Covenant Transport
The Best Time to Kick a Man, Is When He's Down

I drove for Covenant Transport and I found out the hard way that if you do exactly what they tell you, you will pay for it. I drove for them and my wife was allowed to go with me as a rider.

I was at a plant just outside Washington DC waiting for a load. The lot was crowded and I was asked to move my truck to let another by. It was a tight turn to the left that would remove the right rear of my trailer from the field of vision of my mirrors. I knew the rear would swing out and get very close to another truck.in their orientation classes, they stressed over and over again, do not make such a turn on your own. Get another driver to look for you, so he can see your rear and you can see his signal. This is exactly what I did.

Unfortunately, my set of eyes took his mind off of what he was doing so he could talk to another driver for a second. Once I felt contact made, then he finally started signaling wildly to stop. He dropped the ball. Two guards and one of the company drivers for the plant saw the whole thing and signed statements saying it was my spotter's fault.

After making the proper contacts and mailing this info to the Covenant I noticed that they started deducting money from my check. They said I must pay for the accident. They started taking out $500 in increments. My claim that it wasn't my fault and that I did precisely what they instructed according to company policy fell on deaf ears. "The driver is always responsible for his vehicle."

I pointed out that they hadn't even had time to receive the statements from the witnesses before they started deducting. At Covenant a driver is guilty until proven innocent, only they never let you prove your innocence. They said there was a driver appeal process but I would have to come to Chattanooga and appear, yet they kept dispatching me away from home plant. They never let me come back. My dispatcher told me that it was a waste of time anyway, the driver is always found guilty.

On the 89th day of my eligibility for insurance, my wife fell and broke her arm. It damaged the nerve and she had no feeling in it for months. 90 days are required for insurance. So no insurance, no help, no physical therapy (I couldn't afford it). I had to quit and find a stay home job to take care of her for a year.

Even with all that, I had hoped when she got better to go back to driving for Covenant... Until I got the letter. They still expected me to pay the $500. They ruined our credit and turned us over to a collection agency. Nothing like getting kicked when you're down.

In their industry Covenant probably spends $500 every hundreth of a second. It is insignificant to them. It was devastating to me.

You know, I'm still waiting for my appointment for that driver's appeal review. But Covenant's not interested in hearing the facts. They just figure that since they're a large company, they can apply pressure and get money out of those too weak to fight. Whether they deserve it or not.

Think about this next time you plan on shipping something.

Company: Covenant Transport
Country: USA
State: Tennessee
City: Chattanooga
Address: 400 Birmingham Highway
Phone: 4238211212

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