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How we vet a hauler — the six-point check that gets a card on this site

We promise verified haulers only. Here's what that actually means — every license number we look up, every insurance certificate we receive, and the customer reference we always call.

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Maya Ellsworth
Editorial researcher · Vetting desk

The transparency page says “verified haulers only” and lists a six-point check. This guide is what that check actually looks like from the inside — the documents we ask for, the public sources we cross-check, and the one phone call that decides everything.

If you’re a homeowner, this is the standard the hauler whose card you see has cleared. If you’re a hauler reading this to figure out whether to apply, this is the bar.

The six-point check

For every hauler card on this site, before status: active flips on:

  1. Business license — current and valid in the city or county they’re claiming service to. Most US states have a free public lookup; we use it for every applicant. A revoked or expired filing is an automatic stop.
  2. Insurance certificate — current general liability ($1M+ standard) and auto liability. We don’t post on the card; we keep a copy on file with the expiration date. We ask for a refresh 30 days before expiration.
  3. BBB or Google Business rating — at least 4.0 stars with 25+ reviews on one of the two. We screenshot the count + average on the day we vet, so we can detect review tampering at the quarterly recheck.
  4. Working phone — we call the listed number during business hours. If it rings to a generic call center or an “all our agents are busy” lead-gen routing service, the application stops. We expect a human at a desk.
  5. Working email — we send a short note, wait 24 business hours, and rate the response. Speed matters. Three follow-ups without a reply ends the application.
  6. Recent customer reference — the applicant gives us one customer name + phone from the last 60 days. We call. If the customer says “yes, I’d hire them again, here’s what I rented” — that’s enough. If they hedge, we ask for a second reference.

“Five of the six are documents. The sixth is a phone call. The sixth is the one that tells us whether to trust the first five.”

What disqualifies a hauler

  • No physical address. A PO box plus a 800-number plus a Google Business listing with no street view is the lead-aggregator pattern. We don’t list aggregators.
  • More than 30 cities claimed. A genuinely local hauler covers 1–5 metros. A “national network” claiming 200 cities is almost always a routing service reselling leads.
  • Reviews look engineered. 50 five-star reviews all posted in a 3-week window, all generic (“great service!”), all from accounts with one review total — that’s a tell. We pass.
  • The website is a single landing page with no business name in the footer. Real haulers have About / Services / Contact pages with the business name and license number visible.
  • They refuse to share the insurance certificate. Insurance is a baseline cost of doing business; legitimate haulers don’t push back on showing the cert.

What does NOT disqualify

  • Small operation. One truck and an owner-operator is fine if the six points clear.
  • No fancy website. A clean WordPress site with a real phone is plenty. We don’t grade on web design.
  • Newer business. We don’t require 5+ years. We’ve vetted haulers in their second year with strong references.
  • Not on BBB. BBB accreditation costs money; some good operators skip it. A 4.5+ Google rating with 100+ reviews is equivalent.

The recheck cadence

Vetting isn’t a one-time event. We re-pull every listing’s six points on a 90-day schedule:

  • License lookup — automated; flags expirations
  • Insurance — we email the request 30 days before expiry
  • Rating — re-screenshot Google + BBB
  • Phone + email + reference — once a year; or sooner if a complaint comes in via corrections@dumpstersondemand.com

A hauler that fails the recheck moves to status: paused immediately and disappears from city pages until it clears.

How to apply if you’re a hauler

The partner application form is the front door. We respond within 2 business days. The fastest path through the six-point check: have your license number, insurance certificate, BBB or Google profile URL, and one customer reference name + number ready when you submit. Three-quarters of applicants get listed within 7 business days when those are in the initial submission.

The outreach playbook details what we offer in return — flat-rate founding partner subscription, lead routing, never reselling consumer contacts.

— Maya, Editorial · Vetting desk