Scam guide · Bait-and-switch
The most common auto transport scam. Here is exactly how it works, how to catch it before you pay, and what to do if it already happened to you.
One scam, in full. Drawn from verified complaints, cross-referenced with FMCSA records.
They quoted me $600. The car was already on the truck when they called and said it was $1,100 now. I paid. What else could I do?
Verified complaint · Texas to Florida · deposit already sent
A bait-and-switch does not look like fraud while it is happening. It looks like the best quote you were given, then a phone call a few days later with a reason the price has to move.
By the time that call comes, the deposit is spent and the pickup date is here. The broker is not breaking the law in a way you can point at, and that is the whole design of it.
Before you pay a deposit. Run the company through the Red Flag Checker below — live FMCSA status and complaint history, about ninety seconds.
It is the same five moves every time, and each one narrows what you can still do about it.
In one line. The low number was never a price. It was the cost of getting your deposit.
$280/avg
From 1,240 verified complaints
What customers overpay when the price moves after booking — not what they lose to a disappearing broker, which is rarer. A written price lock removes it entirely.
Any one of these on its own is worth a question. Two together, walk away.
How much you can recover depends mostly on where the car is and how you paid.
Once it is on the truck your leverage is gone. If the car is still with you, stop and work the steps below first.
If the deposit went on a card, ask about a chargeback for non-performance. This is why the payment method matters.
Save the original quote, the texts and the contract. The gap between the quote and the demand is your evidence.
The FMCSA, the FTC, the BBB and your state attorney general. It builds the record that stops the next person.
A verified report flags that broker for every future customer who searches them.
Do it the same day. Card disputes have deadlines, and the paperwork is easiest to gather while it is still in front of you.
Five checks, about ten minutes in total, before any money moves.
Not through their link. Type the address. Name, address and active status must match exactly.
Not "approximate." Not "subject to carrier rates." The document must say the price will not change without your written approval.
A Caution or Avoid rating is something you want to know before your money leaves your account.
Legitimate brokers take a deposit at booking and the balance at delivery. Full payment before the car moves is a red flag on its own.
The best quote is the one with the best TrustScore and a written price lock, not the smallest number on the page.
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