Ok guys will cut a long story short…
Broke down this morning on Cannock island where ramada is(sorry if I was in your way to all the lorry drivers giving me swear words and shakes of the head like it was my fault 
) anyway, mechanic turns up and we move off to a retail park and he decides that the compresser is gone and I need a new one. Ok fair doo’s I go to Walsalll and ask how long. They say 4 hours tops and as I arrived I told gaffa at company I dont think it is realistic I will make it back at 8pm when my 15 runs out. He tells me it will be ok and I will stay with unit. 5pm comes and it isnt fixed…as I predicted and now the air dryer has gone to meaning another 2 hours(8pm) 
gaffa tells me I will either wait and get a lift back or as I pulled card can leave it out till 9 is up and crack on. I ring agency to tell them that after our tele call I am being told to break the law and I am not happy. Agency to my shock tell me I should break the law if I want get home or sleep in their yard(in a small room with 2 chairs)
Now that is the short story, I told him it is my license and not his and he was taking the ■■■■, they had all day to sort something out as regards to pulling me out and they decided not to and thought I would play their game of breaking law to suit them but I wont and I ended up getting the train from Walsall to brum and back to Nottingham.
My question is this…
How do I ask to be paid? 5am to 1830 when I walked plus bus/train/tram to get home? They said if I had pulled my card at 1pm as I did as I knew I wouldnt be back on road that I only had to wait till 2200 to be back on it when I could complete job and get back despite no rest as and I quote “you have been sitting round for hours its the same as rest” and then back to Belle eau park and home. When I said that will be near on 20 hours at work by time im finished he said “no it wont, 2 cards in one day 9 off UNPAID means it is to your benefit” 
Needless to say I will not be working for these cowboys again, I value my license more then that.
Or am I being mardy? I am having doubts as to wether this is normal practise or not and the law counts for nothing or was I right to stick to my grounds and refuse to bring it back and get the train?
Any advice greatly appreciated and yeah I know I didnt bend over when I could of done as chances caught are slim but I would also appreciate not being hammered for this 
OllieNotts:
He tells me it will be ok and I will stay with unit.
If they TOLD you to stay with unit then you are not free to dispose of your time as you wish so it’s not REST
OllieNotts:
How do I ask to be paid? 5am to 1830 when I walked plus bus/train/tram to get home?
IMO - Yes - that seems fair - I might put in for the time it took to get home as well
How were you asked to break the law ou said you had puxlled the card and were there for on a daily break to all insense and purposes you the fact you choose not to get your head down and get some sleep and thencrack on is your choice
Could most people have a good nights sleep, be up for very few hours, have another good sleep then go back to work ? - I know I could not.
Was it a sleeper cab ?
Also in this case - would they pay the driver for that ‘down time whilst at work’’ ?
We have to remember in this case that the driver was being told to REST and not take a BREAK and as I mentioned earlier, I don’t consider that the requirement for REST was met
alix776:
How were you asked to break the law ou said you had puxlled the card and were there for on a daily break to all insense and purposes you the fact you choose not to get your head down and get some sleep and thencrack on is your choice
I was stuck in a room about 12 foot by 10 foot with 2 chairs. No food, nothing but the noise of lorries entering the site so even if there was somewhere to sleep there was so much noise I couldn’t sleep anyway so by the time I started again at 10pm I have been up since 5am that is 17 hours without sleep and then I am expected to drive a fully loaded artic for another 3 hours after no sleep and you call that daily rest? 
I pulled the card in case I was told to go/pulled out and the cab was tilted forward and I couldnt access the tacho machine and I was proved right as I would not of been able to get it without messing about by the time I left.
I wonder if the agency man or any of you on here would do 9 hours at work one day for free?
ROG:
Could most people have a good nights sleep, be up for very few hours, have another good sleep then go back to work ? - I know I could not.Was it a sleeper cab ?
Also in this case - would they pay the driver for that ‘down time whilst at work’’ ?We have to remember in this case that the driver was being told to REST and not take a BREAK and as I mentioned earlier, I don’t consider that the requirement for REST was met
It was a sleeper cab but it was in the garage and I could not access it, by the time was finished I would be about ready to get on the move again. And no they would not pay my down time despite the fact I have been at work for the 9 hours in between I would have had 8 hours basic X2 for the no over time and it would not of surprised at 10pm if they told me to head down to wales and finish the first job I set out to do.
