How Moving Scams Work, and How to Check a Mover Yourself
Most moving fraud follows a few patterns: a price with no survey, paperwork signed blank, and goods held at delivery for more money. Federal rules for interstate movers forbid each one, and FMCSA's free tools let you check a company before you pay.
On this page
Why this page names nobody
A page that calls a particular company a scam can be wrong, out of date, or unfair to a firm that has since changed. It would also teach you to look for a list instead of learning to check. So this guide does the opposite. It describes how the common schemes work, the federal rules they run into, and the tools the regulator provides, and it leaves the judgment about any one company to you.
The scale of the problem
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says that every year, 35 million Americans move, and its consumer hub says thousands report problems with their mover each year. The agency describes a joint effort by federal, state and local law enforcement and the legitimate moving industry against moving fraud, and an enforcement initiative it calls Operation Protect Your Move. It also says plainly that you have a part to play: research the company and plan ahead.
How the common schemes work
Most stories of a move gone wrong follow one of a few shapes. Each one depends on the customer not knowing a rule that already exists for interstate moves in 49 CFR Part 375.
| What happens | What the federal rule says |
|---|---|
| A low price is given by phone or online, with no one looking at your belongings | 375.401 requires a written estimate based on a physical survey, on site or by video, unless you waive the survey in writing |
| You are asked to sign forms with blank spaces "to save time" | 375.505(g) says a mover may not require you to sign a blank document; only details unknown before loading, such as actual weight, may be left open |
| The price rises on moving day and the crew threatens to leave | 375.401(i) allows an estimate to change only by mutual agreement and only before loading |
| At delivery, the goods stay on the truck until you pay far more than the estimate | 375.703 caps what can be demanded at delivery, and the rights booklet calls refusing to release goods after a proper payment holding them hostage in violation of federal law |
| The delivery receipt includes a line releasing the mover from liability | 375.701 says a delivery receipt must not contain release language |
The rules apply to household goods carriers moving belongings across state lines for an individual. Interstate is the key word: a move between two addresses in the same state gets none of the protections in the table.
Mover or broker
Some businesses that answer the phone as a moving company do not own trucks. The rights booklet defines a broker as a company that arranges for the transportation of household goods by a registered moving company. FMCSA treats the two as different kinds of business and explains the difference on its Protect Your Move page. Ask which one you are talking to, and ask who will actually turn up on moving day, before you pay anything. Under 375.409, a broker may give you an estimate only if it has a written agreement with the mover and uses the mover's tariff.
What a mover must hand you
FMCSA says an interstate mover must give you two publications before the move: the booklet Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move and the brochure called Ready to Move. Section 375.213 adds that they come with the written estimate, as copies or website links, and that before you sign the bill of lading you also get a summary of the mover's arbitration program and its complaint procedure. A company that has offered none of these has skipped steps the rules require.
How to check a company yourself
Start with FMCSA's Registered Mover Database, which the agency offers free on its Protect Your Move page. Search the exact name on the estimate. Section 375.207 requires every advertisement to show the company's name as registered and its USDOT number, written as U.S. DOT No. followed by the number, so compare the number in the ad with the number in the database. The USDOT lookup guide walks through it step by step.
Then read the estimate for what it promises. A binding estimate guarantees the total for the listed goods and services, and a non-binding one cannot require you to pay more than 110 percent of the estimate at delivery. The guide to binding and non-binding estimates explains both. For a tick-off version of these checks, use the vet-a-mover checklist before you book and the moving scam red flags checklist at each stage of the move.
When you think you have been targeted
FMCSA has no authority to settle claims against movers. What its hub offers instead is the route for filing a complaint when you believe a mover or broker scammed you. If a mover will not deliver unless you pay more than it is entitled to charge, the rights booklet tells you to contact FMCSA immediately at (888) 368-7238. For a dispute over loss, damage or certain charges, the booklet says every mover must take part in an arbitration program, and you can also go to court instead. Gather your papers first: estimates, the bill of lading, the inventory, receipts and every message.
What this guide cannot tell you
It cannot tell you whether a given company is honest, because nobody can do that from a web page. It also does not cover moves inside one state. For those, your state's consumer protection office is the place to ask about rules for local movers and where to complain.