Buyer Beware: Heavy Equipment Shipping Scams

Scams and fraudulent behavior are an unfortunate part of any industry, especially those with a high point of sale like auto transport services. If you take into account that shipping heavy equipment can be much more costly than standard vehicles, the potential for scam artists and bad actors can be even higher since the payment is higher. Luckily, there are some very easy ways to separate the wheat from the chaff and make sure you’re dealing with a legitimate heavy equipment shipper. In this post, we’ll go over some of the common auto transport scams that apply to heavy equipment shipping and how to avoid them.

The Name Game

The internet has made it very easy for some companies to pose as another, more established company in the industry—a trend you might find if you search around enough for shipping companies. These are fraudulent companies that usually take on a name and web address that’s very similar to a different company, maybe even go so far as to basically replicate their website. To avoid this, be sure to verify who you’re speaking with, along with some other aspects of the company. For more information on how to avoid being duped by this scam, read the tips in the last paragraph.

The Price Hike

Also known as the “bait and switch,” this scam is designed to entice the customer into making a payment to a company by offering an unrealistically low price. Once an initial payment is received, the company then requests additional payment, citing some made up reason for them to hike the price at the last minute, often after your vehicle is already in their possession. One way to avoid this scam is to talk to a few different shipping companies to get an estimate so that you have a general idea of what the price range should be. If you find one that is substantially lower than all the others, that’s usually a red flag that it’s a company you should avoid.

Tips To Avoid Being Scammed

Now that we’ve covered the most common scams, let’s get into how you can avoid them. While there are other similar types of fraud in the car shipping history, the tips mentioned below should help you easily weed out the ones that are suspect.

• Verify the Physical Address – Part of the “name game” scam mentioned above involves crafting a nice website that doesn’t include a physical address for the company. That’s usually because they don’t have a physical address, just a site mimicking another one to siphon off some of their business, or worse, scam potential customers out of money. Verify the physical address of any company you’re considering for heavy equipment shipping to make sure they are who they claim to be.
• Look Up Companies on FMCSA – The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has a website that allows you to look up official information about companies, including any other names they go by, their operating authority, safety history, and more.
• Ask Questions When You Call – Before you agree to anything with a heavy equipment shipper, call them with a few prepared questions. This way, you’ll be able to gauge their customer service and verify the information you find online. It’s also helpful to get names of who you speak to for future reference.
• Call Again Later With Follow Up Questions – After a few days have passed, call up companies again and ask to speak to the person you spoke to previous and have some follow up questions. This is really just a feeling out process, but a reputable company will have the same staff available to you and they should be able to competently answer any of your questions.
• Only Use A Traceable Payment Method – Any payment request should be able to be process through a credit or debit card. If a company requests an untraceable method of payment like a money order or wire transfer, that’s a huge red flag and you likely won’t be able to recoup any of the payment. If you use a credit or debit card, there are customer protections in place that will help if you fall victim to any vehicle shipping shenanigans.