Originally Posted by Split Filler Ok, I have read and researched CR England for about 2 months. I made the decision to leave a cushy job driving a flatbed to go to work for England. Man, was that the mother of all mess ups. I done the math, talked to any England driver that I could in the truck stops and figured that based on the numbers that I had seen and what I was told. That I could bring home around $750 per week on 3000 miles in the Lease program. Wait for it......It's coming........SMACK right in the face. Was I sssssoooooooo wrong. Heres the story from day one.
Applied online, spoke to a recruiter that was based in Indiana, spoke to him for all of 15 minutes and never heard from him again. Rest of the time I talked to his assistant who processed my paperwork. Got my questions answered and after a week of waiting, I finally got the call. They gave me my bus info. which was a 40 hour ride to Salt Lake. Got there after an entire weekend on a bus. Hopped on the shuttle to the terminal. At first I was amazed at how nice the office and facilities were. Had a full blown restaurant, a fully stocked c-store, pool room and other ammenities. Then, on to the front desk to find out that the rooms were 2 or 4 or 8 to a room. Luckily they were booked up and I got a few nights in an actual hotel before having to stay in the hole of a hotel at the yard. Monday was ok, got to the yard, sat in the theater (all morning) got through all the paperwork...yada yada yada. Then went to the restaurant for my $9 burger. After lunch, I pretty much done nothing but try to get my foot in the door at the lease office to pick out my truck. Well low and behold, there were people there from up to 3 weeks prior still waiting on a truck. I was originally promised by my recruiter a Brand New Truck. Well, when i talked to horizon leasing about it. I found out that there was a waiting list for new trucks that could have me waiting on a truck for up to 4 weeks. So I decided that I would try to find a nearly new one or the best one that I could. Tuesday: sat through the same ole' class of safety and what to expect from the company (which was ALL lies). Wednesday: pretty much the same as tuesday......MORE LIES. Thursday: MORE LIES and oh I picked out a truck on this day. Friday: MAJOR HUGE LIES ON THIS DAY.....Lease signing day. So I signed my life away (literally) as well as the lives of my wife and children. (Oh I left out one key fact about their orientation.......YOU ARE NOT PAID ONE RED CENT FOR ANY OF IT!) Now keep this in mind: They will not tell or show you how they want "their" logs done....Until it is too late! SO after the life signing away process, I went out to my truck, pulled it out of the fence, parked and went to check out of their lil piece of hell on earth and stayed in my truck until late sunday evening. When I finally got a load, headed back towards home on the east coast total of over 2400 miles. Got the load p/u and headed east, got to WY and 80 east was closed, stopped for 24 hrs til the road opened and I was off again. Got my load deleivered on time, but I received 2 CR England major log violations in the process for speeding. Next load was a short hop drop/hook/drop at yard then off to get my third load and head to the house in the process. Total miles for my 1st week in the truck was over 3400 miles SOLO driving. My net pay for that check was $160.00 after fixed and varible expenses. I was pissed, but I endured and kept moving, next week was 3200 miles and net was $700. I was getting better and starting to get a good feeling about it. Third week: Screwed again.......2400 miles and net $340. My fourth and final week: Managed to get 1600 miles in, recevied a load assignment that would have put me at 3000 miles for the week. P/U the load and shortly thereafter received a message asking if I would pick up another driver at one of Englands yards and team drive with him on that load and they would pay me an extra $50. Now, I told England several times that I would NOT TEAM drive PERIOD! Not in a truck that I was paying for. So I sent them a message nicely saying that I preferred not to do it. Shortly after that I was pulled off the load and ordered to drop it in an England yard so they could repower the load with a driver that would accomadate them and the other driver. SO I did, waited for a while for another load assignment and nothing. I was close to the house and so I came home and here I have sit for a week and a half. So my net pay for week 4 was -$121.00 (that is NEGATIVE $121) Not once have they called or sent a qualcom asking about anything and they sure as hell havent sent me a load assignment.
Now, if your thinking about going with CR England? Think long and hard about and go somewhere else. Their lease program is designed to make them money, not you. You can make a little money at it if you are willing to drive constantly and never get home. Heres the break down Truck payment: $459 per week, Insurance $189 per week, Fuel Tax: .07 cents per mile per week, Variable Mileage Payment: .14 cents per mile per week (just consider this another truck payment every week) then theres your general reserve fund and everything else they nickle and dime you for. OH and dont forget they preach the Fuel CAP program. Well as long as your running on flat ground you can stay on the fuel cap. Get a couple of loads over the mountains east or west coast and kiss it goodbye, you WILL be paying FULL price for your fuel.
During orientation, they tell you NOTHING about there logs and how THEY want them filled out. I went through a level 1 DOT inspection of my paperwork and passed with flying colors. When those logs got to the office. They slapped with an 11 hour violation and 14 hour violation "ON THE SAME DAY." Now those logs were checked by the DOT and passed! Go figure? As of my last trip pak going in I have a total of 12 violations according to their policies that were never told to anyone. They preach about their loads being on time and if your late. Once: U get a warning Twice: off dispatch for 3 days Three and your FIRED! Same thing for log violations.
CR England PUSHES the lease program and they shove TEAMS down your throat from day one. There is even a pre-formed macro on the qualcom for "willing to drive as a team!"
In closing, STAY AWAY from CR England and any trucking company they are connected too. They will rob you blind and put you into bankruptcy! As well as screw you over if you stand up to them and what you want to do. |