As the possibility of finding a lorry job anytime soon seems increasingly unlikely,the idea of becoming a self employed van courier has a certain appeal.
A cursory Google shows lot of people offering to sell me guides for between £10 and £40,on how to earn shedloads of money for relatively short hours 
…however,stupid I AIN’T 
Has anyone on here experience or knowledge of that line of work ? what/who to avoid etc.do’s and donts ? Any advice welcome 
There ws a similr post about 2 weeks ago froma man in Newcastle the consensus was dont do it unless you have work lined up for your van.Sorry to be negative bt I went down the self employed route [taxis}about 15 years ago and it wasnt worth it to say the least.!!
I too looked into this a few years ago when I too was made redundant, & unfortunately like most self employed businesses it takes a lot of time, money, & effort to see any kind of reward.
Your right about those guides that sell for £10-40. The info they contain is mostly common sense or stuff you can find out for free on the net.
Some claim they contain the names & addresses of courrier co.s for many turn out to be defunct or totally made up.
Finally also beware of folks who claim to put you in contact with urgent delveries for silly money (ie "London-Plymouth £240). You pay a “Admin” fee to go onto their database & wait for your phone to ring with all those juicey last min urgent jobs. It never will, you’ve just thrown £70 odd away thats all.
It’s seems this kind of work attracts more than it’s fair share of “scammers”. A real pity as a lot of people in your position fall for them. (TBH I bought into a website called “LogisticLink”. Lets just say it didnt do what it claimed to do. I was lucky as I managed to get most of my money back, I just lost my deposit on my For “Hire or Reward” insurance).
For more info check out the Courrier Owner Driver Forum http://www.codforum.org.uk/index.php
There is a FAQ section detailing how to start up &b various pitfalls.
I dont want to discourage you, & good luck if you go ahead, but as a final comment, one of the HGV drivers at our place who started at the same time as me recently got into HGV driving after running his own “Man & Van” business for a few years. When I asked why he gave it up, he said quite simply there wasn’t enough work out there. Something that spreading into the heavy haulage industry as we all know too well. 
Pay me £100 per month to be on my database & I will supply you with all the extra work we have here! 
By the way, I help run a small light haulage/courier Company and you can buy our Sprinter vans, drivers and customer base for quite a modest sum! 
I’ll just go back to driving a truck for someone else, at least then I can sleep at night, not argue with the family constantly, get paid & even take some holidays! 
“I’ll just go back to driving a truck for someone else”
That’s easier said than done,Zeb.Lost 2 jobs since new year 
…I’ve got more chance of getting a job as boss of RBS
Well that all depends realy, I know enough people with lorries to drive
Baggie:
“I’ll just go back to driving a truck for someone else”
That’s easier said than done,Zeb.Lost 2 jobs since new year
good pension scheme
Its all part of the bigger picture, if HGV arent running because of lack of work, vans won’t be working either.
Prob the worst time to get into it.
Think the 80’s and 90’s where boom times for couriers, i used to be a motorbike courier in London self employed on £1 per mile per delivery plus think it was £3 per delivery as well. Was give and take, i used to spend all morning running ragged around the city and the west end. Where other more experienced couriers would tell the controller where to go they wanted the distance work. But made money doing the localish stuff never having less than three or four parcels on board at a time and meant because i was doing them a favor getting the stuff deliveried as soon as the juicy distance stuff came in i would get a decent run 100+ at £1 per mile getting 65mpg outta a bike can’t beat it.
I was thinking of going back into it but even before this credit crunch heard the money was no longer in it like it used to be.
Being in a big city like London it can be a licence to print money if you know the right people, and know where to get the decent work. But its like HGV its dog eat dog because people used to make silly money everyone and their dog got into courier work. Its hard to get into because no one is gonna tell you how to make money because then your taking money outta their pockets.
One way to get into it is to work for the likes of DHL, etc… self employed outta their depots but then its multi drop and its hard work talking 80-100 drops everyday. Plus need a van usually under think its 3 years old so either forking out for a van or talkig about hiring one which means your screwed if its quiet.
