CR England - The real story

not everyone works for a company that has all the good information you big companies have. and you big companies probably don't haul to the sticks as much.
then there's the docks that if you sit at a truck stop and wait till monday morning to deliver your load, your going to be the 100th truck waiting in line by the time you deliver. where as if you went friday night. you be the first one unloaded and on your way while the other 99 trucks are waiting for unload.

none of that prolly makes sense to someone with nothing but lawyers on there mind these days.

 

Snowy you have a very good point with waiting ot the reiciver for the weekend even with the lawyers also. And for having to goto the bathroom buy some toilet paper it comes in handy when ya gotta ****.

 

Snowwy, I don't appreciate the dig about lawyers. I have a lot of time on the road, lots of experience that I don't mind sharing, and I certainly understand about first come, first serve on the unloading deal. I dealt with that a lot with Indian River last year...seems delivering milk is never a truly scheduled event, and showing up the night before is mandatory if you don't want to wait ALL day. Did that ONCE, never again.

I was talking about being stuck all weekend. And trust me, just because we may work with a big company, it means nothing about being informed - all it takes is one missed phone call to make sure everyone is in the dark...plus you're dealing with 4-5 people to get you info, instead of at a smaller company or working directly with a broker, you may only have 1-2 people in the information chain. The fewer, the better.

My point is get the most info you can and avoid being stuck. It happens, sure, but after getting stuck a few times, you try to do everything you can to prevent it next time.

 

On the lawyer subject, we should all know that fighting or arguing with a bunch of minimum wage payroll, scheduling or log clerks is a waste of time. The only true way to get justice with a large company is to get an attorney and file suit. If you're not willing to go that far, you might as well stay at the truck stop with all of the other whiny drivers complaining about how they're getting treated badly by their DM or whoever.

 

You talk as if it's easy to walk in, hire an Attorney and get the job done. Ever use an Attorney, know how much they charge, have the time to deal with the red tape. It just isn't that easy, matter of fact it's almost impossible, kind of like hitting the lottery if your able to hire an Attorney who knows trucking and you can afford. Good luck with that. You are however very correct about the "minimum wage payroll, scheduling or log clerks". how frustrating can that be?

 

I worked for a lawfirm for 7 years, so I understand how things work. If you have a real case, as in the unfair trade practices situation with CRE, there's no retainer to pay, just meet with them, lay out the info, and they do the rest.

If you're not dealing with something that's cut and dried, then yes, getting an attorney to take your case, even with offering to pay a retainer, will be tough.

I've been the expert witness for helping to certify three class action lawsuits against car manufacturers. I've also had two successful lemon law cases on my own vehicles. So, yes, I've used an attorney.

I'll be glad to guide folks, as needed, if they think they have something that only an attorney can help with.

 

i some cases you are right but fact still remains buisness is tough enough for cre to make a profiet thay have to keep there overhead low so they dont pay that high and bid low on jobs. know matter what you try and do big buisness will find a way to win the lawsuit

 

Tough to make a profit? On 4300 miles last week, my variable mileage payment was $814. Multiply that by how many lease drivers there are.

My issue with them has nothing to do with the lease itself. I'm an adult, and I signed a contract, so I can blame no one but myself. My issue is the huge difference in profit potential that I have, versus someone who is running at 70-75 mph (in CRE). The thing is, we're both private businesses that CRE is dealing with, so treating me differently than the other guy is against Federal law. I don't think they did their legal homework before they started turning trucks down and doing favors for people who hasd been here longer. We'll see what happens.

"know matter what you try and do big buisness will find a way to win the lawsuit"

I went head-to-head with attorneys and expert witnesses for every car manufacturer in the US..on a daily basis, as part of my job. Comparing a company like GM to CRE is like comparing Wal-mart to a convenience store. I'm not worried about CRE's lawyers.

