Online, a moving company and a moving broker can look the same: a website, a quote form, a friendly phone voice. The difference shows up on moving day, when a truck arrives from a company whose name you have never seen and you are not sure who is responsible if something breaks.
What federal rules say a broker is
Federal regulations define a broker as a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. A motor carrier, or an employee or bona fide agent of one, is not a broker when it arranges moves it is authorized to transport and has legally bound itself to carry. A broker may give estimates for household goods only if a written agreement with the carrier adopts the broker's estimate as the carrier's own.
What a carrier does
A household goods carrier holds its own authority, issues the bill of lading, takes liability for the goods under the valuation level you choose, runs an arbitration program and answers complaints by telephone. When you hire a carrier, the name on your estimate is the name on the truck and in the federal record.
Where an agent fits
A third arrangement is common in the industry. A van line is a carrier with a network of local agents, and each agent serves customers on the van line's behalf under an agreement. O'Brien's has been a Bekins Van Lines agent since 1955. On a long-distance move, the Bekins network carries the shipment and O'Brien's handles the Reno end. An agent of a van line is part of the carrier's organization, which is different from a broker that sells your move to whichever carrier will take it. Read more in Bekins agent since 1955 and the glossary entries on van line and moving broker.
Questions that tell you which one you have
- What is the legal name and U.S. DOT number of the company that will carry my shipment?
- Will your own crew load my goods, and whose truck will arrive?
- Who issues the bill of lading and who handles a claim?
- Who is the person I call on moving day?
- Does the estimate I received come from the carrier?
Run the numbers you are given through the lookup described in how to check a mover's USDOT number.
Why it matters
The booklet that FMCSA requires movers to provide says the primary responsibility for protecting your move lies with you in choosing a reputable mover or broker, and it advises avoiding brokers and movers that are not registered with FMCSA or that refuse a physical survey. If you use a broker, ask for the carrier's name in writing before you pay a deposit. If you hire a carrier directly, you deal with one organization from the survey through delivery, and an in-home estimate makes that easy to verify.