Draft:U.S. Moving Protection Organization

The United States Moving Protection Organization (USMPO) is a non-profit, independent trade organization, created in response to the FMCSA’s request in improving cmv safety, identifying fraudulent moving companies and improving record keeping. Its purpose is to serve, protect, and educate consumers in the moving industry. The USMPO is a sovereign entity, separate from the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and U.S. government. The primary mission of the USMPO is to protect shippers from deceptive or unfair business practices and optimize the overall customer experience in the household goods (HHG) moving industry.

Main functions

The U.S. Moving Protection Organization works to promote a fair market for carriers and protect shippers from unfair or deceptive business practices. The USMPO uses a variety of tools to fulfill its mission, including audits, investigations, enforcing a code of ethics, research, studies on marketplace trends, public outreach, and consumer education. In carrying out its overall mission to protect shippers and optimizing the overall customer experience in the moving industry, the organization's main functions include:

• Provide information on consumer complaints, authority status, and carrier insurance;
• Collect and document consumer testimonials on high risk carriers;
• Publicize data driven content to create awareness and mitigate the risks associated with the moving industry;
• Target educational messages to carriers, commercial drivers, and the public;
• Investigate the operations of movers and deceptive marketing tactics within the industry;
• Auditing and verifying its database of verified moving companies;
• Building consumer complaint cases for state-attorney generals and the FMCSA

Creation

As a former moving broker, the USMPO's founder, Segah Yildirim, recognized the need for regulations to protect consumers and promote fair competition within the interstate moving industry. In a response to widespread consumer exploitation and the FMCSA's request in collecting data on fraudulent carriers, the USMPO was established in 2019.

Mission & Vision

The primary vision of the USMPO is to protect shippers from deceptive or unfair business practices, and optimize the overall customer experience in the HHG moving industry. The secondary mission of the USMPO is to improve commercial motor vehicle safety through data analytics.  Through these combined efforts, the USMPO strives to reform a technologically antiquated, under-regulated, moving industry.

The vision of the USMPO is a resilient and sustainable household goods (HHG) transportation ecosystem that contributes positively to the well-being of individuals and communities it touches.

Current Methods of Enforcement

The USMPO uses an interdisciplinary approach to protect the public from unfair and deceptive practices in the marketplace. They conducts investigations, build cases, aid consumers in filing claims and complaints, develop guidelines to protect the public, and educates consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities. The organization also collects reports about a host of consumer issues, including fraud, identity theft, and financial matters.

• Accountability Audits: The USMPO holds its member carriers accountable to a strict code of ethics, ensuring fair pricing, transparent contracts, and honest communication with customers.
• Company Profiles: All verified carriers are thoroughly background checked and reviewed through third-party sources which are used to create a carrier profile. FMCSA safety records are also verified; including licensing, insurance, and complaint history. Carrier profiles are utilized as an official data-source and consumer research resource, displaying detailed company information, photos, reviews, and complaints.
• Direct Communication: A direct line of communication is established between company executives and the USMPO. During the member application process, company owners are interviewed and an integrity assessment is conducted. The USMPO conducts in-depth integrity assessment with company owners to understand their operating procedures, work ethic, and commitment to ethical business practices.
• Investigative Reporting: The USMPO's website also serves as an industry news source and outlet for consumer complaints. The USMPO writes investigate articles and publishes multi-media content to create awareness around high-risk carriers and customers who have been victim to a fraudulent mover. The USMPO is an outlet for customers to publish their experience and document their cases around their incident.

Verified Mover Network

Implemented in 2019, the verified mover database requires all registered moving carriers who conduct the interstate transportation of household goods to complete a certification on USMPO's qualification standards, maintain guidelines of a code of ethics, and demonstrate pricing integrity through periodic audits. The network is composed of HHG motor carrier members and is governed by the organization's board of executive directors.

Strategy

The USMPO's strategy revolve around three core areas: Verify, Standardize, and Enforce. Users can read more about the USMPO's strategy here.

Verify: Verifying and regularly auditing carriers to ensure the accordance of best practices and ethical customer service procedures. The FMCSA and DOT licenses hundreds of carriers each year. The USMPO condenses this database by eliminating bad performers and verifying top service providers into their network.

Standardize: The USMPO makes efforts to develop a set of tools and protocols optimizing the efficiency of HHG transportation. The organization works to develop a pricing system to minimize bait & switch pricing, as well as technologies centralizing the industry's tracking system to locate lost and delayed shipments.

Enforce: Verification alone is not enough without continued enforcement. With over 7,000 licensed movers in the FMCSA database, the industry faces challenges to regulate and enforce each company for compliance and ethics. The USMPO has had a troubled start due to a lack of funding and federal law fails to give it adequate enforcement powers.

References

https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/32374