truck driving for prime

My experiences with Prime Inc.

Before I start I will say I am not upset about people making money (i.e. Rob L.), and no, no one put a gun to my head and made me sign the dotted line. I did so on my own free will so yes I do hold myself accountable for at least some of the blame. But, before you start congradulating me (this goes out to all the Prime Inc. "cheerleaders"), you must stop and take a look at the bigger picture of the information and of what I am about to say. Before I start I will put out this disclaimer that I have solid, non-deniable proof that can not be disputed in a court of law. if there was one thing I learned from Uncle Sam, it was C.Y.A.!!!!!
I will give this to Prime, it is a good place to get your start if you do not have a CDL, but even then do your home work! There are other programs out there that are better. One in my mind and have seen first hand deals with the big orange company. Now that being said that's where the fairy tale ends. I started out here as a company driver, I had experience before I came over here and only came here for personal reasons. I started running team with my fiancee here. They tried to push the lease on me from day one, by "accidently" putting me into the lease class vise putting me in the company class. After orientation me and my fiancee were running team both of us were "A" seat drivers, and both of us had over a years experience. Since my fiancee was already a driver at prime when I started here, I used her as a recruiting reference so she would get the bonus. which at the time was $250 and 1/2 per mile raise for an entire year. that never happened. So we drove company side (as a team) for almost a year. Let me say that when I started I had to sign a disclaimer saying that I would get at least 6.25 mpg or I would be fired. The first truck we had as company drivers was an 08' century it started having significant problems after prime did their computer magic and turned it down from 64 mph to 62 mph. when they did this our mpg's dropped from an average of 7.5 mpg to barely being able to get 5.8 mpg. Then the rearends descentagrated going down a hill needless to say we finally talked them into giving us a new truck which was an 07' century and not much better. As a team our miles per week dropped from 4500 per week which isn't too bad, but not too great either, to between 2500-3000 miles per week on the company side. All the while being steered to the lease side. So after much discussion and deliberation we decided to take the leap. We figured as a proven team with an excellent track record we could pull it off. We knew going into the lease we weren't going to get rich but we figured we could make a descent living. So we did, and that is where the troubles began.
To start off in the lease class, listening to all of their ra-ra b.s. I started raising questions and concerns about the math that they were putting out, stating how the math didn't add up. My questions were answered half-assedly if answered at all or brushed of with the line "Well I will have to check on that and get back to you on it." Then on a break in class I was politely asked to quit asking so many questions and to keep my opinions to myself. So I let it slide and figured maybe it was me just being to critical of the program, so to make a long story short we finish the class and pick out a truck. Since we were not at the springfield terminal when we did the class we were told that we could only pick from what they had available at the terminal there. When we inquired if we could just stay company and then go to springfield to choose our truck we were to implicitly "NO". Then they tried to tell us that since we were now lease we would have to sign a three month lease on the company truck we were getting out of. Luckily for us on the day were supposed to sign the lease an 07' peterbilt 387 arrived on the yard as a turn in so we took that one. The truck itself was in descent condition, I went over it with a fine tooth comb and reviewed the maintenance records (at least the ones that they would give me anyway) and we decided to take it, and we signed the lease. They hurridly put it through their so called inspections was told that it would need tires but since the lease was only 7 weeks they weren't going to put them on because they passed minimum DOT standards and weren't that bad. We thought this a little odd but in general the tires were in good shape. After we got the truck we had some minor problems but since it was under a 2 month warranty bumper-to-bumper from prime or so we thought and were told we had them fixed. We got into springfield toward the end of the first least to inquire about what to do at the end and about a new truck. During this time I think I saw maybe two pay checks one for about 1800 and the other for about 450 but the second one came during the second lease. While in springfield we inquired about the possibility of getting another pete because they had more room and were told that we would have to order a brand new one to insure that. Well since our payments that we had were $795 and a brand new one was only $880 we figured it was reasonable so we did. when our old lease was up we went into springfield to find out that our new truck wasn't ready with no eta and were told our only two options were to sign a new lease on another tractor for the time being or take a "vacation" at home with all the expense of getting there being our burden. So we talked them into extending our current lease for approximately 1.5 weeks (which luckily is all it took to get our new truck). The problem with this was they ran us short that week incase our truck came in.
When we turned in the old truck it had to under go their turn in inspection which was supposed to be for 10 am in the morning so I could be pressent. Mind you we had to pay for a hotel room to unload our stuff and clean out the truck, so the truck could be put in front of the shop ready for inspection the next morning. When I arrived at 8:30 am the morning of the inspection I was told that the inspection had already been performed with a laundry list of things that had to be done to it. I asked how they were able to perform the inspection because I still had the keys, and was told they used their own shop keys. Many of the items I was charged for were things that had been noted on the initial inspection sheet. A sample of other things I was charged for were things like the anti-freeze not having the right electrolite concentration, re-seating the screen in the trac on the bunk window, exhaust leaks in the exhaust system that only prime mechanics could find on the turn in inspection, never mind that peterbilt or catepillar never found these leaks and that they were supposed to be under warrenty from prime. I was also charged for parts and labor for the coupling that the air ride seat plugs into even though Primes shop had replaced the seats and broke it the night before.
