With the advent of auto transport services, no one likes to bother themselves with hours of traveling and the fatigue that comes with it. Traveling long distances not only causes you fatigue but also takes up your time and this is why people opt for auto transport services.
But choosing the auto transport services does not guarantee your car will be safe. With the rise in people booking auto transport services, there has also been a rise in online transport scams.
Consequently, people relocating or booking auto transport services are the easy target of these scammers. But there are some ways using which, you can easily avoid being the victim of auto transport scams.
Let’s have a sneak peek into how you can avoid auto transport scams.
Before going into the ways to save yourself from auto transport scams, you should be knowing- How to identify an auto transport scam. Here are some of the red flags of an auto transport scam:
The prominent red flag is when a company refuses to share its office address with you. If the company is genuine and has no bad intentions, it should not have any problem sharing with you the address, suite number, and city. But if they resist or make any excuses, it is a clear indication of an auto transport scam.
The next red flag is the company asking you to make a large deposit before they even ship and deliver your car. It means that the company is merely interested in your money and not in shipping your car. Because if a company is legitimate, it’ll never ask you to make an upfront deposit and takes its payment upon delivery of your vehicle.
Another significant warning sign of an auto transport scam is when the company asks you to sign a contract without letting you read it. There are chances that the contract must be having some false clause to serve its purpose. A genuine company will never ask you to sign a contract without reading it thoroughly.
An auto transport company has nothing to do with your credit card number and social security number but if it asks you to share this, then it is for sure a scam. If a company is genuine, it will never ask you to share this information with you.
Every day, we get to hear countless instances of people being the victims of auto transport scams. The most common type of online scam is scammers asking very low prices to ship your car. But when they come to pick up your vehicle, they raise their prices and get succeeded in duping people.
But not anymore now. Here are some of the ways to prevent you from auto transport scams and figure out if the company is genuine or not.
The best way to save yourself from these auto transport scams is to do your research. Merely trusting the company based on the price or a great-looking website can land you in trouble in later stages.
Consequently, it’s much better to do your thorough research about the best auto transport company. Once you have found out some, go through their reviews and know what their customers are saying about them.
Once you are done with your research and shortlisted some of the companies you would like to consider for shipping your car, the next thing you are supposed to do is gather crucial information about the company.
For instance, try to get information about their carriers, transport methods, driver’s details, contact numbers, and finally reviews.
Checking the company’s license is also a great way to figure out if the company is genuine or not. If the auto transport company is registered with FMCSA and has a motor carrier number, it means that the company is genuine.
But if the company does not has its motor carrier number, it means that it is not authorized to provide car shipping services. Browse the company’s website for checking their license and proceed accordingly.
No doubt that most companies take security measures and protect your car from accidental damages or outside elements, still, it’s best to inspect your vehicle closely before handing it over to the driver.
Take pictures of your vehicle so that you can make out if the vehicle is in the same condition upon delivery or not.
Another significant way to protect yourself from being scammed is to read the transport contract carefully. No matter how occupied you are, always read the terms and conditions and contract carefully.
Understand the terms mentioned in the contract and do not hesitate to ask questions to the shipping advisors in case you do not understand something. Consequently, reading the contract is a must.
The biggest blunder committed by people is paying upfront payments to the company while booking auto transport services. This is where online scammers succeed in making you fool and taking your money.
The best auto transport companies like Transport Masters USA never ask for any upfront payments and get full payment upon the safe delivery of your car. Consequently, avoid making any advance payments.
Post-verifying everything about the company, speak to the driver. The auto transport companies do share the details of their drivers along with the contact information if they are genuine.
Having the driver’s information, you can easily contact the driver and notify him about the pick-up and delivery of your vehicle. Besides this, you can also reach out if there’s a delay in the delivery of your vehicle.
Using the above-stated ways, you can easily save yourself from getting scammed by online auto transport scams. Besides this, one should also opt for the best auto transport company with years of experience. Transport Masters USA offers the best auto transport services and enables its customers to track their vehicles live and be at peace. Use our online shipping cost calculator to get your personalized quote.
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