Action Line #90701 -- Outbound POV

  • Published
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Complaint: 

I would like to bring to light my recent experience with outgoing shipment of our vehicle. Upon arriving to DELTA off base, in which we arrived at 8 a.m., we did the normal process of our vehicle that everyone does. No problem. But, after being there for 1.5 hours we were called into the office and told that we had to pay them an extra $500 to ship our truck because it was too long. I asked them why we didn't have to pay upon arrival to Turkey for this and why we all of a sudden owe money now? The woman said she did not know that it was entered into their system when our truck arrived here. I made them physically measure it to prove whether it was too long or not, and of course, it was not. Needless to say that I felt they were attempting to rip us off and that it was some sort of scam to gain money from U.S. personnel. Therefore, I wanted to post this to warn all who may have a large vehicle they need to ship. I would suggest getting the specs for your vehicles and print them out from online so you know what your vehicle is in case they try this again. The woman told us that a week prior to us shipping that someone else with the same truck had to pay the "fee." Unfortunately that person probably didn't take the time to find out if this was the case.

I would also like to address the fact that we did not get out of there until 12 p.m. and four hours to do our vehicles was way too long. This may have contributed to the fact that the man inspecting our vehicle took seven personal phone calls and stood to the side talking at times for 20 minutes! This is not professional in any way and I had to remind the man twice that we were military members and both had to return to our duty sections. He simply waved at us and continued to talk.

Please address both of these issues with DELTA so that our members do not get ripped off and can get through inspections in a timely manner.

Response: 

Thank you for identifying a flaw in our vehicle processing oversight. It is unfortunate you had an unpleasant experience while shipping your vehicle. The Surface Deployment Distribution Command strives to provide quality service to their customers and will take swift action to ensure that this doesn't occur in the future.

The Delta Vehicle Processing Center (VPC) is committed to the highest level of customer service. Delta's average vehicle processing time is less than one hour. The Quality Assurance Representative (QAR) monitors the customer "in/out" log to ensure efficient vehicle processing.

Delta enters Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) into the Combined Logistics and Storage System (CLASS) to determine vehicle size specifications. If CLASS labels a vehicle as oversized, the Delta inspector and service member validate the vehicle's actual specifications with a physical measurement to determine final classification.

Due to your feedback, the QAR will take the following actions to ensure this does not occur again. He will increase his presence at the Delta VPC, provide customers contact information during initial brief, post contact information throughout the Delta VPC and increase customer call backs. Lastly, the investigation and findings of this incident have been reported to the SDDC Contracting Officer for review to determine if further action if required. We appreciate you bringing this experience to our attention so we can improve the process and make it better for others.