When I brought this up I was told it was my problem even though I tried to get them to fix their mistake when I found it but because the mechanic that did it went home after he changed the seats out no one would fix it. So now it was my fault. I also went through and cleaned the truck prior to turning it in and scrubbed and shampooed everything. It was cleaner when I turned it in than when I recieved it. Needles to say that out of a almost $1600 lease completion bonus that I was supposed to get I wound up with only approximately $78 which wound up getting confiscated anyway because I was in the hole when they finally gave it to me.
Now comes the New Lease. Now that we had our new lease the payments were not supposed to start until we were on our first dispatch, but remember all our stuff was in the hotel so before we could be dispatched our stuff had to be put into the truck. Now they would not let us out of the yard until the lease was activated and you guessed it thats when the payments start. Not to mention we recieved the truck with No fuel in the tanks so now we had to purchase enough fuel just make it to the hoted approx 2 miles away and back, let me tell you that was an ordeal in itself.
When we ordered the new truck we payed to have a couple of upgrades. Namely bigger tanks and a refrigerator for a total of $695. So one would think that we at least own the refrigerator, well think again we paid for it but prime owns it because in the lease it says if it came with the truck it must stay with the truck. So we got screwed right out the gate. Second we had a chain rack on our first lease truck that we purchased for $121. we had them, and I saw them with my own eyes, take it off the old truck and put it on the new truck. When I was able to finally get my statements and work orders not only was I charged for the labor to do this which I am fine with but they turned around and charged me $158 for a new chain rack. In other words they charged me for my own equipment. When we inquired about this we were told, yep you guessed it 'we will look into it." well I guess they have to look deep to find it because 5 months later their still looking and haven't found it yet. Every time we inquire about it we're either blown off, or told "We will look into it." Prime says that they pay for 28% of all tolls not billed and 100% of tolls if the customer is billed and pays/authorizes them. People I am here to tell you Prime has only payed 28% of my tolls once and I have the bills to prove it. The other thing is in the contract I agreed to pay my co-driver (fiancee) $0.15 cpm. Prime constantly bumps her pay to a minimum of $.023cpm with out my permission. this has been brought to their attention many times and they refuse to do anything about it. I am not complaining to much right now about it because currently I am $8083.36 in the hole, and we are forced to live on her paycheck. Now why am I so far in the hole well it is a number of factors:
1.) constantly being over billed for things that I have already payed for
2.) Prime constantly raising my co-drivers pay without permission
3.) being force to take loads for anywhere between $0.47 cpm - $0.84 cpm
4.) A truck that the gear ratios are to high so that even at 55 mph the rpm's are over 1400
5.) (my favorite) being maxed out on loads so that I have to nickle and dime myself on fuel
6.) not getting payed for detention time that has lasted as long as 4.5 days due to shipper error
7.) constantly being put on loads that are dispatched at 64 mph because we are a team
people it is pretty bad when I can turn in $6500 worth of profit for a week and still go $500 deeper in debt. And for you "Cheerleaders" who say well prime has a $0.95 cpm gaurantee let me tell you about that. The way the gaurantee works is this: say you have three weeks that you average less than $.95 cpm prime will automatically advance you enough money to make you average $.95 cpm and then when you hit a week that you average over $.95 cpm they will take back the money they advanced you. There is no opting out of this program, you are not asked if you want it, you have no choice it is forced. so for example in that three weeks they "advance you $800 to make you average $.95 cpm and then you get a week where you averaged over their gaurantee, to where you are going to make say $1200 they take the $800 back as a deduction for over payment so now you only make $400 that week. This is the biggest scam in the industry designed to keep you debt. Berney Maydolf tried a scam like this and found himself doing 25 yrs in a federal prison. And this so called 72% of the load, I am sorry but when the fuel surcharge is almost as much as the line haul you can't tell me you/we are getting 72% of the load. these are the loads they force on the IC's and lease Op's because they know that if they put them on company trucks they would loose money. Prime is alway in constant violation of the federal leasing laws and minimum wage standards. Now some of you will say that prime doesn't violate the federal leasing laws and they proved that in OOIDA v. Prime 1997. well the only reason why prime won that lawsuit is because the two lease op's in that case signed their leases prior to the federal leasing laws in 1996 and the judge ruled the law could not be retroactive. Prime will not allow you to take the lease outside of the building to be reviewed by independant council, and yes they do force you to use their services like it or not. And, like I said to all the prime "cheerleaders" I have documented in black and white Proof. So if you want to challenge me I dare you!!!!!!!
All in all the best lesson I have learned from prime is this, and that is how to spot the scam artists. Now like I said I am not against capitalism or someone making money as long as it is morally ethical. When you treat the people that make you that money like dogs and only care about how much money you are making, while your drivers are starving I find that dispicable. I can only hope like many other drivers both current and past who have been shafted by prime. that prime gets whats coming to them but as we all know we will never see it. There are those that will say that Rob dosen't know whats going on. Well I say this to those people that either means he doesn't care, or he is incompetant. Because, he is the self proclaimed founder, president, and ceo of prime, which means he is ultimately responsible for everything that goes on there. Ignorance may be bliss but it is no excuse!!!!! Afterall when you have an average of 30 people a day and 210 trucks per week being turned in and quiting you can't tell me that that doesn't raise a question in that man's mind. that would tell me if it were my company that hey there maybe something wrong going on here. So with that since he ultimately responsible for his company if he doesn't speak out about the wrongful practices and goings on there than he agrees and condones them, Plain and simple!!! As for me and my fiancee we have found a much better company to go to work for and have finally acquired financing for our own truck. So good times are around the corner again and we are finally at a company that treats with respect, pays us what we deserve, and where we are true owner operators. In closing head my warning if your thinking about doing a prime lease think again you will undoubtly get screwed in the end, but for those of you who think you can re-invent the wheel I wish you good luck but remembered you were warned.

