Complaint Review: Lepke Auto Transport Inc. - Chicago Illinois

I contacted Lepke Auto Transport about transporting my vehicle from Dallas Texas to Virginia.  I spoke with Tobias Lepke and he told me that he owned the trucking company and that it would be his truck that would pick up the car and deliver it to Virginia.  He said he had an office in Dallas, TX and that is where the transport truck was located.  He asked me to give him the information about the pick-up address, etc and he would give me a quote.

I gave him the information and he sent me a quote but then he said I would have to pay him $150 up front with a credit card and then pay the driver $400 in cash once the car was delivered.  I thought this sounded kind of strange.  He assured me that he was the owner of the trucking company that would transport my car.

I was thinking about it and then he started calling me relentlessly, trying to get me to sign the forms he had emailed to me and give him my credit card number.  I did not feel comfortable with the way he was doing buiness and told him I was going to go with another company and not to call me again.

The next day, my friend in Dallas who has my car received a call from the driver of a company called A.S. Trucking and the driver told my friend that they work with Lepke and that I had authorized Lepke to pick-up my car. They informed my friend that they were on their way to his apartment to pick up my car.  I told my friend that I had not authorized anyone to pick-up my car and not let them have it.

I called Tobias Lepke and told him I had not authorized him to pick up my car and in fact had told him I did not want to do buisiness with his company.  He started arguing with me, called me names and hung-up on me.  How unethical this guy is in him trying to have a driver pick-up my car without my authorization and also by falsely  telling me he owned the truck that would pick-up my car.  I had not emailed him back the forms he wanted me to sign nor had I given him my credit card information.

Later I discovered that he does not even have an actually physical office in Dallas, TX but only a "virtual" office address that is just a mailing address that appears to be a physical address.  In fact, I found that on his website that he lists offices all over the U.S. but they are all only "virtual" offices where he pays an executive suite company like Meridian Business Centers, a monthly fee for an address which is just like a P.O. Box but has a suite number.  The sole purpose it to deceive potential customers into thinking Lepke Auto Transport  has an actual office at that address.

If you type in the address that was on his contract of 2432 W. Polk, Chicago IL into Google Maps, you will see it is an apartment.  Tobias Lepke is just one guy working out of his apartment that tries to deceive people into thinking he has a large trucking company with offices across  the U.S..  His whole operation is really just a scam and am suprised he is still in business as it appears he has been running this operation for quite a while.

I would advise anyone looking to ship their car to avoid Lepke Auto Transport at all cost.  Once he has you complete his form in order to give you an estimate, he will try to have your car picked-up without your consent and then would hold your car for ransom until you paid him...even though you never authorized him to transport your car.  Tobias Lepke is a real sleazeball!!