So, after having been told by an agency that a big haulage company in Colnbrook with nice flashy Volvos could offer me ongoing work, it’s ended after just two days. After taking a trailer-load of Astroturf from Battersea out to a stinking farmyard in Midhurst, I drive back up for the second load, and they told me to load it up and bring it back and I can take it out in the morning. Because of delays (not my fault) it was gone 5pm by the time I left Battersea and got back to Colnbrook just after 6. Noticed a text on my phone saying there’s no work tomorrow because “some vehicles are being serviced”, which struck me as BS because they’d have known about that last week rather than only last thing in the evening. Either they’re dissatisfied or there’s just no work.
I’ve been looking through the job advert websites and found no proper jobs anywhere – it’s all agencies looking to get people out for one or two days here and there. Does anyone know who in this whole area is taking on drivers for proper jobs? I’m class 1, can do level D and HIAB, days and longish haul preferred. I’m in the Kingston area and can get out to the Croydon, Redhill/Gatwick, Guildford/Aldershot and Heathrow/Slough areas.
IndigoJo:
So, after having been told by an agency that a big haulage company in Colnbrook with nice flashy Volvos could offer me ongoing work, it’s ended after just two days. After taking a trailer-load of Astroturf from Battersea out to a stinking farmyard in Midhurst, I drive back up for the second load, and they told me to load it up and bring it back and I can take it out in the morning. Because of delays (not my fault) it was gone 5pm by the time I left Battersea and got back to Colnbrook just after 6. Noticed a text on my phone saying there’s no work tomorrow because “some vehicles are being serviced”, which struck me as BS because they’d have known about that last week rather than only last thing in the evening. Either they’re dissatisfied or there’s just no work.
I’ve been looking through the job advert websites and found no proper jobs anywhere – it’s all agencies looking to get people out for one or two days here and there. Does anyone know who in this whole area is taking on drivers for proper jobs? I’m class 1, can do level D and HIAB, days and longish haul preferred. I’m in the Kingston area and can get out to the Croydon, Redhill/Gatwick, Guildford/Aldershot and Heathrow/Slough areas.
That sounds like one of the better jobs in this area. My bet is that the Colnbrook job was actually telling you the truth in wanting you back in the morning and the agency’s next move will be a call along the lines of we’ve got some Class ‘3’ local building deliveries or 7.5 t London Multi Drop work job lined up for you.Or possibly even lie about Class 1 trunking work that mysteriously turns into 7.5 t London multi drop when you turn up and even they won’t be based anywhere near Kingston.The bit they won’t tell you is why.That being because someone else wants the Colnbrook job and has turned down those other options . But yes Kingston area nothing changes in probably still being the truck driving jobs hell today that it was almost 40 years ago for me.
If you’re going to do agency work you’ll find there’s no shortage of bull to put up with. Certainly amongst the most dishonest group of people you will ever come across.
Oh yes,agencies…
I’m looking at getting back on the road and have called quite a few agencies recently.None of the jobs they had advertised in my area existed,one company had to admit that NONE of the seven jobs they had advertised existed.
All of them were very happy to take my details though,yeah right…
Carryfast:
That sounds like one of the better jobs in this area. My bet is that the Colnbrook job was actually telling you the truth in wanting you back in the morning and the agency’s next move will be a call along the lines of we’ve got some Class ‘3’ local building deliveries or 7.5 t London Multi Drop work job lined up for you.Or possibly even lie about Class 1 trunking work that mysteriously turns into 7.5 t London multi drop when you turn up and even they won’t be based anywhere near Kingston.The bit they won’t tell you is why.That being because someone else wants the Colnbrook job and has turned down those other options . But yes Kingston area nothing changes in probably still being the truck driving jobs hell today that it was almost 40 years ago for me.
I’ve actually heard nothing from my contact about the Colnbrook job since - the guy’s not responding to texts or answering his phone, and when I called the office yesterday he was always “in a meeting”. This guy’s half my age and twice my size but avoids me like a teenage girl trying to get out of an undesirable date. And yes, I’ve had two offers for the sort of jobs you mention and turned them both down (which I might not have done if they’d been honest with me from the start).
Carryfast:
That sounds like one of the better jobs in this area. My bet is that the Colnbrook job was actually telling you the truth in wanting you back in the morning and the agency’s next move will be a call along the lines of we’ve got some Class ‘3’ local building deliveries or 7.5 t London Multi Drop work job lined up for you.Or possibly even lie about Class 1 trunking work that mysteriously turns into 7.5 t London multi drop when you turn up and even they won’t be based anywhere near Kingston.The bit they won’t tell you is why.That being because someone else wants the Colnbrook job and has turned down those other options . But yes Kingston area nothing changes in probably still being the truck driving jobs hell today that it was almost 40 years ago for me.
I’ve actually heard nothing from my contact about the Colnbrook job since - the guy’s not responding to texts or answering his phone, and when I called the office yesterday he was always “in a meeting”. This guy’s half my age and twice my size but avoids me like a teenage girl trying to get out of an undesirable date. And yes, I’ve had two offers for the sort of jobs you mention and turned them both down (which I might not have done if they’d been honest with me from the start).
