No experience but getting Authority

So after staying out longer than I normally do (kept getting good loads) I finally got home Thursday with the plan to head down to Secretary of State office on Friday morning to do the renewal on my IRP. When I was going to mail it the First week of March they mentioned to give them 30-days if by mail and IL is not the easiest to deal with on the IRP. It is about as bad a government agency as anyone could find.


So getting all my stuff lined up and notice I just have 2290 Schedule 1 that was done online with just a watermark. And IL says “IRS Seal”. So get on the phone with company that I did the process with. “New program for Electronic filers with IRS. Take your bank statement to make sure but that will work.”


Well it is a two hour drive so let’s give the office a call before I head down there. Nope, they want a stamp from IRS. And while waiting for them on hold opening mail I see a notice from IRS saying that my 2290 has not been paid. Look online and money was out of account on 4th. Letter mailed on 22nd. Hmmm. Have to call them anyways (thank heavens for unlimited calling plans).


So I dial the digits and on hold. Call waiting and switch over and hear. “Mr. Hood, this is Trooper Stager with IL DOT” OH $H!T, I don’t need this. “I am calling to schedule your new entry audit.” Oh, that’s all, whew.

20-minutes with him getting all the details of my April 5th audit. Doesn’t seem that bad. No vehicle inspection. He must have said 15x that if I need help in this area or that he would show me what is needed. BUT also pointed out the areas that I must have - Insurance, annual inspection, valid CDL, medical card, pre-employment drug test and drug testing program.

Back to the IRS. All cool with them. They have my payment and I can fax the form for a stamp or visit an office. Gave name and number for IL IRP office so they can make a call to explain that the watermark is official. Went to local IRS office. Same story there. I was 5th person today needing stamp and they have called several times and IL WILL NOT ACCEPT WHAT THE IRS IS PROVIDING ON AN IRS FORM. Man I have got to get out of this state.

So up early tomorrow to make the drive.

I am going to be home almost a week. Have a great paying direct account that delivers in Atlanta Friday morning then have to make sure I am back in IL by Monday for Tuesday DOT appointment.

Night all.

 

I always go to my local IRS office to pay my 2290's for my trucks. It saves a lot of aggravation and time. It usually doesn't take much time to make the trip, pay the fee and get the form stamped. At least I have proof that it has been paid and I don't have to wait several weeks after paying to receive the stamped form.

 

Tdan - I hope you have a lot patience and plenty of money. Starting this business as a company driver is stressfull. Being a new O/O these days with not experience is what would qualify as a "stresser" on Criminal Minds for the start of a serial killing spree.

 

tdanielsen: It looks like you just got confirmation that your application for MC has been accepted and posted to the Federal Register. You won't be approved without an insurance filing. Look yourself up on the FMCSA carrier search for status. I also did the filing online and earlier in the thread have posted the timeline that I experienced. I'm too lazy to do the calendar math for you, but I think that puts your drop dead date about the end of the first week of April. Be sure to double check, count the business days, and allow an extra couple of days to get the insurance locked in after you've bought a truck and a trailer.

My advice for buying Progressive (hindsight 20/20) is find a Progressive agent that is local or at least in your state who specializes in commercial truck policies. There may be special programs available in your state that the Progressive direct agent can't write. Your profile says California so I'd say you need to be extra diligent with any special requirements with you being in the "there's a law for that" state. Be clear about what you plan to haul (van, reefer, flat, or whatever) and search this forum for advice on what sort of insurance endorsements might be useful. If you miss them, it's easy enough to get it added later, but of course that can add cost you weren't counting on. I don't know what the deal is with the delay you experienced with the quotes. My agent (in Pittsburg I think) was quoting me while we were talking and knew the basics I would need to get started with. After being on the phone with him a lot while getting started, about the only contact I have is when I need an insurance certificate issued for a new broker and I just shoot him an email for that.

I can't imagine doing this and trying to get my CDL and be the driver too without experience in the industry. I've had a CDL before and wouldn't do it due to lack of recent experience and my earlier time was driving around construction related stuff not OTR. If it weren't for my son I'd have hired a driver instead or chosen something else to do. My son isn't exactly a seasoned veteran OTR driver, but he has enough under his belt to handle the logistics of operating the truck while I hustle the loads. My wife is coming up to speed on that as well as getting all the paperwork under control.

Assuming you get a truck, insurance, and co-driver sorted by the time your MC gets reviewed and hopefully approved, you're in for a world of stress that will ramp up about the time you get the MC approved and will continue until you've been hauling freight for at least the first week. I hope that you have a wife or family member that is able to back you up on some of the paper and phone jockeying.

