Help! Starting Up As An Owner Driver

TOPMAN99

I am starting as a courier/owner driver in the next month in Dublin and need some advice on getting started. Mainly:

1.Insurance
I am setting up as a sole trader and hope to do both local delivery work in dublin and work for some larger multinational company like DHL,UPS etc delivering goods for them.Most major insurance companies refuse to quote me the minute I say I am delivering anything, they all refer me to one broker who insures couriers and there quote was 3500 euros for the year.Some people have said to tell them I am a fitter or tradesman,but I was wondering will any of the big multnationals employ me if I had just ordinary commerical insurance and not this special courier insurance and also if I am carrying goods for some one and they get stolen or damaged I dont have insurance for goods in transit were do I stand then.

2.Proper Van
I have been advised to buy a Ford Transit 280 LWB Semi High Roof or a 350 LWB HR.Are either of these vans correct and does the colour matter.

3.Money
I have been given different figures on money I should expect to earn weekly , could someone tell me roughly how much I can expect to take home weekly after I've paid for my overheads.

I'd greatly appreciate any help anyone could give me on any of the above .

Cheers.

Karma

heya,
maybe to get a job with one of the companies that provide a van(& insurance) to get feel for it. you will also be on a wage so minimum set earnings.
the fords are good so personal choice and what sort of loads will you be dealing with. as for insurance, dont ly abound it, it will come back on ya. go by the book.
hope some of this helps.
K

lesdunne

Earnings can range from €600 to €800 per week depending on the company. Transit is the right vehicle and sometimes the big names like DHl or UPS are not the ones who pay the best.

all the best!

dubtom

Internationals like DHL/UPS etc use specific contracted companies like Securispeed to deliver their excess. Don't rely on getting any work from them, unless of course you can compete with a national company.You could approache securispeed or any of the big outfits and possibly work for them with your own van, they may have a group scheme with insurance companies and may be able to get your insurance a little cheaper, I'm not positive on that though.I mention securispeed because I worked for them for 10 years in vans and bikes and they were a good company to work for.

dossie01

Topman, have you started as a courier yet?im looking to do the same and not sure where i stand as insurance goes. i too have been told that saying im a tradesman would be the best way to do it. any help would be appreciated

BetsyGray

Has anyone had any luck with this. My mate used to work as admin in a place they used couriers a lot. He reckons it's the easy life and he's going to set up on his own in Derry.

Has anyone with the experience got any tips for him. I'm concerned he's totally underprepared for this whole thing

Karma

maybe different up north but its no picnic unless your in a family ran business...

liger

Hi,

I worked with/for GLS for a while as an owner driver. I got my insurance thru wrightways, Think they are in wexford but in the end it was a Hibernian policy. Hibernian wouldnt quote direct though. The cost was 2500 for the year and i had to transfer a five year bonus from my private car to get it that cheap.

None of the companies i worked for checked what type of insurance i had but the garda did when i was pulled over twice. If you have an accident and the insurance company find out what you were really using the van for then your policy is null and void and depending on the severity of the accident your open to criminal charges. ( I worked for 5years with axa/hibernian/eagle star ).

As for making a living out of it, doing the multi drops for places for DHL/UPS/GLS is good if you know the area well, but I found it hard to break even just doing courier work. The cost of insurance, diesel and van maintenance was just too much.


Hope this helps.

more tea vicar

Bleedin couriers seem to be stressed out grumpy aul sods.

Always turning up at any time and rarely call to confirm a drop, driving battered old ford vans.

The worst company is Fastway, they seem to have a bad reputation always on joe duffy, drivers not happy, nearly as bad as GLS. Bleedin Fastway, new drivers every week, don't know where they ae going, keep phoning for directions, get a feckin Sat Nav f' christ sake.

Why don't they drive Mercedes Sprinter vans or something decent, instead of clapped out Ford transits, pile o shyte, and get bleeding organised and a bit happier with clients, grumpy old gits.

DHL wreck every delivery, Fedex don't carry phones, don't know much about UPS or TNT.

