Q: We recently sold our home. Our new house is about 1,200 miles away, so now we are looking for a moving company to transport all of our belongings. We recently received an e-mail from a “moving broker” that does business over the Internet, stating that he works with more than two dozen moving companies and could help us find the company that would do the job for the best price possible. How do these brokers work? Are they legitimate?

A: Moving brokers work much like mortgage brokers, promising to find the best money-saving deals available. Some charge consumers upfront for their services; others are paid referral fees by the companies they recommend; still others use a combination of both compensation methods.

While some moving brokers are indeed legitimate, many others are not. A research project conducted a few years ago by the American Moving and Storage Association, a trade group that represents about 3,000 certified moving companies across the U.S., involved a Web search for a hypothetical move from Florida to Washington, D.C.: The eight Internet brokers that the group checked recommended a total of 51 movers, but further investigation by AMSA found that a staggering 37 of them were unlicensed.

Again, some brokers are indeed legit and can save you money by shopping around for the best deal on your behalf. But a sloppy broker might hook you up with an incompetent mover that has a long history of complaints or, even worse, be in cahoots with a company that promises a bargain-basement rate but then holds your possessions hostage when it arrives at your new place until you pay more money.

To protect yourself from unscrupulous movers, ask for referrals from friends, neighbors and a local real estate agent whom you trust. Ask at least three of those movers to submit bids after visiting your current home to review all your possessions: An in-house visit is the only way that a legitimate mover can give you an accurate price quote.

An in-house visit also will help you assess how professional and reliable the company seems. Call the local Better Business Bureau to find out whether the mover has been the target of complaints in the past and, if so, whether the gripes were resolved to the customers’ satisfaction.

The American Moving and Storage Association operates a good Web site (moving.org) that provides more tips to help select a mover.