Question on percentage pay?

[powertrain]

I recieve 72% of the gross from the company I lease my truck to. I never know what the charges are to the customer so I don't know if we are being paid the correct percentage of any container load. I spoke with several other drivers here and no one has seen a freight bill with any amount charged to the customer. The lady in our office that handles this job says she cannot show anyone the customer freight bill. Is this norm for companies? Can they with hold this information?

[petedabroker]

Wow, not being out of line, but did you read your lease agreement at the time you applied to put your truck on with this company? I can answer this in two means.
First, your lease will have the details of your arrangements related to all items, subjects, obligations, details, and pricing paid.
Quite honestly, if yours does not , you work for quite the flim flam operator. Its simple "What percentage of What, equals what".
YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO SEE THE FINAL BILLING MADE FROM YOUR COMPANY TO THEIR CUSTOMER. PERIOD , END OF STORY. They may block out the customers name, but the remaining information should be enough for for you to grasp the fact, Are they paying the amount/percentage agreed upon at the time of hire and stated on the lease agreement. That is every driver right to do such. I am amazed , just how universally acceptable it is to a driver to accept their company's statements , just by their word.
Look at the invoice, see the date of the move, container number, whatever it is that would identify the load to you as being the same load. Then look at the gross bill, take your calculator and times it by .72=, I give you an example that is simple. The load paid $1,000 flat, you get $720. The load paid $1,162.00 X.72=$836.64. If they are not willing to share this information, and certainly looks like, they have no valid reason, since you also see the their customer (normally) on the inland bill of lading. Now remember sometimes their customer is not the shipper nor the consignee. Sometimes its a middle man (broker), sometimes its another middle man (Freight Forwarder. So tell them to black out their customers name and give you the company bill sent to their customer, so you can verify its correctiveness. If they are not willing to do such, you are being cheated, again period , end of story. When they are found in a lie, they normally run to the most convenient area to bury the lie, Oh, the additional charge was for clerical fees. Yes, you do pay us to handle the billing on your behalf. Again, look at the lease agreement. Remember one thing. You have to read everything given to you. Just don't take someones word on it. If you buy a house and the seller has placed into the contract , you need to pay for his kids education to a private school, are you just going to pass that part over , then complain when he sends you a bill for the tuition? I can only blame you for this event. Trucking company's , love tiny drivers. Why, because they don't have to bend over too far as they are shoving it up you butt. So my man , get your payment work sheet, ask for each and every invoice that matches and then ask them for the additional funds they riped you off on. Once found, then go back for all the invoices since you worked there. Oh, they won't do it? It cost $35.00 to file a civil case against anyone. You don't need a lawyer to fight this one. In your filing you need to ask the courts that the firm you are working for needs to supply every invoice, that matches every move, in advance of the court date. If they don't or are not willing to do such, without a very valid reason, they could be held in contempt. You present your lease agreement showing 72% of the gross was agreed upon. The judge looks at your paper, hits his hammer down and says verdict for the plaintiff. You ask that all the invoices supplied have the names and phone numbers of the billed to party for verification that these are valid invoices. You call the companies and ask for copies of the checks they paid to your company, again for validation purposes. If you feel the task is too much , then get a lawyer to do the dirty work and include in your case lawyer fees, and all other cost as part of your requested settlement. I would be willing to be you will be released from your lease, and all money paid, without the courts even hearing the case. The next company that hires you, you better be able to get verification of percentage paid. Before I sold my company I supplied with each pay check a copy of my invoice sent to my customer. Customers name was blacked out, but it was valid and easy to follow. So partner if they are cheating you on your money , just think what they are doing with the FSC, if they are paying you one at all. Don't feel badly, you are one of a zillion truckers in the same bed.
If you need any more information please just email me.
Kind Regards,
Peter

[sugartownexpress]

Wonder how many of these sneaky agents around here are monitoring this site. I know they just have to hate this, he, he, he, ;D

[petedabroker]

