Im a SE driver working through an agency, who recently completed a week tramping for a company in the NE. On day one i asked the fat controller what the companies policy was on overnight parking etc, and he replied use the services/truck stops if you feel there is a requirement and i would be refunded. Needless to say most nights i was fully loaded and pulling a tautliner so to play safe i parked in a "secure"ish location and payed for the stop myself. When i finished the 2 weeks work i invoiced the company via my agency and to my horror they have refused to pay the second week as it is “their policy, for drivers not to pay for parking”. When i spoke to the agency rep they told me that they had negotiated payment for the first week but not the second? Im just putting this out there to see if anyone else has had the same issue and what they done to resolve this bizarre matter.
Im a SE driver working through an agency, who recently completed a week tramping for a company in the NE. On day one i asked the fat controller what the companies policy was on overnight parking etc, and he replied use the services/truck stops if you feel there is a requirement and i would be refunded. Needless to say most nights i was fully loaded and pulling a tautliner so to play safe i parked in a "secure"ish location and payed for the stop myself. When i finished the 2 weeks work i invoiced the company via my agency and to my horror they have refused to pay the second week as it is “their policy, for drivers not to pay for parking”. When i spoke to the agency rep they told me that they had negotiated payment for the first week but not the second? Im just putting this out there to see if anyone else has had the same issue and what they done to resolve this bizarre matter.
All the best
Don’t pay to park in future then, but bill the agency for it, as they didn’t inform you, or screw some extra hours to cover your loses.
RCT Legion:
On day one i asked the fat controller what the companies policy was on overnight parking etc, and he replied use the services/truck stops if you feel there is a requirement and i would be refunded.
That probably amounts to a contract binding the company to pay you through the agency or directly - but like most verbal contracts, its existence cannot be proved.
Next time, it’s best to ask for any agreement to refund parking charges to be put in writing. A compliments slip that says “ agrees to refund parking charges incurred by if a company vehicle is parked in . .” If the company refuses - and in the real world they may well do so - I would say that you will not pay any parking charges for company vehicles out of your own pocket and see what the response is.
Unfortunately, this is a no win situation for an agency driver. The client may well refuse to provide a written agreement to refund parking charges, but might also seek to impose stipulations about parking that the driver feels obliged to obey.
RCT Legion:
On day one i asked the fat controller what the companies policy was on overnight parking etc, and he replied use the services/truck stops if you feel there is a requirement and i would be refunded.
That probably amounts to a contract binding the company to pay you through the agency or directly - but like most verbal contracts, its existence cannot be proved.
Next time, it’s best to ask for any agreement to refund parking charges to be put in writing. A compliments slip that says “ agrees to refund parking charges incurred by if a company vehicle is parked in . .” If the company refuses - and in the real world they may well do so - I would say that you will not pay any parking charges for company vehicles out of your own pocket and see what the response is.
Unfortunately, this is a no win situation for an agency driver. The client may well refuse to provide a written agreement to refund parking charges, but might also seek to impose stipulations about parking that the driver feels obliged to obey.
Verbal agreements are legally binding and will stand up in the small claims court, even more so if there is evidence proving previous payments.
weeto:
Verbal agreements are legally binding and will stand up in the small claims court, even more so if there is evidence proving previous payments.
Indeed, but it would be for the party relying on the verbal contract to persuade the court that the purported contract more likely than not existed. If there is evidence inferring the existence of the contract, such as previous payments, that will help.
In this case, I understood it to be an agency driver who had not driven for the company before, where the driver is saying that there was an agreement to reimburse parking charges and the company is denying any agreement existed. The agency has recovered one week of parking charges for the driver, but the company is claiming it paid these on a discretionary basis and denies the existence of any contract, so the payment cannot act as evidence of the purported contract.
In any event, the sum outstanding probably doesn’t justify the court fees, even if the original poster filed online. Taking legal action against the company could see him banned from working for them again.
weeto:
Verbal agreements are legally binding and will stand up in the small claims court, even more so if there is evidence proving previous payments.
Indeed, but it would be for the party relying on the verbal contract to persuade the court that the purported contract more likely than not existed. If there is evidence inferring the existence of the contract, such as previous payments, that will help.
