You're heading to a dance or need to get your bridesmaids
and groomsmen to the altar on time, and the last thing you want to worry about is
unreliable transportation.
With prom and wedding season fully under way, consumers
can get some tips to help protect against unscrupulous vendors from your local Consumer Affairs.
Licensed and registered for-hire companies must pass both
background checks and Vehicle Administration inspections, as well as have commercial
insurance. Chauffeurs must have a for-hire driver's license from the Consumer Affairs and have a face-to-face interview before receiving it. Also our drivers go through a full background check and initial and random drug testing.
JUST A FEW EXAMPLES ON HOW PEOPLE GOT SCAMMED!
Megan, a Mount de Sales Academy junior, rented a stretch
Hummer limousine to take her, her date, and nine other couples to the prom. The
group contracted a Limousine Service, which was going to charge
$550 for four hours, whereas other companies were quoting $900 or more.
"Of course it sounded like a deal."
But the driver never arrived that night — and later ended
up charging her father three more times. She said,"They literally ruined our prom."
ANOTHER OF MANY INCIDENTS OF PEOPLE GETTING SCAMMED!
"A company offered the limo my friends and I wanted for a reasonable price. A 24-seater white Escalade that 'starts at $90/hour+tip.' My mom called the company and we were told that for six hours, the total cost would be $895, which included the tip. I collected money from every person riding in the limo, so everyone paid an equal amount (remember that we are students, so this wasn't cheap for us.) We were supposed to have the limo from 8pm until 2am on April 27, and the company was told in advance which three locations we would be travelling to. They said the limo would arrive at 7:45. The vehicle wasn't there until 8:30, and it wasn't our limo, it was a party bus."
"We were told to get on, but there would be no additional charge because it was their fault they could not provide the service asked for. Five minutes later, we were told that it was the wrong bus and we had to get off. We got on a second bus but they refused to leave until my mom signed a bill that had NO AMOUNT written on it. She wrote on the bill that it would be $895, but they later whited that out and filled in $1950."
"She had to sign it because we had to be at the prom before the doors closed at 9:15 and she was not given time to read over the contract, nor was she allowed to make a copy of the contract or receipt. We arrived at the prom right before the doors were locked. The limo was supposed to pick us up at 11:30 P.M. (the prom ended at midnight.) I called the company at 11:00 P.M. but they ignored me. I called the cell number of the first driver but he wasn't the one coming back."
"Between my mom and I making a total of around 15 calls, we finally had a limo pick us up...at 12:25. We were forced to wait outside with no adult supervision for ten minutes (all chaperons and teachers left at 12:15).
When we arrived at the next location (a diner in West Palm), our driver told us he had to leave for another job. I told him that I had booked that limo for 6 hours and they had already been half an hour late, so I should have the limo until 2:30 at least."
"I told him that if he left, he would be leaving 13 minors in a bad area of town. He made some calls and arranged to stay and wait, but we were ORIGINALLY told that we would have the same limo and driver all night. We arrived at the hotel at 2:15 but they did not ask me to sign anything, and my mom was not even there. They forged her initials on the form, saying that we had arrived at 2:15."
"We had been told that they'd mail us a copy of the receipt and contract on Monday, April 29. It is June 3rd and we have just received that information, but only because my mom had filed multiple claims with her credit card company and Better Business Bureau.
This company is a SCAM AND A FRAUD. My mom is a single mother in school and doesn't have the time OR money to deal with a charge of $1055 more than she was told and more than the amount of cash I collected from those riding in the limo."
"The limo company accused my mom of trying to file this claim so that she could get money back for herself, after collecting the money from students. Let's pray that the credit card company can file this dispute against them so that my family isn't $1055 dollars poorer as I entire college this fall."
"We were told to get on, but there would be no additional charge because it was their fault they could not provide the service asked for. Five minutes later, we were told that it was the wrong bus and we had to get off. We got on a second bus but they refused to leave until my mom signed a bill that had NO AMOUNT written on it. She wrote on the bill that it would be $895, but they later whited that out and filled in $1950."
"She had to sign it because we had to be at the prom before the doors closed at 9:15 and she was not given time to read over the contract, nor was she allowed to make a copy of the contract or receipt. We arrived at the prom right before the doors were locked. The limo was supposed to pick us up at 11:30 P.M. (the prom ended at midnight.) I called the company at 11:00 P.M. but they ignored me. I called the cell number of the first driver but he wasn't the one coming back."
"Between my mom and I making a total of around 15 calls, we finally had a limo pick us up...at 12:25. We were forced to wait outside with no adult supervision for ten minutes (all chaperons and teachers left at 12:15).
When we arrived at the next location (a diner in West Palm), our driver told us he had to leave for another job. I told him that I had booked that limo for 6 hours and they had already been half an hour late, so I should have the limo until 2:30 at least."
"I told him that if he left, he would be leaving 13 minors in a bad area of town. He made some calls and arranged to stay and wait, but we were ORIGINALLY told that we would have the same limo and driver all night. We arrived at the hotel at 2:15 but they did not ask me to sign anything, and my mom was not even there. They forged her initials on the form, saying that we had arrived at 2:15."
"We had been told that they'd mail us a copy of the receipt and contract on Monday, April 29. It is June 3rd and we have just received that information, but only because my mom had filed multiple claims with her credit card company and Better Business Bureau.
This company is a SCAM AND A FRAUD. My mom is a single mother in school and doesn't have the time OR money to deal with a charge of $1055 more than she was told and more than the amount of cash I collected from those riding in the limo."
"The limo company accused my mom of trying to file this claim so that she could get money back for herself, after collecting the money from students. Let's pray that the credit card company can file this dispute against them so that my family isn't $1055 dollars poorer as I entire college this fall."
Consumers should be wary of bottom-basement quotes. "Most customers, when they call, their first question is:
'I need a limo, how much is it?' "
"The illegal [companies] or the gypsies, they don't
have the same overhead as the licensed ones," "If it's a
low price, that should be a red flag."
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