Should I pay a dispatcher upfront?

No. A legitimate dispatcher who works on a percentage is paid from loads you have hauled, invoiced afterward. Paying before any freight moves puts all the risk on you: if the loads never come, or the company disappears, the money is gone. If a dispatcher insists on payment first, keep looking.

Are dispatch setup fees normal?

Some dispatchers charge them, but they aren't necessary. Setting up carrier packets with brokers is part of the dispatch job. A setup fee is worth asking about in writing: what it covers, whether it is refundable, and why the percentage doesn't cover it. Many dispatchers, including us, charge none.

How do I know if a dispatcher is legit?

Check that the business is registered in its state, that you can reach a person at a real phone number, that it gives you a written agreement before you pay anything, and that it invoices only after loads move. Ask who pays them besides you, and ask for a sample weekly report. Search the company name with the word complaint.

Where do I report a dispatch scam?

Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, file a complaint with FMCSA's National Consumer Complaint Database if a broker or carrier is involved, report online fraud to the FBI's IC3, and contact your state attorney general. Keep invoices, messages and payment records.

Upfront Dispatch Fee? Why Not to Pay, and How to Check

Quick answer

An upfront dispatch fee (a setup fee, a deposit, a "guaranteed load package" or prepaid weeks) is money paid before any freight moves. Don't pay it. A legitimate dispatcher is paid after loads are hauled, from a fee you can check against each rate confirmation. Money first is the most common pattern in dispatch scams.

A red-flag invoice, line by line

The invoice below is made up and marked EXAMPLE. Every line on it is something carriers have been asked to pay before their first load. Tap a line to see why it's a red flag and what to ask instead.

INVOICE · SAMPLE DISPATCH CO.

EXAMPLE, NOT A REAL INVOICE

Due before first load$2,449

RED FLAG

Money before any load moves.

Ask: what does this pay for that the percentage doesn't? A dispatcher paid on loads hauled has no reason to charge it.

A fair dispatch invoice lists loads you already hauled, each with its gross and the fee, and nothing else.

None of these lines is illegal on its own. Together they shift all the risk to you: you pay, and then you hope. The structure that protects you is the reverse. You haul, the broker pays you or your factor, and the dispatcher invoices you for a share of loads that already happened.

Why money first is the problem

A percentage fee paid after loads move means the dispatcher earns only when you do, and you can check every dollar against a rate confirmation. Money first breaks both. The dispatcher is paid whether or not loads come, and the invoice lists promises instead of loads. Even an honest dispatcher with a setup fee has less reason to work hard in week one than one who has earned nothing yet.

Common dispatch scam patterns

Guaranteed weekly gross. Nobody controls rates or freight volume. A promise of a fixed weekly income is a sales line, not a contract you can enforce.
Pay to see loads. A fee to open up a "private" load list or a premium broker network. Load boards sell subscriptions openly; a dispatcher reselling access is a warning sign.
Prepaid weeks. Paying for two or four weeks of dispatch before the first load. If the loads don't come, you are asking for a refund from someone who already has your money.
Untraceable payment. Gift cards, crypto, wire transfers to personal accounts. Legitimate businesses invoice and take traceable payment.
Your freight money through them. A dispatcher who wants brokers to pay them and then pays you "your share". You lose sight of what each load paid.
No written agreement. If the terms only exist in text messages, they can change whenever it suits the other side.

Scams also run the other way: fake brokers and double brokers who use a real company's name to get carriers to haul loads that will never be paid. Checking a broker before a load protects you from those; see the freight broker credit check.

How to verify a dispatcher before you sign

Find the business. Look the company up in its state's business registry. A dispatcher that won't give you a legal company name is a stop sign.
Talk to a person. Call the number on the website at an odd hour. A dispatch desk that runs nights and weekends should answer.
Get the agreement in writing, before money. It should state the fee, what it is charged on, when it is invoiced, how either side cancels, and that you approve every load.
Ask who pays them. In writing: does anyone besides you pay them on your loads? How dispatchers are normally paid is covered in how dispatchers get paid.
Ask for a sample weekly report. It shows how they intend to prove their fee.
Search for complaints. The company name plus "complaint" or "scam", and check the business's reviews across more than one site.
Start small. A month-to-month agreement with no setup fee costs you nothing to test.

What a fair dispatch agreement includes

A short written agreement protects both sides. Before you sign, check that it says, in plain words:

The fee, as a percentage or amount, and exactly what it is charged on.
When and how you are invoiced, and that only hauled loads are billed.
That you approve every load before it is booked, and that the rate confirmation comes to you.
Who the broker pays: you or your factor.
How either side ends it, with the notice period and no exit fee.
What happens to your documents and broker setups when you leave: they stay yours.

If an agreement leaves any of these out, ask for it in writing. A dispatcher who won't write it down won't stand behind it either.

Where to report fraud

If you have been asked for money under false pretenses, or paid and got nothing, report it. Keep invoices, texts, emails and payment receipts.

Federal Trade Commission: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database, for complaints involving brokers, carriers or household goods movers: nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, for fraud that happened online: ic3.gov
Your state attorney general's consumer protection office.

Our terms

We charge nothing before your first load: no setup fee, no deposit, no prepaid weeks, no minimum. The fee is 5% of gross for one truck with authority older than six months, 7% for a new MC, a 26 ft box truck or a hotshot, and 4% per truck for two or more, invoiced weekly, for loads delivered that week. It is month-to-month with 30 days notice to cancel. Brokers pay you or your factor, never us, and every load is offered to you first; you can decline any of them at no cost. All of it is on our dispatch fees page.

Upfront dispatch fee: why you shouldn't pay one, and how to check a dispatcher