Jon K.

Shiply was contracted to arrange shipping for a large piece of equipment from Northern Michigan to Nevada within a specific time frame. The seller of the unit was going to be leaving for Florida and would have to be present to drive and loathe machine. I gave them the time frame and the shipper they provided absolutely insisted that the job would be done within the time frame, about 2 weeks.
To be clear, Shiply is in the UK, and only acts as a middle-man for real shippers. These "real" shippers are usually also middle men for another layer of middle men who are not actual trucking companies. The final "middle man" couldn't get any trucker to commit for the price quoted and my load wasn't picked up, so now I am waiting until May 2024 for the seller to be available to load it. When I contacted Shiply to get a refund for the deposit they required, they insisted that I had to get time-proof-photos, showing that the load was still in Michigan.
Sorry, Shiply. I contacted my credit card company and disputed the charge.
The real problem here is too many middle men, adding nothing to the actual job, not having the least concept of the real costs of a shipment and just throwing out absurd bids to get the job.
I'll deal with real truckers in the spring.