FMCSA’s Operation Protect Your Move With Monique Riddick

by | Oct 21, 2023 | Podcast

Moving Tips + Tricks For People Considering A Relocation - Monique Riddick | Protect Your Move

 

On today’s show, we’re talking to the Division Chief, Monique Riddick, for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) out of Washington, DC. The FMCSA’s regulations protect consumers moving to a different state and provide information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and the movers they hire. We go deep into what the FMCSA does to protect consumers, what to do if you feel you’ve been scammed and what resources they have for consumers at ProtectYourMove.gov such as a rights and responsibilities handbook, a moving checklist, and most importantly, the database to search for the moving company you’re considering hiring to make sure they’re in good standing with the Department of Transportation and the FMCSA. That’s also where you can find the link to file a claim if you feel you’ve been scammed.

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FMCSA’s Operation Protect Your Move With Monique Riddick

I am so excited to introduce my next guest to you. Monique Riddick is the Division Chief for the Commercial Enforcement Division. She’s with the Office of Safety within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at the US Department of Transportation. In this role, Monique is responsible for implementing the Household Goods Program and overseeing brokers, freight forwarders, automobile haulers, and leasing matters. This is incredibly important for all of you moving and all of you on the road in general with truckers out there.

Monique establishes priorities to ensure consumer protection goals are met to induce compliance by the HHG motor carriers and brokers to combat moving fraud. Monique was a critical member of the team that developed the 2022 Household Goods Rule, which provides additional protection to consumers from moving fraud, which is huge.

I know we’ve talked a lot about that on the show. We’re going to be talking about it for many years to come as these movers become more sophisticated in their scams. What I love is that before joining the FMCSA, Monique worked in the relocation and moving industry for several years. I can’t wait to hear about her experience there. Monique, thank you so much for coming on. I can’t wait to share the message that we’re going to be amplifying for you and your team.

Thank you so much, for having me. I’m so happy to be able to have this opportunity to share what FMCSA is doing.

It’s so incredible. Tell me a little bit about your time in the moving and relocation industry.

Monique’s Professional Background In The Relocation Industry

I started in the relocation industry in 1996 at Marriott International. My initial work in this industry was in corporate America. At Marriott International, we had our own relocation division, and that’s how I got started. I handled real estate for Marriott International employees, in addition to the movement of their household goods and handling everything related to their relocation. That’s where I got started. From there, I moved on to some third-party companies, and those are companies that contract the service of relocation to businesses.

Some of my clients were Dannon Yogurt, GSK, the pharmaceutical company, the Red Cross, Federal Bureau of Prisons. We had a number of clients that we provided relocation services to their employees. That’s how I got started. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to move on to the government, and FMCSA had a household goods team in the Office of Safety, which used to be called the Office of Enforcement. I got hired, and here I am. After all these years, I started with FMCSA in November of 2010. This November will make it thirteen years since I’ve been here.

That’s incredible. What do the FMCSA and Department of Transportation do for the moving industry? Let’s get that on the table for all of our consumers, because a lot of people tuning in to the show are either brand new to moving or they haven’t moved in a very long time, so they don’t even know the protections that we’re getting from you as the government.

FMCSA & The ProtectYourMove.gov Resource

FMCSA’s primary mission is to reduce crashes and fatalities from large trucks and buses. Our primary mission is safety, but we also have a secondary mission that is still a high priority for the agency, and that’s consumer protection. In that regard, one of the main things that we do to kick off the process of assisting consumers is we have a robust outreach point where we are educating consumers via our website called ProtectYourMove.gov, and there we have a wealth of information for consumers.

We have checklists. We have the ability for them to search movers so they can check to see whether they’re registered and authorized to transport or arrange transportation for household goods movement. There consumers can check the complaint history of a company that they’re researching. There’s a lot of information there.

That’s the first place I send people because that was the first place I would go. I was scammed on my very first cross-country move. I was moving to San Diego, and I found a broker in the Better Business Bureau. They looked to be new in the industry. They were hungry to get my business, and then they picked up all my stuff. A couple of weeks later, I got a call saying that they were holding my stuff hostage at a weigh station in Yuma, Arizona. I was like, “I don’t even know what to do.”

Things were happening way back then. I would love to know, especially coming from the industry that you came from and doing that, what drew you to the role. Was it more that you felt you could help make changes because of the stories that you were hearing? What made you want to work for the government and take it to the next level with this side of the business?

I was interested in working for the government at that time in my life in general, and I wanted to do something that I had already had a wealth of experience in, which was the relocation industry for me. Handling household goods, initially, on the corporate side, but I was interested in the federal side as well. It is because even though I handled corporate moves, the actual household goods carriers had to follow FMCSA guidelines in general.

