Move field notes · SAFETY 03
Mover, broker, or lead site? A red-flag field test
The company that answers the phone may not be the company that arrives with the truck. Name every role before money or household goods change hands.
Filed by
Moving Zoo field desk
Updated
Name the role of every company
A motor carrier hauls the shipment. A broker arranges a carrier. A lead site introduces people to providers and does not haul or arrange the move. Each role can be legitimate. The role has to be said out loud before you sign.
Ask for the legal business name, a physical address, the U.S. DOT number, and the company expected to perform the move. If the seller cannot say who will hold the household goods, pause.
Run the independent record check
Use FMCSA's Protect Your Move page to compare the name, the number, the authority, and the contact line. Look for a mismatch between the brand in the advertisement and the entity in the record. 49 CFR 375.207 requires the legal or trade name and the U.S. DOT number, written as U.S. DOT No. plus the digits, in household-goods ads.
A number alone is not proof the salesperson may use it.
- Read whether the record says carrier or broker.
- Compare addresses and phone numbers, not only the brand.
- Save your own copy of the record beside the written estimate.
Compare the range before the sales calls
A modeled route range is a reference. Contact information stays optional until you ask for quotes.
- No email required to see your route's cost range
- Verify every provider's USDOT number before hiring
- Your estimate is yours to keep either way
Prefer to talk it through? Call (561) 220-0117, free, no obligation.
Read the estimate for change points
Lowball trouble often starts with an inventory taken only by phone. A video or in-home survey gives the estimator fewer excuses to discover the shipment on load morning.
The written estimate should show the method, the inventory, the services, the pickup window, the delivery expectation, the payment form, and the valuation choice. Ask which facts can change the price and how a change has to be written down.
Know when walking away is still possible
Pressure for an unusually large prepayment, a hard-to-reverse payment method, blank paperwork, a different company name, or a much higher price at pickup all deserve a stop. Part 375 does not publish a universal deposit percent, so do not wait for a statute to name one.
Once the shipment is loaded, leverage moves. Identity, scope, payment, and paperwork are easier to settle before the first item crosses the truck door.
Sources checked
Last reviewed October 13, 2026. Planning field notes, not legal advice.
Questions from the route
Frequently asked questions
No. Brokers can arrange interstate transportation when they are registered and plain about the role. The risk is a hidden identity or a payment to a company that will not sign the bill of lading.
Compare the range before the sales calls
A modeled route range is a reference. Contact information stays optional until you ask for quotes.
Or call Call (561) 220-0117, no email required to see your number.