Interlink are a rip off, now called DPD, the smaller operators are fairly bad for organising stuff, Langans, Lynx and that Swift is all over the bleedin place.

Some good ones, Hartleys, DSV, Zeigler.

Guvnor

I think the issue MoreTeaVicar is none of us as customers want to pay much for getting a package delivered. Then from what I have heard from drivers is that the suits in head office base potential pay on unobtainable targets. With traffic the way it is and most customers never offering help to the drivers I am amazed if a driver could do enough pick-ups/drop-off's to make a decent wage on an owner operator basis - probably only 1-2 good routes in an area. Even worse if you have to collect duty for the government!

Kind of on topic but who would be the best/cheapest firm for doing sub 30kg deliveries in Ireland - north and south?

I think UPS are OK to work for - they charge enough for their packages to pay reasonable.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Surprised to hear that about fastway, i've found them to be the most reliable. The drivers have to take ownership of the packages getting their on time which i think makes a big difference.

John Docherty

I am looking for experienced couriers or multidrop drivers, with a good knowledge of the Wicklow area, to join us as owner drivers. You must purchase one of our liveried vehicles, you cannot use your existing van.There is no entry or franchise fee. However, this is not a part time job, we need you to be responsible for your own maintainance,insurance, breakdown/holiday/illness cover, etc. Fixed daily rate, paid monthly.Expressions of interest from individuals who are experienced,professional, competent, and of good repute only.

wayne2107

Fedex don't carry phones

Oh yes we do, Im working in Fedex the last four years and we always have phones. Get your facts right please! Why should we ring you to arrange a time, if you order something on the internet make sure your in to sign for it. Cant stand people who order stuff and are never around to sign for it. I only make two attempts and you have to come collect it your self, on the second attempt I always make sure your one of my very last delieverys of the day.

wayne2107

I am looking for experienced couriers or multidrop drivers, with a good knowledge of the Wicklow area, to join us as owner drivers. You must purchase one of our liveried vehicles, you cannot use your existing van.There is no entry or franchise fee. However, this is not a part time job, we need you to be responsible for your own maintainance,insurance, breakdown/holiday/illness cover, etc. Fixed daily rate, paid monthly.Expressions of interest from individuals who are experienced,professional, competent, and of good repute only.

I know Bray and Kilmac like the back of my hand. Whats the money like, see if you can beat what Im earning now. Work very well under presure!

John Docherty

wayne2107 wrote: »

I know Bray and Kilmac like the back of my hand. Whats the money like, see if you can beat what Im earning now. Work very well under presure!

Theres more to Wicklow than Bray. Can you do 60+ drops and 10 collections a day? What are you getting a day at the moment?

wayne2107

Can you do 60+ drops and 10 collections a day?

Piece of cake! I only know as far as Bray unfortunally, Can cover Blackrock to Bray and all the nooks and crannys in between! Im coming out with approx 600 a week, and am doing about 80 drops & 20 collections a day.

cianmol

So what is the going rate in Dublin that a man with a van can charge?

L.Jenkins

Out of interest, apart from providing the vehicle and Insurance. Is there any additional requirements to working as a sole trading delivery driver.

mr transit

Hi all, I worked as an owner driver for one of the big company's in Dublin for several years, until recently. I got out of it as the rates have gotten so bad. You would be lucking to make €100 a day now before expenses working as a sub-contractor for one of those bigger companies, also they are very slow to pay up and your always chasing your money. Your best bet would be to stay small. Advertise privately and do furniture collections and removals. Just work out your fuel costs and your time. Just be aware, there's alot of compition out there. Good luck

kilburn

I wouldnt touch the courier business with a 100ft pole.
Spent 5 years in it, its ruined no money to be made any more.

ezeway

I work as a courier for last 3 years... Thanks god I don't need to use my own van... Coz I know fellas who works for the same company with own vans makes 90 a day before expenses...