They were not under consumer protection, but the guidelines for safety, those movers still had to follow. There was still a nexus between what I was doing in corporate America and bringing that knowledge base to FMCSA on the federal side where we are regulating these entities here on this side. Here, when I think of the difference and/or the nexus between the corporate moves and those that I deal with now, I’m dealing with individual shippers.

What’s being moved are people’s lives and memories—all of these things are part of the move. When you're scammed, you lose a lot. Share on X

These are people who pay for the moves themselves. There’s a lot at stake for them when you think you’re moving interstate or cross country, and the cost is significant when you think the individual has to pay for it themselves. Whereas with corporate moves, the company pays for the move. When you have individuals who are being scammed, this hits them very hard in their pocketbooks in addition to their lives because what’s being moved is their lives and memories. All of these things are part of that move. When you’re scammed, you lose a lot.

The last thing people do is find their movers. It’s not like they spend a ton of time researching. They’re like, “I found this house. I’m going to close on it. I’m going to move here with relocation from a corporate entity,” which people don’t realize how many corporations relocate people, which I think it’s a huge benefit to the employees. I have been relocated four times, and I’m so grateful to have that opportunity. They gave me the choice. Do you want to find it on their own, and then you turn in receipts, and then we reimburse you, or do you want to use our people?

I did both. I prefer to have more control, especially the more moves I had under my belt, the more I could. I knew what questions to ask. I think it’s incredible too because there are so many complicated things with a move. I feel like, correct me if I’m wrong because you know this better than anybody, but in the last probably 5 or 10 years, a lot more regulations, and a lot more things have developed to protect us as consumers. I feel like we see that now more than ever. Whereas before, I don’t ever remember hearing about things that were happening to protect. Not that they weren’t happening, they probably were, but I feel like it has been stepped up so much more in the last 5 to 10 years.

I would agree with that. We’ve had some legislation such as Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, which we call MAP 21. That provided additional consumer protection authorities for consumers. It allowed us to determine whether or not we can induce a household goods carriage to release shipments that have been held hostage. It gave additional requirements for brokers. It gave additional requirements for freight forwarders, which can be part of the relocation process as well.

Household Goods Rule & New Consumer Protections

In addition to that, what you mentioned in my bio about being a member of the team that helped to write the newest final rule, that provided additional protections to consumers, such as now, instead of using a revised estimate, if there are additional items or services that are needed, the mover now has to prepare a completely new estimate if there are additional requirements and services.

What we found in using the revised estimate was the opportunity for many road carriers to scam consumers. That was one of the things that was eliminated, the term revised estimate. If you do have additional items and services, a brand new estimate is to be prepared, and you’ll see what the new cost is prior to the shipment being loaded. That’s one of the things that we did that was a big deal to help combat moving fraud.

That’s incredible. I didn’t even know that. I’ve been in a situation, and not just the one where they held my stuff hostage, but they’ll come in, and I’m one of those people who is very meticulous about having them come and walk my halls and see what I have. I think it’s very easy for consumers because it’s the last thing they do.

They call somebody, and they’re like, “I’ve got three bedrooms, two baths, a garage.” They’re like, “Here’s an estimate.” They don’t see it. It could be three bedrooms full of books. All of a sudden, they’re coming back to you saying that this isn’t what we anticipated, and this isn’t what it’s going to cost, and now it’s going to cost you twice as much. We as consumers are like, “I don’t know. Is that right? Can we do that?”

Accurate Visual Surveys To Prevent Surprise Charges

If that’s correct. One of the other things we did is we are now allowing the term physical survey to be expanded. Physical survey previously in our legislative authority required that on-site visit or survey as we call them, for the mover to come on-site and view what you have to move to prepare their estimate. That was only if they were within 50 miles. With the new requirements from the final rule, a physical survey has expanded to a visual survey, which is our new term. It means that everyone will have a physical survey. Either it’s going to be on-site or it’s going to be based on video or what have you of the move of the consumer’s goods at their home.

It’s like a virtual walkthrough within lives.

This is to allow a better estimate to be prepared of the goods that are going to be shipped. That’s another improvement that we made with this new final rule to help consumers and to help avoid some of the pitfalls of where an estimate is prepared. Suddenly, you get to pick up and be like, “It’s doubled.” You’re wondering what has happened here?

You’re at their mercy. If they’re sitting in your driveway, waiting to put your stuff on a truck, and you’re like, “I need to be there in the next week or so,” what are you going to do? You almost feel like you’re obligated and have to pay it because they’re there.

