Amex Limo Service Owner: Peter Albano Family horrified Brooklyn , New York
Hire a party bus from New York for my daughters wedding on 6/30/2012. We live in CT and Limo service is in Brooklyn New York. Gave deposit in January for a 30 passenger Killer Hummer which is only 1 of three in the country. Total Contract for 4 hours was $1,780.00 dollars. We have had 3 weddings in the past three years and my wife and I are both retired
My step daughter was to be married on June 30th 2012 in Hartford Ct at the St Jospeh Cathedral Church and we live just outside of hartford about 20 minutes from the church. Contract call for a pick up time of 12 noon on that day and ceremony started at 1:00 sharp. Church fee's $1,000.00 dollars and if party was late deposit would be lost of $500.00 dollars.Advertisement stated that all vehicles are clean and guaranteed on time arrival.
In June I checked with the company and asked if everything was good to go and that the vehicle was clean and in good running condition. One week before the wedding I contacted the company and spoke with Anna and she offered me an upgrade with a full sized party bus (50) people capacity at the same price and this vehicle also included a onboard butler to serve drinks and food to the wedding party and some guests that were invited to joing us.
On the day of the wedding all the wedding party was to be picked up at our home at 12 noon. Called the company at 7AM and was told everything was on go. At 12 noon no bus. Called company and was told not sure where bus is would call back. 12:05 no call back and I called company back and was told that traffic was heavy from an accident and bus was running late.Never recieved a call or email or cell phone call to include home.
I was given the cell number of the driver Mike and had to call myself. He told me that he was about 45 minutes from where we were. Bus was to leave at 12:15 to go to church and prepare for ceremony. Had to call the church notify them what was going on and would be there sometime soon. Had 180 guests at the church waiting. This was a Venetian style wedding and all the dresses and my daughters gown were fluffy and long. had mentioned this bus to our neighbors and all wanted to see it.
At 1:05 the bus pulls in and it just looked like it came froma trip from Death Valley. I wanted my daughter to have a Cinderella coach and all she saw was a stage coach. Everyone was upset as it was and then this pulls in and out steps the driver. Okay here we go: He was wearing a t shirt and blue jeans. Then I find out that there is no attendant on board this bus either. So the wedding party had to load the bus and my neighbors looked on horrified at what was taking place.
Off we go to the church and my daughter who's dress cost $ 5,000.00 K had gotten it soiled gettingg on this bus because it was so dirtyand we have not even arrived ta the church yet. We are both retired and all these weddings with our girls have put a strain on everything but this was going to be the topper for sure. I bitched to the driver and he was a nice guy but he was told to get on the bus and do this run and was never told why what for or anything. Did not know about any attendant nor did this bus have all the items that were promised. Sodas, ice, water, attendant, clean, I told him that I was not going to pay the full balance and that I would conatct the owner whom I have spoken with about all this.
I had to sit in a rumble seat next to the driver and all the mardi gra beeds hanging form the rear view mirror and give directions to the church. Arrived at the church at 1:35 and rushed in and did the ceremony. Priest was pissed along with the wedding party and since I was the one who arranged for this bus was on everyone's sh*t list. After the ceremony I went to the bus to check on things on the bus because the driver had to go get some ice.
When I got on the bus I was told that he had contacted the company and was told to collect the balance $1,200.00 dollars and if I did not pay he was to leave. I had 30 people on the curb so I had no choice and payed the amount. The next day tried to contact the company and would not accept my calls. Have not accepted any of my calls since. Contacted an attorney and also filed complaint with DMV in New York. BBB but they have a few complaints with the company but they never responded back. Also contacted a local TV station that does stories on these types of things and hopefully they will help us.
