Major Van Lines Are Working as Brokers
- American National Movers
- 2 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Atlas, Colonial, National Van Lines, United, North American, American Van Lines, and other major brands have carrier status, but still broker out almost all of their long distance moves. Major Van Lines uses the same model; they hire “agents,” which is a fancy way of saying we are brokering out this load to a local carrier near you.
If you want a single point of contact and don’t want to pay extra for a moving company to pick a mover for you—often called 'partners' or 'agents'—then a major van line probably isn’t the right choice.
How Can A Van Line Be A Broker, If They Are A Carrier?
Imagine this: You hire a Van Line and pay extra because of their reputation, but on moving day, a different company, called Adam Movers and Storage, shows up. Maybe you were told about this during your first sales call, maybe not, but you thought you were working with the van line you hired, not Adam Movers and Storage. When you complain to both the van line and the movers, they just ignore your concerns and keep working.
Why Does This Happen, and Is It Legal?
Even though this can feel misleading, a van line or any moving company is legally allowed to subcontract your move, even if their FMCSA registration says they are a 'carrier.' In reality, the van line has brokered your long-distance move to a local mover near you. Legally, this is allowed as long as the local company works under the van line’s DOT authority.
🏛️ What Legal Recourse Do You Have?
If this wasn’t explained to you before you booked your move, your options are limited. Most people moving to another state do not have the luxury of canceling their move at the last minute, even if another company shows up at their front door.
⚖️ Review Your Contract For Civil Legal Action
Aside from taking general civil legal action for property damage, your ability to sue for the actual "bait-and-switch" depends entirely on the fine print of the paperwork you signed. You need to carefully review your official moving estimate and the Bill of Lading.
If the van line's contract explicitly sold you a direct carrier service and completely omitted any language regarding "agents," "partners," "operators," or "subcontracting," you may have legal grounds to sue for breach of contract or deceptive business practices. However, you must look closely; major van lines almost always bury this exact terminology in their terms and conditions to legally protect themselves from this exact scenario.
File an FMCSA Complaint
You can and should file a formal complaint with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) through their National Consumer Complaint Database. Still, you need to keep your expectations realistic. The FMCSA usually sees brokering or subcontracting as a minor issue, not a serious violation. They rarely fine the van line for this, and they won’t force the van line to refund your money.
The FMCSA will add your complaint to the van line’s official DOT safety profile, making it public record. This can hurt the company’s federal reputation and warn future customers, but it won’t fix your immediate problem with the brokered move.
Why A Van Line Brokering Your Move Hurts You
People hire brands like Allied, Mayflower, and Adam Van Lines for their reputations and pay over $10,000, thinking they’ll work directly with the brand, not a broker. But in reality, these consumers are paying a premium for their job to be passed off to a mediocre, smaller moving company.
In the end, this business model means you pay a high corporate markup just for the van line to act as a middleman, even though you could have hired a local company yourself. This hurts you because the van line keeps most of your payment and gives less to the agent, which often leads to reliability problems and complaints.
⚠️ Fact Check Our Claims Here
Look at recent reviews from popular van lines such as Atlas, United, Colonial, and North American. Their reviews are trending negative due to this business model:
Atlas Van Lines Reviews: Consumer Affairs users claim scams due to price doubling and frequent billing disputes.
Allied Van Lines Reviews: This reviewer states, “They lied to me about who was delivering.”
Colonial Van Lines Reviews: This reviewer stated, “They farm out your move to other moving companies and don’t tell you, and my price is constantly changing.”
United Van Lines Reviews: Reviewers frequently claim unaccountability and damage to their household goods.
American Van Lines Reviews: Reddit users cite communication issues, hostage moving scams, 50% deposit claims, and delivery delays.
National Van Lines Reviews: TrustPilot users cite terrible moving experiences due to poor communication after booking the move, damages, and unprofessional movers.
North American Van Lines Reviews: Yelp reviewers are reporting frequent pickup and delivery delays, and the company is blaming them on its “operators.”
Why Are Moving Van Lines Getting So Many Complaints?