 

well, this is what i've seen so far.

that mileage fee is the deal breaker right there. no money to be made with that fee. england charges .14 per mile. + .07 for that maintanace fund. hope your collecting welfare cuz your going to need it. and good luck with the IRS. granted you can make up to 1.50 per mile. but those are the very short loads. add all the time swapping trailers or waiting for trailers. your bottom line each week isn't going to be any better then running the long loads.

another company charges .09 AFTER 11,000 miles for the month. i think it's .05 for maintanance. so odds are better.

other companies have different fees. no matter what or who you work for. the lease program is against the law. and so is free labor. working for .90 just don't cut the mustard. you need at least 1.00 and no bullcrap fees to make the lease happen. i gaurantee you the carrier you work for is making a heck of a lot more then .90. true o/o are making much more then .90. some have claimed to have hauled loads making 2.00, but the average is more like 1.50. BUT THAT'S IF YOU GET PAID. not everyone pays the bills these days. but what do you think freight actually ships for????

then there's the matter that some companies make you trade the truck in every 3 years. after 3 years you have nothing to show for your starving. and your kids have probably already died from starvation. and your wife has divorced you becuase she's homeless.

let's say by chance you get to keep the truck. FOR A HEFTY BUYOUT. over the term of that 3 year lease y ou've made 156 weekly payments. some companies actully go 4 years. add your mileage fee and you've already paid twice what the truck actually sold for. and they want a hefty buyout if you want to keep the truck. PFFT. that hefty buyout they want is usually about 75% of what they bought the truck for. meaning you pay close to 3 times what they bought the truck for.

being a o/o instead of a l/0 is the only way to go. but you do have to have large funds to get started. it's about 10g before that truck can even think about hauling it's first load. all the licensing fees, and the insurance fee, which is the biggest. THEN, you need enough money to pay for gas, truck payments if buying a new truck. maintance if buying a used truck. and money to support the house for about 6 months. becuase you have no idea how long it's going to be before you start getting paid. and very good bookkeeping to keep track of who owes you and who hasn't paid yet. and when AND if they do pay. it's usually 3-4 months down the road after you've forgotten what you've hauled 3-4 months ago.

now, let's talk about being a company driver. they want you to lease. and you tell them you don't work for free. and your not working to support the company. your only working to support yourself. they don't like that idea so you sit for days at a time waiting for your next load. either way you don't make any money. and the company don't care. that truck your driving, well, they own that baby and apparently would rather have it sitting somewhere then moving down the road. less miles they put on there own equipment means a higher resale value when it's time to trade it in. it's the only way they are going to make money. they don't care about the lease equipemtn becuase they are making more then enough money giving you a new cornholieo.

AND the last thing you need to think about. FREIGHT IS VERY SLOW IN WINTER. AND SOME ROADS ARE CLOSED DUE TO SNOW AND ICE. no one makes money in winter.

one last post. 4,000 miles a week. no way in heck. that's all there is too it. i'll call you all out.
you have to stop to deliver and pick up your loads. that's a time killer right there sometimes.
you have to stop for all scales that are opened unless you have prepass
you have rush hour traffic unless your all night driving. heaven forbid there should be an accident, thus closing the roads down.
you need fuel and food and potty breaks and a shower would be nice. and we all know some of them fuel stops have you waiting in line.
and over on the west coast, where it's all mountains and your top speed is 30.
4,000 miles a week, not legal as a solo driver. nope nope nope.
it can be done, in a perfect world packing 1,000 gallons of feul. but we all know this isn't a perfect world.

i had 6,000 miles as a team. we had lucky weeks to stop and burn. but it didn't happen very often. and that was running hard and defenitly not something i would wanna do week after week. i like making money but i also like relaxing every now and then. and trying to get 8 hours of sleep when your truck is bouncing down the road ain't easy. and not to mention. overworked causes serious burnout.

 

Last week, on 2884 miles, I had $2509 in revenue, and NETTED $415.88. I'm on a dedicated fleet getting .87 per mile..final pay, adding back in the 15% I have them pull out for taxes -gross was $478.00 +/-...is 19 cents per mile, or at least 11 cpm LESS than most beginner solo company drivers get.