In September my wife and I was referred to this company by one of their drivers. He said he had been with them 8 months, and I could see himself working for them "for the next 10 years"! They had perfect runs California to Florida and back. So, my wife and I changed to team drive for them.
I should have know from the first load that this business was trouble. The first load I did, when I contacted Keys (dispatcher), she cursed me for not being able to find the shipper. I told her that should could have her truck back that same day, and she calmed down.
You see, their draw was that in addition to the perfect runs, they would "sell" you a truck with "no money down". That should have been another hint. They put us in a 2003 Peterbilt that was actually owned by someone else, and the trailer was on a lease. They started deducting payments out of our check the first week to the tune of $1000.
After several weeks, I asked for our sales contract, and our lease agreement. Keys ignored my request. I asked her again the next week. She ignored me again. So here it was we were supposed to be leased to this company, and we NEVER SIGNED A LEASE AGREEMENT, OR A PURCHASE AGREEMENT!
That means, we were simply employees, and they were using the truck as s decoy to steal money from government taxes!
Each week she sent us statements saying we owed them money for the truck payment ($300.00), the trailer payment ($200.00), Insurance ($100.00), escrow ($100.00), and maintenance ($300.00).
Reggie promised he would pay us $1.46 per mile BEFORE WE QUIT OUR JOB as company drivers. We figured with that pay, we could afford to make the payments. Well, before we got our first "pay statement", he dropped it to $1.39 saying the fuel was dropping. (He eventually dropped it all the way to $1.05. Nothing but a bait and switch.)
After a few weeks driving 5000 miles plus each week, we started to wonder about our pay. I asked him about it and he said we were "in the hole". We protested and he gave us an "advance" of $1800.00 after the third week. Do the math, 15,000 miles for $1800.00. When I complained he said all the money in the maintenance fund and the escrow was "our money" and we had to figure it into our income.
So, we fell for that okeedoke, because we didn't want to change jobs again. Well as it turned out, Underdog was a big rogue trucking company. We found out that all their drivers were running the same miles my wife and I were running. NONE of them were even doing logs. Their dot rating was so high, they couldnt get freight from 95% of the shippers, and their dot number was under suspension. Once when my wife was off the truck, Keys told me that if if didn't keep running the same miles, I COULD JUST SET, because all their runs were due to be delivered coast to coast in 3 days or less. When I complained I was out of hours, she cursed me out again.
After taking her abuse for a few more weeks, I decided I would quite. The last straw was the truck's brakes wasn't stopping the truck. I told her I coasted through 2 stop lights, and I was calling in to have them checked out. Her "exact words were"... MY LOAD HAS GOT TO BE IN FLORIDA TOMORROW as if I didn't have time to get the brakes done! I knew then that this company was heading for a fatality, and I wasn't going to be behind the wheel when it happened.
When I finally turned my truck in, they owed me over $6000.00 with my last 2 runs, my escrow funds, and my maintenance balance. Yesterday, (45 days after I turned my truck in) I got my final settlement. THOSE ROGUES SAID I OWED THEM $2200.00!
They took all the deferred maintenance from before I got the truck, and supposedly got everything fixed, and when they added it all up... I OWED THEM!
If anyone is thinking remotely about going to work for those two rogues, THINK 10 TIMES BEFORE YOU DO IT... It doesn't matter if you can't find a trucking job anywhere else... Go to work for McDonald's, you'll make more money without putting your life, and the public on the line.
Of the 7 drivers I knew personally that worked for them, NONE OF THEM WAS MAKING 20 CENTS PER MILE WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE! Everyone was always "in the hole". The guy who referred me, was fired because he had to many blowouts from the cheap, balding tires that he kept putting on the trucks. The driver wasn't keeping the tires aired up, Reggie claimed.
That bogus owner-operator thing is nothing but a "share-cropping" type of a scam. They get all the money for the loads, charge you for everything they can think of, you do all the work... And they decide IF YOU EVEN GET ANYTHING at all. And when you finally quit, you get NOTHING but bankruptcy!!!
A word to the wise should be sufficient!
Ed
P.S. To add insult to injury, those crooks, sent me a 1099 for $60,000.00. I'm reporting them to the IRS, FBI, Labor Board, OSHA, DOT, and all their shippers, brokers, and consignees!
E2tfc
Columbia, South Carolina
U.S.A.
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