Thanks for the reply Wayne. No regrets must be a happy place to be,best wishes for the future.
Regards. John.
Harry Monk:
Tris:
To be honest I think I’ve made a big mistake coming into this industry.I’ve been doing this for 28 years now and I still wake up every single day thinking the exact same.
that made me smile 
made me laugh too!
mind you I do think thanks to these ‘become a HGV driver and earn £30k per year’ adverts are very misleading and people almost jump blind into driving as a living without realising the 3am starts 6pm finish scenario’s that can and do happen.
Contraflow:
bald bloke:
…there’s good jobs out there.+1
…although they’re not normally available for people with defeatist attitudes.
…or those positive up to the point of failure, and thus deemed “arrogant” either…
truckman020:
Tris:
Started driving class 1’s the other week on 25k. Was told I’d be doing 10 hours a day, but now realised that was a blatant lie and its 12 hours plus. That puts me on £8 hour or less. What a load of crap. To be honest I think I’ve made a big mistake coming into this industry.you have not made a mistake,you just have to know when an employer bullsxxxs,i started with a company last year and I said 10 or 11 hr days,they agreed then I found I was working 14 /15 hr days,bye bye to said company,1 week I lasted,agencies are just as bad
At least with agency you’ll be paid 12-15 hours worth if you do 12-15 hours of work.
The fall down though is when you get ■■■■-taking client yards who’ll get you doing 17:30 to 08:30 - and call it “days” for the hourly rate payable - because it started before 18:00. “Night rate” requires a start 18:00 or later…
Since the same yard might have a number of different agencies putting drivers into them - there are going to be some agencies who pay say, “overtime after 8 hours” - and that yard will only give them 9 hour shifts flat, which with the meal relief taken off, means NO overtime bit of the shift at all - regular like…
Then there’s the “right through” rate which can be manipulated with the dreaded 17:30 starts…
Then there’s the kind of work that can’t really be exploited by either category, which I’ve found is a yard that “only” has 11-12 hour shifts. Get in there and fill your boots - no matter what agency on what T&C puts you in there - it’s better isn’t it?
I reckon it’s easier to get the hours you want when hourly paid than when salaried personally, because there’s always going to be this drive to get more work out of drivers by giving them longer shifts unpaid otherwise. The yards that continue to take the ■■■■ are easy to spot - when you pull your card after a full shift (8-10 hours), and it turns out they’ve “planned you for 15 hours”… It all comes down to “Does a driver have the right to refuse a 15 hour shift if they don’t want it”? If a full time contract had “must work 15-15-15-13-13-13 week one and 15-15-15-13-13 week two” they’d get not even the escaped criminal, no speke english immigrant, nor village idiot come in and sign up to that THAT surely?
The lad has a valid complaint. He was told hed be finished at 4.30 but doesnt get finished till well after, so his wages work out at only £8/hr.
Whats apparent here is that some folks dont mind how many hours they do or what the pay rate is as long as they get a nice lorry or an easy days work. I am in full agreement with the o.p. just get some experience and move on. Theres a long hours culture in this industry, last week for instance I was doing locals when the steel works stopped loading us for internal reasons, and I had an “early” finish…15.30. I had to remind myself that Id started at 05.30 that morning so still had a 10hr day! which I considered being an early finish! The planner frantically tried to find me something else to fill my day, unsuccessfully! Get on the agency do 3 or 4 long shifts and then have a few days off to do your own thing. Theres not many 4 on 4 off`s about.
Agency. Its the way to go! I know agencies get slagged on here but I honestly think working for someone is a mugs game. They own you.
cheekymonkey:
The lad has a valid complaint. He was told hed be finished at 4.30 but doesnt get finished till well after, so his wages work out at only £8/hr.
Bet he wouldn’t be moaning if he was finishing doing less than 10hrs 
Also the lad’s cracking on and getting done quickly instead of pacing himself, then phoning up for more work, and bugger me i’ll go to the foot of our stairs, they’re giving it to him.
We’ve all been newby’s and don’t know about you lot but i’d love to have me time again and not make the same mistakes again (mind you that applies to all our lives not just work)…plus i’d make sure to have a camera handy this time for those sublime moments over the years when the ladies provided that little glimpse of what you weren’t supposed to see.
Juddian:
i’d make sure to have a camera handy this time for those sublime moments over the years when the ladies provided that little glimpse of what you weren’t supposed to see.
that’s just pervy 
nick2008:
Juddian:
i’d make sure to have a camera handy this time for those sublime moments over the years when the ladies provided that little glimpse of what you weren’t supposed to see.that’s just pervy
and what, pray, is wrong with a little healthy perversion… 
Bolx too all this I clocked on at 1115 today and clocked off at 4 45 all this for 600 a week it’s a pis take I’m going on agency
topmixer11:
Bolx too all this I clocked on at 1115 today and clocked off at 4 45 all this for 600 a week it’s a pis take I’m going on agency
hour for lunch and 2 x 10min tea breaks 
nick2008:
topmixer11:
Bolx too all this I clocked on at 1115 today and clocked off at 4 45 all this for 600 a week it’s a pis take I’m going on agencyhour for lunch and 2 x 10min tea breaks
2 tea breaks never I had 4 bloody disgrace I like at least 5