kmepll

Worked for securispeed for a couple of years ago, great to work for but even then Lads who had been there before me where getting out of the game.
Tough job never enough hours in the day and the always traffic is hell

razor69

Don't do it!!! It's the worse job I've ever had. I work as a courier and its 60+ hours a week for much less than the minimum wage after expenses. Add to that long periods of being TOLD where to "STANDBY" as you wait on jobs (sometimes for hours), no holiday pay, sick pay and the eternal running costs of driving a van. Make it the worst job ever!!! You have NO RIGHTS WHATSOEVER, just ask N.E.R.A.. These companies can do what they want and have NOBODY to answer to. Ie Charge customer fuel surcharge even though it's you who bought the fuel, make you pay to get YOUR van logoed, make you pay for a uniform with THEIR logo and even charge YOU for the installation and UPKEEP OF THEIR GPS system. They let all thief own directly employed drivers go why???? So they can exploit the sub contractor outside of NORMAL employment law!!!! Ask yourself why don't they just employ someone directly??? Pay them a wage to drive their van?? Exploitation

Michael4002

More Tea - There is a big differance between the companies you have mentioned, Fatsway, Dpd, etc are multi drop companies under daily pressure, You need to put yourself in their shoes just for a minute and realize the basics around delivering 100 parcels per day, If a courier had to phone every person he deliveries to each day he would loose money very quickly, and every courier company in the Country would have to increase their rates to cover the costs of phone calls etc,

Getting started at present is very risky as all the major companies out there are all dropping their rates and some have dropped so low it is forcing couriers to sell at a rate just for the hope for long term income and hopefully survive the situation we are in at the moment.
Couriers in Dublin can earn from €600 to €2500 per week depending on who they are working for or self employed, how hard they work and most importantly how good they are , some people are are good but some people just dont have it, eg: You start tomorrow for DHL and you are offered €2 per delivery , You are offered 100 deliveries per day but you can only deliver 50, so your not making any money, at the start you are willing to work for peanuts but if you dont get the hang of it you are better off giving up, The little things are the important thing s like driving , parking , general knowledge of area , fitness, Common sense for technology.
Courier costs per week are about €300/400 for a Dublin based courier, Diesel €120, Insurance ( Arachas ) €40 , Phone Bill €40, Wear and tear on Van €40 , Van repayments €150, Lunch , etc etc etc.
My advice is to start for a good company but dont invest at the beginning in a high cost van etc and see if you can earn enough money each week to put food on the table.

Cheers - Dublin courier for 12 years.

Andy-Pandy

Ya lazy sods should just work on a bike

johner101

dont do it ive been a courier for the past 15 years. made big money when it was good.no money in the game these days. i was a sub co for dhl fed ex dx post now back on the circuit its a joke out there.

dm5854

John Docherty wrote: »

Theres more to Wicklow than Bray. Can you do 60+ drops and 10 collections a day? What are you getting a day at the moment?

Well Lads 60+ drops a day can be done but you sure as hell would want to be getting proper rates for this as this Company will definitly be getting good rates from their customer, Dont be fooled, Don't let them tell you otherwise, these guys all cry poverty to keep from paying out proper rates!

alan1971

looking to get a job driving a small van. for a company . i have worked on building sites. all my life and cant get any work.is there any body that could give adivce

Karma

I think the general advice is dont do it
there is no money to be made in it anymore.

hector9

dont be a courier it is really bad out there at the mo, i work for DHL, i,ve been there 4yrs, work is slow but steady, they aint hireing anybody, you cant compete with first direct couriers there doing mini jobs for 1 euro around town, and jobs out to sandyford for 3 euro, there wrecking the business and paying the courieres feck all.

soundman45

For anyone thinking of starting off as an owner driver just a word of warning, i work as a courier for the last 6yrs, am self employed and thankfully am doing grand but its very tough at the beginning as drivers who are established obviously get the better runs where they make more money, insurance is €2500 on first year comes down to about €1500 after 3yrs or so, Dhl pay good money, Nightline pay ok too but very long hours, NPX pay per drop and some days your run can be very quiet = crap money, GLS dont know about them, and everyone knows that Fastway is a complete joke, anyone wants more info i can message ya,