Hopefully, we’re trying to eliminate some of those types of last-minute scams that happen to consumers. That’s one of the reasons why we have included the new estimate. If you do have additional items to be moved, or additional services you’re requiring, they’re going to prepare a new estimate. You will sign and agree to it before the shipment is loaded. “Before the shipment is loaded” is a key sentence. The price has to be agreed upon before loading.

Operation Protect Your Move And Consumer Complaint Process

That is a great segue into the scams that are happening and some of the stuff that is out there. I feel like the sophistication of the scam has gotten way out of control. I know your team has done Operation Protect Your Move. For those tuning in, if you haven’t got on the FMCSA website and read about it, it is an incredible operation that they had. Many secret shoppers, we’ll call them, go out. There were three dozen, I think, of federal employees who went out and took 60 or so brokers off the streets that were scamming people.

A hostage load is one of the most egregious scams a mover can perpetrate on a consumer. Share on X

That is such a huge number because that’s 60 less families that are going to get scammed, that are going to go through that trauma and the stress of trying to get their stuff back. Kudos to your team for doing that. What if somebody does get scammed? I always tell people because now that I’m doing this and putting it out on social, the stories I’m getting are crazy. People DM me stuff all the time. My heart breaks for them.

The first thing that I do, and I have it in my phone in notes, so all I have to do is cut and paste it, is send them the link to file a complaint with your team. That to me is the absolute first step. Tell somebody something is happening. I might put them on my naughty list of brokers or movers not to recommend. From your perspective in your team, what happens after somebody files a complaint? What can they expect to hear back? What should they do? Should they contact the police? What are you telling people?

I would say if they feel they’ve been scammed, particularly if it has happened right there in front of them on the pickup day, and then they discover, “I’ve been scammed,” one of the things they can do is contact law enforcement to file a police report. That would be one of the first things they can do. They can also file a complaint with us in our National Consumer Complaint Database.

To do that, they need to go to ProtectYourMove.gov. There’s a link there to file a complaint that will take you directly to the database. That’s one of the things that they can do also because we’d like to know what is going on. We utilize that information to help us determine whether or not we need to investigate the carrier to see if they are in compliance with our regulations and statutes.

Hostage Loads And Criminal Referral Process

That aspect is important. As far as what my staff does, we focus on hostage complaints. Those are complaints where someone is holding something hostage, like your household goods, and then they’re asking for a ransom. We’re talking about paying more than the estimate that they provided. For example, these things happen on a regular basis. You might have agreed between you and the mover to transport your shipment for $6,000 from Florida to Texas, for example. At the pickup, they tell you after the shipment is loaded, which is a no-no, they tell you, “It’s now going to be $10,000.”

You’re surprised, “What’s going on here?” They decide they’re going to hold the shipment hostage to get the ransom of the additional $4,000 from you, or they’re not going to give you your shipment back. That’s the basic scenario of a hostage load. That’s a priority. It’s the most egregious scam that movers can perpetrate on a consumer. That’s one of the reasons why it’s a priority for my staff here at headquarters to vet those complaints. We work to resolve them, but if we’re not able to resolve them, we then forward them to the field for formal investigation.

Got it. Does that go to the FBI?

It depends on if it’s crossing into a level of criminality. FMCSA is a civil agency, so we don’t have criminal authority. However, we do have the Office of Inspector General here at DOT, and they handle criminal types of issues that relate to transportation. If we have a household goods carrier or a broker that is scamming consumers, not just one, for example, meaning one consumer is scammed, but they’re in the business of scamming people, not moving them, then we can present a referral to OIG for them to investigate.

That is something that we did in 2018, where we worked with OIG, who then moved it forward to the Department of Justice. This particular carrier had reincarnated, where they created a new name for themselves eleven times. They were avoiding FMCSA penalties by reincarnating. Eventually, they had approximately 2,000 victims across the country. FMCSA had 250 of them.

What ended up happening, the Justice Department indicted them, took them to court, and some of them are now serving time because it was a criminal enterprise. Even though FMCSA does not handle criminal activity, we do have OIG, and then going forward to the Department of Justice to get some type of resolution for consumers that have been scammed.

When it happened to me, I think it was 2003 or 2004. I called the Better Business Bureau because that’s where I found them. After peeling back the onion, it turned out they had done the same thing where they had changed their name several times. Every time they got to a certain level of complaints, then they would change their name and they’d be a new shell company. The Better Business Bureau person that I talked to said, “Call the FBI.” I said, “You call the FBI. I don’t know who to call. I don’t want to call the FBI” She gave me a phone number. She said, “You’ll have an officer assigned to you.”

They called the movers for me on my behalf. He was in the local Arizona area. He met my father because my dad and I were driving across the country. Random side note, my dad and I were going to go to the Grand Canyon. He was so excited. He had tried to go there in the past and couldn’t go. This was his thing. All of a sudden, we’re rerouting to Yuma, Arizona to pull my stuff off a truck with an agent and get it reweighed. He’s like, “I can’t go to the Grand Canyon again.” He was so upset.

