A broker sells the move and a carrier performs it. Many customers deal with both without realizing they are two companies. The difference affects who gives the estimate, who loads the truck and who answers for a damaged item.
The legal definition
Part 371 says a broker arranges the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier. Motor carriers, their employees and their bona fide agents are not brokers when they arrange shipments they are authorized to transport and have legally bound themselves to carry. The federal transportation statute uses the same idea: a broker is a person, other than a motor carrier or an employee or agent of one, who sells or arranges transportation for compensation.
Rules for broker estimates
Section 375.409 allows a household goods broker to provide estimates only under a written agreement with the carrier that adopts the broker's estimate as the carrier's own. The carrier must then meet every Part 375 estimate requirement, including the cap of 110 percent of a non-binding estimate at delivery. Under 371.111, a broker must also give shippers the two FMCSA consumer booklets or link to them on its website.
How to tell which you are talking to
Ask who will load the truck and whose U.S. DOT number is on the estimate. A carrier answers with its own crew, its own number and an in-home or video survey. A broker will name another company for the work. O'Brien's is a household goods carrier: its own estimator surveys the home, its crews pack and load, and its credentials are U.S. DOT No. 30611, MC-109375 and Nevada CPCN 1070.
The full comparison is in mover vs moving broker.
Questions to ask any company
- Whose crew will come to my home?
- Whose U.S. DOT and MC number are on the estimate?
- Is the estimate written and based on a survey?
- Who handles a claim?
Answers you can verify on the FMCSA record are better than answers you only hear on the phone.
A note on reading estimates
Whichever company writes the estimate, the document should name the carrier that will perform the move. If the carrier named is a different business from the one you spoke with, ask for the carrier's U.S. DOT number and look it up before you sign. The answer is public.