1. A Platinum Plus Limousines doesn’t falsely advertise and lie to you like many of the limousine services advertising in the Yellow Book, Limos.com, Verizon Yellow Pages, and their web sites.
It is unfortunate than many limousine companies have chosen to operate illegally and outright lie to consumers regarding their services and vehicles in their advertisements. Many companies misrepresent the age of their vehicles as well as the ownership status (ie. They don’t own them but they subcontract their work to other companies without your knowledge) when you call to receive a verbal or simple emailed quote.
2. A Platinum Plus Limousines will give quotes which include ALL CHARGES and FEES.
Many of our competitors verbal and emailed quotes sound too good to be true for a reason. They will only quote the basic rate of service, purposely not including gratuities, and other miscellaneous fees. This can result in the quote sounding 20% to 35% less than the actual total cost of the rental. Beware of exorbitant fuel surcharges. They are deceptive to trick you into believing you are paying less by not including all of the charges in the quote. Be a smart consumer and ask for ALL of the charges in a written quote by email along with the exact vehicle (YEAR, MAKE, AND MODEL) that you choose to rent.
3. A Platinum Plus Limousines Inc. is a Licensed Maryland Intrastate (within the State) Carrier (PSC#3077). We are also USDOT licensed interstate (outside of the State) carrier. Our United States Department Of Transportation (USDOT) number is 1454353. Our Motor Carrier # is 644924.
Many companies will not show you they are even licensed to do business in the State of Maryland, much less licensed to leave the State of Maryland with passengers legally.
Ask the company for their PSC# to ensure the company you are renting for your special event is licensed to do business in the State of Maryland. If they do not have a PSC#, they are operating illegally or they are a broker who will resell your rental to a company you cannot verify is licensed to do business in the State of Maryland. Here is the link to verify if our competitors are an active carrier in Maryland.
http://webapp.psc.state.md.us/Intranet/Transport/GetCarrier_new.cfm
If you receive a quote from a company without both a USDOT# and MC# or transportation for travel outside the State of Maryland (that includes Washington DC), they are violating federal interstate carrier laws as regulated by the US Department of Transportation.
4. A Platinum Plus Limousines invites you to verify our licensing and qualifications on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Website for interstate travel (travel outside of Maryland)
Many companies do not have an operating authority (MC#) even though they are identified with a USDOT identification number. The MC# is what gives you authority to perform for hire work across state lines. For verification of companies claiming they can legally transport you out of the state of Maryland (that includes Washington DC), ask the company for their USDOT# and MC#.
Go to this US Department of Transportation link to verify the company’s operating status.
http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/CompanySnapshot.aspx
Check their Licensing and Insurance by clicking on the link located on the right side of the web page in the blue box titled "Other information for this carrier".
View the motor carrier details by clicking on the “HTML” button. They must have an authority status of "Active" in the common carrier authority status section. If it is not active, they do not have the right to transport you out of state. You can click on the “Authority History” at the bottom of the web page to view when their authority was dismissed or revoked.
Many companies have had their authorities revoked and are classified as "out of service". Many have applications pending but they have not filed the insurance necessary to operate. And several companies have had their authorities “dismissed”. If they are caught out of state without a valid operating authority, your night or event could be ruined as they are forced to find a legal carrier in the state they are visiting to bring you back to MD. There is heavy enforcement of these laws for MD limousine companies that travel to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York.
5. A Platinum Plus Limousines carries $5,000,000 in insurance with Lancer Insurance for our entire fleet including our sedan and non-stretched SUV.
Companies operating vehicles that are rated to carry 16 passengers (including the chauffeur) or more must have a minimum of 5,000,000 dollars of insurance in order operate outside of the State of Maryland.
Companies operating vehicles that are rated to carry 15 passengers (including the chauffeur) or less must have at least 1,500,000 dollars of insurance in order to operate outside the State of Maryland.
6. A Platinum Plus Limousines guarantees the vehicle you are renting in writing. All pictures on this email and our web site are exact pictures of the vehicles A Platinum Plus Limousines owns. WE DON’T BAIT AND SWITCH
Ask our competitors if they guarantee the vehicle you are renting in writing on their contract. Giving the VIN or the tag number of the specific vehicle you are renting on the rental contract can simply do this. Many companies will bait you with one vehicle pictured on their web site or during your verbal conversation and send an entirely different vehicle on your rental day, leaving you disappointed. But if you read the fine print of their contracts, they state they don't guarantee the vehicles, while they will verbally tell you what you want to hear over the phone. Don't be fooled by these bait and switch tactics.