This officer that was assigned to me, I wish I could go back and find that person and thank them because it changed the game for me and how, as a young adult, I need to prepare myself and know what the expectation is, have that worst-case scenario guidebook with me. If this happens, then this is what you do.

If you go into these situations blind, you’re already stressed out. You’re already in that place where you freeze. It’s that fight, flight, or freeze situation. It is terrifying. I love hearing that. I wish that these scammers took what they’re doing and all the time that they’re spending making it so sophisticated and funneled that to good. Our world would be such a better place to live in.

An informed consumer is more likely to have a smooth move by taking the time to learn as much as possible before booking with a mover or broker. Share on X

That’s where we come in to try to make a difference in that process and work with our other partners, such as the FBI. We’ve worked with them and with OIG. Even the Better Business Bureau is a resource that consumers can use to find out what the rating of the Better Business Bureau has given the company. Those kinds of things can be useful.

How often do you guys update your search engine? I always tell people to triangulate, that is what I call it. Get on a bunch of different websites and see what their ratings are. Look at their website to see if they have references and testimonies. Go to your website. Make sure they’re there and have an actual Department of Transportation number assigned to them. There’s that triangulation. What rights does somebody have once they’ve given money to a scammer?

They have a right to file a complaint. They have a right to understand their estimate, particularly if there are questions about the cost. If the cost is increased, they have the right to get compensated for loss and damage based on the type of valuation they were given. They have a right to file a lawsuit if that’s needed. They have a right to arbitration to handle a dispute or certain types of disputes. They have a number of rights in general. We do have a booklet called Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.

That’s a required document for consumers to be given out by the broker and the mover if they’re working with both entities. We also have a brochure called the Ready to Move brochure. That’s given from the onset, as soon as the estimate is being given to the consumer, the broker or the mover has to give them those documents.

The Ready to Move brochure is a one-stop shop, a small type of brochure that provides all types of information about the estimate, and the valuation options. Valuation is not exactly insurance, but it’s similar to that in that regard. It has that type of information, some of the things that you should be looking for in this condensed brochure. That’s a must-read, and so is your rights and responsibilities.

Eliminating Rogue Movers And Creating Safer Relocations

I know that’s right on the front and center page of your website. I have pulled that out myself and looked at a lot of different things because I do get questions a lot. Being able to work with you and your team and ask questions has been incredible because what you’re doing is so incredibly necessary. Most consumers won’t even know it’s happening unless they listen to the podcast, or go to the website.

That’s the thing. If we can be smarter consumers, we can demand that the bad guys get off the street just through their safety in numbers. If we’re all coming after them and saying like, “You need to stop. We’re educated now, and we’re not going to fall for this anymore.” We can all make this a better place to move.

The United States is an amazing place to live. I want people to live all over. I’ve moved eighteen times in the last 23 years, five times across the country. I want to move again. I want to explore another area, and I want to see what the world has to offer. How can we as a consumer help you as a government entity and the people that are protecting us? How can we be a better consumer and help eliminate the bad guys?

One of those main things is to read Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move and the Ready to Move brochure. That’s the start. In addition, we have our own website. That’s where you can get those booklets from. You go to the landing page, and you’ll see them there. Reading through our website. One of the things that we work hard to do with our outreach and education office, we are working hard to use social media and other forms of media to get our message out.

One of our messages is to draw people to ProtectYourMove.gov because of the wealth of information that we have there. An educated consumer related to household goods movement is going to have a smooth move when they make the effort to become educated and learn as much as they can prior to booking with an actual mover or broker.

I will give a call to action to our audience. Please share this with anybody you know who’s moving. I think there is safety in numbers. I think the more that we can get the word out and we can get the brochure to read, it’s going to bring a lot more awareness to what’s happening. I truly believe that between your team, what I’m trying to do, and all of the realtors out there who are good, ethical people and want good for the world, we can get the message out and eliminate as much bad as we can.

I know it’s never going to always go away. Otherwise, we’d probably all be out of business. As a smarter consumer, you’re going to have that peace of mind that when you get to the place that you’re going to get to and it’s going to be an amazing experience, your stuff is going to get there as well, and you can make your home and your life there in that new city in the United States.

Monique, thank you so much for coming on the show. It’s been incredibly quick, I think we’ve been talking for half an hour already, and it went by like that. Hopefully, I can have you on the show again. We can talk about your operation that’s going to be happening in the fall, which we can’t disclose, but it’ll be a super secret great way to protect us as consumers again. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Thank you so much for having me.

 

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