Complaint Review: Forbes Limousine Service

What happened to me and my girlfriend was nothing short of disgraceful.

I prepaid Forbes Limousine service fully a week in advance for a pick-up at JFK, but he left us stranded, loaded with luggage after an exhausting 6 hour flight from the West Coast--at midnight, no less! In short, he did nothing that he was contractually obligated to do.

First of all, as per the email confirmation I received from Forbes, I was supposed to receive a "courtesy call" the day of travel, confirming my pick-up but received none and had to call myself.

I was told during that conversation with Gabe Forbes that everything was set, but it almost sounded like he was surprised, ie, hadn't made arrangements, so I asked him to re-confirm asap, since I was boarding the plane shortly. Gabe said he would re-confirm with his driver and call back in five minutes. Didn't hear back, so I called again--myself--from the plane. I was told everything was fine, to call upon arrival, which I did.

Everything was not fine, however. And get this: sneaky Gabe waited about 15 minutes, until he knew we were in in flight, and sent a TEXT message, saying Forbes Limo could not pick us up. Even though he had about eight hours to make some other arrangements, even if it meant hiring a competitor to pick us up, he did nothing. Furthermore, had he been honest on that first call, I could have tried to make arrangements myself, calling a friend to pick us up, or a shuttle, etc.

The text message just said his driver couldn't make it, and he left some number to call (when I called that number I was put on hold indefinitely, and I finally got a taxi). We were exhausted after a long flight from San Francisco, especially with this added stress, and could not wait around forever. I was able to negotiate a special flat rate with the taxi driver but still had to pay an additional $87 out of pocket.

Knowing that I would reject the charges with my credit card company, Gabe did promptly refund the money he had taken from me a couple of weeks earlier. However, I told him that I expected to be made whole - ie, that he pay the difference (truth is, after the stress he caused, he should have offered to pay twice this amount). Anyway, I have two emails indicating a check was in the mail, but Gabe just played games and never sent anything. I've never dealt with a more UN-professional company.

If you want a good laugh, check out Gabe's website, where he tries to convey professionalism. What a crock of &^%$ ! Especially funny is his the "Mission" statement page, in which he talks about his "passion for going above and beyond." Yeah--above and beyond alright: Above and beyond disgraceful!!!

Brian
Norwalk, Connecticut
U.S.A.