Well, we have the van, the phone, the credit card, the insurance (finally!), now Rick goes to sign the contract with Jung tomarrow. Could you guys give us some insight on what to expect the contract to say and anything that we should beware of? The company seems to be great so far and we've heard nothing but good things but one can never be too careful!!! We appreciate your input!!
signing contract
- Thread starter Mrand Mrs
- Start date
justiceman
Expert Expediter
not sure exactly what theirs would say. I'm new to all this but for certain I would not sign any contract with having my attorrney review it.
I don't know about having the expense of a attorney reviewing your contract. More than likely it will be pretty self explanatory. I would watch the area's about deductibles and limits of liability. Your exposure will probably be in the 3 to 5000.00 range. Are you prepared for that?
You are correct in that I also haven't heard anything negative about this company. Best of luck and please keep us posted how you are doing.
You are correct in that I also haven't heard anything negative about this company. Best of luck and please keep us posted how you are doing.
Rick was pretty nervous when he went to sign on this morning but he called and said that the contract was very easy to read and understand. Last night we did some research and found some guidelines to keep in mind at www.ontruck.org/news/publications (if this will help anyone else, on this website scroll down to Guidelines for Carrier/Owner Operator Contracts-it's downloadable pdf on Adobe). Even though it's by the Ontario Trucking Association it gave us a good idea of what to expect. Glen, I'm not sure what you mean about our exposure being in the 3-5000 range. We're trying to learn quickly as we go here, which probably isn't the smartest thing, but we both lost our jobs last month, neither one of us has gotten many calls on the jobs we have applied for, and we used our Christmas money to pay bills last month. Could you explain? We did get insurance through the company Jung recommended-we moved our other autos and homeowner's policies over also to get a bundle discount and purchased an additional umbrella coverage on it all for up to 1,000,000. Will this cover that liability? Thanks for your advice.
Doggie Daddy
Veteran Expediter
hi mrandmrs, i'm not sure if this is what glenn means but it could possibly be liability for damaged freight. we are with fedex c.c. and we liable for the first $2,000.00 of any claims for damaged freight. this is why it is very important to watch for signs of damage while you are being loaded.if any damage or potential damage is seen, be sure that it is noted on the BOL and signed by the shipper. the best way to protect yourself against against freight claims is to CYOA. i hope this helps. DD.
The only thing it says in the contract(I have a copy now) is that the company shall hold Independent contractor responsible for any damage to the Company's property that results from the negligence of Independent Contractor. Does this mean we're 100% liable? Does the property damage liability coverage on the van cover that? Rick left already this afternoon on his first trip (woohoo!!!), I'll definitely remind him to check it good!!!
Fr8 Shaker
Veteran Expediter
Where was his first run to and where did he pickup?...just curious.
Just the citys and states...don't need to know the companys.
Just the citys and states...don't need to know the companys.
>I don't know about having the expense of a attorney
>reviewing your contract. More than likely it will be pretty
>self explanatory. I would watch the area's about deductibles
>and limits of liability. Your exposure will probably be in
>the 3 to 5000.00 range. Are you prepared for that?
>You are correct in that I also haven't heard anything
>negative about this company. Best of luck and please keep us
>posted how you are doing.
Hi Glen; I'd like to defer to your greater experience in expediting but I must disagree with your statement about the expense of having a lawyer review the contract.
I was just looking at that other website and saw an article where "Monty" had his Landstar contract terminated due to an accident.
Would you read a contact thoroughly enough to catch a clause like that? A lawyer should, and explain all the clauses.
The carriers have these contracts drawn up by lawyers and to not know how trhe contract you sign could be interpreted leaves the owner operator at a disadvantage.
Does the OOIDA not have a list of lawyers who can provide this service at a reasonable cost?
As far as the "expense" goes; in my (Very Humble) opinion; if an owner operator cannot afford a couple of hundred dollars for this, they shouldn't be trying to run a business. They should get a paid job.
A truck must be a business first, not just a job.
RWA
>reviewing your contract. More than likely it will be pretty
>self explanatory. I would watch the area's about deductibles
>and limits of liability. Your exposure will probably be in
>the 3 to 5000.00 range. Are you prepared for that?
>You are correct in that I also haven't heard anything
>negative about this company. Best of luck and please keep us
>posted how you are doing.
Hi Glen; I'd like to defer to your greater experience in expediting but I must disagree with your statement about the expense of having a lawyer review the contract.
I was just looking at that other website and saw an article where "Monty" had his Landstar contract terminated due to an accident.
Would you read a contact thoroughly enough to catch a clause like that? A lawyer should, and explain all the clauses.
The carriers have these contracts drawn up by lawyers and to not know how trhe contract you sign could be interpreted leaves the owner operator at a disadvantage.
Does the OOIDA not have a list of lawyers who can provide this service at a reasonable cost?
As far as the "expense" goes; in my (Very Humble) opinion; if an owner operator cannot afford a couple of hundred dollars for this, they shouldn't be trying to run a business. They should get a paid job.
A truck must be a business first, not just a job.
RWA
Hi FR8 Skaker!He's had 2 runs now, both WI-IL-local for us. He's home to take a nap and is supposed to call in again this afternoon. We're hoping for a couple good long distance runs right away!!