Current FSC, as provided by Petedabroker is 52% effective 8/3 to 8/10/08. Update will be given on 8/10/08 and every week to follow.
Airlines announced this week that just over 70% of their total cost is now directly related to fuel expense.
Let me break down the following estimates for the rest of the 30%.
Labor (includes salary, health/welfare benefits, retirement pensions, and all other Federal related co-pay benefits)
22%
Liability insurance/security
3%
Advertisements
1%
Leaving 4% for maintenance & repair, fleet upgrades and purchases, profits (if any), airport rental and lease programs, taxes, commissions to booking agents, and hospitality.
So you really want to fly now? If this keeps going, at it's present rate , planes will be failing out of the sky's like bird droppings. So if you really don't want nothing to do with the wife, just keep sending her on vacation on a plane, fully insure her trips, and sit back and wait for the check to arrive. LOL
Ok, the real reason I posted this thing about aircraft is just how much it also relates to trucking. Knowing you just about have enough left over after you buy fuel, to eat, how long is it going to be before all those delays in maintenance and repair starts to catch up with all of you? Without the support of a Federally determined FSC, in its correct amount, it is paramount to Russian Roulette you all will be playing on the road , basically all being contributed because the refusal of the Federal Government to realize that fuel cost have cut so deep into any profits, the only real opportunity to keep trucking, is to put rigs on the road ,that are not well kept and in road worthy condition.
I know there will be some of you saying that is simply not true, so for those, answer this question, how are you going to maintain those rigs without profits? Case closed. Will the Feds help you in this problem by putting together a National Fuel Sur-Charge Program?, Hell No!!!!!! , what they will do is open up even more road stations to provide heavy fines and shut even more owner operators down. Using your own funds via fines to completely eliminate owner operators and even some company trucks, resulting in putting you completely out of business. The owner operator is the only element in the whole of transportation, that cannot be 100% controlled by the Feds. You are that unknown factor that presents problems to that well oiled Federal machine. They cannot control your tax payments. We all know each and everyone of you lie about taxes. The Feds hate that. They want control. Gentleman and ladies, I am just being honest and not trying to hurt feelings or call you liars. I too hate paying taxes without representation. I too hate illegals taking over this country, I too hate to support the Feds and all their belly acking antics. So if we all just fight to get the Feds to spit out a FSC, that all can live with for now, most of our problems come to an end. That is what is needed for now.
Petedabroker

[DAYCAB]

Hi Pete. I was thinking about getting my own authority. Now I am not so sure after seeing another guy having trouble collecting his money. I also talked to a couple of factoring companies who said they will not deal with the steamship lines freight any longer. This is what I was going to do was to pull for one of the lines on short moves. I can'r get stuck waiting on money like I here some say up to 90 days or more and the one I was going to do it for can't give a deadline on money. I hope this works with whatever these drivers are planning down here or I may just get out of all this business next year. I'll give this a shot first.

[petedabroker]

So you want to have your own authority? By doing such your best , maybe only customer will be a steamship company. Since you contacted a factoring agent, I would guess your funds are limited. Your factoring company states they no longer accept Steamship companies as clients. Are you getting my drift. I am giving you what you said to me almost in the same order. Ok, lets start by asking yourself the first question that should of jumped out at you like a tiger in the grass. Why won't the factoring companies accept steamship lines? BECAUSE THEY DON'T PAY THEIR f**kING BILLS!!!!!!
Why does the Steamship lines want to work with a trucker who does not have any current authority, no insurances, and no money? BECAUSE THEY DON'T PAY THEIR f**kING BILLS!!!!! AND CANNOT FIND ANY COMPANY THAT IS HALF WAY DECENT TO HANDLE THEIR MOVES!!!!!!
I owned a trucking company for almost 10 years and never accepted a steamship line move directly from the lines on what is known as a route coded move. Why? Because they don't pay their f**king bills. They get you hanging for untold thousands of dollars, they eat you up with moves, you are stuck holding the bag, they force the payments down, once they have you in their grasp and control your whole company, because you cannot do anything else but service them. You are a slave for the steamship line. Get it. They do it on purpose. They are the slim of the industry. Why have freight rates on containers dropped over the years. The steamship companies don't own trucks, they run ships, but guess what? they handle inland freight as a broker without a license. Thats Right and so far perfectly legal. Its call a through rate, door to door rate, whatever you want to call it , its legalized thief. Stop handling the steamship lines direct routed moves and those moves will end up with the freight forwarder calling you for a rate at a much higher amount. All they are at best is a co-broker on a single load. As if that load had any profits, they are all gone by the time the steamship lines makes it available to you. They are the HMO's of road transportation at best and belong in jail at their worst. Stop handling steamship lines moves. Get the moves from the shipper or the Freight Forwarder. Even the Freight Forwarders take some commission, but most are honest and will give you a good rate. I am referring to International Freight Forwarders, not domestic ones.
Let me know but stay away from Steamship Line routed cargo unless you like being poor and out of business, then get all of that freight you can handle. LOL
Petedabroker (honest not ignorant)

