Looking to crack down on scammers, the state of Maryland will require moving companies to register on a new online database or face a fine.
In December, the Maryland Department of Labor plans to launch the Household Goods Movers Registration, an online database that allows consumers to verify the licenses and information of companies providing intrastate moves. Movers will have until March to register or face a civil penalty of up to $5,000.
“This registry will make it possible for Maryland consumers to verify that moving companies carry insurance and are in compliance with Maryland law,” Portia Wu, Maryland's labor secretary, said in a press release. “The insurance requirements mean it will also help protect movers in the event they are injured on the job or expensive items are damaged during a move.”
The move comes after years of complaints about scammers who picked up belongings and threatened to withhold them until the owners paid double or triple the price they were quoted, Louis Campion, president and CEO of the Maryland Motor Truck Association, told Homes.com.
“We are the rare industry that wanted regulation, because what we call scam or rogue movers essentially give the entire moving industry a black eye,” Campion said. “They essentially use things like those false promises, misleading advertisements, and then jack up the cost of a move when they get a consumer's goods. Your entire life is on that truck.”
Nearby states — North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania — have similar protections already in place. Campion said scammers in these states and in Maryland may still try to deceive consumers, but the new program will certainly make it harder to do so.
“Does regulation mean all scams will end? No, it doesn’t,” Campion said. “At least we want to try to make the bar of entry a little higher and give consumers a resource so they can make a better decision on the front end.”