Rob A-I realize that "safe is better than sorry" but to us a couple of hundred dollars is 2 weeks worth of groceries right now. And why are we in this situation? Because of "paid jobs". We're tired of working our butts off for someone else to get absolutely nowhere. You live paycheck to paycheck and then businesses close or downsize and you're left scrambling. We've got 2 kids depending on us and we can't wait around for companies to review resume's, then call for interviews, then have discussions, then second interviews and so on. Besides that, there are so many people looking for jobs that you're competing with. I have a very stable work history, lots of skills, etc. and I've gotten 1 interview out of about 15 resume's I've sent. Have you tried to live on unemployment lately? You said that we shouldn't be trying to run a business but sometimes people have to take a chance.
Rob A-I realize that "safe is better than sorry" but to us a couple of hundred dollars is 2 weeks worth of groceries right now. And why are we in this situation? Because of "paid jobs". We're tired of working our butts off for someone else to get absolutely nowhere. You live paycheck to paycheck and then businesses close or downsize and you're left scrambling. We've got 2 kids depending on us and we can't wait around for companies to review resume's, then call for interviews, then have discussions, then second interviews and so on. Besides that, there are so many people looking for jobs that you're competing with. I have a very stable work history, lots of skills, etc. and I've gotten 1 interview out of about 15 resume's I've sent. Have you tried to live on unemployment lately? You said that we shouldn't be trying to run a business but sometimes people have to take a chance.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
I totally agree, Mrs... I'm tired of competing with people with more skill, younger, etc. I know expediting, and after 4 years out, I decided to get back in... but as an o/o. I spent a month looking for ways to get a truck, and I found a guy looking to get rid of his. It's costing me some bucks as I'm paying for it over two years, but it's MY truck... and MY business... and MY decisions. I've driven for some great owners before... and some who gave me excuses instead of money. No guessing here.
Making money from your own truck is a great feeling (even though I haven't gotten on the road yet) but it's also a headache. Some people just shouldn't take the chance of owning their own truck. They don't have the mind of how the lanes for each company works... and they find out too slow. I remember Roberts Express... their dispatch wouldn't help you for squat. This couple I met near Dayton, OH was freaking. They were running out of money, but wouldn't take a short run. I asked them why they wouldn't being that it payed 1.30/mile and they said it wasn't long enough. They instead took a run to Houston paying .80/mile. That is why they were failing. They saw the end numbers only.
Mrs... tell Mr that he needs to learn how Jung thinks and where and when their freight pops up. If he's down the street from the shipper, Jung will call him first. And being that Jung is small now, he'll learn that relatively fast. And always remember not to take a load that you lose money on (unless it gets you back from bfe).
Good luck to you both!
Making money from your own truck is a great feeling (even though I haven't gotten on the road yet) but it's also a headache. Some people just shouldn't take the chance of owning their own truck. They don't have the mind of how the lanes for each company works... and they find out too slow. I remember Roberts Express... their dispatch wouldn't help you for squat. This couple I met near Dayton, OH was freaking. They were running out of money, but wouldn't take a short run. I asked them why they wouldn't being that it payed 1.30/mile and they said it wasn't long enough. They instead took a run to Houston paying .80/mile. That is why they were failing. They saw the end numbers only.
Mrs... tell Mr that he needs to learn how Jung thinks and where and when their freight pops up. If he's down the street from the shipper, Jung will call him first. And being that Jung is small now, he'll learn that relatively fast. And always remember not to take a load that you lose money on (unless it gets you back from bfe).
Good luck to you both!
Thanks for the good luck wish Tennesseahawk! We know that this is a risk that we're taking and we know there will be hard times and frustrating times. The good thing is that we're not going into this totally blind. Rick has been OTR for a total of seven years (two year break doing construction) so he knows alot of the problems already and is prepared for them. He actually thought seriously about getting into expedited right before I got pregnant with our 2nd son (surprise!!) and we had to put it off for a while. But since then he's talked to any expediter he could find in truck stops. He does have to learn how Jung works and how to manage trips but right now he's just trying to build their confidence in him and I think his own too. Like you said though, it's HIS truck, HIS business. That part is so gratifying. And even if we don't make it, it'll be OUR fault-we're not at the mercy (totally) of some stuffed shirt. We just need to learn all the ins and outs and I think we'll be ok. And with all the advice and support we've been getting here, it shouldn't take us long.
It is not an absolute requirement to have an attorney but you must understand what you are signing. A large percentage don't and get shocked later when something goes bad. As Glen mentioned, make sure you clearly understand what your exposure is, whether through freight claims or general liability. If you don't, seek legal advise or at a bear minumum, send your lease to OOIDA and have them review it.
Davekc
Davekc
romoore245
Expert Expediter
Sounds like MrandMrs are on track just low on funds starting out. Getting a lawyer when needed is very important. My wife and I took everything to get our first truck this past summer, then our first nite out we were hit by a tt totaled our truck. If we hadn't called an attorney right away we would have lost out. The insurance adjuster didn't want to pay for the truck since it was old and didn't want to pay lost waiges since it was our first day. The attorny came through but it took three months to settle everything. We got down to our last $200 when it settled. Good luck and be careful out there