Baggie:
Has anyone on here experience or knowledge of that line of work ? what/who to avoid etc.do’s and donts ? Any advice welcome
Rates are around 70p per mile if you’re lucky. My mate managed to get a good one but there was no backload. He earned £370 for doing Driffield to Aberdeen - a 750 mile round trip - giving around £250 after diesel . Sounds good but if that’s your only job that week, the time costs of the van (tax, insurances, HP payments etc) can leave you with next to nothing.
All the courier network websites have the best jobs sewn up by a little clique of members.
Quite a lot of people already doing it and if you’re thinking of starting out with an old £2000 Transit van, forget it - you need something that looks very smart and is utterly reliable.
I’m a self employed courier, and its true, things are getting tougher…but there is still a living to be made out there.
I’m lucky I sub for one of the largest courier co’s in the country, and through hard work, have earned myself a decent reputation amongst the regional offices.
If you work hard, use your brain, and keep the customers and controllers happy (this may mean taking the odd rubbish job) there still is a decent living to be made.
Been there tried that, load of ■■■■■■■■, but I will sell you the Guide for £25
all you will do is spend a lot of money, and then get offered work by people for as little as 0.25 ppm. Maybe if your lucky you’ll get paid in a week or two, but maybe like some you’ll have to sue I did and then he paid. But thats about it you’ve got more chance of platting chocolate than making a decent living out of that one, sorry to dash your dreams but it’s true.
But if you’re serious then look at CX Courier Exchange you have to join around £100 per year but then you can bid for work and if your cheapest you’ll get the drive, you also have to have insurance and GIT goods in transit of upto £1,000,000 this can be pricey…
Cost of running vs earning I’d rather be stacking the shelves than trying that again, once I did a run Bpool to london, a set of keys to some womans house she had forgotten them. Did it on the bike rather than van still took ages but got weighed in well around £250 for the trip ended up coming home freezing cold and had to keep stopping to warm up, I put newspapers down into my leathers but it did’nt help much.
notice the people who got stung says no chance, then there are people who are doing alright.
so it isnt impossible, just hard to make a name for yourself and you have to be careful with a little bit of luck
Mad dan:
But if you’re serious then look at CX Courier Exchange you have to join around £100 per year but then you can bid for work and if your cheapest you’ll get the drive, you also have to have insurance and GIT goods in transit of upto £1,000,000 this can be pricey…
Riiight. The only jobs you get off Courier Exchange are those that the “CX in crowd” don’t want because the rates are so poor and the client is a notoriously bad payer. Many of the winning bids on CX are so low that they don’t cover fuel because companies do them as backloads.
Kenny1975:
Its all part of the bigger picture, if HGV arent running because of lack of work, vans won’t be working either.Prob the worst time to get into it.
Think the 80’s and 90’s where boom times for couriers, i used to be a motorbike courier in London self employed on £1 per mile per delivery plus think it was £3 per delivery as well. Was give and take, i used to spend all morning running ragged around the city and the west end. Where other more experienced couriers would tell the controller where to go they wanted the distance work. But made money doing the localish stuff never having less than three or four parcels on board at a time and meant because i was doing them a favor getting the stuff deliveried as soon as the juicy distance stuff came in i would get a decent run 100+ at £1 per mile getting 65mpg outta a bike can’t beat it.
I was thinking of going back into it but even before this credit crunch heard the money was no longer in it like it used to be.
Being in a big city like London it can be a licence to print money if you know the right people, and know where to get the decent work. But its like HGV its dog eat dog because people used to make silly money everyone and their dog got into courier work. Its hard to get into because no one is gonna tell you how to make money because then your taking money outta their pockets.
One way to get into it is to work for the likes of DHL, etc… self employed outta their depots but then its multi drop and its hard work talking 80-100 drops everyday. Plus need a van usually under think its 3 years old so either forking out for a van or talkig about hiring one which means your screwed if its quiet.
