I’m a Class 2 driver with a HIAB ticket. I deliver 32ft long x 12ft wide Portacabins. 17ft of the load is behind the last axle, so you can imagine the tailswing. Limited views in the mirrors also make it a trifle interesting. It doesn’t matter which class of licence you have, nobody is going to step into that and find it easy. I also have to take my truck where class one drivers fear to tread. I’ve had that truck in places most wouldn’t believe possible, even other experienced drivers I reckon. I am aware that this is an old thread, but yer man “just testing”, on the chance he does come back, is clearly a zbzbzbzbzb
Darby Flyer:
Willy Gofar:
… muppet who paid for it out of his own pocket.Beg pardon??
I wanted to drive LGV, so I paid for it.
Would that one year tie down have stopped you getting work with any other agency if Driver Hire had nothing on?? As many agencies have been finding lately.
Creek and paddle springs to mind in that situation. Its fortunate for some that they can get the cost covered, but personally, I don’t like being “owned” by anyone.
Muppet? Far from it buddy.
I would have thought it would be someone who paid for his own training and then come up against a brick wall of " sorry mate not enough experience " that would be up a creek without a paddle and you know that happens. As it was the agency kept me in work, probably wanted to get something out of me rather than pay for the training and then have me sit on the books and do nothing for the year. Of course at the moment you may well find that agencies wont pay for the training.
Willy Gofar:
I didn’t pay for my training, Driverhire did and they paid me a good wage for the week I was on the course. I could afford all the things I needed to pay for any other week food, mortgage petrol etc and at the end of the day my licence looks just the same as the one belonging to a muppet who paid for it out of his own pocket.Only had to work for the agency for 1 year and the debt was totally paid and this was a year where I got a lot of experience of driving for various companies in a selection of trucks doing a whole spectrum of work. I think my way was best but if you think you were better off by losing 2 weeks holiday/pay and forking out the cost of training that’s cool. Presume you also pay for ADR/CPC/Hiab and any other training you need ( your boss must love you ).
What gives you the right to call anyone a muppet? I had to pass my class one and pay for it to keep a job as my job was moved 90 miles away from notts. It was a case of get your class one and have a job or see you later, now how does it make me a muppet by paying for it? I get paid a lot more now, the work is easier and far less stressfull then what I did before and I dont start at 1 or 2am just to try and earn a decent wedge each month. Such an idiotic comment to make, and yes ive bit so if its a wind up then well done you nob head 
Now get back to your puddle jumper and your ever so tight spaces only super human drivers can get into while I get back to being paid to sleep while im tipped 
That wasnt the case Willy.
I had a job to go to, but they weren’t prepared, or were’nt in a position to pay for my training.
It wasn’t the only reason I paid for it as based on that would have been too risky. I had been driving buses and coaches up until then and when the company I worked for got bought out by the company I had not long finished with, I decided it was time to move on.
I had driven puddle jumpers for years before the buses so decided I would take things back in that direction.
Also, the £750 it cost me for my Class 2 was offset nicely by the DVLA. As my Cat D was for auto’s only, my passing Cat C got me a free upgrade on the Cat D. 
Thus giving me around £500 - £600 of training for free.
So theoretically, I paid around £200 to get a Class 2 licence.
Suits me sir,
Willy Gofar:
‘…I didn’t pay for my training, Driverhire did …Only had to work for the agency for 1 year…’
Only …for a whole year?
On Driverhire’s (nationally dismal?) rate?
I felt ripped-off after doing only two jobs for them …so I legged it.
(They responded that the door-slammers around my way were happy with their rate, but swinging trailer barn-doors was worth more to me than matching their rate to door-slam toffs).
Whether Class 2 or 1, I learnt that getting a grip with the ticketing lark included not being mugged-off.
Darby Flyer:
Willy Gofar:
… muppet who paid for it out of his own pocket.Beg pardon??
I wanted to drive LGV, so I paid for it.
Would that one year tie down have stopped you getting work with any other agency if Driver Hire had nothing on?? As many agencies have been finding lately.
Creek and paddle springs to mind in that situation. Its fortunate for some that they can get the cost covered, but personally, I don’t like being “owned” by anyone.
Muppet? Far from it buddy.
I must admit that the " muppet " was really a bit of annoyance aimed at the poster who thought trhat just because he has a class one he is better than someone with a class 2. I have a C+E and I don’t accredit myself with superior skills and don’t really see why anyone else would. For a start those who get their C+E now have to pass the test twice does that make them more skilled than someone who only had to pass one test " back in the day " ( yawn ), probably not.
As for your not liking to be owned, just take a look around at the job market, got a small feeling that most of us are just a tiny bit owned at the moment unless of course you can afford to be on the dole for an extended period.
As for Happy Keith, Driverhire paid me far more than I had been paid by the company that employed me to drive 7.5 tonners and made me redundant, everything is relative and Driverhire made it easy to get my Class 2 then my Class 1, they paid me a wage whilst training and they didn’t bail out when I failed the Class1 the first time.
