 AM. A little more than atsbur laterat 12:41 he accepted the quote without proper packaging and without insurance. (Please refer to attachment 1, this is a time stamped entry of what we did and when)On May 26, 2015 he brought his items into Craters & Freighters. We received them and made notes of existing damage. At this time he signed the contract and paid us with a credit card. (Please see attachment 2) The signed paperwork reflects the revised cost which did not include insurance and the packaging was minimal (Please see attachment 2, items A, B & C). The value of the item says $0.00 (2A), the valuation charge doesn't have any amount in it (2B) and the declared value say $0.00 (20).He clearly knew he was not buying insurance even though we told we would not insure his item packed in this manner. In regards to the other claims of how we packaged it and what we did or didn't do the only truth there is that we did not put fragile stickers on the outside. This is substantiated in the photo's he provided and which we reviewed with him I do not know what to do with this customer as we did what he wanted and even warned him of the risks involved. He wanted to pay $588 instead of the original quoted amount of $877 that includedpackaging and insurance.Sincerely,[redacted] President - Craters & Freighters

Items well packed, but quadrupled the weight/shipping. Very poor customer service, franchise owner very inflexible and was verbally abusive to my daughter.

Review: In May 2013 I purchased an $1100 hand-painted Habersham cabinet from Sandy's Perfect Find Gallery in Fallbrook, CA, and then contracted with Craters and Freighters of Lemon Grove, CA (for $984.94) to pick up, pack, crate, insure against damage in shipment(for $1100 in declared value), and ship this cabinet from Fallbrook, California to Redding, Connecticut.

My receipt from Craters and Freighters clearly states that the price includes INSURANCE and CRATING, and I was specifically told that the services would included crating. There were several delays in pick-up, but the cabinet was finally picked up and delivered. I received an email from Craters and Freighters on 6/12/13 saying that they had "tendered my shipment to their partner carrier YRC" for delivery to me. When the item arrived, the driver of the truck immediately informed me before unloading it from the truck that the item was damaged. It was inadequately packaged to protect against damage in shipment across country, and it was not crated . Please note that I had specifically paid for crating, and my receipt says this.

I called Craters and Freighters before the cabinet was unloaded from the truck to inform them of the damage and that I wanted to file an insurance claim, and was told that I needed to accept delivery for the insurance to be processed. The driver of the truck noted on the shipping receipt : "Cabinet is chipped. Cardboard loose and open. Not banded to pallet. Cabinet is chipped. Cabinet was not crated." I also wrote on the shipping receipt:" Not received in good order. Insufficient, poor packaging. Item damaged."

Craters and Freighters told me to email them photos of the damage, which I did. I also included photos showing that the packaging was inadequate and that the large cabinet was not crated. I pointed out that I had paid for crating services which they did not provide, despite my paying for crating. The photos show that there are several gouges and chips to the cabinet. This item was purchased in perfect condition for resale, I purchased $1100 in insurance coverage to insure me against damage in transit, since it is not longer of value if it is damaged .

The item was only wrapped in thin foam sheeting, then put on a pallet (to which it was NOT even attached!), and then sheets of cardboard were stapled together around it. Some pieces of thin foam were loosely put in the box around the cabinet. The item was never CRATED, even though I had paid for crating services . (Note that the name of the company is CRATERS and Freighters, and my receipt also specifically mentions the item would be crated. ) Not only was the item not crated as paid for, but the way it was packaged was grossly inadequate to protect against damage. I have photographed and also saved the packaging materials as evidence .

I have repeatedly asked to file an insurance claim for the $1100 in coverage against damage which I purchased. (My purchase of $1100 in insurance coverage is also stated on my receipt). I informed Craters and Freighters that they failed to provide the crating services which I had paid for, and sent photos showing the inadequate, flimsy packaging that they substituted and the damage that resulted. It is unlikely that this damage would have resulted if the piece had been crated as I had paid for. I repeatedly have asked Craters and Freighters to provide proof the insurance that I paid for, but they have not done so. I have asked to file a claim for the $1100 in insurance which I purchased, and they just asked me to send more photos of the unwrapped cabinet. They wanted me to get a repair quote for the cabinet, but the cabinet is valueless if repaired (it was purchased for resale), and the gouges are not repairable, especially since this is a hand painted piece. At their request, I sent them another set of photos of the damage to the cabinet, and again requested a refund for the crating services which I paid for and which they did not provide, and requested to file an insurance claim. It is my sense that they are avoiding or ignoring my claim. Due to their failure to provide the proper packaging and crating services which I paid for and their failure to process or honor the $1100 in insurance against damage which I purchased, I would like to file a complaint against this business with Revdex.com of San Diego and to request your assistance in resolving this matter.Desired Settlement: I would like: (1) $1100 in insurance coverage which I purchased to protect me from the loss of the cabinet's value due to damage in shipment; and (2) refund of $984.94 for crating and freighting services paid to Craters and Freighters on 6/7/2013 since the company failed to provide the packaging, crating, and insurance services as documented on my receipt.

Business

Response:

To whom it may concern:

This letter is in response to the above filing against Craters & Freighters of San Diego.

We were contracted to pick up, pack, ship and insure a cabinet for Adriennne Viscio. We did in fact pick this up, pack it and ship it, however, it incurred a small amount of damage during transit. I offered to send out a repair person, but she wanted nothing to do with that. Therefore, We started the claim process with the insurance company.

She has demanded a complete refund of the price she has paid and a complete refund of the packing and shipping costs. I explained to her that the insurance policy has the right to repair first. She told us that it was not possible and she wanted a complete refund of all of her costs. I told her that I was not authorized to do that and it would have to go through the claim process, which it currently in process.

We apologized to her for the damage to the piece and told her we would fix it, but she wanted nothing to do with that. It was at this point in time that she started making strange accusations that were very disparaging to our company. Specifically that it was packed in corrugated instead of wood. Nobody ever told her it was going to be packed into a wooden container. Yes her piece was damaged but she is claiming poor packaging and when I saw the photo’s I told her it was only our good packaging that saved the piece from total destruction. She then started accusing Craters & Freighters of not having any insurance at all and it was at this point in time I told her that I was going to have to step out of the transaction and just let the claims department handle it from here on.

The claim has been filed and if you need proof I can have the insurance company contact you or I could send the claim file over. This is an unfortunate situation, but we tried to resolve this with not having to go through the insurance company. This was not possible due to the unreasonableness of her claim that there is no value to the piece if it was repaired.

Sincerely,

President

Craters & Freighters of San Diego

6500 Federal Blvd

Lemon Grove, Ca 91945

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.