 

BigBadBill: That is why I'm glad I live near my state capital. Additionally, the Atlanta IRS office is one of the two big processing facilities that handle tax returns, so we have a well staffed center nearby to get the paper handled in person more conveniently than using the mail. Unlike some other states, our IRP office was a pleasure to deal with and the ladies there bent over backward trying to send me out the door with my plates. Now don't even get me started on my county tax office where I must get ad-valorem tax paid and trailer plates. I think my wife finally got them sorted out last week as our trailer plate came in the mail Saturday. I have two antique vehicles that are pure misery to deal with in that office and I dread going there for anything.

If you'll have a little time on the way out of Atlanta Friday, let me know and I'll send you my phone number. If I play my cards right I can probably step away from my day job at about 1pm and head out to join you for a sandwich.

 

OK, just back from getting IRP completed. What a joke. And after all that running to the IRS it turns out they will accept it with the watermark, it just needs to be readable - duh. Guy in front of me in line had a check for over $400k for his company. Told me he waits till April 1st to pay just so he doesn't give them his money any sooner than he has to but is heading out of town.

Red - all in all the IRP has been the only issue location for me. Planned on a day for my IFTA and it took 10-mins. Able to do trailer plates at local Sec. of State office. I am hoping to deliver in Lithia Springs at 7 on Friday morning and hope for a reload. Have to get back to home for my audit. If we can't hook-up this time I am making this run every 3-4 weeks.

 

There really should not be a good reason whey the IRP office should need an original copy of your 2290 receipt. I believe that they can go online and get that information. But, you still have to jump through their hoops.

I can't believe that you are already having an audit.

 

I think it is important to develop a good relationship with an agent by giving him the primary policy so that he won't mind going out of his way for you a little more for extra's like adding a rider for additional cargo insurance.

I found out today during a discussion with Progressive that they simply don't offer additional cargo insurance for those situations which means that ultimately I will have to find an agent to shop it around in order to get one and I doubt the agent would have a great deal of interest for a one off like that.

Also, I don't know about you, but I skipped the rental insurance and lost income insurance. I think it was between $90 and $150 a day for every day your truck in the garage up to 30 days. During that time you are expected to either rent a truck or go buy one. That coverage was between $82 and $109 extra over a 6 month policy or I guess about $15 or $20 a month.

I decided on a $500 deductable instead of the $1000 deductible for something on my estimate sheep called Comp - For example if someone broke your window and stole your radio, laptop, etc then this part of the insurance would go into effect. All that being said, i'm not sure I would want to report damage of less than a $1000 for fear of higher rate going forward.

You were right about me not being given an authority yet, although the website search was not that clear in fact, the website said I had an active authority. The letter I got in the mail today said I was lacking insurance, the BOC3 filing and the MCS-150. I thought the MCS-150B for hazmat was inclusive of the MCS-150 which is why I did not file it. I filled out the 150B and then took on the questionaire involving the the hazmat loads I was going to be hauling I decided not to check any of them because I could no figure out which categories would force me to increase my insurance to 5 million. I also later found out that Progressive is not too keen on letting a guy with a learners permit haul hazmat. I had the endorsement and went through the background check so i decided to add it on just in case. However, that was likely a mistake.

Anyway, they gave me 20 days to correct everything. The downside is that it now looks like I will be back to implementing the insurance policy prior to obtaining the authority, a situation I was sort of trying to avoid. Basically, you end up losing about $500 by having a insurance during a time when you can not haul loads. I'm going to call DOT tomorrow and ask them if I can push back the start day for the insurance to a date more in line with the date the authority will be granted.

Regarding the fact that being an owner operator with a learner permit is going to be very stressfull. I am certain you are correct. However, the real driver in my team will be a relative that has had a license for over 10 years. All that being said he has been in and out of trucking - mainly out. We decided to only drive 6 months out of the year so we don't get burn't out and also to avoid working in the winter as we are both fearful of driving a big truck in the snow. He said he does not like to drive in the rain either so I am all for pulling over if it rains too much. My main function at this point in the team is that I am buying the truck and hope to complete my CDL where as my relative will be the main driver.

I spent most of today trying to figure out what to do about all this compliance stuff. There are times I want to go a compliance service like Foley services or jjkellerservices. Apparently new entrant compliance is a little stricter than people whom have had authorities for over 18 months. This place sells books which includes the forms from ez dot compliance for about $90 dollars, but of course you still have to keep tabs on when things are due so I am not sure it is a good idea. OOIDA doesn't have a compliance service, but they have a bunch of video training webinars for about $540

Have you made a decision on how you will handle your compliance?

 

Yeah, surprised me as well. Worst part is not being able to have a little more time from call to schedule. I have to go out to Atlanta and get right back. Not the easiest thing to do without a lot of DH. But cost of doing business.

 

Tdan - OOIDA has a list that they will fax you that lists everything you need to do to be prepared for Audit. And it is free. Give them a call and ask about it.