So you pulled the card of your own accord There for putting yourslf on break. What planet did you think you were on that they wood pick you up in a car get real
I take it you were at a main dealer then I you had opened your mouth an asked instead of stewing in room then they may have let you a van to get some food ie chippy etc. Also if you had asked then they would have let you use a truck that is normally for hire or waiting to be sold so you were not asked to do anything illegal you chose to pull the card as for getting paid do you really think they are going to pay you after you have just cost them to get the companies truck back as I understand it you decided to go home ie walk off the job
alix776:
So you pulled the card of your own accord There for putting yourslf on break. What planet did you think you were on that they wood pick you up in a car get real
I take it you were at a main dealer then I you had opened your mouth an asked instead of stewing in room then they may have let you a van to get some food ie chippy etc. Also if you had asked then they would have let you use a truck that is normally for hire or waiting to be sold so you were not asked to do anything illegal you chose to pull the card as for getting paid do you really think they are going to pay you after you have just cost them to get the companies truck back as I understand it you decided to go home ie walk off the job
I didnt expect a lift home in a car no. Maybe it is just me then, maybe I should pop into VOSA and explain what happened and after their advice if they agree with you I will apologise to company for going home to get some rest instead of sleeping in a room with a chair 
alix776:
So you pulled the card of your own accord There for putting yourslf on break
I cannot see a problem with that under the circumstances as long as a manual entry can be done asap
alix776:
Also if you had asked then they would have let you use a truck
I would have thought that the company he was working for would have thought of that - hire a truck to keep the driver & load moving instead of chancing it as they did !!
alix776:
you were not asked to do anything illegal
He was - they told him to take REST where the circumstances did not legally allow it
alix776:
you after you have just cost them to get the companies truck back
As above - that was the choice of the company - they should have put something legal into action
The company could have offered the driver a B&B with all expenses paid
The driver left the truck at 630pm as there was no way of legally driving it anywhere -
OllieNotts:
as I predicted and now the air dryer has gone to meaning another 2 hours(8pm)
start at 5am means daily rest must start by 8pm latest !!
There was no guarantee of the time that it would be fixed so at 8pm if he had stayed with the truck - where would he sleep ■■
The way I see it - At the end of the day, the driver only had the option of either acting illegally or calling it quits because of a lack of inaction and forward thinking by the company.
The one thing that troubles me on this is that the driver ended duty away from base and did not return to the same point to book on duty again which I thought they had to do ■■.. coffee !!
You should stick to your guns (not enough of us do!) but in all honesty I think you’ll come out of it even more wound up and no richer.
I think I’d’ve done my best to make the most of 9hrs and driven back - I know strictly speaking it’s not legal but it’d be less hassle (that’s just the way I am). I’d then have claimed for a night out (9hrs break) and 8hrs (second shift) plus the time from setting off to getting to the workshop on the first “day” and told the agency I’m never going back, possibly told agency to stuff it too (once they’d paid me).
Rog his end of shift doesn’t mater he walked of the job en of ollie read my post above again you would not have had to sleep across 2 seats in the drivers waiting room I’ve been in that exact position I was lent a van to get something to eat and hav been able to sleep in one of the dealers hire trucks if you had asked it would most likely have been provided
As for getting paid personally I don’t think will as you broke the terms of your agreement by walking off the job
alix776:
Rog his end of shift doesn’t mater he walked of the job
90 minutes later and he would be FORCED to end the shift - in fact it would be 6pm if he did not have a reduced daily rest available (which is by his choice anyway)
How can a driver walk out on a job when the company have produced a situation where the driver cannot legally do anything else ?
darkseeker:
I’d then have claimed for a night out (9hrs break) and 8hrs (second shift) plus the time from setting off to getting to the workshop on the first “day”
Or do what I did in a similar situation:
Me: “The agreement was no nights out and time and a half after 8”
Agy: “Erm… we don’t want to upset the client, PLEASE stay with it”
Me:“I’l have 9 off, but I want the agreed time and a half for it”
Agy: “Let me make a call.”
