Central Refrigerated Service

Put me with a trainer that stole money from me after my training. I went to there home base in Fontana California for a truck.

They promised I would get a route in Oklahoma. At Fontana I pick up the truck looking forward to getting to go home for three days. Then found out I was lied to headed to Kansas to pick up meat loud told there was a scale to wieght the trailer on when I picked it up then I found the closes was in Selina Kansas. I had to drive to Selina to the truck stop where I got the truck wieght and found it was way off.

I adjusted it to legal and paid for it. Then I found out the good news Chicago headed that way. Some woman kept calling and had me trade the loud for a trip to Florida to drop off a trailer. Final found out I was going to be running California to New York not going to Oklahoma or anywhere close.

The people that worked for the company told me they tell everyone they will keep them close to home but never do. This lady called me every day asking me to give up my trailer I never got anything close to home was lost in Cincinnati for three days following there directions. On the third day the guy on the phone said ask a Police man. I did and he said your on the wrong side of town.

I had to turn around go back to light and go four blocks and turn right. I was down three days and pay sucked and it was there falt. Picked up the and people told me that I was on time and they would get louded. Picked up the loud they new I the loud wouldn't be ready until the Fourth day.

After picking up the loud I had to drop the loud so another driver could go home to Florida. Upset I headed to Indiana to drop the loud. I then called told them if they couldn't keep me going I wanted a loud back to Fontana didn't make far same women took the loud. I called again and told my dispatcher I lost my loud again.

I got a new loud to Fontana the woman called every day trying to take it didn't work I had enough. When I got back they inspected the truck there were places that had been broke and fix that just broke again they said they were hoing to charge me for the damage. I told them it was broken and fixed it and just broke again because it was just glued up. There was also a problem with the trainers truck while we were In Chicago I was put in a hotel and told someone would pick me up.

After two weeks my trainer told me I could go home. I did go home and a week later the dispatcher called and asked if would go to Joplin and meet my trainer. So I did after I quit they told me that I didn't stay in the motel with my trainer and that they would hold that against me to. My trainer went home and only came in every couple of days to check on me.

So I was in the motel by myself. I got a check 50 dollars a week for food and no one ever came and got me they blamed me. It was there falt for not sending someone to get me.

My training time was not complete. But I took the test and was past.

I encountered one of your trucks (#144746) Friday (06-12-16) around 2:45PM on I-85 north near Gaffney, SC. Dumb-*** was traveling in the left lane impeding traffic, causing vehicles to bunch up and make unsafe maneuvers to try and overtake him. Stayed in the left lane from exit 83 in Cowpens, all the way to exit 102 near Blacksburg with many opportunities to move to right lane. This about 21 miles and approximately 30 minutes me and quite a few others stayed behind his ignorant ***. Was still in passing lane when I exited and probably stayed there until he exited. I realize this is a waste of my time because I doubt that you give a damn. I'm reporting this because I commute via I-85 every day and I see the number, (of careless disrespectful truck drivers who think that they own the road), increasing every day.I know the type; too lazy to do any real work and too stupid to do anything else. I know that good help is hard to find but if this driver doesn't have enough sense to get the *** out of the way I doubt he is smart enough to drive a 18-wheeler safely. What an IDIOT!

If he would have pulled over (I signaled him to) I would have beat some respect into his useless ***. You've got my name & number. That offer still stands.

Jim Curtis

864-310-****

One of your Central Refr. trucks has been parked in the south end of Grants Pass, Oregon - on New Hope Rd.

near Johnson Lane, for over a week. It is on the paved shoulder of the roadway in an area that is used daily by many bicyclists and joggers. The users of the bike lane are now required to go into the lane of traffic to get around this truck and trailer.

The speed limit here is 45 MPH and it puts the users of the bike lane at risk. Park this truck in some commercial area and not out in the country in our area of homes...

I worked for them an wished I went back, worked CR ENGLAND, PTL, ARROW, WITH regrets, no one fogets wat arrow did, left us abandond on the road, broke, wen they closed doors without worning us, sweet uh, central took me back 3 times paid well, an never let me sit like the rest.

Was with Central for about 5 1/2 years as a lease driver. Least several trucks from them.

First year I was with them I made money but starting the 2nd year and so on I lost money big time. My miles went down every year starting at the 2nd year. All they said when I raised it to them was it was my fault and wanted to know what I done different then 1st year and I did nothing different.

My last truck with them was a Volvo 780 and it was a piece of ***. They sold me a piece of ***, never told me that it had been wrecked a couple of times.

I had $20,000 in repairs on just the motor in 1 year and they didn't cover any of it.

My checks at Central were in the negative almost every other week because of truck repairs and high costs they charge you. When I left they sent me a bill for $19,000 claiming I broke the lease when in fact they did by not getting me miles I needed to make expenses and make a living

My daughters fiance applied with in went through the training and is now on the road. They promised West Coast runs but ended up giving him all the time back east without being able to come home in Sacramento.

He's been underpaid we don't know if he's going to get is full due wages . Supposed to get 25 cents amile I think. His trainer is not more than a driver and has kept him away from here while he visits his friends and family back east on his runs to the south east and Midwest. They don't get motel rooms.

