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MoverCompass

Working out who you are hiring

What are the warning signs of a moving scam?

The short answer

A quote given over the phone without a survey, a large deposit demanded upfront, a blank or incomplete bill of lading, a company that will not give a registered name and number, generic branding with no address, and a price that increases once your belongings are on the truck. The last one is the point of the first one.

The pattern, in order

  1. A quote well below the others, given over the phone or from a web form with no survey.
  2. Pressure to book now, and a substantial deposit, often by a method that is hard to reverse.
  3. Vague or missing paperwork, and documents signed with blanks in them.
  4. On loading day, the shipment is declared heavier or larger than estimated and the price rises sharply.
  5. Your goods are now on their truck, and the leverage has moved.

What protects you before that point

  • A survey, in person or by live video. It is the single thing the pattern above cannot survive.
  • A written estimate naming the estimate type, and a bill of lading with nothing blank on it.
  • Checking the registration yourself rather than accepting a number on a website.
  • Refusing irreversible payment methods for a deposit.
  • Reading one and two-star reviews for the specific phrase "price went up", which is the recurring signature.

Once a shipment is loaded, your options narrow sharply and the law about what a mover may demand before delivery is specific and jurisdiction-dependent. Everything that protects you is done before the truck arrives.

Also asked

What is hostage load?

The term used when a mover refuses to deliver until a raised amount is paid. There are federal rules for interstate US moves about what may be demanded before delivery and a complaints process for it through FMCSA, and for local moves the applicable rules are set by your state or province. Knowing which regime your move falls under, before you book, is part of why the broker-or-carrier question matters.

The long version

Moving scams and red flags to recognize early

Spot lowball quotes, hostage-load tactics, identity changes, risky deposit demands, and other moving red flags before your goods are loaded.

Read the guide →

General information about moving and about hiring, not advice about your move. Interstate household-goods moving within the United States is federally regulated; local, intrastate and Canadian moving is regulated by each state or province, and the rules differ. The authority for your move is the one to check.