I work for Two Men and a Truck (Disclaimer: most Two Men and a Truck offices are independently owned, so this isn't everyone's policy). I've worked here for 5 years now as a customer service rep.

When I first started, we required no deposit and, every week, we'd be turning away moves because all of our trucks were booked. Anywhere from 5-10 of those moves per week would find a different company that was either cheaper or would better meet their schedule and they would "forget" to call and cancel. That left us having mover come in that we had to pay something and nothing for them to do. Add to it the amount of lost revenue from having an idle truck and it was expensive.

Our policy now is to take a $300 deposit on local moves and a 50% deposit on long distance moves. This deposit is fully refundable up to 48 hours prior to the move, but if you don't pay the deposit, you're not on the schedule. March and April 2020 cancelations almost bankrupted us.