Should I call the police?

Ontario’s page names police as one follow-up if goods are held. In the US, FMCSA plus local police if you are blocked from your own property. We are not a dispatch centre.

Is a cheap interstate ad always a scam?

No. A cheap ad with no survey and a cash demand is the pattern. Compare written line items.

Do you publish named raid pages?

No mugshot blog. Official licence status belongs on a profile when reviews exist. This page is the consumer pattern.

No. We do not operate trucks. A quote call is not a booking.

Show a plain white moving truck obliquely from its side and rear.

Trust

Moving scams and hostage loads

As of September 2026, the hostage pattern is still a nameless truck, a large cash deposit, no survey, then a new price when your sofa is already on the van. US interstate: 49 CFR 375.407 and Appendix A. Ontario: 10 percent cap and a ban on holding goods (page updated 19 June 2026). UK: there is no national licence to flash.

Haulest data team · Desk opened official pages 17 September 2026. Editorial.

Tells that still work. September 2026.

Tell	What to do
Huge cash deposit, no written estimate	Walk. Photograph nothing they can claim you approved
No survey, bedroom count only	Stop. Video or visit first
Different name on the truck	Do not load. Call the number on the estimate
New price after the sofa is on	US: 110% rule. Ontario: no-hold. UK: consumer desk
Blank add-on sheet on the driveway	Do not sign. Photograph the inventory

US interstate

Appendix A says a mover who will not relinquish after you pay 100 percent of a binding estimate or 110 percent of a non-binding estimate (plus the allowed extras) is holding the shipment hostage in violation of federal law. Read Protect Your Move. Check the USDOT on SAFER. Ask broker vs carrier before a deposit.

Canada

Ontario’s hiring page, updated 19 June 2026, calls holding goods for extra payment an unfair practice. Write “paid under protest” if you pay to get the furniture back, then use the ministry path on that page. There is no federal mover licence to revoke.

United Kingdom

There is no national remover licence. A laminated card that says licensed is a prop until Companies House and the quote match. Citizens Advice / Advice Direct Scotland / Consumerline are the desks on GOV.UK. Humor: none on this page.

Before you hire

Four checks before a deposit

Written estimate after a look
Interstate movers must give the booklet and a written estimate after a survey or a full description. A $499 ad is not an estimate.
FMCSA Protect Your Move
Legal name matches SAFER
USDOT on the paper, the truck doors, and the census. A different name is the walk.
USDOT / Companies House lookup
Walk from cash and blank paper
FTC: unregistered interstate, huge deposit, cash only, or a blank contract. Photograph and leave.
FTC: hiring a mover
110% on a COD non-binding job
Pay up to 110% plus agreed extras and they must hand over the load. Not a cap on extras you signed.
US interstate rules

Official doors

Where to take a complaint

Booklet
Interstate movers must give Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move. We link it. We do not rehost it as ours.
Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move (PDF)
Lookup
SAFER company snapshot. Registered is not the same as authorized to haul household goods.
FMCSA SAFER company snapshot
Complain
Protect Your Move. Photograph the inventory first. Then the phone.
FMCSA Protect Your Move

Reviewed September 2026 by the Haulest desk. Numbers on this page carry their own dates; the official pages below are the sources.

Sources

Links go to the publisher. Haulest does not add findings. Checked September 2026; if the live page moved, believe the agency.

Ask out loud

Questions people ask

Should I call the police?: Ontario’s page names police as one follow-up if goods are held. In the US, FMCSA plus local police if you are blocked from your own property. We are not a dispatch centre.
Is a cheap interstate ad always a scam?: No. A cheap ad with no survey and a cash demand is the pattern. Compare written line items.
Do you publish named raid pages?: No mugshot blog. Official licence status belongs on a profile when reviews exist. This page is the consumer pattern.
Is Haulest a mover?: No. We do not operate trucks. A quote call is not a booking.

Next steps

Call for a free quote

From, then To. Date and home size after that. A person on the phone is faster if you already know the dates.

+1 (866) 961-9682Free moving quote

Haulest is not a carrier. We connect you to movers.

Haulest is a research desk and quote line. We are not a carrier.

+1 (866) 961-9682Free quote