This is my step daugher but I love her dearly. Her father passed away when she was young and I know that he would have wanted her to have her Cinderella wedding and all the glitter that went with it. I know that I would have wanted the same if that was me. We are retired but we did what we did with all our girls and just wanted everything to be close to perfect. I know that the owner of this company Pete would have wanted the same for his daughter if he were in my shoes. I am just looking for some compansation for not getting what we paid for. I know traffic can be a mad house but the company should have made sure we were contacted somehow. Home phone, cell phone, email. Plus a driver showing up in jeans and a t shirt was the topper of all this.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Battle stations
east windsor,Connecticut,
USA
Battlestations
#6Author of original report
Mon, October 08, 2012
You so contradict yourself in your rebutals. I never spoke to you just before the wedding.Your secretery spoke to me and offered me an upgrade with the party bus...Onboard attendant to serve food whatever we supplied ...beverages...Ice....soda...water...You know what we got...Its tough to turn away the sevice when you are an hour late for the ceremnony and its also hard to be told to pay the balance or we are going to leave your 30 guests standing on the curb without any othe transportation. So there was not much choice in the matter. But you know as well as I do that you dont send a dirty bus and a driver dressed in blue jeand and t shirt with mardi gras beads hanging from the rear view mirror to a wedding. Plus no attendant also. I praised your compnay and told all our guests that they were in for a surprise when they saw what we had planned with your compnay. Even out neighbors cameoutside to see this and they were horrified as to what they saw. So as I said if this was your daughters proncess wedding how would you feel...Do the right thing. Other people have wrote in about your service also so its just not me.
AmexLimo
Brooklyn,New York,
United States of America
What is this about?
#6REBUTTAL Owner of company
Sun, October 07, 2012
Who said anything about a refund? Once again you used the entire service now you want a refund. You should have sent the bus away if you did not like what the driver was wearing or if you felt the bus was dirty. We would have then given you a refund. Why would you let a bride get on a dirty bus with a white dress? Then on the BBB complaint you wanted us to pay $4000 for her dress. Sir, you used the service therefore there are no refunds, we completed our obligation based on the contract you signed. You utilized the full 4 hours of the service you contracted. You did not send the bus away due to your complaints. You can not eat an entire steak that you orded in a restaurant, then send back an empty plate and say you did not like it, they will not refund your money. If you don't pay they will call the police. You want money back and for us to pay for your step daughters dress too? I just can not understand what you are doing here, we apologized for the traffic we encountered but we could not do anything about it. The bus was cleaned by a crew of men and did not get dirty on the trip there. If you did not like the bus you had every right to send it away. You chose to use it after we told you that we would refund your money if you wanted to send the bus away. Now we have to pay for a wedding dress???? You signed a contract that is what you legally agreed to it does not say anything about us paying for dresses or giving you money back for not liking what our driver was wearing. You made the choice to use a bus and now we have to pay for your service?
Battle stations
east windsor,Connecticut,
USA
Battle stations
#6Author of original report
Sun, October 07, 2012
I contacted Mr. Albano's place of buisness on 10/06/12 and spoke with Anna. Mr. Albano was unable to take my call again. I called to see if he was going to give back my refund as he sated in his rebuttal. I have heard nothing since. I also wanted to clearify that I had to contact the driver of the bus after I was supplied his cell phone number because the company had no idea where he was. Again there is no smear campaign going on against this company other than trying to be compensated for the promises that were broken on the part of the company. If Mr Albano would contact me and make some type of restitution for what happened then I would be mosy happy to recind the complaints against his company. This complaint will not go away until compensation is recieved. If I have to and I will, do a bill board in Times Square and make my complaint known. This is only my step daughetr but she is the world to me and I will see this to the end.Mr. Albano just do whats right and lets be done with this. You said you would return the refund then do it and I will be satisfied.
