Seriously let down by 'NeedaRide' Horse Transport

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pcha

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I don't usually do this and it is a bit long winded but I wanted to make sure that nobody else got messed around the same way I did by Mark from NeedaRide Horse Transport.
I contacted NeedaRide when I was trying to get my horse from Cornwall to Warwickshire for Rehabililtaion. There was a note on their website that said they would soon be doing a tip from Warwick (where they are based) to Cornwall. To start with Mark was really helpful said it would be no problem as he was bringing a horse down to Cornwall after it had had a vetting and would be able to take my horse back with him. He said he would be intouch with me on the wednesday night to give me a rough idea on times. After not hearing from him on Wednesday night I sent a text just to confirm what time he would be with me on the Thursday. I had no reply, didn't think that much of it as you don't know what time people go to bed if getting up early.
Thursday morning at 9am I rang Mark and he answered told me he was in Cornwall but had 5 Stallions on board and the people who he was delivering them to had not turned up as of yet. He was meant to drop them at 06:30. He said he would be in touch as soon as he had dropped them off. By 2pm I had heard no more so rang him again. He said he still had the horses on the lorry and the people where on they way to collect them and that he would pick my horse up late afternoon. By 5:30pm I still had not had any time of collection off Mark so rang again as was desperatly trying to find out if my horse would be collected. Mark answered, asked if he could call me back. 15 minutes later he returned my call sayingthat he could not collect my horse as he would be off his taco but would be back in Cornwall Saturday morning and would DEFINATLEY pick my horse up then.
So Saturday morning comes, I contact Mark for rough time of collection as I need to sort childcare out, he tells me lunch time. 1:30pm still heard no more. I try to ring him he doesn't answer. I finally try ringing him off a friends phone which he answers and tells me he will definatley be with me between 2:30 and 3pm. I go to the yard get my horse all ready for his trip with NeedaRide. And Mark NEVER TURNS UP!!! and surprise surprise he won't answer my calls in fact he just won't answer his phone to anyone who tries ringing him. I have never heard from him since!!! This whole thing was extremely frustrating/upsetting for me. I don't think I have recieved such bad customer service. If he didn't want my business then why not just say to me his lorry had broken down or something? But to string me along for 2 whole days is just inexcusable!!
Iknow this is a long thread but I just hope that it save somebody else going through the stress that I did trying to use this company.
 
pcha said:
I don't usually do this and it is a bit long winded but I wanted to make sure that nobody else got messed around the same way I did by Mark from NeedaRide Horse Transport.
I contacted NeedaRide when I was trying to get my horse from Cornwall to Warwickshire for Rehabililtaion. There was a note on their website that said they would soon be doing a tip from Warwick (where they are based) to Cornwall. To start with Mark was really helpful said it would be no problem as he was bringing a horse down to Cornwall after it had had a vetting and would be able to take my horse back with him. He said he would be intouch with me on the wednesday night to give me a rough idea on times. After not hearing from him on Wednesday night I sent a text just to confirm what time he would be with me on the Thursday. I had no reply, didn't think that much of it as you don't know what time people go to bed if getting up early.
Thursday morning at 9am I rang Mark and he answered told me he was in Cornwall but had 5 Stallions on board and the people who he was delivering them to had not turned up as of yet. He was meant to drop them at 06:30. He said he would be in touch as soon as he had dropped them off. By 2pm I had heard no more so rang him again. He said he still had the horses on the lorry and the people where on they way to collect them and that he would pick my horse up late afternoon. By 5:30pm I still had not had any time of collection off Mark so rang again as was desperatly trying to find out if my horse would be collected. Mark answered, asked if he could call me back. 15 minutes later he returned my call sayingthat he could not collect my horse as he would be off his taco but would be back in Cornwall Saturday morning and would DEFINATLEY pick my horse up then.
So Saturday morning comes, I contact Mark for rough time of collection as I need to sort childcare out, he tells me lunch time. 1:30pm still heard no more. I try to ring him he doesn't answer. I finally try ringing him off a friends phone which he answers and tells me he will definatley be with me between 2:30 and 3pm. I go to the yard get my horse all ready for his trip with NeedaRide. And Mark NEVER TURNS UP!!! and surprise surprise he won't answer my calls in fact he just won't answer his phone to anyone who tries ringing him. I have never heard from him since!!! This whole thing was extremely frustrating/upsetting for me. I don't think I have recieved such bad customer service. If he didn't want my business then why not just say to me his lorry had broken down or something? But to string me along for 2 whole days is just inexcusable!!
Iknow this is a long thread but I just hope that it save somebody else going through the stress that I did trying to use this company.
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That's awful, I am so sorry for you. There are many reputable horse transporters. Try Nick Sarson, he is Warwickshire based and may be going down your neck of the woods, you never know. http://www.directoryoftheturf.com/profile.cfm/searchid/7922
 
I would say your experience is not untypical!!

CB mare transported from Cheshire to Stirling, Scotland, HAD to have an overnight stay, the other side of Scotland, direct journey time would have been 5 hours. Thrown around in the lorry, skinned her tail and hind quarters.

Two mares shipped from Hungary to France, dumped in a Quarter Horse Ranch in Germany, because the transporter had the wrong address for another pick up. Layerage in France when they should have been in Switzerland.

Stallion and in foal mare shipped from Manchester to France. They should have had a direct transfer from Calais to our farm. One hour before they should have been delivered driver contacted me to say they were in Normandy for an overnight stay. EVA was rife in Normandy at that time.

A transporter, who always signs off 'with warmest regards' cancelled a UK pick up on the morning!! I had to go through the whole shipment process again.

Another transporter had in the 'small print' they were not obliged to feed or water horses in transit. When I question the legality of this cancelled a stallion transfer on the basis that mare owners did not like having stallions on the same lorry.

Funny that both my stallions travel in an Ifor Williams with mares.

It is such a lottery that we now ship to and fro across the channel ourselves - for half the price.
 
Oh I never put a great deal of stock in what time or day a shipper will turn up. It's the nature of the business that things change and arrangements have to be cancelled/postponed. I use shippers frequently and the amount of times one has arrived at the time arranged I can probably count on one hand; even my favourite and 'almost trusty' shipper has left me in the lurch a couple of times. It happens. No point getting stressy about it, it is just the way it is and if you lose faith in one particular shipper then there are plenty more out there who will be happy to have your business.
 
Nightmare experience.

It sounds like initial delays were outside his control if his previous customers hadn't turned up but then things got so delayed it became embarrassing so he stopped answering calls.

None of it acceptable but a possible reason .

I also think multiple / split loads are more prone to problems as the chain gets longer and longer.
 
BBH said:
I also think multiple / split loads are more prone to problems as the chain gets longer and longer.
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That's exactly why there are problems. We are commercial shippers too, licensed and fully insured, however we ONLY do custom runs, never shared trips but that makes us very expensive compared to shippers who do shared runs. Our clients are happy to pay extra to have the peace of mind that their horses will be collected/dropped off at the time we say they will (barring any traffic issues). We often ship our own sold horses but if the horse has to go a thousand miles and we're busy on the farm then I use another commercial shipper and usually the horse goes on a shared trip so timing is never particularly reliable but I don't complain because the price is always incredibly inexpensive.
 
One thing I hate is people like this. Why can't they be honest and say they can't do the job. Very unprofessional.
 
So sorry for your stress and that you have been let down :(. It's awful behaviour. My YO's husband does transport and is very reliable, I'd recommend him to anyone. If you are still looking for transport pm me and I will give you his number, he is in Cornwall.
 
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