In this case, I understood it to be an agency driver who had not driven for the company before, where the driver is saying that there was an agreement to reimburse parking charges and the company is denying any agreement existed. The agency has recovered one week of parking charges for the driver, but the company is claiming it paid these on a discretionary basis and denies the existence of any contract, so the payment cannot act as evidence of the purported contract.
In any event, the sum outstanding probably doesn’t justify the court fees, even if the original poster filed online. Taking legal action against the company could see him banned from working for them again.
Doesn’t matter how much it was, it’s the priciple of it, and getting banned from 1 company isn’t the end of the world.
No wonder there is a shortage of drivers! Any other industry would pay for legitimate expenses incurred during course of work! Park overnight on industrial site and sleep safe that you are not responsible for load and diesel whilst off duty if anything should happen as company refused to pay for safe parking!
The OP’s contract is with the agency and not the haulier.
Though I’d still bill the agency for the parking costs, & if they refuse to pay I’d consider a threat of the small claims court procedure
Work it so that the agency doesn’t owe you any money other than this parking. Accept a first shift of the week via the agency with this company, drive to the nearest MSA, get wife to pick you up and and abandon the vehicle there. Return keys about three hours later. Change agency.
Next time park somewhere really dodgy (but close to a pub obviously). Leave the curtains open to make it easy for the thieves and so they don’t wake you up robbing the load.
Drive home early as your load has been stolen. Bill agency for 8 hours pay
Given that the OP is agency and most probably shoe horned into an umbrella company for “self employed but not self employed” work,can overnight parking not be claimed back as expenses?
in the twenty odd years I have been driving, I have had more damage done to curtains and thing stolen when parking in services than parking in any laybys or estates.
Now I avoid them like the plague, why would you want to park some where that’s noisy all night long beats the hell out of me, and the smell is something else and I am a smoker so my sense of smell isn’t that good lol
The-Snowman:
can overnight parking not be claimed back as expenses?
The expenses would normally be paid back by the agency via the payroll & not via his “companies” expenses, or taxes, which in effect is a loss for the drivers Co.
But if the haulier has refused to pay the agency the expenses, siting “we didn’t agree to pay parking” the agency is likely to not want to take a loss by paying the driver. The agency is likely to roll over and not upset the haulier for a small cost/£ so they can keep the account. This is where the driver needs to take the agency to task & demand the monies.
peirre:
The OP’s contract is with the agency and not the haulier.
Though I’d still bill the agency for the parking costs, & if they refuse to pay I’d consider a threat of the small claims court procedure
+1.
If you work via/for/through an agency, your contract is with them, and as such, they should pay, although as others have said, it needs to be agreed beforehand. If not, tell the agency that you come to work to be paid, and your not there to subsidise the haulage company, and if no parking fees are forthcoming, not to put you in there again.
On the occasions that I have done a night out, I have photocopied the receipt, given it to the the agency AND claimed it back via my accountant. Win win for me.
I wonder what the haulage companies insurance would say if it was not parked safely, and it got broken into?
Quinny:
On the occasions that I have done a night out, I have photocopied the receipt, given it to the the agency AND claimed it back via my accountant. Win win for me.
Ditto, photocopying/scanning.
The haulier gets a copy, I keep the original for my accounts as I usually pay for the parking via my Companies bank card*, then IF needed a scanned copy is emailed to the agency along with timesheet etc as proof.
*Paying for the parking via the company bank card saves me the hassle of reimbursing myself and leave a clear paper trail for accounting, as the agency will pay/refund the expense to my companies bank account via payroll, and not separately to my personnel account.
Go here… Wife( accounts dept ) has used this route many times with success, more often than not the claim is not contested.
+1
But write a letter first demanding payment as verbally agreed, as they had paid the previous week its reasonable to expect remuneration (I use long words when trying to sound clever) for the 2nd week.
Also include fair warning that you will be filing a money claim online thing if they dont settle in full and also will be suing for costs. Give them 7 days to respond and use the phrase ‘without prejudice’ somewhere for extra smuggery.
) has used this route many times with success, more often than not the claim is not contested.