CRST Van Expedited, Inc. - Cedar Rapids, Ia.

we worked there turned our truck and trailer in at there okc term. the next day they called us and said we are putting abandament on ur dac, and they did. the whole 6 months there we never say a check we had to work to pay our advances off b/c we were broke down more then we were on the road.

 

22cpm?? wow and i thought werner paid bad...i'll stick to hourly pay

 

Thought I would share this little tidbit with everybody. First, I have never worked for CRST. The information I am going to share with you all is a letter that was sent to me by CRST.

Dear Sir or Madam:

"The below-named individual is currently under contract with CRST.
Recently, someone reresenting your company requested information
on this individual. By providing you with information pursuant to
Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, CRST is not releasing this driver
from his or her contractual commitment."

"On February 14, 2006, the United States District Court for the
Western District of Oklahoma entered a preliminary injunction in the
favor of CRST and against J.B. Hunt, Inc. that prohibits
J.B. Hunt from hiring or from soliciting for employment, any CRST
driver or driver trainee subject to a contractual term of employment
with CRST. We hope to avoid any dispute of this sort with your company."

Absolutley amazing. Scare tactics. I don't know if CRST sends this out on every driver who leaves them so I can only assume. Maybe some others out there have received similar. I know some companies will use DAC as a retention tool but this is taking it to a whole new level.

 

No offense crst trucker, but you got screwed cause you went to school with the company. You had to sign an 8-month contract, you probably cry all the time so the dispatchers don't like you, and that's why they give you a crappy truck. You should've paid for your own school, that way, you don't sign a contract. They got you by the short and curlies when you sign a contract. I work for CRST. I save all my trip sheets in a collapsible file (something you never thought of I'm sure), that way, I have PROOF. They always pay me. And, I get 5000+ every week I'm in the truck. Just because you're an *****, doesn't make crst bad. It doesn't matter who you start with, IF YOU GO TO SCHOOL THERE, THEY SCREW YOU. There's oodles of you ****** at the yard crying everytime I'm in fontana, or cedar rapids, or ANYWHERE. I always ask, "You went to school through CRST right?" "Yes" is always the answer. I didn't sign a contract, they treat me fine. Maybe you should've put some thought into your future and not just picked the CHEAPEST AND FASTEST way to be a trucker.
PEACE BROTHER, LIVE 'N LEARN

 

I GET PAID 33CPM, 22 IS FOR THE******* WHO SIGN THE CONTRACT AND GOT TO SCHOOL THERE. PAY FOR YOUR OWN EDUCATION, YOU'LL BE BETTER OFF

 

I received a warning for insulting another trucker. I apologize, and this warning made me realize what I did was childish. But I simply want to say that your experiences with a company do not make it a bad company. They have like 2000 drivers, and a handful of them are on here reporting bad experiences. If people are happy, they won't usually go out of their way to report it. In closing, I apologize again for being insulting, rude, etc. But I think you are wrong, and I jumped on it because I just came home for hometime after listening to about 20 contract signees that have the same problems. Meanwhile, everyone I talk to that DIDN'T sign contracts is happy and prosperous. KEEP THIS IN MIND OTHER TRUCKERS. Oh yeah, also I know a lease trainer who works at crst, who made $134,000 last year, AFTER expenses (He showed me proof, on the website, on my computer, cause I didn't belive him). That should give you guys something to chew on.

 

CRST still pays split mileage pay. If you think you're getting .33 cents a mile, you are not. You are getting 16.5 cents a mile for all miles. The other guy, at 22 cents a mile, is getting 11 cents a mile for all miles. It's pretty pathetic pay. CRST has a long history of screwing a persons DAC if they want to quit. They never pay the correct mileage, and all their runs have a built-in 10-20% mileage shortage. They pay for 1200 miles on a trip of 1400+ miles. You need to hang on to all your trip sheets, and check them close. They are pretty good about "losing" them, and fight you tooth and nail to get paid. DH miles are always short, no detention pay, layover starts after 36 hours, but only covers the first 24. They always get you moving again at 35 hours, only if it's to DH to a load that picks up in 30 hours.

Their dispatcher turnover is legendary, and busting your hump to please some schmoe who won't be your dispatcher in 2 weeks is a waste. They think company drivers are dirtbags. A good company recognises drivers are the ONLY ones bringing in the $$$$. All the jerks in Cedar Rapids are there only for driver support, you know, help the people bringing in the cash.... but CRST thinks they actually produce the income, and drivers are just a neccesary evil they are 'forced' to deal with. CRST, in my opinion, is one of the worst outfits in the business. They are the Enron of the trucking industry.

After you empty your bank account, borrow from all your relatives and apply for food stamps, they'll deny you an opportunity to get a real paying job with another company, and put something on your DAC to hurt you. My advice: find a company to hire you BEFORE you quit and they destroy your DAC. And JB Hunt should have filed a 'restraint of trade' lawsuit against CRST, but instead caved in and let them decide who they could hire.

CRST makes most of it's profit off drivers, not delivering loads. They hire new drivers at 11 cents a mile, cheat their pay, charge them $5000 for 'school', and at the end of the year they "add" the $5000 to your W2. You pay them about $30,000 for a school that charges $2500, they put an additional $5K in their pocket and let the 'newbie' pay the taxes on it. Crooked as can be, that outfit. Like I said, the Enron of the industry.

 

Dude, did you go to school with CRST? I did not. They don't screw up my pay. On my last trip, they paid me more miles than the qualcomm said (which was over 2800 qualcomm, we only drove 2930, which is WAY less than 10% if you know how to multiply). And as for 33cpm Vs. 16.5cpm, it's a team truck. No matter what way you slice it, you get 33cpm for the miles you drive. The truck I am in averages 5000 miles/week. Can a solo driver get 5000/week? I DON'T THINK SO. You do half the driving, you get half the miles, at 33cpm. I know a guy that drives for jb, and he says he averages 2000 miles/week @ 40cpm, this is exactly $800 gross. I get paid 2500 miles/week @ 33cpm, this is exactly $825. Who is making more? A calculator is a wonderful tool. And almost every company pays movers guide milage, which is always short. But if you can read a map, you can come in pretty close to qualcomm miles anyways, less than 5% variance. But there are oodles of drivers who take the route given them and don't even check if it is a good route, and then complain about not getting paid proper milage. It takes me 15 minutes to double check my routing, it saves me hours of time sometimes.
Anyways, I am happy with CRST for now, and I am just debating, not fighting. But I have heard to date maybe a dozen or so horror stories about crst, and I am not convinced. Oh and they only messed up my miles once, shorted me 57 miles. It was on my comdata card 2 days later, and I think they paid me like sixty miles or so, cause the adjustment was more than it was supposed to be.

PEACE

 

Oh well, I wish you and your wife the best. I hope when I decide to leave CRST, they don't mess with my DAC. But I am honestly happy there, for now.

 

Do you realize what CRST is doing when they send this out whether it be with or without the knowledge of the driver? They are basically stating that this person has signed a contract of indentured servitude, and that they intend on making them stay on with them, no matter how bad it is.

To anyone that has been victim of this tactic, or suspects that they have, they sure need to contact an Attorney NOW. This is absolutely illegal, and it is coming VERY close to forced slavery.

There is no contract that would ever be held enforceable in a court of law, when the issue involved means being forced to remain on a job that one does not want any longer.

If they desire to report a default of contract, that's one thing. When they state that this person "will not be released", that's something else altogether...