im thinking of going into the recovery game, and as i have hiab would like to accident recovery, does anybody have any views on this type of work(relevant to the post), i would like to eventually do commercial vehicle recovery, im based in feltham near heathrow so any names on who to approach would be good, ive been in touch with C & S motors group from nw london, they seem keen, does anybody know much about them? cheers all
my initial thoughts are that to get into heavy recovery = major ££££ investment in vehicle + gear.
but, once in, its a license to print money.
I’ve recently walked away from recovery as there’s little money in it this year. Working the weekends on the accident unit last year I was doing 30-40 jobs in a 70hr period, last weekend I worked (July) I did 6.
Every company I’m aware of (Midlands) is either laying off or battening down the hatches, there just isn’t the work.
Most recovery companies have evolved from vehicle repair garages and tend to be family owned with 1-3 depots. They’ll have roadside mechanics (rarely real mechanics), 7.5t drivers for distance, LGV2 HIAB for the crash unit & LGV1 for the heavies.
If you have LGV1 but no experience of recovery, expect to spend a lot of time (2-3yrs) learning the ropes before manning the crash unit solo either heavy or light.
There “can” be a lot of money in it, I’ve earned upwards of £40k but starting out expect anything from £15-25k depending on what you’re doing & how busy you are.
I wouldn’t encourage anyone to set up in business for themselve’s at present. Their is A LOT of competition in the light recovery market and it’s very difficult to make any money. Heavy recovery needs a massive investment to start and is best grown out of an existing business.
Have a look at :
recoveryegroup.com
recoveryworld.co.uk
Good luck. You’ll either love it or hate it with an equal passion & you soon find out which.
ive no intention of starting up on my own that would be silly, i am looking at approaching some of the big players in this field for a job
kemaro:
ive no intention of starting up on my own that would be silly, i am looking at approaching some of the big players in this field for a job
If it’s a just a job you’re after then anyone will take you on for peanuts. They’ll work you till you drop, burn you out then [zb] you off. If you’re not doing a 6 till 6 shift they’ll have you on call, forget any stories about ‘hangin round the depot’ drinkin tea till a job comes in (that’s the A teams job) they’ll have you picking 'em up & transporting to the 4 corners of the country every minute your on duty.
There’s still a lot of recovery co’s out there ignoring WTD, tacho & even domestic driving rules. You’re as good as your last job, [zb] up or decline one & you’re out. There’s 20 in the queue waiting to fill your seat. It’s always been a bit of a rogue’s industry & now that club rates & work levels generally are falling it will get a lot worse before it gets better. On the bottom rungs of the ladder there is a MASSIVE turnover of staff.
Ultimately, heavy recovery is everyone’s goal. You would be extremely lucky to walk straight into this, they might consider you if you were from a HGV fitting background but it is not as easy a job as some would imagine, there is a lot of skill, experience, common sense & ingenuity that goes into turning up on scene & succesfully recovering a heavy casualty.
If you do get a job, whatever rung of the ladder, if you find you like the lifestyle (& it is a lifestyle) then it can be very rewarding, both financially & in job satisfaction. I still keep in touch with a few of the people I’ve recovered over the years (you get to meet some very interesting people) & I’m really missing the buzz you get from turning up on scene & clearing the casualty whilst everyone’s watching.
(Edited to remove auto-censor dodges. If you need to put # or *s in, take it as a hint, that words not allowed. Simon)
Ontime seem to be a national company, may be worth a call to them■■?
another question is…Do u mind the sight of blood and gory bits from a accident??if not then accident recovery might not be for you,Especially if its a fatal accident and children involved. I been there done that and still now do remember a few that do stick in your head,But I dont let it get to me.You also need a cool head as a lot will blame U if U are a little late or take a bit of time getting the vehicle out of where ever it may be.
jayeastanglia:
another question is…Do u mind the sight of blood and gory bits from a accident??if not then accident recovery might not be for you,Especially if its a fatal accident and children involved. I been there done that and still now do remember a few that do stick in your head,But I don’t let it get to me.You also need a cool head as a lot will blame U if U are a little late or take a bit of time getting the vehicle out of where ever it may be.
i would totally agree with jay I’ve been in the game on and off for 25 years. its gone down hill, talking to some of the guys i us to work with only last week,they were saying the work hasn’t been there this year,and its the callouts after your shift has finished were you make up the money because the basic is crap. after you have lifted a few bodies out of cars which does happen!! or washed the blood out so you can actually get in the thing to empty it once you have it back at the yard you should be ok, just dont let it get to your head.
i use to do a lot of fatal’s for the police in my area hiab ect.
one thing i will say it will open your eyes up to the stupidity of people out there on the roads, but you probably already know that!!! 
