BBB Warns of Fraudulent Auto Transport Company
The Better Business Bureau has recently warned of a fraudulent auto transport company that’s trying to steal people’s money. They’ve been operating as Elk Horn Express Transport, out of Idaho, and apparently they’ve been scamming people that primarily buy classic cars on the internet.
The BBB has given the company an “F” rating and has more information on Elk Horn Express’ BBB business page.
As you can read in the first link above, the U.S. Department of Transportation requires each licensed vehicle transporter to have a Motor Carrier Number, or MC#.
This includes brokers and carriers. Apparently, the fraudulent Elk Horn Express has used the MC# for a company that is no longer in business.
Article Overview
How this fraudulent auto transport company was caught
The BBB tracks reviews and complaints of thousands of different companies in all different industries. Most of the time their review process is fairly straightforward, and companies can be accredited businesses by joining with the BBB. Joining, however, is not required.
After multiple reviews left from real customers, the BBB began to investigate, and this is what they found. This writer’s own impromptu investigation noticed that while Elk Horn has a website, they are not listed on Transport Reviews. This is not an indictment, but it definitely makes it harder to say they are a legitimate business.
Regardless, as of now, do not do business with Elk Horn Express Transport. They require customers to wire money, which is a big red flag that we’ve talked about before. Legitimate shippers will take credit or debit cards or even checks by phone, but rarely ever wire transfers, and they would never have a wire transfer be a preferred method of payment. If any company has to take a wire transfer it will only be as a last resort, and even then many still will not accept a wire transfer as a form of payment.
Tips for spotting a fraudulent auto transport company
Fake auto shippers can be hard to spot because the industry doesn’t have a lot of regulations. But this is a great article to start with. There are a few things that we didn’t mention, such as how asking you to wire money is a major red flag. But we covered that above, so you should be golden.
You can also look up a carrier’s authority through a website called MCProCheck.com. This website allows you to search any company by DOT or MC number and will show you if the company is active and allowed to transport vehicles.
Also, only work with companies that have some longevity. You can look at how long a company has been operating on the BBB website and also Transport Reviews, both of which were already linked here. Auto shipping has gotten a lot safer in recent decades, but scam artists are like viruses – they keep mutating, trying to find news ways to get the drop on unsuspecting victims. Be prepared, be vigilant, and only work with companies that are trustworthy and that have proven it.
How we work to spot and prevent fraudulent auto transporters
As a broker, we don’t work with other brokerages, so we don’t have much control over potential fraud there. We do, however, work with thousands of different auto shipping carriers across the nation. In that regard, we do a lot to ensure that each carrier we work with is a legitimate carrier with a good reputation.
The onus of protecting our customers from fraudulent carriers falls on our dispatch department. We use McProCheck.com as well as the FMCSA website to ensure all carriers are active and licensed to ship automobiles, be it intrastate or interstate. We also require carriers to be highly rated among our peers. We do not work with any carriers that have a history of damaging vehicles or other unsavory acts during transit as well.
Not all brokers do this! Many will just give cars to the first carriers that ask for them without even bothering to do a background check! We hold our carriers to higher standards in the interest of our customers.
Problem carriers cause problems, even if they are legitimate. So not only do we work to stop fraudulent auto transporters, we go above and beyond to limit as many problems as we possibly can before we assign your vehicle to a carrier.
Stay safe from fraudulent auto transport with American Auto Shipping
We understand the importance of taking care of our customers. We take a hard stance against fraud and malicious business practices, even from legitimate companies. Most of that work goes on behind the scenes, so you don’t have to worry about it. You can always ask us for more information about these practices, however.
It’s important to understand who and what you’re dealing with. With American Auto Shipping, you can speak to an agent at any time. You can get all the information you need about us and what we do right here on our website, and can speak to someone immediately if you are unsure.
Transparency is important. More important than that, though, is that we do our homework. Any company that we contract to help ship your vehicle is vetted by us beforehand. This means we make sure they are legitimate, that they have all their paperwork filed and that everything is on the up-and-up. So don’t go with just anyone – trust the trustworthy with American Auto Shipping.
If you’re ready to ship your vehicle, feel free to fill out our free online auto transport quote request form, or give us a call at 800-930-7417 to speak to a representative. They can answer your questions, give you a quote to ship your vehicle, book your shipment if you’re ready to move forward, and more.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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