Olie Notts. basically I can call anyone I want a muppet, right or wrong it doesn’t matter, as the remark really wasn’t aimed at you get back in your cage Muppet.
I paid for my class 2 myself, so I must be a muppet as well!!!
Anyway, cat D drivers are the best…
Willy Gofar:
Darby Flyer:
Willy Gofar:
… muppet who paid for it out of his own pocket.Beg pardon??
I wanted to drive LGV, so I paid for it.
Would that one year tie down have stopped you getting work with any other agency if Driver Hire had nothing on?? As many agencies have been finding lately.
Creek and paddle springs to mind in that situation. Its fortunate for some that they can get the cost covered, but personally, I don’t like being “owned” by anyone.
Muppet? Far from it buddy.
I must admit that the " muppet " was really a bit of annoyance aimed at the poster who thought trhat just because he has a class one he is better than someone with a class 2. I have a C+E and I don’t accredit myself with superior skills and don’t really see why anyone else would. For a start those who get their C+E now have to pass the test twice does that make them more skilled than someone who only had to pass one test " back in the day " ( yawn ), probably not.
As for your not liking to be owned, just take a look around at the job market, got a small feeling that most of us are just a tiny bit owned at the moment unless of course you can afford to be on the dole for an extended period.
As for Happy Keith, Driverhire paid me far more than I had been paid by the company that employed me to drive 7.5 tonners and made me redundant, everything is relative and Driverhire made it easy to get my Class 2 then my Class 1, they paid me a wage whilst training and they didn’t bail out when I failed the Class1 the first time.
Olie Notts. basically I can call anyone I want a muppet, right or wrong it doesn’t matter, as the remark really wasn’t aimed at you get back in your cage Muppet.
It seems you are willy by name willy by nature 
Willy Gofar:
‘…As for Happy Keith, Driverhire paid me far more than I had been paid by the company that employed me to drive 7.5 tonners and made me redundant, everything is relative and Driverhire made it easy to get my Class 2 then my Class 1, they paid me a wage whilst training and they didn’t bail out when I failed the Class1 the first time…’
Understood. However, I maintain my point that the Driverhire rate for the class of work that I briefly undertook was unashamed rubbish & suggest that a short term loan/overdraught may have been better suited to pay for lessons/a test rather than getting several quid less per hour. (as per multiplying the hourly rate by a 40 hr week x 48 weeks per yr, etc).
Please forgive my being a tease, but in the best interest of the industry & to understand the market I am briefly intrigued why they no longer appear to feature on one’s declared radar of employers …with mutual respect & loyalty apparently being in short supply these days, etc, etc?
Happy Keith, got hired out through Driverhire to the company I now work for and they took me on at the same rate I had been paid by Driverhire. In all honesty a lot of agency work as we all know is night work and short notice work and that can be a little testing at my time of life so I was glad to get the opportunity to move into a job that I am home every day by about 5 to 6 ish and I don’t get calls in the middle of the night and I think the writing was on the wall 2 or 3 years ago when I came off Driverhire. I was being paid £8-50 an hour at the time for the first 8 hours and overtime after and there were a lot of people getting paid less than me for doing the same kind of work.
It should be remembered that not everyone is in the position of being able to get a loan and many are not able to get the help from the government that some seem to be able to get so agencies did help a lot of people that would otherwise have been stuck in whatever it was they were doing.And like I said everything is relative, if you are on minimum wage then £7 to £8 an hour would seem like a fortune, not that I had been on minimum wage but not far off it.
Willy Gofar:
Happy Keith, got hired out through Driverhire to the company I now work for and they took me on at the same rate I had been paid by Driverhire. In all honesty a lot of agency work as we all know is night work and short notice work and that can be a little testing at my time of life so I was glad to get the opportunity to move into a job that I am home every day by about 5 to 6 ish and I don’t get calls in the middle of the night and I think the writing was on the wall 2 or 3 years ago when I came off Driverhire. I was being paid £8-50 an hour at the time for the first 8 hours and overtime after and there were a lot of people getting paid less than me for doing the same kind of work.It should be remembered that not everyone is in the position of being able to get a loan and many are not able to get the help from the government that some seem to be able to get so agencies did help a lot of people that would otherwise have been stuck in whatever it was they were doing.And like I said everything is relative, if you are on minimum wage then £7 to £8 an hour would seem like a fortune, not that I had been on minimum wage but not far off it.
I was initially curious of Willy’s ‘Muppet’ claim regarding those (er, me included) that paid for a Class One ticket.
In view of developments (whilst feeling very un-Muppety) perhaps other Muppets have gone to sleep?
Class 1 or Class 2 who cares we all do an invaluable job !!!
markgilly:
Class 1 or Class 2 who cares we all do an invaluable job !!!
Hear hear !!!
Not sure if this has been mentioned as iv not got time to read the whole thread but if you only have a class 2 your limiting your work chances by 50%.
A bloke i know struggled to find work only having a class2 but at the time he was looking there was plenty of Class 1 jobs going.
At least if you have your Class 1 you have the options of 1 and 2 work.