 

It's just simply criminal. Why doesn't anyone report this ####?! In my mind if OOIDA was so ######### good they'd be all over this crap.

 

Never sign a "Rent A Truck" contract. The game is rigged.

 

The company will NEVER lose in those deals.

 

Story sounds familiar !!!!!!

 

At least he paid cash for the casino.

Just an FYI in case you wonder where the money that would go to pay drivers went to.

 

This post not only reflects what typically goes on at Prime but with ANY company that does leases or lease-purchase programs.

If you really want to 'be in business for yourself', NEVER buy or lease a truck from the same company that dispatches you on loads. Once you sign on the dotted line for any kind of a lease program they will have even MORE control over you than if you were a company driver. Think about it.

If you buy a truck on your own and then lease it on with a company that's much different.

Below is something I wrote almost 5 years ago regarding leases and lease-purchase programs:

 

Great post Capt. Chaos,The "Rent a Truck" Lease contract Game is like playing with a hand Grenade. At some point in time its going to blow up in your face.​

 

I agree with all that has posted here and ONLY thing is rob isnt going to change anything till people quit buying into his game ....When prime doesnt have people standing in line for a truck then he might change his game plan but until then it will NEVER change......As for ooida I dont know why they havent came down hard yet but something isnt right ....And when your in with the goverment (as prime is ) it will be hard to stop the cheating liying and stealing that goes on at prime and as for the cheerleaders on here I hear your doing good some do but most dont do good at prime
And as I know from personal exp with prime /wil-trans it is a joke to work there I lasted 4 months before I turned truck in and came home found a BETTER job making money.......

 

I am a complete greenhorn ,but after 1000 posts about leases and buying a truck i would NEVER do it period.

But i am sorry for what happened to you .