Do you mean the agency contact or the guvnor of the firm you were working at ?.If it’s what I’m guessing you’re getting different stories from the agency v the firm.
Which is what happened in my case ironically with a brilliant class 3 day distance bulk deliveries job.Where I got on great with the guvnors there and liked the job and they wanted me to stay on it.No surprise then got a call from the agency that the job was cancelled and I was back on the usual diet of 7.5 t London multi drop and building deliveries work.I walked away when they couldn’t answer the questions as to the contradiction between what the firm had told me v what they were saying.Absolute bunch of lying zb’s and would never work for agencies again.
Carryfast:
Do you mean the agency contact or the guvnor of the firm you were working at ?.If it’s what I’m guessing you’re getting different stories from the agency v the firm.
Which is what happened in my case ironically with a brilliant class 3 day distance bulk deliveries job.Where I got on great with the guvnors there and liked the job and they wanted me to stay on it.No surprise then got a call from the agency that the job was cancelled and I was back on the usual diet of 7.5 t London multi drop and building deliveries work.I walked away when they couldn’t answer the questions as to the contradiction between what the firm had told me v what they were saying.Absolute bunch of lying zb’s and would never work for agencies again.
When I said “my contact” I meant my agency contact – they have a few people in the office doing driving work but there’s only one person to contact for each job; the others will say it’s his job, not theirs. He’s the one who sent me the text at 6:25pm on Tuesday saying the job was off because of maintenance, which I guessed immediately was BS. The company themselves had earlier said they needed me the next morning. He’s also the guy who’s been playing hard-to-get with me since.
The transport company won’t give me any answers – they just say “call your agency”. I heard from the supposed agency boss who said I was such a brilliant driver (without me ever having worked for him) and it was astonishing that I was not working yet. They were also talking about getting me in with a big name haulier on Colbrook, and claimed to have organised an assessment, but I called them to ask about something else the night before and only then did someone tell me the assessment was cancelled because the assessor was off sick.
Carryfast:
Do you mean the agency contact or the guvnor of the firm you were working at ?.If it’s what I’m guessing you’re getting different stories from the agency v the firm.
Which is what happened in my case ironically with a brilliant class 3 day distance bulk deliveries job.Where I got on great with the guvnors there and liked the job and they wanted me to stay on it.No surprise then got a call from the agency that the job was cancelled and I was back on the usual diet of 7.5 t London multi drop and building deliveries work.I walked away when they couldn’t answer the questions as to the contradiction between what the firm had told me v what they were saying.Absolute bunch of lying zb’s and would never work for agencies again.
When I said “my contact” I meant my agency contact – they have a few people in the office doing driving work but there’s only one person to contact for each job; the others will say it’s his job, not theirs. He’s the one who sent me the text at 6:25pm on Tuesday saying the job was off because of maintenance, which I guessed immediately was BS. The company themselves had earlier said they needed me the next morning. He’s also the guy who’s been playing hard-to-get with me since.
The transport company won’t give me any answers – they just say “call your agency”. I heard from the supposed agency boss who said I was such a brilliant driver (without me ever having worked for him) and it was astonishing that I was not working yet. They were also talking about getting me in with a big name haulier on Colbrook, and claimed to have organised an assessment, but I called them to ask about something else the night before and only then did someone tell me the assessment was cancelled because the assessor was off sick.
Sounds like my experience.One story from the firm and another from the agency.I think it goes along the lines of the agency gives you a reasonably decent job to get you on the hook,then gives it back to their favoured drivers,who you can bet will moan and whinge if their expectations are upset for long,and then lumber you with all the zb which makes up most of their books.On the basis that most users of agencies only use them because they can’t find anyone who wants to do their lousy job vacancies.Which is why they are often happy to pay class 1 rates for a 7.5 t job.While if they can find a naive mug then they’ll just keep dumping that type of work on them.
While in my case I didn’t even bother trying to contact the guvnors at the firm I’d been placed with because I already knew the score by that point.Having put two and two together and that the client wouldn’t want to get involved with a job allocation and pecking order issue going on within the agency.While you can bet that’s why the agency won’t answer your questions.All that made worse in this area because of the high labour supply caused by the population levels and geographic area in which the lower quality types of work like London multi drop and local building trades deliveries form such a disproportionate amount of what’s available.Leaving drivers either having to argue about staying on what ever decent jobs are left or walking away and looking for something better if they don’t want to get lumbered and typecast as a mug.
If you don’t mind tipper work try penwarden nirman road or cappagh or if you go a bit further pj brown.
I’d imagine be a fair bit round Heathrow with airfreight work.
Or the paddy mafia in west London on Tipper’s
Carryfast:
Do you mean the agency contact or the guvnor of the firm you were working at ?.If it’s what I’m guessing you’re getting different stories from the agency v the firm.
