Our experience with Sanford Transportation Company

[budbeerlady]

I should have written this sooner, I have been swamped since we arrived home with work.

We booked with Sanford Transportation company for our Aug 21-31 trip to ASMU. I confirmed it would only be our family in the town car, I thought I had checked them out alright.

They were 15 min late in picking us up at Sanford for our trip to Disney. I called after landing that I couldn't find the driver and he came in about 15 min later. I blamed it on the rain, faster flight. I should have run....

We had a quick grocery stop and I confirmed with the driver our 6am pickup time for our return flight. At 5:50 we were out from of ASMU where the driver had asked us to be. At 6:10 I called and was told to call another number to find our driver. I called that number and was told she was on her way and they will call me right back. At 6:15 I was told she was at the gate, be there in a minute.

At 6:25 I called again, I was told I would see the van headlights any second now (What the heck, I had confirmed and paid for a town car!)

At 6:40 we jumped in the taxi that was sitting at ASMU. At 7am Sanford Transportation called wondering where we were at the resort. 1 hour late!!!!!

I had to spend $129 for the taxi, plus the other half of the $149 I had paid Sanford when they dropped us off.

I would tell everyone to avoid them!!!

I have called and emailed for a refund, they do NOT call back or answer me in any way. Lesson learned, I will always use Southern Elegance from now on.

Please run away from these people, dint add the stress or added cost of using these people!!!!!!

 

[goofy4tink]

This is a good reason to pay only half the fare at a time. I refuse to pay the entire fare when I'm dropped off at my resort. I have heard of too many cases of drivers not showing up to get you back to the airport..then you have to call a cab, which now doubles the money you spent for the return trip.

If a company asks for the entire fare up front, don't book 'em. If they don't show up in a timely fashion, you can call a cab and you aren't out much more than you would have spent.

Thanks for the heads up about this company. It's always good to know both the good and the bad about a company.

 

[budbeerlady]

Bump.... just to caution others. I have yet to receive a refund from them and am NOT holding my breath that it will come in the mail like they said 2 weeks ago again.

 

[Edd]

No, that is not a good reason for paying 1/2 the fare. Sanford Transportation is a bad company who gets your ride because they advertise cheap prices. You keep giving them the chance by jumping on the cheap fare and some are paying for it. I have stated on another thread not to take a chance with this company. I guess some people never learn.

You might want to complain to the Sanford airport about them . By the way I was at the airport office yesterday and they to are receiving complaints about them. Call Angel at 407-322-7771.

I see the owner and the son a couple of times a week. PM me and I might be able to help you get your money back. If you were waiting for a girl driver than that is the father's company you rode with. The son also owns a company and is just as bad.

 

[goofy4tink]

Let me amend what I said previously.....if you know that a company is going to be fine, and you have seen good reports about them, then fine, go ahead and pay the entire amount when you get to your resort. But, don't include the entire tip at this time.
There are a lot of good, reputable companies out there and I don't want to tar them with the same brush as less than wonderful companies. I would imagine that if you are getting good recommendations from others, you should be fine. But, if you go truly on the cheapest service, you may find out why they are the cheapest company.

 

[Lewisc]

Almost every car service gives a discount to passengers who book round trip transfers. FL Tours for example charges $60 for one way transfer but $109 for round trip. It's really not reasonable to expect FL Tours (for example) to accept $54.50 as payment for your first leg.

The reputable companies are all within a few dollars of each other. People who insist on booking with a company who offer a "low ball" price kind of get what they deserve. Paying with a credit card gives you some protection if there is an issue with the return. Definitely only give the first driver half the total tip. You could wind up with a different driver.

The answer isn't to pay half to the first driver, the answer is to book a reputable company. When in doubt pay with a credit card.