These brands may have good intentions, but their focus is on high sales volume, and they seem to prioritize this over consumer satisfaction. Their business model of working with independent movers, labeled as “agents” and “operators,” leads to many complaints because it is not the van line completing the move.
How To Make Sure Your Movers Don’t Broker Your Move
When getting a quote from a local carrier or a large van line, set strict boundaries right away. Tell the sales rep: 'I do not want my move subcontracted, brokered, or handed off to a sister company, agent, or partner. I want your exact company to handle my load from start to finish.' If the estimator hesitates or tries to explain the benefits of their 'trusted operator network,' do not hire them. That is corporate code for farming your move out.
Review The Language On Your Contract
Because a licensed carrier can legally have another company move your things, you need to make sure your contract says more than just 'carrier.' Your contract should clearly state that your movers will handle your move from start to finish and won’t hand off your load to another company for pickup or delivery.
Make sure your contract does not mention subcontracting or having an agent or operator do your move. As mentioned earlier, this is another way of saying your move will be brokered out to another company.
Let's Look At The Brands: Are These Major Van Lines Brokers?
In 2026, Van Lines has both a carrier and broker status. If you book a move with them, you must clearly state you want your move to be handled by them directly, not by a partner or agent.
⚠️ Critical Tip:
Use your judgment when choosing a carrier, as some brands, like Colonial, have been accused of brokering the move even though the client specifically asked them not to.
Is Atlas Van Lines a broker or carrier?
Atlas Van Lines is officially registered as a motor carrier, but they rely heavily on a massive network of over 400 independent local "agents." When you book a long-distance move with Atlas, they are highly likely to subcontract your load to a local moving company operating under their DOT authority. To the consumer, they function exactly like a broker.
Is American Van Lines A Broker Or Carrier
The FMCSA lists American Van Lines as a carrier, but they are known to subcontract your load at pickup or delivery. Many carriers do this to avoid doing a direct drive. To avoid this, ask America Van Lines not to broker your move to another carrier and get it in writing.
Is Adam Van Lines a broker?
Yes. Adam Van Lines (also known as Adams Van Lines) operates strictly as a moving broker. Despite using the "Van Lines" name to sound like a massive carrier, their business model involves acting as a corporate middleman to secure your deposit, and then subcontracting your actual long-distance move to a completely separate, third-party local company.
Is IVL A Broker?
International Van Lines operates as a carrier and a broker. In select areas, they may broker your move to a local long-distance mover near you. IVL's Yelp rating is poor, and reviewers mention that International Van Lines operates as a broker.
Is Colonial Van Lines a broker?
Yes. If you check the federal FMCSA database, Colonial Van Lines is officially registered with active broker authority, along with their carrier status. They are widely known in the moving industry for operating a massive brokerage division. If you hire Colonial, there is a very high probability that your out-of-state move will be farmed out to a third-party mover.
Is National Van Lines a broker?
National Van Lines holds active carrier authority but operates using the exact same agency business model as the other major corporate brands. They act as the central booking hub, frequently farming out long-distance moves to regional partners. This means the crew loading your household goods is almost always an independent local company, not actual National Van Lines employees.
Is United Van Lines a broker or carrier?
United Van Lines holds legal carrier authority, but their business model relies entirely on a sprawling agency network. They act as a massive corporate dispatcher. You pay the United Van Lines premium price, but the actual heavy lifting is routinely handed off to a local, independent subcontractor in your hometown, operating under its own DOT number.
Is Esea Van Lines a broker?
ESEA Van Lines holds FMCSA carrier status, but consumer reviews and complaints frequently point to broker-like practices and communication issues. Like many modern moving companies, you must carefully review your contract with them to ensure your move is handled directly by a carrier and not secretly subcontracted to a third-party operator on moving day.
American National Movers is Not A Broker: Get A Quote
While moving van line companies have greater brand awareness, their recent brokerage practices are ruining their reputations. These brands have grown so large that the complaints don’t hurt them as much as consumers might think.
As a solution, work with brands like American National Movers or a local moving company near you. We don’t subcontract or broker moves; we provide direct pickup and delivery services. This results in a faster delivery, direct accountability, and a higher satisfaction rating.
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