Which is what happened in my case ironically with a brilliant class 3 day distance bulk deliveries job.Where I got on great with the guvnors there and liked the job and they wanted me to stay on it.No surprise then got a call from the agency that the job was cancelled and I was back on the usual diet of 7.5 t London multi drop and building deliveries work.I walked away when they couldn’t answer the questions as to the contradiction between what the firm had told me v what they were saying.Absolute bunch of lying zb’s and would never work for agencies again.
When I said “my contact” I meant my agency contact – they have a few people in the office doing driving work but there’s only one person to contact for each job; the others will say it’s his job, not theirs. He’s the one who sent me the text at 6:25pm on Tuesday saying the job was off because of maintenance, which I guessed immediately was BS. The company themselves had earlier said they needed me the next morning. He’s also the guy who’s been playing hard-to-get with me since.
The transport company won’t give me any answers – they just say “call your agency”. I heard from the supposed agency boss who said I was such a brilliant driver (without me ever having worked for him) and it was astonishing that I was not working yet. They were also talking about getting me in with a big name haulier on Colbrook, and claimed to have organised an assessment, but I called them to ask about something else the night before and only then did someone tell me the assessment was cancelled because the assessor was off sick.
I reckon I know who you are talking about… Shower of ■■■■ the lot of them.
OK, since everyone’s talking about agency shenanigans…
This agency is Staffing Match, the Feltham branch.
Update: their preferred payroll umbrella, Nova, called me when I was driving an artic for another company along the M4. The guy asked me if I was working for SM and I told them I’d done two days’ work before they pulled me out with a ■■■■ and bull story and I didn’t know if I’d be working for them again. I texted them when I got to the next stop and asked. They texted back to ask if I’d signed with Nova; I texted back to say no, as I didn’t know if there would be any more work. She responded that if I didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to pay me for the work I did at PRS.
Next day they called again, also while I was at work, and I told them I didn’t want to work for them anymore as they were unprofessional and dishonest. The payroll lady (such as she is, given that they outsource payroll) said she’d put Luke on the phone (my contact for the PRS job) to explain, but I said I didn’t need his explanation, I just wanted my money and holiday pay so I could have nothing further to do with them. She then put the phone down so as to transfer me to Luke, and I hung up as I didn’t care to talk to him. They tried calling me back three or four times, and I refused all the calls.
That was more than two weeks ago and I haven’t been paid yet. I really don’t want to sign up with Nova as I already have arrangements with at least two other umbrella companies, and I’ve also been told that they’re one of the worst umbrella companies around (by someone at another agency, though).
IndigoJo:
OK, since everyone’s talking about agency shenanigans…
This agency is Staffing Match, the Feltham branch.
Update: their preferred payroll umbrella, Nova, called me when I was driving an artic for another company along the M4. The guy asked me if I was working for SM and I told them I’d done two days’ work before they pulled me out with a ■■■■ and bull story and I didn’t know if I’d be working for them again. I texted them when I got to the next stop and asked. They texted back to ask if I’d signed with Nova; I texted back to say no, as I didn’t know if there would be any more work. She responded that if I didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to pay me for the work I did at PRS.
Next day they called again, also while I was at work, and I told them I didn’t want to work for them anymore as they were unprofessional and dishonest. The payroll lady (such as she is, given that they outsource payroll) said she’d put Luke on the phone (my contact for the PRS job) to explain, but I said I didn’t need his explanation, I just wanted my money and holiday pay so I could have nothing further to do with them. She then put the phone down so as to transfer me to Luke, and I hung up as I didn’t care to talk to him. They tried calling me back three or four times, and I refused all the calls.
That was more than two weeks ago and I haven’t been paid yet. I really don’t want to sign up with Nova as I already have arrangements with at least two other umbrella companies, and I’ve also been told that they’re one of the worst umbrella companies around (by someone at another agency, though). Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
WOWZA!!..
You are being shafted by EVERYONE mate.
Have nothing to do with brolly companies, you will be hit with massive tax bills in due course.
Try and find a full time job, I know that’s not easy but it has to better than the vortice of crap you’re currently in. If you can’t, then only work for agenices that will pay you on PAYE terms. As for the money you are owed, tell them that you will proceed through the courts to retrieve your wages.
prs didn’t go too well then i thought you would be on their books not agency. i personally would not work for Priestly, not ever. if you want an agency around Heathrow try Links Recruitment tell them Malcolm gave you their number will get you in the door, I have worked for the owner for 12 years, work for all the big companies around Heathrow.
My bet is that the Colnbrook job was actually telling you the truth in wanting you back in the morning and the agency’s next move will be a call along the lines of we’ve got some Class ‘3’ local building deliveries or 7.5 t London Multi Drop work job lined up for you.Or possibly even lie about Class 1 trunking work that mysteriously turns into 7.5 t London multi drop when you turn up and even they won’t be based anywhere near Kingston.The bit they won’t tell you is why.That being because someone else wants the Colnbrook job and has turned down those other options . 
But yes Kingston area nothing changes in probably still being the truck driving jobs hell today that it was almost 40 years ago for me. 
