WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are taking steps to improve response times to complaints filed by truckers, carriers, and brokers with particular attention paid to addressing broker fraud.
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“This overdue tech upgrade is a win for drivers, carriers, and the driving public,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in a Wednesday news release announcing the changes.
“The modernized database will make it easier to file complaints, access digital tools, and empower individuals to speak up about unsafe practices. With your support, we will continue to take bad actors off the roads to keep the American people safe.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s National Consumer Complaint Database (NCCDB) is considered by DOT to be the primary online portal for drivers as well as consumers to report violations related to safety, fraud, and household goods moves. The NCCDB receives 25,000 to 30,000 complaints annually, according to DOT.
In addition to streamlining FMCSA’s complaint filing and response process, the upgrade “will expand reporting categories to include, for the first time, complaints against property brokers,” the administration stated.
Examples provided in the database of complaints against property brokers include:
- Broker misrepresented their operations to you as a carrier or conducted improper rebating or compensation practices.
- Broker performed, or offered to perform, brokerage services (including advertising) in a name other than a name to which its registration is issued.
- Broker is operating without required interstate operating authority, insurance, or registration.
- Broker did not maintain transaction records or financial accounts with the required information.
Drivers, brokers welcome change
The initial changes are part of “phase one” of the database overhaul that truckers – as well as brokers – have been seeking for years.
“[FMCSA’s database] wasn’t protecting drivers. It failed to address coercion, freight fraud, and broker abuse,” said OOIDA President Todd Spencer in a statement.
“The updated system will be easier to use on the road, faster to process complaints, and expanded to cover brokers – while also ensuring enforcement when bad actors break the law. These improvements are long overdue, but they represent an important step toward giving truckers a tool that truly works for them.”
Chris Burroughs, president of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, which lobbies on behalf of freight brokers, underscored the “tens of thousands” of complaints logged into the system alleging freight fraud and unlawful brokerage activities.
“While this modernization is necessary to relieve industry concerns of motor carriers and brokers, enforcement of the violations will be key,” Burroughs told FreightWaves.
DOT said the next phase of the NCCDB upgrade will include giving it a new name, which is expected to be more trucking-centric – something OOIDA has pushed for.
“Renaming the database to better reflect its purpose will further strengthen communication between FMCSA and the drivers it regulates,” Spencer said.
