Having been messed around by one agency and lost my position at the placement I had because of them I am now out of work since just after xmas. I have been ringing my local agencies almost on a daily basis because I am stupid enough to believe their lies. I was promised work for Monday and just been told im not wanted due to level of experience even though they allegedly spoke to the company I was to be set to on Tuesday just gone. So quite clearly more agency lies.
I am almost to the point where I am on my last tin of baked beans and quite frankly fed up with it all.
Do I go back to warehouse work and get messed around some more or do I stick to my guns and keep trying for class 2
coop
this might seem like a crazy idea but theres always the option of getting into your car and going round on the knock and trying to get a proper job instead of dreaming about a future as a limper?
dieseldog999:
this might seem like a crazy idea but theres always the option of getting into your car and going round on the knock and trying to get a proper job instead of dreaming about a future as a limper?
done all that and no one interested. most said they wanted at least 2 years experience. plus getting a “proper” job might pay the bills in a couple of months time not now.
I’ve been nothing but messed around with agencies (passed class 2 in october) and managed to find full time work instead. Get registered with anything near you and tell them you’re prepared to drive Van’s if necessary -This is the advice one agency gave me, never offered me work mind, but said if I was willing to drive anything, increase the distance i was prepared to travel for work, and was readily available, they’d find me something!
From what I’m told once you’re in with them, you’re in. Sounds like you were in that place but they blew it for you.
Keep calling, go in and visit them, let them know you’re not going to go away - all easily said and hard to do, but if I were the guy making the call on a driver, I’d be ringing the dude who stubbornly keeps turning up because I’d believe he’d attend the job and not let me down.
Good luck, you’ve worked hard to get your licence, i hope it turns round for you.
I was stupid enough to think that if I have some sort of qualification I will be able to get out of the rat race for the warehouse jobs where there are 50 people waiting behind you for the same job. Im kicking myself a little bit as I didn’t send my certificate off straight away because I was told I would need either it or my pass certificate for my driving assessment. Consequently a missed out on a lot of the Christmas work that may of stood me in good stead for now.
Are you registered with the big national agencies or more local ones?
Not that it’ll make you feel any better, but a client cancelled a shift I had booked via agency for today. Agency can’t find more than 2 shifts for next week, without possibly being last minute cover.
Agency work is going to get quiet until about April if it is anything like last year. The parcel companies seem quieter than usual compared to last year too. DPD and Yodel appear to be the busiest.
Lots of agency drivers will be going on holiday in the next few weeks, back in time for when things pick up later on.
little work available this time of year i’d think…but have you tried EVERY haulier within say,15 miles radius? there must be someone with a motor parked up,waiting for a driver.have you shown you are passionate about becoming a truck driver? i say that,because it’s quite a few years ago,but that’s how i got my career in trucking going
Sounds like youve got the mucky end of the stick. Suggest you put a post on the main forum, and include where youre located. If you`re up for nights out too, then you can look at a much larger area. A long commute once a week is no worse (some would say much better) than an average one daily .
Good luck.
You have to accept that Jan., Feb. are very quiet months for all of us. Are there any tipper or skip operators in your area also how about a coal merchant? Find out who has the contract for the bin lorry where you are. Its not easy, but they say there is a driver shortage.
When I did agency it dried up Nov to March with 2 day weeks and rubbish like that. Tends to be much more on class 1 since thrre are less oeople doing that, but again employers and agencies can pick the “experienced” drivers and in theory keep their insurance bills down.
Longer term my advice would be get ADR. You might not get tankers or anything exotic, but its much harder to get ADR qualified agency staff than just general drivers. Kept me in a job and got me fulltime.
I would defo accept driving 7.5T and vans jobs and maybe contact Transline if they have a branch in your area as they Amazon. Not great agency or job, but its work.
ADR agency (nothing to do with Hazchem) do a lot for CO-OP if there’s one of those nearby.
Ultimately, its a slog to get the first step - been there, done it (same with most careers it turns out). Slowly you get more accepted as reliable etc but you have to accept the real crap like 4am phone calls to be there now and 50 mile away jobs.
Personally I’d do whatever work pays the bills since your licence matures, ie: 6 months licence held is worth more even if not used (just be conservative with the truth if asked). Come March things should pickup.
When I passed my tests I picked up a yellow pages and rung all the local haulage firms in the area. I got as far as T on class two and was offered a job doing general curtansider stuff.
Passed class one . Got as far as C and two days later I was driving to the south of France. Sometimes it’s best just to use a bit of initiative pick up the phone and ring round.
