FMCSA Investigated 167 Moving Companies and Found 1,057 Violations. Only 2 Were for Hostage Loads.

In 2025, FMCSA conducted 7,020 carrier investigations. Only 167 involved household goods carriers. Those 167 investigations found 1,057 violations, an average of 6.3 per carrier investigated.

When FMCSA does investigate an HHG carrier, it finds violations. The question is whether it finds the violations consumers are actually complaining about.

The three most common violations in 2025 HHG investigations:

1. Failing to prepare a Bill of Lading in proper form (86 violations, 8.1%) 2. Bill of Lading deficiencies (83 violations, 7.9%) 3. Charging or receiving a different rate than in the tariff (61 violations, 5.8%)

The pattern continues: failing to prepare written inventory (37), giving the shipper a copy of inventory (26), failing to retain inventories (23), failing to include required information in advertisements (20), failing to display required documents on websites (20).

These are paperwork violations. The carrier didn't fill out a form correctly, didn't give the consumer a copy, didn't post a document on a website. They are real violations. They are not what consumers call FMCSA to complain about.

FMCSA received 4,481 consumer complaints in 2025. The top complaint categories: Pickup and Delivery, Estimates/Final Charges, Hostage Goods, Loss and Damage, and Deceptive Business Practices.

Consumers call to say: my belongings are being held hostage, the price doubled on moving day, the company I hired doesn't exist, my furniture was destroyed, the mover demanded cash and won't give a receipt.

The enforcement system responds by checking whether the Bill of Lading was filled out correctly.

From the 2025 violation data:

Hostage load violations (49 USC 14915, 'failing to give up possession of household goods for which payment was made'): 2 violations. Two. Out of 1,057. Despite thousands of hostage load complaints every year.

Broker misrepresentation violations (49 CFR 371.7B, 'failing to represent operations properly'): 4 violations. Four. Despite the ATA-MSC confirming to FMCSA that broker misrepresentation is an industry-wide practice.

Charging a rate not contained in a tariff (49 USC 137.02): 1 violation. One. Despite 61 violations for charging a 'different rate than in tariff' under a related but narrower provision.

Binding estimate overcharges (49 CFR 375.403A6-A7, 'collecting more than the original amount of the binding estimate'): 50 violations combined. This is the closest the violation data comes to what consumers actually experience, and it represents less than 5% of total violations found.

FMCSA's investigation apparatus was designed for highway safety: checking logbooks, inspecting vehicles, reviewing driver qualifications. When this apparatus is applied to household goods carriers, it finds what it was designed to find: documentation deficiencies.

Hostage loads are hard to document in a standard investigation. The goods have already been released (or auctioned) by the time an investigator arrives. The consumer has moved on or given up. The evidence is in emails and phone calls, not in filing cabinets.

Broker misrepresentation requires reviewing the broker's website, calling the sales number, and comparing verbal representations to FMCSA registration status. This is not a standard carrier investigation procedure.

The system finds the violations it is designed to detect. It is not designed to detect the violations consumers are reporting.

FMCSA can point to 1,057 violations found in 2025 as evidence of an active enforcement program. The agency is conducting investigations and documenting findings.

But when 86 of those violations are about Bill of Lading formatting and 2 are about hostage loads, the enforcement program is measuring the wrong things. A carrier that fills out every form perfectly but holds belongings hostage and doubles the price on moving day would pass an FMCSA investigation with flying colors.

The 2025 violation data does not show an agency fighting moving fraud. It shows an agency counting paperwork errors while consumers' belongings are held for ransom.