Moving scam red flags: what federal investigators tell you to watch for
The warning signs FMCSA and the DOT Inspector General list for rogue movers and brokers — and what to do if your goods are held hostage.
Most movers are honest, but moving fraud is common enough that FMCSA runs a dedicated consumer program, Protect Your Move, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General investigates household-goods fraud as a criminal matter. The typical scam is simple: a low quote online or by phone, a deposit, then a much higher bill once your belongings are on the truck — with delivery withheld until you pay. Here are the warning signs those agencies publish, and how to protect yourself.
Red flags before you book
- No on-site or video survey. The estimate is given over the phone or online, sight unseen. Federal rules require a physical survey — in person or by live or recorded video — unless you waive it in writing (49 CFR 375.401).
- No written estimate, or the company says it will work out the price after loading.
- A large deposit before the move, or a demand for cash, money orders or wire transfers instead of a credit card.
- High-pressure sales — a “price that expires today” and pressure to pay a deposit on the same call.
- No physical address, no USDOT number and no insurance information on the website.
- The phone is answered “Movers” or with a generic greeting rather than a company name, or emails come from a free webmail address.
- Claims of decades in business with almost no track record online, or a wall of glowing reviews that all appeared at once.
- You are not given the “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move” booklet (or a link to it). Interstate movers must provide it, along with the “Ready to Move?” brochure, when they give you an estimate (49 CFR 375.213).
These signs come from the DOT Office of Inspector General's household goods moving fraud page and FMCSA's Protect Your Move materials.
Red flags on moving day
- A rental truck arrives instead of a company-marked truck.
- You are asked to sign blank or incomplete documents. Never sign a bill of lading or inventory that isn't filled in.
- The storage location is vague — the company won't give an exact address for where your goods will be kept.
- The price changes after loading. A mover may not amend an estimate after the shipment is loaded (49 CFR 375.407).
Brokers versus movers
Many websites that look like moving companies are household-goods brokers: they take your booking and sell it to a carrier. Brokering is legal, but a broker must be registered with FMCSA and may only give you an estimate if it has a written agreement with the carrier that adopts the estimate as the carrier's own (49 CFR 375.409). Ask directly: “Will your company's own trucks and employees move my goods? What USDOT number will be on the bill of lading?” Then check that number on SAFER.
If your goods are held hostage
Federal rules cap what a mover can demand at delivery. On a binding estimate it is the estimate amount; on a non-binding estimate it is 110% of the estimate. In both cases the mover can add charges for extra services you requested after the bill of lading was issued, and up to 15% for “impracticable operations” defined in its tariff (49 CFR 375.703). FMCSA's rights booklet says that if you pay those amounts and the mover still refuses to deliver, it is holding your shipment hostage in violation of federal law. Any remaining charges are billed to you after delivery — the rights booklet says the mover bills them after 30 days from delivery.
If this happens, file a complaint with FMCSA's National Consumer Complaint Database or call 1-888-368-7238, contact your state attorney general, and call local police if goods are being withheld. Fraud can also be reported to the DOT Inspector General hotline at 1-800-424-9071.
A short checklist
- Get three written estimates, each after a survey of your home.
- Check every company's USDOT and MC numbers on SAFER — every listing here links to its record.
- Pay deposits by credit card, and keep them small.
- Read the estimate, order for service and bill of lading before signing.
- Keep your copy of the inventory and note any damage at delivery before signing.