7. A Platinum Plus Limousines will invite you to our commercial facility located at 7474 Shipley Ave Harmans, MD 21077. We will be glad to personally meet with you, by appointment, to show you our fleet of new bodystyle vehicles. Simply call our office at 410 796 7433 and arrange your appointment.
Many of our competitors do not operate from a commercial facility, they operate from their residential homes. And they don’t invite you to see what you are renting because they don’t physically possess the vehicles they advertise. They book your rental and then subcontract the job to another company. If there is a problem with the vehicle you rented, you have no recourse since you choose a reseller of service.
Ask to see the vehicles at their facilities. If they won’t physically show you the vehicle or provide a copy of the registration with their company name and the VIN number, they don’t own the vehicle or don’t have the proper licensing. Verify the ownership of the vehicle and the status of the Limousine Company at the Maryland Public Service Commission web site link provided below.
http://webapp.psc.state.md.us/Intranet/Transport/GetCarrier_new.cfm
Simply ask the company the VIN number or License Plate Number (Tag Number) of the vehicles they are advertising. If the vehicle is not listed on this web site, it is not licensed by the State of Maryland as a FOR HIRE Vehicle.
You can search for the vehicles by the carrier name (Limousine Company Name), VIN number, or Tag Number of the vehicle on the web link indicated above.
8. A Platinum Plus Limousines will only allow licensed FOR HIRE chauffeurs to operate our luxury limousines, sedans, and Sport Utility Vehicles.
Ask for the name of your chauffeur and the chauffeur's Passenger-For-Hire Drivers License Number. All for hire chauffeurs are required to carry a chauffeurs license in their possession. They are also listed on the MD Public Service Web Site. If they are not licensed by the MD Public Service Commission, you can be assured they have not received a required criminal background check by the Maryland State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation as all of our employees have done prior to driving for our company.
9. A Platinum Plus Limousines requires our chauffeurs to receive a complete physical examination from a certified medical physician to ensure they are healthy enough to perform their chauffeuring duties safely.
Most companies do not require their chauffeurs receive physical examination from a certified physician to ensure the person driving is healthy and does not suffer any medical ailments that could jeopardize your life.
Remember, you are not only entrusting a service to perform your event in a professional fashion, your are entrusting your life and the lives of your loved ones with the person behind the wheel. If the company says they do require a physical, then the chauffeur should have a copy of their medical card on their person. It is not required under MD law for intrastate travel, but is required if you are operating a vehicle rated to carry more than 9 passengers across state lines. Either way, you want to ensure you have a healthy chauffeur, who doesn't suffer from a major ailment that could jeopardize his ability to perform safely.
10. A Platinum Plus Limousines is a drug free company that randomly administers drug and alcohol testing for all employees as a condition of employment. This is necessary to ensure your safety and our reputation.
Very few limousine companies drug and alcohol test their chauffeurs. It is required by federal law that all CDL drivers be randomly drug tested for operation of vehicles which carry more than 15 passengers across state lines. So if you are renting a vehicle rated to carry more than 15 passengers (including the driver) across state line, your chauffeur must be randomly drug and alcohol tested.
Due to the overwhelming amount of drug usage in this society, why would you trust your life to a company that did not feel it is important to ensure their chauffeurs were sober before performing your special event?
11. A Platinum Plus Limousines has chauffeurs who enjoy serving people and are professionally trained using the Tom Mazza Consulting “Ultimate Chauffeur Training Program”.
In the end, all things being equal, our experienced chauffeurs enjoy the privilege to serve our customers. They are well-trained, clean-cut, service oriented customer service specialists. They know where they are going, open the door upon entry and exit, and treat you with the level of service expected from a luxury limousine service. And that level of service is worth every penny. We render Ritz Carlton service to our customers because this is what you expect.
You have heard the horror stories of a limousine DRIVER who doesn’t show up on time, has a bad attitude, and doesn’t know where he is going. We don’t have any drivers employed at this company. Driver deliver pizza and furniture. We have chauffeurs who have been professionally trained by the Tom Mazza Consulting “Ultimate Chauffeur Training Program” which is the best training program in the country. They also receive over 40 hours of road work and customer service preparation prior to the first customer being placed in our vehicle.
We hope this helps you shop wisely for a limousine rental on your special day.
All pictures on this web site are exact pictures of the vehicles A Platinum Plus Limousines owns. We don’t subcontract our work to other companies without your knowledge because we prefer to direct you to legal companies within our network if our vehicles are not available. There is an old saying " You get what you pay for". Unfortunately, sometimes in this industry, you don’t get what you pay for. We wish you well in your shopping experience.