I was gobsmacked when they paid it - 8 hours for first day, 2 hours at time and half that day, time and half for 9 hours kip and 8 hours (on a saturday, so saturday rates) for 3 hours running back the next day. Easiest money I’ve ever earned
Rog stop talking rosetinted perfect world BS and get in the real world he op had options if he had asked the flipping workshop if they had a unit he could use and wherethe nearest chippy or whatever was he could have had something to eat and got his head down
The OP cHose to remove his card he could have had 9 hrs off from 8 pm no problem either way by removing his card he put himself on break the company have not put him in an impossible position
Which of the above do you not understand
Go to visa by all means they will porbably give you same answer I have given you
alix776:
Rog stop talking rosetinted perfect world BS and get in the real world he op had options if he had asked the flipping workshop if they had a unit he could use and wherethe nearest chippy or whatever was he could have had something to eat and got his head downThe OP cHose to remove his card he could have had 9 hrs off from 8 pm no problem either way by removing his card he put himself on break the company have not put him in an impossible position
Which of the above do you not understand
Go to visa by all means they will porbably give you same answer I have given you
Will they pay him by Credit Card
I’m not 100% sure on WTD and Tacko rules so I’ll stay out of that, but leaving your truck ‘mid shift’ seems out of order. Isn’t it ‘yours’ until YOU return it at the end of the ‘job’?
alix776:
Rog stop talking rosetinted perfect world BS and get in the real world he op had options if he had asked the flipping workshop if they had a unit he could use and wherethe nearest chippy or whatever was he could have had something to eat and got his head downThe OP cHose to remove his card he could have had 9 hrs off from 8 pm no problem either way by removing his card he put himself on break the company have not put him in an impossible position
Which of the above do you not understand
Go to visa by all means they will porbably give you same answer I have given you
Could you get your head down for a good long sleep after being up for say 6 to 8 hours - I couldn’t
Why should the driver have to sort this out - that is for the company to do - all the driver has to do is to inform the company of the situation so I could say the same …
Which of the above do you not understand
The driver MIGHT have been able to use his truck after 8pm but that was not a certainty especially as the previous promises of fixing it had gone by the by
If the situation was that it WILL be fixed by 8pm then, as the driver had a reduced daily rest available, he could have had a 9 off as REST in the truck, been paid for a 15 hour shift & a night out then carried on at 5am
From what I gather this was not acceptable by the company as they wanted their truck rolling as soon as it was fixed - unless I read that inference wrongly ■■
You read right Rog they wanted vehicle rolling at 8 or as it was 10 when my card had been out 9 hours. Had I fallen asleep after 19 hours without decent rest and killed someone I wonder what would be said about me on here then? Unprofessional? Should not of bent rules to please company? Cowboy? I would get hammered on here if I’d killed someone after bending rules and now It seems I am cause I won’t
I’ve managed to get the mobile number of vosa inspector from Sheffield I’ll be ringing once I’ve been and picked me car up from said company.I’ll post what he says later.
Having read the various posts I think you may be in the wrong calling and as for calling Vosa,naughty boy.You perhaps should have worked for a time for a gentleman who taught me a lot…any problems and you rang up his standard reply was ‘Your there boy and I’m here’ then he would hang up,certainly taught you to sort out little probs on your own.You in this case are in the wrong,get real and grow up.
I think this is a different of opinions, myself personally I would of asked the garage where to get food and if there was anywhere I could get my head down for a few hours I would of stayed with the truck and got the job done but at the end of the day it was your decision and you decided it was not safe to drive the truck back and you should stick to what you think was the right thing to do.
OllieNotts:
You read right Rog they wanted vehicle rolling at 8 or as it was 10 when my card had been out 9 hours. Had I fallen asleep after 19 hours without decent rest and killed someone I wonder what would be said about me on here then? Unprofessional? Should not of bent rules to please company? Cowboy? I would get hammered on here if I’d killed someone after bending rules and now It seems I am cause I won’t
And as SAFETY takes preference over EVERYTHING then just basing your decision on that alone, never mind the law, says mountains for you.
OllieNotts:
I’ve managed to get the mobile number of vosa inspector from Sheffield I’ll be ringing once I’ve been and picked me car up from said company.I’ll post what he says later.
IMO - All they will tell you is to stick by the rules and regulations that govern you as a LGV driver