80-100 drops a day is nothing, a quiet day for me was 100 drops at home delivery network. 200 drops a day 5 days a week then a 500 catalouge run on a saturday is where you can make your money with them. 800+ a week easy after tax and thats if you work for them, dunno about the subbies but they have them.
jonoD:
notice the people who got stung says no chance, then there are people who are doing alright.so it isnt impossible, just hard to make a name for yourself and you have to be careful with a little bit of luck
Just sensible advice, would you honestly advise someone to go out right now without a clue and decide to start as a ownder driver with an HGV. No because it would be insanity.
A lot of people think becoming a courier is easy, its just a case of buying an old van and off you go.
Its not a lot of places want a van under three years old which is an expensive, also depends what area of the country you are in, apart from needing luck need to really have contacts and know people, it really is dog eat dog.
So unless you really know what you are doing, know the right people and have some capital behind you can be an expensive waste of time.
gogzy:
80-100 drops a day is nothing, a quiet day for me was 100 drops at home delivery network. 200 drops a day 5 days a week then a 500 catalouge run on a saturday is where you can make your money with them. 800+ a week easy after tax and thats if you work for them, dunno about the subbies but they have them.
With DHL we only did about 100 a day, was a source of arguments because other places like Business Express could do a lot more.
I was an employee so wasnt so bad, but in our place the trunkers were in about 6.30am so not getting out till about 7.30am-8am and you had to be back for the trunker going leaving about 5pm. So a lot of the OD’s were kinda annoyed they couldnt get out for longer.
Suppose as well depends on the area, i did Greenock, Port Glasgow was an hours drive away but could get rid of half my load in an hour or two because mainly in the industrial and bussiness estates all close by. Then could spend rest of the day messing about trying to find houses and small bussiness in the town centre.
So the consensus of opinion seems to be a “don’t touch it with a bargepole”…which I expected,and I’m probably a bit relieved if I’m perfectly honest 
.
I’m the wrong side of 50,and whilst I’m prepared for hard physical graft,and happy to put the hours and the miles in,I know from past experience that I can’t deal with a “corrupt” cliquey,best jobs for my mates environment
Taxi driver it is then …only joking
Kenny1975:
gogzy:
80-100 drops a day is nothing, a quiet day for me was 100 drops at home delivery network. 200 drops a day 5 days a week then a 500 catalouge run on a saturday is where you can make your money with them. 800+ a week easy after tax and thats if you work for them, dunno about the subbies but they have them.With DHL we only did about 100 a day, was a source of arguments because other places like Business Express could do a lot more.
I was an employee so wasnt so bad, but in our place the trunkers were in about 6.30am so not getting out till about 7.30am-8am and you had to be back for the trunker going leaving about 5pm. So a lot of the OD’s were kinda annoyed they couldnt get out for longer.
Suppose as well depends on the area, i did Greenock, Port Glasgow was an hours drive away but could get rid of half my load in an hour or two because mainly in the industrial and bussiness estates all close by. Then could spend rest of the day messing about trying to find houses and small bussiness in the town centre.
yea some companies can delivery 200 a day in some areas, like i got the whole of dalgety bay and mayby 20 parcels in aberdour, and i manged one day to get rid of 95 parcels in an hour mainly because its 3 n this street, 12 in another whihc is right next to it,6 in here 8 in here, 9 for this one house . record is 22 parcels for one house lol and even though she was in the last place i was going she got the first delivery mainly cause i woulda got a bollocking if i went back with those 22 plus the usual 2 or 3 i used to go back with. mind you i used to geta lot of parcels going ot the same folks house everyday so you got to know them and they would tell u where you can leave it if nobodys in etc.
i rarely was out passed 4 in the afternoon though. a few runs are all dayers though, basically its from glenrothes to callender all the way upt o crainlarich and then back thro crieff, callender is most of the run, mayby 25 drops but the next 25 - never any more than 50 on that run were houses int he middle of nowhere. you always left in the morning with a huge pile of printed off maps to find the places, only one person in the depot knew the run well though
Baggie, I see you’re in the West Mids - DHL are advertising for class one and two drivers on a new Boots contract in Birmingham. Have a look at dhl.co.uk an click on the careers link.