[Glowfromminnesota]

In the past three years we have used Groome about 15 times and had never had a problem. We used Dawn’s Service one time only and it went fine other than a little crowded in a small car.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

So I went to Ireland for the holiday and 2 months ago, I booked transportation with Dawn's Car Service to Orlando Airport.

At 2:50 PM on 12/26 I get a text, "Is your flight on time? I'm leaving now".

15-20 minutes later I get a text, "I'm feeling under the weather, I'm sending my son.

It's supposed to be a 4:30 pm pickup.

4:35 he's not here and I ask Dawn if he's lost.

"He made a wrong turn and will be there in 15 minutes" is the response.

How does someone get lost with GPS?

4:50 she says "he's still not there"? "He should be there". (no kidding!)

4:55 I tell her I'm going to miss my flight and I'm leaving to drive to Orlando.

He's still not here at 5. I drive to the airport, spend 40 minutes finding a place to park, then dash from Terminal A to Terminal C, race through Security and make my flight, only because of the kindness of the AerLingus desk agent, who allows me to board the flight, late.

Now I'm stuck with my car at Orlando airport and after 22 hours of airports and flying, I have to drive back to TV at midnight last night.

Dawn won't refund my $261 and offered me a "credit towards a future booking". Oh yeah, I can't wait to depend on her again!

& as it turns out, Dawn doesn't even have a "son", I've been told.

OMG, just when I thought I'd heard a lot of horror stories, your experience really takes first prize ! I'm sorry, that sure makes something that should be such a pleasure nothing but stress.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by spinner1001

That’s what I thought. I believe there is more to this story.

Didn't it say it was for TWO people ?

[fdpaq0580]

Originally Posted by CFrance

I can empathize with the OP not wanting to get to an offsite parking lot after 22 hours of travel and then drive home. We fly frequently to Europe and Australia, and the last thing we want to do after baggage claim and customs & border patrol is then have to wait for someone to pick us up to retrieve the car and then have to drive home.

Another thing we don't want to do after all that travel is get on a bus that drops several people off individually or just takes you to a point that isn't your home. We very much appreciate the ease of a private car service and have used the same one for over a decade without a hitch. We don't prepay. There have been threads on this topic that list reliable private services, if one wants to do a search.

Ever considered getting a room near the airport. Get a good night's sleep, have breakfast, then drive home when you are ready to make the trip. Just a thought.
We used to stay near the airport, pay to leave the car at the hotel till we returned, catch the shuttle to the airport. On return, shuttle to the hotel, spend the night, breakfast, then drive home in the morning. We considered it the first and last days of vacation. Took lots of stress out of traveling. You get home rested instead of frazzeled.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by pairadocs

didn't it say it was for two people ?

one

[JEM0715]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Well we sure destroyed Dawn's business.

How can one destroy a business that was NEVER legal in the first place? She wasn't state business licensed, no commercial insurance, no airport permits, and you say destroy a business? What they did was expose an illicit service.

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by JEM0715

How can one destroy a business that was NEVER legal in the first place? She wasn't state business licensed, no commercial insurance, no airport permits, and you say destroy a business? What they did was expose an illicit service.

Thank you.

& expose a crook. She still won't refund my money. Maybe when she's in court for her apparent arrest for shoplifting at Wal-Mart, I can be heard at her sentencing.

In the meantime, I'm waiting for a response from the dispute I filed with my credit card company.

[Michael 61]

I appreciate the OP for posting this. For those that want to discount the OP’s experience, that is their prerogative to do so. Posting that they had wonderful experiences does not negate the OP’s experience. I need 100% reliable transportation to the airport when flying.

[MrChip72]

Incidentally, I was looking for a service to get to MCO in 2 weeks for just myself. Ended up booking a one way car rental from Leesburg to MCO where I'll pick up the car the day before. Was $44 all-in with taxes. Seems like the less stressful way to go.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by JEM0715

How can one destroy a business that was NEVER legal in the first place? She wasn't state business licensed, no commercial insurance, no airport permits, and you say destroy a business? What they did was expose an illicit service.

Never said exposing her was a bad thing. She was exposed as a dishonest businesswoman

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by MrChip72

Incidentally, I was looking for a service to get to MCO in 2 weeks for just myself. Ended up booking a one way car rental from Leesburg to MCO where I'll pick up the car the day before. Was $44 all-in with taxes. Seems like the less stressful way to go.

How do you get from your house to Leesburg and back? Or does the rental agent let you park in their lot for free?

[biker1]

Villages Airport Van will pick you up at your house and take you to MCO for $45. Depending on where you live you may be in the van for a bit because they will generally have multiple pickups. I have used them a bunch of times and never an issue. I have also used Dave's car service and would recommend them.

Originally Posted by MrChip72

Incidentally, I was looking for a service to get to MCO in 2 weeks for just myself. Ended up booking a one way car rental from Leesburg to MCO where I'll pick up the car the day before. Was $44 all-in with taxes. Seems like the less stressful way to go.

[MrChip72]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

How do you get from your house to Leesburg and back? Or does the rental agent let you park in their lot for free?

I will get a ride their from my spouse, but I've been here for almost 2 years so have met a decent amount of people that would likely drop me off there if I asked them.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Michael 61

I appreciate the OP for posting this. For those that want to discount the OP’s experience, that is their prerogative to do so. Posting that they had wonderful experiences does not negate the OP’s experience. I need 100% reliable transportation to the airport when flying.

Good point.

I think it is contingent upon all of us to be a bit circumspect about posting opinions because of the power that this board has. Seems as if most merchants and vendors doing business in TV or with TV'ers monitor it. It is easy to turn one isolated bad experience, or a real (or even imagined) slight into a crusade that can do a lot of damage. I always try to remind myself that we're all human, thus all have bad days or unforeseen things happen that may give a negative impression to others. But if those "isolated" incidents seem to have a pattern of repeating--well, that is something else entirely.

[BrianL99]

Just an update.

I disputed my payment to Dawn's Car Services.

It's now been over a month, since the unfortunate experience.

The attached, arrived in my email this morning.

Dawn's has not only not refunded my $261, she's disputing my Credit Card company's attempt to reverse the charge. The gall of some people, is mind boggling.