Battle stations
east windsor,Connecticut,
USA
Horrified
#6Author of original report
Thu, October 04, 2012
I just read the rebutal of Mr. Albano. It seem he forgot to mention that the service he promised to provide as advertised was to always be on time. He also said that I went down to see this vehicle but must have me mixed up with the wrong person. I have never been at his place of buisness. He also never mentioned the fact that the assistant was not supplied laso as well as the clean party bus as advertised. Yes we were excited about the upgrade but when it arrived dirty...late ...no attendant and was threatened to be left at the church and I had to sit in the rumble seat next to the driver to give directions yes we were disappointed. Mr. Albano also never stated he refused to retun my many calls after what happened and also never said that I was willing to accept some compensation for the mishap. I can only say that there have been similar complaints on this company for simliar incidents. I did speak with Mr Albano prior to all this and seem like a very nice guy. However this was a wedding and when the driver shows up in jeans and a t shirt with no attendant and a dirty bus and late then yes I think I have ever right to be upset. This was my step daughters wedding and her dad had passed away many years ago and I wanted her to have the best because I know her dad would have wanted that. I still have not heard from Mr Albano and nor has our attorney. There is no smear campaign going on against his company. Yes things do happen however its up to bus company to make sure that incidents like this are covered. Alos Mr Albano knows that you can not rent a party bus for over 14 people in the state of Ct. Therfore you have to go outside of the state. The matter is simple and easy to rectify.. Please compensate us for the late arrival....dirty bus...no added attendant...and driver being dressed the way he was. Like I said if this was his daughter would this be acceptable...
AmexLimo
Brooklyn,New York,
United States of America
Be Reasonable Mr Stavol
#6UPDATE Employee
Thu, October 04, 2012
I personally spoke with the customer a few weeks before the wedding and offered him an upgrade to the 50 passenger party bus, I showed him the video on the website and he was very excited. He agreed to the upgrade and called a couple of times the week before the wedding telling me he could not wait to see the bus and how excited he was. They had about 30 people and we did not want them to be cramped in a 30 passenger limo.
The customer hired a limo 3 hours away from his home, he knew the distance because he came down to our office to reserve the limo so he must have noticed the distance. Our driver left the bus yard 4 hours early to make sure to get there on time in case of traffic. What the customer says is true at 7am everything was a go and the driver was filling the bus with ice, soda, water etc. He left a little before 8am and everything was on track until he hit very bad traffic due to an accident. He stood there for over an hour trying to get through and was in turn late to the pickup. Our drivers can not fly and can only go as fast as the roads allow.
When the driver got to the customer's house the customer was very upset, understandably so. The driver apologized many times and could not do anything but apologize and explain the traffic situation. The customer got on the bus but did not want to pay the balance. The driver explained that if the customer wanted to use the service, he had to pay the balance or he could send the bus away and we offered to even give him back his deposit, if he wanted it. The customer did not want to send the bus away and decided to pay the balance. He used the full service and the driver dropped them off at the reception.
The next day the customer wanted the money back, we explained that we could not return the money after he used the full service. He told us that he was retired and if we did not give him his money back he had plenty of time to smear our name everywhere he can. We again explained that there was nothing we could do about traffic and that using a service in full and not paying for it is called "Theft of Service", if he would have not used the service we would have even returned his deposit, but he still wanted his money back.
No transportation company can control what traffic is going to be like on any given day. Our responsibility is to leave early enough to be on time to the best of our ability, which we did. There was nothing else we could have done but call and keep the customer informed of the progress. If we did not contact the customer, how did he get the driver's cell phone number. Our buses are cleaned by a permanent 2 man crew and for a dress to get dirty on a floor where 30 people are walking is possible, but the bus was clean when it left and our manager checks each bus before it leaves. We had to pay our driver, gas and our maintenance crew to complete this job and it is not fair for us to do it for free.
We again apologize to the customer for traffic conditions leading to us being late. We are very sorry but we did the best we could to get there on time and make this day perfect. Possibly, we can recommend that if you are planning a wedding, hire a company that is not so far, so that in the worst conditions the limo or bus has a better chance to get to you on time without having to sit on multiple highways and depend on traffic conditions.