In December I asked Mike (dispatcher) to change a delivery date/time for me due to my girlfriend being sick and needing to stay home an extra day. Mike called me back and left a message (he called around 8am, I was sleeping) saying, "If you can't deliver it by the date/time it's supposed to be why don't you just bring your truck/trailer to the yard." I called back and had to leave a voice mail (he would never answer his phone) saying, "I don't understand why I'm being told to turn the truck in, but if that's what you want I'll have it there later this evening."
I proceeded to drive the truck, with it's loaded trailer, to the Jackson, MO terminal. It was well after 5pm, as I had to wait for someone to follow me so I could get back home. I parked the truck, put the paperwork in the seat, turned in my last load information and left. I have applied for numerous jobs since then, even lease/purchase, and have been told that Mercury Specialized Carriers reported me to DAC as "truck abandonment". I've called the company numerous times to no avail. I spoke with them around 4:45pm 6/5/06 (today) and was told that they didn't see the truck in the yard until 12/22/05, a Thursday (I dropped it off Sunday or Monday night) and they considered that my termination/quit date. I asked them how they could report it as a truck abandonment when it was on THEIR property and was told since it wasn't noticed until the 22nd they considered it abandoned.
Now, how do you not know a truck is on your yard when the yard is only big enough for 10 trucks (max). How do you not notice that a load is 2 or 3 days late? I believe the receiver called Mercury after the load was "late" and that's when they decided to do a walk around the yard and see if the truck/trailer was there like I said it would be (almost a week before).
I have done the calculations since this happened and realize that since I could have gotten a job right away, if this false report hadn't been made to DAC, I am out $22,800.00. This is calculating. 38 per mile @ 3000 miles/week for 5 months. 38 per mile is about average for a company driver with 5-6 years experience (as I have). I also believe that, if I chose, I could sue for defamation of character (libel). This has cost me many opportunities, wasted time, lack of money as well as an inability to get a driving job with a good, medium/large sized company... Or do lease purchase.
I finally found a decent driving job in 3/06 (3 months after this all happened). However, it's not with a company of my choice... But a company I had to "settle" for due to my DAC report.
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