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Car transport scam: I was conned by fraudsters using a big brand name

I paid them some advance & they sent a guy to pick up my dad's Alto. Then there was no response for a day.

BHPian TejasV recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi folks,

I am here to share an unfortunate experience I have had with transporting my car from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad. The car is an Alto, my father's, actually which we wanted to use as a second car in Hyderabad.

I went about looking for car transport providers on the web and found a host of sites and providers like Justdial who connected me with many transporters.

You can give your number and you get a call back, WhatsApp messages and SMSes of services being provided. I got unbelievable quotes from VRL and Gati logistics. I should've been more careful in hindsight. They quoted Rs.5000ish respectively.

I specifically asked those guys if that is all that needs to be paid and they said taxes may be extra and will be calculated when shipped (inter-state taxes and GST is what they said).

When I probed further, I was assured by an English-speaking operator that the cost is possible as they send the car back in empty car transport trucks which have delivered new cars from the factory to showrooms in Vizag and hence the low price. They offered a door-to-door service.

Day 1

I am asked to send Rs.1000 as advance to the Gati UPI scanner code that they messaged. The name checks out, the logo is the same as Gati's and I thought I could pay up.

Day 2

They send a guy to pick up the car, I ask a relative to click pictures with him and also of the receipt and was assured delivery in 1 day.

There was no response for a day after pickup, with the local driver who picked up saying it has been taken to a warehouse at Anakappale (a small town which is on the bypass outside Vizag).

The next morning I get a quote of Rs.15,800 for the same. Saying I need to pay for the car to be delivered.

I was shocked and tried to reach out to Gati (went to their official site, and customer support and all of them casually said this is not the same Gati and there are a lot of fake companies like these which use reputed company names and logos. They even register the companies as firms with small changes - Agarwal packer mover instead of Agarwal packers and movers etc.)

Now the tone and the person speaking on the other end changed from English to very rural Hindi. These guys were now operating from Haryana. They were not based in Hyderabad or Visakhapatnam.

Day 3

I told them I will not pay and needed my car back. They said it will cost Rs.3000 for the same, I wasn't willing to pay and also did not have a person in Vizag who could go pick it up, so let it be and asked them for a breakup of the cost.

They said transport insurance is 3% of car value and that I will get a copy of the same soon after payment. Knowing I was being scammed but with no other way out and lack of time, I went ahead and paid in full.

No tracking code or insurance copy as promised.

Day 4

Now I get messages saying they need another thousand more, from random numbers to get my car delivered. I went ballistic and said I will register a case (which I intend to soon when I get time). They finally do a conference call with the guy who is actually transporting the car.

He says, the same is safe and will arrive today. I believe him as he is the actual truck guy who picked up my car. Was following up with him parallelly and he says there as many such operators who only use WhatsApp, get customers using Google ads and ape known companies while actually using empty trucks from transport companies to deliver cars.

This guy who is actually delivering says he is paid a few thousand at max and assured my car's delivery tomorrow.

Hoping for the best and wish everyone who reads this double-checks and pays only when the bill is clear and the company is actually what they say it is. Unfortunately, the official sites of these reputed brands are bad and the response to queries/leads is pathetic. But I'd still be patient and hope you will not repeat my mistake.

Lesson Learnt - Things to Keep in Mind While Transporting a Car

  • Always reach out to the official site
  • Get a detailed bill
  • Check all taxes upfront
  • They generally don't have tracking but ask for a loading-unloading picture
  • Keep some balance, don't pay in full upfront - official sites accept 75% advance
  • Take Aadhar/ID proof of the guy taking the vehicle and check the company ID

Would I have done it differently? Yes! Should I have been more careful? Yes! I was in the middle of a medical emergency in the family and let things be going by the brand name/also with Gati's HQ being next door to where we live, I was naïve. I just don't want others to fall into the same trap hence putting it up here.

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

Sad scene, thanks for sharing your experience with us. Will definitely help others.

Reminds me of this other scam on Google where scammers hijack the business listing and change it to their own phone number. You call the business (from this kind of Google search result), they ask you to transfer them monies. Once you pay them online, comes the disappearing act and no product / service is delivered. Restaurants, grocery stores, wine shops etc. are the most frequent targets. Check out this news article on OvenFresh, there are plenty more on others.

Here's what BHPian condor had to say about the matter:

This is more impersonation and fraud-like thing than hijacking.

The logo checks out, but check that bill.

Gati Packer & Mover?

Basic English - most such companies are PackerS & MoverS.

The name printed on top of the receipt and the URL is different.

The mentioned URL is not even valid.

If you had checked closer, the name GATI is in a different font - and the combined mark (logo + name) is something else.

The stamps of BVQI etc are freely available, and anyone can put them (till there is a raid on them).

But thanks for sharing - should be helpful for others before one checks for cheaper options.

Here's what BHPian RedTerrano had to say about the matter:

This is one of the instances where I absolutely wouldn't mind a tracker on the car. Trucks move slowly. If the physical location of the car is known, the concerned truck can be tracked and with a bunch of friends, your prized possession can be recovered.

Also, you might want to crank up the priority for registering a case. Authorities are there to help us, but they can swing into action only after input from our end.

Here's what BHPian bhphog had to say about the matter:

I am patting myself at the moment. Was about to get scammed twice when I recently had to take my car from Delhi to Bangalore and back.

The relocation policy at my employment offered to pay up the cost but I really could never trust any of the logistics, real or fake.

Delhi to Bangalore - did it in strict 30 hours with a 4-hour halt.

Bangalore to Delhi, I took the scenic route. Bangalore - 5 days at Goa - 2 nights at Udaipur - Delhi.

Going back to Bangalore in November end and will drive again.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
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