Im willing to do any hours in fact I would prefer nights and willing to drive anything that I have the licence for. I don’t mind handballing with in reason but im a skinny runt and would say 15-20kg is probably my limit but depends on the situation. I used to work in a warehouse and pulling pallets with 40 cases of coke on time after time and by break I could hardly move my arms. However, carrying a 80 kg sofa into a house was ok (with a drivers mate). because I then had a 10 min break while we drove to the next location.
Other than that I am willing to learn and persevere hours aren’t an issue and as said willing to work nights and weekends I just need the foot in the door and a fair crack of the whip.
coop
It normally does slacken off after Christmas but this is the quietest January I’ve known on the agency since I’ve been living in the Midlands. I did one day last week, two days the week before and two the week before that. Luckily my living costs are very low so I can survive on it, and there’s always plenty of stuff I can find to do on the boat, but I was hoping to be able to put some money away so I can go off cruising in March, this might have to be put back now.
I’ve been busy since returning to work after Christmas, but next week I’ve been laid off on Tuesday, the other couple of regular limpers who I work with have a random day off too.
It seems the guy at the agency responsible for this particular contract at two sites is trying to please ALL of the drivers he has on this contract by giving them some shifts so he doesn’t loose them, which is pretty much the norm this time of year. However this generally doesn’t work because you find that there’s always a couple of drivers who want more than the others and throw a hissy fit and flounce off. Despite several of the drivers only ever worked at the neighbouring site the combined number of shifts for both sites is being shared out, so drivers from the other site are getting work at either site.
My advice to the OP is to take ANY work they can get for the next couple of months then the driving work will start to pick up
There is a large Tesco home shopping depot on the Quarry Wood industrial Estate in Aylesford. There won’t be class 2 work but the turnover of drivers for all the supermarkets is quite high for this line of work. It may be a wolf from the door job but it is at least keeping you driving. Thinking parcels and Pallet Distribution so there is TNT in Hall rd Aylesford. You could try Lenham Storage, Shakespeare and Castledean (both Aylesford), all have fleets of rigids. Claygate bathroom fittings Distribution (nice people) at Marden are all 7.5t and vans but have a large fleet with some doing distance work. Further afield are SS at Tonbridge and AFIAK Salvatori have a place in Sittingbourne. Then you have the tippers and the builders merchants.
cav551:
There is a large Tesco home shopping depot on the Quarry Wood industrial Estate in Aylesford. There won’t be class 2 work but the turnover of drivers for all the supermarkets is quite high for this line of work. It may be a wolf from the door job but it is at least keeping you driving. Thinking parcels and Pallet Distribution so there is TNT in Hall rd Aylesford. You could try Lenham Storage, Shakespeare and Castledean (both Aylesford), all have fleets of rigids. Claygate bathroom fittings Distribution (nice people) at Marden are all 7.5t and vans but have a large fleet with some doing distance work. Further afield are SS at Tonbridge and AFIAK Salvatori have a place in Sittingbourne. Then you have the tippers and the builders merchants.
Thanks for that I didn’t know TNT were there. I tried both Shakespeare and castledean and both wanted 2 years experience. I have a pile of cv’s ready printed as tomorrow im going door knocking see if I can get some casual work I will add the others you suggested to my list.
coop
peirre:
I’ve been busy since returning to work after Christmas, but next week I’ve been laid off on Tuesday, the other couple of regular limpers who I work with have a random day off too.
It seems the guy at the agency responsible for this particular contract at two sites is trying to please ALL of the drivers he has on this contract by giving them some shifts so he doesn’t loose them, which is pretty much the norm this time of year. However this generally doesn’t work because you find that there’s always a couple of drivers who want more than the others and throw a hissy fit and flounce off. Despite several of the drivers only ever worked at the neighbouring site the combined number of shifts for both sites is being shared out, so drivers from the other site are getting work at either site.
My advice to the OP is to take ANY work they can get for the next couple of months then the driving work will start to pick up
I am quite happy with the work being shared out either by the agency or the company itself. However what im not happy about is being promised work so I plan my week around it to find out that the company didn’t want me because I am a new pass. I don’t blame the company for that I blame the agency which was the most recent turn of events. I also blame the agency when you agree your availability and they then mark you down as unavailable or tell you company a doesn’t want you but company b does so you agree to go to company b then get a phone call why aren’t you at company a.
That’s the nature of the work, they will always try to mess you around until they and you find each other’s breaking point. They also will want to have you as flexible as possible to enable them to have people who will work on other jobs. Even if that means they are economic with the truth.
This time last year I had 6 weeks without work but due to my experience with this time of year I didn’t get into panic mode when the phone stopped ringing
