FMCSA Needs You!

The FMCSA has recently asked for feedback on its consumer database, and we urge you to respond as we use this database all the time in identifying reputable and fraudulent moving companies. The FMCSA is asking for ways to improve this database and its functionality and types of record keeping.
Personally, I’d like to see them combine the information on their safety page, complaints page, insurance page, ownership page and authority page all into one, so it makes it easier to identify the characteristics of a company, and who owns it. It might make for a longer page, but at least you would have all the information at your fingertips. The biggest difficulty that I find in trying to track down is going everywhere you need to go to find all the information you need to verify that a mover is reputable or fraudulent. It’s almost as if the system were designed to wear the consumer out in researching their mover.
If you think about it, you really need to visit a minimum of 3 different pages (Complaints, Insurance and Safety), and two different web sites (Authority and Ownership), passing captcha “bot” protection just to find the minimal amount of data that you need to make a good determination, as to whether your mover is legitimate, or not.
Even the BBB has consolidated information on company pages, so that it’s now possible not only to see complaints, but reviews as well as details about the complaints received. Knowing what a complaint was about, and how it was handled by the company speaks volumes about how a moving company is going to treat you. The BBB will even tell you the age of the business, something the FMCSA won’t do, unless you dig really deep and find out when the original authority was granted, and even that is hit or miss because many companies have had their authority revoked or reinstated several times.
Having access to a “company snapshot” should include all the data necessary to make a determination, and I think it’s important for us to let the FMCSA know what we would like to see from them. As noted in the above referenced article:
All comments should be received by Mar. 2. They are to reference federal docket number FMCSA-2016-0407 and be submitted in writing via email to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov.
That doesn’t give us a lot of time to tell them what we would like to see. If you, the consumer, could take the time, just copy and paste the brief paragraph below, into and email and send to the above address, we might be able to help them move one step closer to protecting consumers from fraud.
To whom it may concern,
While recently on MovingScam.com, I became aware that you were asking for feedback on a new design for the Consumer Complaint Database. I would like to offer my input by requesting that you consolidate information from your Complaints, Insurance, Safety, Authority and Ownership pages into one, simple report, per company. I feel this will make it easier to research my movers and make me feel more confident that, by having all this information in one, simple location, I am choosing the right mover for my move.
Thank you for your time in consideration.
And thanks to you, for making MovingScam.com such a success over the years. We look forward to continuing to serve you in your future moves.

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