There has been an increase of complaints recently about bad experiences with transport brokers. Brokers work on commission and so when contacting one to get a bid on shipment, you should understand that they can sometimes add their commission fees on top of the transporter’s quoted price. Not all transport brokers do this and many run good, clean and honest businesses.
Some questions you should consider when dealing with a transport broker include: will the broker hire a “legal vehicle transporter” for you? What happens if your load receives damage? Who is liable? Whose insurance will pay for the damages? You pay the broker for the service and yet the transporter is the one who is actually doing the work. If your load is damaged, you may feel that you have recourse with the transporter.
In a case like this, if you never paid the transporter for the load, you technically paid the broker who paid the transporter. If something goes wrong, like the transporter not delivering in the agreed time frame, the shipment has become damaged in transport or the transporter will not release the vehicle until their share of the payment is due, what can you do? It is important for consumers to research their transporter and/or broker to find not just the “cheapest,” but also the “safest” relocation services to make sure that they do not make a several thousand dollar mistake in the long-run.