He has to wait and sleep in the truck while the driver is with his friends and family inside. He's been gone a couple of months and we're wondering if he'll ever get home when he was expecting to get married in December. I hope I can update this later but I will side with the complaints that say stay away from this company. he's going stir crazy enough that he's considering quiting.

right now they gave him 2 days to decide to stay with them... what ploy is this? will it be the old "own-your-truck" scam?

if he says "no" will they strand him back east? don't have room for another central horror story I heard.

Wow, this company was something. First off, the recruiter will lie to you on the phone, teling you what you want to hear to get you to go work for them.

I was promised a hotel room during my orientation, then received a room equivelant to a jail cell, complete with filthy sheets, a heater chained to the bunk ladder, and the cracking sound of balls on a pool table till 3am. The people in charge of "Building 3" are disgruntled dispatchers who seem to relish in treating drivers like trash. They are in charge, and love to repeatedly remind you of the fact. Orientation itself, no real hitches, except that they inform you that "some changes have been made to the Driver's Manual", and they specify "for instance, pets are no longer allowed in the truck".

That's no problem, but they should have specified that they no longer pay layover, they no longer pay for getting the driver home 8 days late for scheduled home time, etc. Obviously that is a heck of a lot more important than being able to bring my dog! I mean, we only drive for the money to support our loved ones, so this type of misrepresentation is not small potatoes in my book. Now for the really good part-complain about the lies, you will get lied to some more, then ignored, then sent on the worst runs(if any runs).

My last week with them, I got less then 800 miles. Now you can drive a good 600 in a day (when driving @ 60 for 10 hrs), so you know that I was sitting on my can, miles from my home and family, earning no money for 5.5 out of 7 days. Needless to say, that was enough, so I packed my bags and cleaned out the truck. I paid 20 bucks for a cab from the terminal to the train station, because they refused to take me in the shuttle, then shelled out another 120 for a train ticket home(borrowed money, as I didn't earn enough for some time to afford a ticket home).

They continued to charge me for all my insurance, etc. for a week after I left, then let me know that it was my own fault for leaving notice with the night dispatcher, and not waiting until morning to go in and notify Human Resources. Fine, except that the train only left once daily at nearly midnight, and I would have had to wait another 24 wasted hours to leave. Then, when I went to check my account for pay, they had charged me a small fortune in fees.

They had somehow lost nearly all my receipts for lumpers, cleanouts, etc. and I was being held responsible for all these charges (funny how this happened, as they never lost any of my paperwork before). I called them on it, and told them I would be happy to fax them photocopies of the receipts that I made in case of just such an event. They told me not to worry, they "just found the receipts".

Very amusing. After straightening this out, finally getting my refund for the lock kit that I left in the truck at the terminal, and NEVER getting paid for picking up the abandoned truck in the first place (I paid my neighbor $50 for fuel to take me to pick up the truck where it was left, expecting to be paid the $100 I was told I would get to recover it), I was ready to get my money from my reserve account (yes, they take a deposit out of your checks to drive for them). Yay, finally got my $240 back a month after quitting my employment with them. I was able to pay back the money for the ticket home, plus $20 for the gas spent picking me up from the train station, and even still had $100 to spend on much-needed groceries for my family.

I was finally shut of them, never wanting to have to deal with them again, and all the happier for it.....or was I?? I quit in December, got my reserve money in January.....then I got a letter from a collections company at the end of February, saying that I was in default to Central Refrigerated Service for $88, and it was being reported to the credit bureaus. I could contest it, but it wouldn't show up as contested for about a month. Apparently, it was reported to the credit bureau by the time I even got the letter.

How's that grab ya!!! They lie to get you in, charge you a fortune to work for them (making little pay), then retaliate against you when you sever your employment with them. I mean, what the heck did I owe them for? I would have been happy to give them a *** $88 if I owed them for something, but wasn't that what the reserve account was for?

And why didn't they bother calling or sending me an e-mail to discuss it? My belief-retaliation only.

No other reason not to contact me, just zing my credit. I still don't even know how I'm supposed to owe them anything??

Save yourself alot of problems...alot of companies out there pay as much or more than Central, without the hassle.

Mark

I went to this school earlier this year. The trainers are very poor and this school is a rip off.

The school charges you 3k after five days of school and if any time after that you can kicked out for any simple reason at your cost getting home and money is still owed. Only 10 % students pass the class and the other students usually quits in few months. The driving trainers are not professional , rude and usually absent during training. Also there are 10 students per truck and the class requirements to pass is hard for the training with three strike rule and your out.

rip off just to get your money and this school needs to shut down. There are hundreds of ex- students owe for this school.

Leased on with Central Refrigerated Service for three years and I had a good DM. I was a trainer and I made good $, my miles where constant and I was happy.

Then, I had six months left on my lease and my truck was at 500,000 miles. They said I broke company policy and fired me. Lost the truck.

After talking to other O/O, found out that's what they do when your truck hits the 1/2 million mile mark. They turn them back in to Kenworth. But what happens to all the $ you put into the truck? They keep it.

Their O/O program is better than most but still you'll never own the truck.

Before you sign, read the fine print.