Being charged for training from a company that terminated me.

orangepicker · Nov 7, 2014

send them a dispute letter and a copy of the contact with the part that said ( I would reimburse for training if I voluntarily left in the first year) high lighted. be sure to send it certified...your gonna need a paper trail....let us know when they respond

p.s. this must be done in 30 days....

Frilock · Nov 7, 2014

Aimstraight said: ↑

So if I understand this correctly you obtained your CDL on your own and then hired on with this company. And when you did you signed a contract saying you agree to reimburse the company (with 12 months employment) for additional "training" they were going to provide. Your "training" was you providing what amounts to free labor as you drive team with your "trainer". Who, Im guessing, used you like a second log book for a month. Since the 12 month employment obligation was not met they are now attempting to collect in cash for said "training".

First let me say Im sorry you're in this crappy situation. You're not the first to fall for this trap and most of the mega carriers make a practice out of squeezing new drivers from both ends like this. But hey! On the bright side of things at least you didn't lease a truck from them!!

I'm thinking you have 3 choices here. 1) Pay the bill. 2) Don't pay the bill and deal with collections and hits on your credit report. 3) Counter sue claiming the training outlined in the contract was insufficient or not provided.

If you elect to go with door #3 you will need the services of an attorney. Take your contract and set up a consultation preferably with some one specializing in civil defense. They can tell you if you have a leg to stand on or if you're pretty much hosed. They may even be able draft a response letter to the collection note that will at least buy you some time and could possibly make it go away all together. Unfortunately it won't be cheap. Attorneys never are.

Good luck!
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Close. I agreed to reimburse them if I left on my own accord. I was terminated instead. Don't have the money to do choice #1. #2 I'm considering, my credit's pretty crummy right now anyway (made literally the worst choice in women to marry) but it sucks because that stuff actually turns 7 years old this year and I was hoping to start rebuilding. And trust me I know #3, I spent $1500 to a lawyer so I didn't have to pay child support on children whom I've had custody of for the previous 3 years, only have to have pay him another $500 dollars 2 weeks ago because the State of Florida decided they didn't want to follow their own court order and tried milking me for another $600 (Yes, paid $500 to avoid paying $600).

Frilock · Nov 7, 2014

Chinatown said: ↑

Ignore it for 7 years, then it's no worry.
Don't let a collection agency harass you into paying them; they purchased the debt from the trucking company at pennies on the dollar. Don't ever give the collection agency even a penny or the 7 years starts over again.
If they call you; hang up, don't talk to them.
Don't sign for any registered or certified mail and don't give anyone else the authority to sign for you.

Are you driving now?

I had a collection agency harass me for almost 25 years over a phone bill I didn't owe; it was someone else, not me. I have no use for collection agencies. They even tried the old scam of "just send $5.00 for now" but I already knew that starts the 7 years over.
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No, when I got my CDL, it started some gears turning at the Florida Department of Revenue, and my license had been in limbo since last October. Basically the DOR wanted my license suspended for not paying child support. Of course I hadn't paid it because the children were LIVING WITH ME. Finally got that sorted out (kind of, see above post) recently and took the first job I could so I can GTFO of this state.

Aimstraight · Nov 7, 2014

The termination vs voluntarily leaving is a point worth disputing for sure. I tend to think that the contract may have a 'termination for cause' clause or something similar in it. But maybe not.

If not then I think orangepicker offered some good advice too. It certainly wouldn't hurt.

Good luck!

ltwombat · Nov 7, 2014

Chinatown said: ↑

Ignore it for 7 years, then it's no worry.
Don't let a collection agency harass you into paying them; they purchased the debt from the trucking company at pennies on the dollar. Don't ever give the collection agency even a penny or the 7 years starts over again.
If they call you; hang up, don't talk to them.
Don't sign for any registered or certified mail and don't give anyone else the authority to sign for you.
Click to expand...

Good advice. I bought a new Harley in 2008 while working as a nurse making killer money. Got injured on the job in 2009 and went on disability. Bye bye Harley...still owed $9k. Got a letter from creditor saying the dept had been written off. Months later got a letter from an attorney saying he was acting as a collector NOT an attorney "yet".

I get all sorts of certified mail from the attny that I never sign for, never ending calls that I ignore. Even if I paid the balance I don't get my bike back or my credit repaired so it's best to wait it out and let it go away.

By the way China I just moved to Henderson (Green Valley) in August. Nice place to live, lousy place to park a rig

Dr_Fandango44 · Nov 7, 2014

Frilock said: ↑

So over a year ago I started with my first company. When I signed up, I signed a form stating I would reimburse for training if I voluntarily left in the first year. I completed my training (only 4 weeks, felt kind of short to me) and got into a collision my first week out. I continued driving until I got to their terminal, whereupon I was told 'We don't want you banging up anymore trailers, empty the truck'. Just now I received notice saying I owe them for my training. I did not voluntarily leave the company, they let me go well over a year ago, and they wouldn't even let me drive back to my home terminal (I was stranded about a thousand miles away.) This is the first notice I got from them, and they are saying they are going to send it to a collections agency. Any advice?
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If you would like to send me a private msg I'll show you how to get out of this situation very easily.
Bottom line is that it's unsecured credit, technically so you could say I've had quite a bit of experience with this kind of thing. Forget about calling a lawyer...you don't need to do that. Collection agencies? Piece of cake...ha. Is that supposed to intimidate you ?
You can always pay them if you feel you must, but it sounds like you don't want to.
Im just not going to broadcast what I would do, but I know the law pretty well so it's up to you, my friend.
Good luck.

FatDaddy · Nov 7, 2014

I would re read that contract very carefully. Just dosent make sense from the company standpoint to only collect if you leave and not for an at fault termination.

Freddy57 · Nov 7, 2014

Frilock said: ↑

I got my CDL through a different company at my own expense. The CDL 'school' referred me to the company. The 'training' they are referring to is the 1 week of instruction and 3 weeks of team driving they had me do before getting my own truck.
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You were an employee of the company right? This sounds like a violation of labor law to me...an attorney should definitely take a look at your case.

Frilock · Nov 7, 2014

Dr_Fandango44 said: ↑

If you would like to send me a private msg I'll show you how to get out of this situation very easily.
Bottom line is that it's unsecured credit, technically so you could say I've had quite a bit of experience with this kind of thing. Forget about calling a lawyer...you don't need to do that. Collection agencies? Piece of cake...ha. Is that supposed to intimidate you ?
You can always pay them if you feel you must, but it sounds like you don't want to.
Im just not going to broadcast what I would do, but I know the law pretty well so it's up to you, my friend.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

I'm all ears.

Skate-Board · Nov 7, 2014

F'um. Just ignore it

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