leasing at us xpress! bad idea!

I was a lease operator for u.s. xpress for almost 11 months. I really have to admit this was the worse idea that i have ever had. I had talked to the recruiter and supposedly had all the info. ha ha ha. that is a crock of s#*t. you will have no access to your maintence money unless it is for a repair or additives and is authorized by breakdown. this could be a fast phone call but more than likely not, i sat on hold for an hour and 18 minutes just trying to get someone to authorize an oil change. then when the xy shifter went out on the auto transmission it took 4 1/2 hrs to get them to send me a tow truck to get me off the off ramp it went out on. i did ask for them to load money on my card from my maintence account to pay for my hotel room. but that was a no, i wasn't allowed to use "my" money for that. but they would be more than happy to give me an advance off my next check. I worked my ##### off for that money and i'm not allowed to touch it? what is that? so anyway, you would be lead to think that if you lease a truck from a company, and your going to be making the truck payment, fuel, ins, and everything else that you'd be able to pick out the truck you wanted? think again. you get out of orientation, you sign the lease, and they give you the truck that your going to lease. no choice! i got a 2010 pete 387. new radiator, new flex pipe, all new tires, an overhead, new armrest, and a few other repairs all in the first 120,000 miles. and after the overhead the fuel mileage went to ####, and the truck used 6 gallons of oil over the next five weeks. and i got no assistance from them to make cummins fix it. plus if you have a repair order over 200.00 they will charge you 25.00 out of your maintence account to write the repair order. nice that you have no access to your money and then they charge you to use it huh?

you will be told that if you give them 7 days notice for hometime that they can get you home no problem. if you live on the west coast, this is a lie also. i live in the southwest and gave them 2 months notice for hometime for my sons birthday, after running 2 months they stuck me in denver, co the day before i was to be home. i had to deadhead 750 miles home on my dime because they couldn't get me there having 2 months advance notice. this is an east coast company!!!! they will run your butt off east of I-35 but all freight into la or anywhere else out west is reserved for teams! this is what i was told. they will call you at home too, i was visiting my mom in ohio that i had not seen for many years. i set my pta for a 34 hr reset, about 3-4 hours into my visit they were messaaging my truck and called me 3 times trying to get me to repower a hazmat load into ny because someone else had hometime scheduled. i finally had to shut my cell off and have my wife call my mom's house phone if there was an emergency. they have one terminal on the entire west coast, this is in colton, ca and even then it is a tad bit of a shi##y terminal and the people could use to be a bit more friendly to their drivers. everything else is a drop yard with no facilities at all.

as a lease driver you have no option to run any dedicated lane, train, or anything else. it is a 48 state position. you are however not forced dispatched. but i declined a load and got to sit an extra 24 hours because of it. so use your best judgement. your in a good area for freight, you decline a load, and get to sit because you declined a load? sounds like forced dispatch to me. laredo and el paso, you will sit and wait almost a day for sure, el paso at least a day. the guys at the window in laredo will hold loads and not let the planners plan the loads, if the do these guys will un plan the load off you, they say they are in charge of the freight there. and you know they have their buddies they take care of first. they did get a trailer with showers, bathrooms and laundry. too bad the bathrooms and showers are together in an open room. it kinda feels like high school all over again when everyone that walks in will be able to see you naked. no privacy what so ever.

if i had the time i would scan the full lease for you and paste it. however i don't have the time right now, and to be honest i don't feel it would do any good. but i will tell you this. their lease is a walk away lease, it is for 12 months and upon completion of 52 payments you will recieve a 2400.00 completion bounus. not to bad huh? and at the end of your lease you can re sign on a new 2011, re sign on the current truck your in for a lower payment, or just walk away all together. still not bad huh? well those first 52 payments of 553.00 a week for the pete does NOT go towards owning the truck, they also have it in there that they get to write off the depreciation. you will get $.08 to $.30 cents off per gallon of fuel at pilot. not to bad to be able to get money off your fuel. but there is a dollar service charge every time you slide your card and i have went over my settlements and have been charged 5-6 dollars more multiple times. that adds up over a year!! and .30 cpm for a fuel surcharge doesn't even begin to help offset what comes out off pocket because almost every load they put on a lease truck is 38,000 pounds and up. i had gotten dispatched on a winncup load outta phoenix and before i could get there to pick it up (15 miles away) they un planned me from it and sent me to flagstaff to get a load of dog food. after a phone call to me fleet manager he did inform me that they had a company truck in the area that needed a load and that was who got the styrofoam cup load while i went to get 45,000 pounds of dog food. neeedless to say yes i was pis$#d!


all i will say is one week i had 3861 miles, my paycheck was............... still under 1300.00 not what i thought an owner op should settle for.


your all grown adults capable of making your own decsions, i only put this here to help you make the best one. if you have questions i will answer them as best i can. good luck, best wishes and be safe on the road.

 

i took no advances or extra fuel. and i don't touch booze or hookers at all thanks. i have a wonderful wife and 3 great kids. i would never do anything to jepordize my marriage or my familys well being.

i also know a lot of lease drivers and o/o's who have access to their maintience money for such things as repairs, hotel, and additives. that's what that fund is for. not booze, hookers, or food.

there are also so many companies out there that will offer a set price on your fuel, example- fed-ex i believe is at 1.20 a gallon for their o/o's. which means running your truck right and proper up keep you'll make money from your fuel surcharge. but i shouldn't have to explain all this to a seasoned veteran such as yourself.

even as a lease when you pay for everything, trk, fuel, ins, etc. etc. i believe that makes you an owner op. and no it says nothing in the contract about a 1.00 service charge every time you use your fuel card. i called payroll on it and they said it was transfund. so i called them and they said it was us xpress. guess it was the printer charging me to print my settlement? I'll never know. oh well. but gallons x o/o price per gallon was always 5-6 bucks off and all i got was the pump price must've changed? guess they should've printed the new price i paid on the settlement.

thanks for your reply, be safe out there driver and i hope everyone is prepared for csa 2010. merry christmas.

 

i have to say that is a nice w900. and i wouldn't lease if my credit would allow me to buy. but i have to start some where to get to the point of owning it.