Red flags on a car shipping offer

Use this list while the caller is still talking. You do not need to accuse anyone. You need to hear whether the offer survives six checks. RideShipper will not call you to demand a deposit. A caller who says otherwise is not this service.

The list to keep by the phone#

Stop the call if you hear any of these.

• [ ] They will not give a legal name, a USDOT number, or an MC number.
• [ ] You search the number and the legal name is a different company.
• [ ] They will not say whether they are the broker or the carrier.
• [ ] The price is far under the range for your route, and they need a deposit today to hold it.
• [ ] No carrier is named, and the money is due anyway.
• [ ] They want Zelle, a wire, a gift card, a prepaid card, or only a payment app.
• [ ] The price can change after you pay, and the deposit is kept if you refuse the new price.
• [ ] They tell you not to check reviews, FMCSA, or the contract.

Write the caller's name, the company, the callback number, and the price on the back of the page before you hang up. You may need it if a charge appears later.

What each box means#

No number, or the wrong name. FMCSA's advisory, updated February 10, 2015, says interstate transporters and brokers must be registered and should show an MC docket number. Search it on the Company Snapshot. Digits that belong to a different legal name are not a license for this caller. That mismatch is the whole check. The click path is how to check FMCSA authority.

They will not say broker or carrier. A broker has to show broker status in its advertising and may not present itself as the carrier (49 CFR 371.7). "We handle everything" is not an answer. Ask again. The difference is broker versus carrier.

A price that only works if you pay now. The BBB alert of July 21, 2023 says a price significantly under the going rate is how the deposit gets collected. There is no official price list for every lane. Compare the number with a dated range. A deposit of a few hundred dollars through a digital wallet, before anyone arrives, is the pattern the alert describes. One published example was 50 dollars through PayPal to a company the consumer could not find on the USDOT site.

The payment method. The alert says wallet payments are essentially cash, tells you to use a credit card, and says not to wire money or use a prepaid debit card. A Zelle or gift-card demand is a stop, not a negotiation. Details are on Zelle, wire, and gift-card requests.

A price that is allowed to move, with your deposit stuck. That is the bait. The first number wins the fee. The second number arrives when a carrier is found. If you cannot cancel and get the card credited, you are paying for the right to be repriced. Read bait-and-switch quotes before you say yes.

After the call, put the price, the route, and the deposit terms into the quote checker. It compares the number with the range and flags warning signs in the offer. It does not clear the company. The scam warning-sign checker asks a short set of questions about the offer and returns the signs that match. Use it without reading your phone number to another form.

What is not a red flag by itself#

A company that asks for a credit-card deposit after a carrier is named, with a written refund rule, is using a common contract term. A price inside the range that still feels high may be an enclosed trailer, a car that does not run, or a tight date. Ask them to name the reason. A broker who says "I am the broker" is doing what the regulation requires. None of those is the list above.

If several boxes are checked, do not send a "small" fee to keep them talking. Small was enough in the BBB example. The longer pattern page is common car shipping scams. The questions to ask instead, if the offer is still alive, are questions to ask before you pay.