[petedabroker]

Sorry I want to say more about this subject. Back in the 80's I worked for a company that handled Italian lines, and MSC route coded containers. Lets take Baltimore to Philadelphia rate for example. When I got a rate from a shipper and we agreed upon the amount it was normallly between $375/450. Now I started handling route coded containers, sometimes the same ones I handled directly in the past. The rates started out as $375, after about 10-12 moves, I got a call from Bob in New York, sorry Pete we got to drop that rate to $350. Why Bob? Because the customer got someone cheaper to move them. Well that sucks, but there is still some profit , not much but some , so go ahead and give them to me, I will take all 10. Ok, good buddy was Bob's reply. Two weeks go by, Pete, Yeah, Oh, This is Bob from Containership Agency. You know those Philly moves? Yeah, what about them? Well the rate Just dropped to $325 and now they want you to drop the containers for them to unload. Hey Bob, are you f**king nuts? Well Peter , if you want the business, you got to play ball here and give me $325.00/container and eat the first five drops.
Petes reply- Ok, Bob give me the 10 moves. Oh, Bob by the way, where is my money for the moves 2 months ago. Oh, Peter I will check and get back to you. NO CALL, UNTIL!!!!!!
Peter, the consignee has not gotten any containers, but I see you picked them all up, whats going on? Well Robert (Now I call him Robert), As soon as you pay me all the money owned for every container I handled, plus the 10 I now have in my yard, all not lower than $325/container, I will deliver the 10 I now have and after that f**k you, your company, your wife and your daughter. How does that sound Robert? Well Peter , I never, (never what Robert, had someone tell you what a f**king scum bag you are? Let me tell you what you did here Robert, you gave me loads I had already handled from the importer for less money. I accepted that. You then cheapened those loads by almost $100 per move, you hold my money like its yours to spend, you try to control my A/R, give me s#*t rates, then all you can say is "I never". Robert I got 10 containers. You want those containers, give me all my money you owe me, and never call this company again. You got that you f**king jerk. Next day via Federal Express a check arrived for all the funds, and he never called me again. I called the importer and asked them why they shifted the containers to a route code. They said the shipper in Italy did that. I told them the whole story and the traffic manager looked at his rates and concluded he was actually paying more than before and the steamship line was getting the additional profits and if I were to guess taking that Italian clothing company offical to diner each and every night. Maybe even getting him call girls and whatever else he wanted. So gentleman and ladies stay the f**k away from route coded containers and tell your boss to do the same. That freight will re-appear eventually as consignee routed cargo and the pay will be to your liking. I don't know the answer to everything, but I do know the answers to most of the transportation problems. I am the expert there.
Petedabroker (honest not ignorant)

[petedabroker]

Daycab, the only shot I would give it , would be in the steamship lines, manager's head. Get him before he gets you. 90 day payment, yeah, they get their money upon presentation of the original bills of lading at their office on a collect shipment or before they even get the bills of lading on a prepaid shipment. I know this for a fact. So they hold your money for 90 days. How much interest are they collecting on your money? Almost the whole amount of the move in interest alone. I am not trying to be out of line with you. I know you are a hard working guy, but just think about why would the steamship lines come to you to handle their moves?
Because they screwed the rest and only have one guy, maybe with five drivers left to do the same to eventually. They make their money on the movement of international cargo, so why let them into your customers back yard, handling the domestic portion. Get rid of them, they are cancer, waiting to spread even more than they have already. SHUT DOWN ROUTE CODED CONTAINERS FROM THE STEAMSHIP LINES. They are stealing what little profits you already have. Why did Maersk sell BTT. ? Because the dispatchers at BTT could no longer handle the cheap loads and the drivers were leaving in droves. No drivers, why have a trucking company.
So if you are ready to handle Steamship Lines routed containers, don't like living in a house, hate food, telephones, washing machines, computers, heating and air conditioning, no longer wish to own an automobile, then handle them, other than that , tell them to go f**k themselves.
Petedabroker (honest not ignorant)

[brakejob]

WOW, talk about fired up ;D Great site you guys have. Love this guy petedabroker. So much for getting a snow job from your area trucking companies. All other drivers should take the time to read this info. I'll be back to check. Can't think of anything right now to add but wasn't expecting anything this good when I heard of your site. This portrucker site needs to be posted everywhere a trucker goes into a terminal.