DOT New entry audit

Well I was home-schooled, so my desk in grade school WAS the kitchen table. Old habits die hard.

 

When you get new interstate or Intrastate authority they are going to come see you in Oklahoma. They are nice and are going to help you the first time and then you won't see them again unless you give them a big reason to. Their is more money in catching the big boys screwing up in a audit.

Best advice I can give is have everything ready for them don't be hunting for hours looking for something or say I don't have it.

When I went to the class that was required for Interstate authority their was a local rock hauler that showed up all dirty with his driver that looked bad himself. You had to sign in and bring your driver file along with chain of custody form that you had taken your drug test (not results just the paperwork showing you took it) when asked by the DOT officer where it was at the owner said I don't have one and this is my driver he don't have one either, hell he has been driving for me for six months and didn't know he needed one. The officer gave him a lecture and then asked what is your company name and DOT number and he wrote it down in his little note book and put back in his shirt pocket. lol. The rest of us were never asked are company name or DOT number we just put it on the sign in sheet. I am sure he came up on an aduit real quick.

 

It is best not to piss off any auditor because they can make your life hell and cost you big time.

Back in the late 80's or early 90's (can't remember) their was a farmer/bull hauler in eastern Kansas that run five or six trucks and he was something else, one of those anti-this and that guys. He was hit with a IRS audit and all you have to provide for them is a place to sit and do their job. He lived on a farm and had those old small grain bins. He cleaned one out got one of those old school desks that I mention earlier and took all his paperwork in boxes and put them out their. It was a hot summer day and he took this auditor out their and said this is it, the guy worked and did his job. But when he left I am sure phone calls were made because the next week the DOT called and said were coming to do an audit and he didn't stick them in no grain bin but they fined him pretty good when they got done.

 

Several years ago when knowing nothing about this business I took over for my brother-in-law when one of his drivers got in a accident. He wasn't driving because of his heart and the stress of the accident was doing him no favors. The accident triggered an audit. And this was not a "we are here to help you" but more of the "if you colored outside the lines you are toast". They looked at everything down to asking why was this repair preformed but no record of it being needed in daily inspection, calculated distances and speeds between stops, looked at when scales recorded entry and distances between the scale and next stop. It all turned out fine in the end (except for that one driver) but when I read about this new entry audit that is what I thought about.

 

Good info here, I started getting pestered by Foley the day after I applied for my DOT#. I figgured they were some kind of telemarketing scam as I got another 4-5 entities callin me the same day. Talked to them yesterday about what they do & all that, sounded ok till I heard the price, and the fact they wouldn't send me anything to look at BEFORE I gave them info. I've been fighting with the credit reporting agency Experien for a couple years about their credit card fraud and that's a large national company. Sure as poo am not giving some schmuck I never heard of my info!

My truck has been inop. for several months for financial reasons mostly, for mechanical as well. Something about how spring packs should be stacked, not splayed out in 6 directions,... Getting the finances back online and plan on doing more visible work where I may get more scrutiny than before, so time to bring the rig fully legal.

Anyway, thanks to you folks for the info in this post. Gives me some direction to look into as once the online DOT app. was done I got zero info about the "what now" other than I was on 18mos probate and would get an audit at some future date. Luckily, I'm a small outfit, and I mean "small". Own/Op, local intrastate only, one driver, two rigs both under 26,001lbs, drops off a lot of the more fun things like drug testing (I get mandatory DOT whiz quiz at my "real job" already). But all this will be good to have up and running if/when I expand, I've been eyeballin a heavier truck.