I’m guessing it’s a numbers game for them. Only a few have the resources left to go to court when it’s all finished.

The company I was talking about had a sister company that the owner of the truck I drove was leased to. The guys losing their trucks would ask about the sister company not even knowing or caring that the company that just bamboozled them was part of the same company, just running an even bigger scam with more expensive trucks and only taking on experienced drivers.

When I went through orientation at the sister company, you could hear the phone recruiters working. They took calls non-stop all day. There was no lack of interest in the scam.

Everybody who’s ever thought of doing something like this really needs to read this post and Mark’s comment. It’s really a sad situation. I can’t imagine how demoralizing it must have been for Mark to “ALWAYS (see) somebody sitting on all their gear outside of a truck they were turning back in.” It would break my heart.

You can always say that drivers should know better and, with more experience, maybe they would. I’m guessing that the majority of those caught in the trap are relative newcomers to the business and just don’t have anyone in their circle of friends and family that can advise them.

I think about a guy talking over the prospects with his wife after he’s just spoken with the company con artist. He’s trying to do the best he can for his family and has no idea that, in a matter of time, he’ll be sitting on all he has left after he turns in his truck. I just can’t get that image out of my mind.

This company had a very, very nice terminal in Missouri and I know how they paid for it. They will speak of success stories, but you’re hard pressed to find them in person. If folks were getting a good business going with virtually no risk, you would not have to hunt one down to hear the success story.

It is very tempting to take them up on the offer. It sounds so nice to have your own business, but it’s an all-out scam. Have a lawyer look over the contract and he’ll laugh you out of the office as soon as you write him his check of course.

Just READ the contract and you’ll run. I seen guys signing the contracts who didn’t even read the thing and others who just glanced over it. I’ve been employed by businesses where they never signed an original contract, it was always redlined and negotiated. It’s common business practice. None of these companies would change one word of that contract I’m sure.

Some folks have their lives ruined by this. They keep trying and the company will keep telling them that they’re doing this or that wrong. Meanwhile, the driver is running his bank account on empty and foregoing house payments to keep going. The driver I was with owned his truck and they couldn’t keep him going. They would come up with the craziest reports to try and show you the failure was your fault. Fuel and mileage reports that didn’t match records you keep, mileage rates that were lower than quoted when you took the load, and there were multiple fees that you were never notified of in advance. When they were mentioned, it was deep in the fine print of the contract. These fees would always appear just as the truck was starting to pull a decent income.

I am very glad I was able to witness this while just being a hired driver for an owner-operator. It was easy to see what was going on if you were not unlucky enough to be caught up in it.

I did see a way to make it with a big Arkansas outfit. The guy had no family and lived in his truck. He made just enough to survive. He almost had the 3 year lease completed when I talked to him.