In my area the recovery company pays a bribe to the traffic coppers to get the work. Its been thet way for years. If you get on the wrong side of the police you’re out of business, You will then get prosecuted for the slightest thing.
Have seen ads for D&G in Essex area papers recently for recovery drivers
when i was in wales i was a retained fire fighter at our local station so was called to some horrific scenes on the road particulary around christmas, I think it something that i would be able to deal with and want to get with a good company and not just any old rouge operator. at the moment the job im in working airside is just pointless and boring and i feel im wasting my time and my mind is wasting away there so i need to do something that is interesting different and fulfilling as im at a loss at the moment and the misses hates it. if any body has any info on good operators around the heathrow area i would appreciate it, also if any one has info on C & S motor group in north london let me know as they are looking, cheers
always open to offers for my 2 wreckers. 
CHAS has got it bang on…that is pretty much gospel,as i see it.
I’ve been in this job for a year now and don’t claim to know it all. In fact i know very little. I was fortunate enough to walk straight into the heavy recoveries at 22 years old with just over a year of driving artics under my belt so my employer took a big risk i feel.
However i also feel that so far i’ve demonstrated that i can do the job well and can be trusted. I’m fortunate enough to work with a good bunch of blokes who don’t mind me ringing and asking for advice if i am in a tricky situation and i really appreciate that fact. They’re also good to work with when we’re all out on a job together.
I think the only way to learn and improve on this job is to get out there and get on with it. The courses do help, no doubt about it but there’s no substitute for experience. I do service van work aswell as i am a fully qualified HGV mechanic and i’ve been around lorries all of my life. This has helped me no end because not every job you go out to is straight forward and having the mechanical knowledge has been a god send sometimes.
I’ve seen a few nasty accidents mostly involving cars taking on trucks and losing but you just have to shut it out and get on with the job otherwise you just couldn’t do it.
There will be times when you think ‘what am i doing here at this time of night in the freezing cold and pouring rain’ but then the sun shines the next day and you answer your own question. I’ve found most people give you an awful lot of respect for doing this job, others say 'You’re bleeding mad, lol! So my advice to you would be go for it but be prepared for your lifestyle to change, because it will. 
been in touch with on time auto today, sounds good hopefully something will come of it
keep us posted. be interesting to know.
Not much work about with ontime at the mo and the basic is crap if you could stand all the crap you would get from people then you could apply for the TFL contract money is better but there is some other pitfulls.
Whoops !
Wrong thread.
so went for the interview, was good, they want me to do accident recovery on a police contract, all training etc.
6 days on 3 off, 12 hour shifts, when your main shift has finished you become second back up driver so you could and probably will get called out, main and backup alternate between days and nights,truck does come home with you,
the money consists of basic retainer plus commision on jobs, so basic is 1400 a month even if you only do 1 car, commision is 27.5% per vehicle but you only start getting paid commision once you have reached your basic, at least that is how i understood it.
i would like to do this kind of work but shall have to think hard about the money and the lifestyle any views and thoughts on the above would be greatly welcomed, cheers
also i have been contacted by terranova lifting reading who would train to do mobile crane work, what would you do?
kemaro:
the money consists of basic retainer plus commision on jobs, so basic is 1400 a month even if you only do 1 car, commision is 27.5% per vehicle but you only start getting paid commision once you have reached your basic, at least that is how i understood it.
I think what they’re saying here, is that you have to earn in commission, the equivalent of £1400 a month before they pay any more on top. But if work is quiet, they will guarantee that £1400 anyway.
A bit the same as we don’t start earning bonus until we’ve accumulated 690 points a day, made up of 1 point per kilometre and 120 points per load.
Suggest ask for the numbers of a couple of lads that have worked for them for a while & see what they have to say.
thats exactly it, so in this line of work is that good or bad? if anyone has worked or does work for them maybe they could give me an insight.