Automobile Shipping and the Better Business Bureau BBB

The BBB or Better Business Bureau is a group of private organizations that have banded together to fight scams and frauds. It regularly publishes a list of the most reliable car shipping companies.

Founded in 1912, the main objective of BBB is to “foster a fair and effective marketplace.” The idea is to catch a fraudster in order to protect both the customers and the legitimate business entities. You can be sure that you are in safe hands once you hire an automobile shipping company that is included in the BBB list.

According to BBB, most of the cases of fraud they have encountered are automobile shipping deals that were negotiated and agreed upon in the Internet. Usually, customers do not bother to check whether a car shipping firm is legitimate or not. This is a common mistake. The Internet has made business transactions very convenient these days, but this also makes it convenient and easy for fraudsters. Customers should make good use of the Internet but never close a deal or make payments unless completely sure that everything is safe and legitimate.

Car owners should also check with appropriate government agencies, such as the Federal Department of Transportation or DOT, whether a certain car shipping firm is authorized or not.

Quite frankly, it is not difficult to spot a fraud. One, they could ask you to pay 100% down payment. That right there should raise a red flag. This is very unlikely in any forms of transaction. Down payments can range from 30% to 50%. Typically, car shipping companies will ask you a 50% down payment before the pickup of your car, and the other 50% after the drop off.

Two, fraudsters insist to closing the deal and making the payments on-line. They will try to avoid any physical or personal contacts with you. If you do get to visit a fake car shipping office, you will notice that the bogus company does not have any permanent fixtures. The logos and company names are obviously retractable, because they don’t intend to stay there for a long time.

Typically, an authentic automobile shipping firm will not hesitate to show you proofs of their legitimacy. They will readily show you documents and identification papers. They will also brag about their past transactions and good track record. Their identification number, telephone and logo are almost always written somewhere on their car carrier truck.

You can get a list of reliable and authorized car shipping company from BBB’s website. Simply look at the state and appropriate category.

BBB is all about trust. It challenges companies and business organizations to always be transparent, truthful and responsive. Activities of the Bureau involve the gathering and reporting of information on business reliability, alerting the public of possible frauds and scams, providing information on how to conduct businesses while following proper ethics, and acting as a mediator between consumers and businesses in resolving disputes. The BBB is now well known and accepted as an expert organization against scams and consumer issues. The idea is to help sellers and buyers trust each other.