Deposit
A deposit is money a company collects before a carrier is assigned. Customers often describe it as small and hard to get back. It is not proof of a truck. Read whether your contract refunds it, and to which card.
A deposit is an advance payment, taken while the broker is still looking for a truck or at the moment you book. In complaint stories it is often a modest figure, and the fight is about getting it back after the price changes or the pickup never happens. A deposit is not dispatch. No carrier has the car just because you paid.
What to read
Find the cancellation clause. Does the fee return to the same card before a carrier is assigned? Is it kept after dispatch? If the contract is silent, do not send the money until it is not silent. A cashier's check or an app payment to a person's name is a different and worse arrangement than a card charge to the company on the contract.
How the ads differ from the contract
Some companies advertise that they do not take a deposit. On 10 November 2026, RoadRunner and AmeriFreight published different versions of that line. What each one actually said is on the no upfront payment page. Either sentence can change. The contract you sign is the one that applies. RideShipper does not take a deposit and does not hold freight charges.