# What is it like being a delivery driver/courier ?



## evildacat (Jun 12, 2013)

I'm not talking about HGV's, more of the DHL/Yodel/DPD/Royal mail kind of jobs?
I've always imagined it to be more trouble then its worth such as I assume if you get a parking ticket, time which you have to deliver each parcel in and traffic not being used as an excuse if things are late. Are these stereotypes right?

I have a full UK licence does this mean I am able to drive LGV'S? I only ask as its a job I have discarded due to those reasons while job hunting.


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## Puddy_Tat (Jun 12, 2013)

evildacat said:


> I'm not talking about HGV's, more of the DHL/Yodel/DPD/Royal mail kind of jobs?


 
Some of these companies go in for part time, self employed (i.e. casual) workers using their own cars to do local deliveries - think that raises all sorts of questions about insurance, and having somewhere at home to keep stuff you can't deliver that day, and so on.

I've read various stories that a lot of them go in for self employed status where you have to hire the van from them.

Royal Fail at least generally go in for employed status (although generally on fixed term contracts at least to start) and provide vehicles.

You may want to search out some of Editor's musings on Citylink before considering them...



evildacat said:


> I have a full UK licence does this mean I am able to drive LGV'S? I only ask as its a job I have discarded due to those reasons while job hunting.


 
LGV is now legally what HGV used to be, i.e. large goods vehicles.

What you can drive legally depends when you passed your car test.

If you passed your car test before X date (I think 1998) then you will have category C1 on your licence which means you can drive goods vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes on a car licence.

If you passed your car test after that date, you won't, and you can only drive goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes on a car licence - that would cover the biggest 'Transit' sized vans.

This is the official line on what you can drive, and when, and on what sort of licence.


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## mack (Jun 12, 2013)

I get a daily pick up by Ed's favorite couriers, the driver I speak to is a freelancer who hires a vehicle, after that and any fines he picks up for parking offences etc. he makes about £250 a week, extra work on Saturdays helps bump that up.


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## evildacat (Jun 12, 2013)

So who would be a company/s to work for then If you were to apply for this kind of job? And who are to avoid. Not going to do a job where I have to us my own vehicle or rent one.
Also live in Lincolnshire is this likely to be any different to say larger cities or make no difference?  


mack said:


> I get a daily pick up by Ed's favourite couriers, the driver I speak to is a freelancer who hires a vehicle, after that and any fines he picks up for parking offences etc. he makes about £250 a week, extra work on Saturdays helps bump that up.


 
Hate my current job but couldn't live on £250 a week.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 12, 2013)

evildacat said:


> Hate my current job but couldn't live on £250 a week.


 

I'd be surprised if a job that supplies the vehicle pays much then min wage.


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## evildacat (Jun 12, 2013)

Puddy_Tat said:


> LGV is now legally what HGV used to be, i.e. large goods vehicles.
> 
> What you can drive legally depends when you passed your car test.
> 
> ...


 
Bloody missed out by one year passed in 1999. I have category B which it explains is up to 3.5 tonne but I also have B1 any idea says nothing on the website about it.


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## Frumious B. (Jun 12, 2013)

Pay has come down and down. Workers from abroad do these jobs for peanuts. It's the same story with bicycle and motorbike messengering. Years ago a good motorcycle courier was getting £500 per week. Now it's fuck all. Not a living wage really. But if you're from Poland or Brazil and there are eight of you sharing a 3 bed flat the economics are different.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 12, 2013)

evildacat said:


> Bloody missed out by one year passed in 1999. I have category B which it explains is up to 3.5 tonne but I also have B1 any idea says nothing on the website about it.


 



> *Category B1 - You can drive motor vehicles with 4 wheels up to 400kg unladen or 550kg if they’re designed for carrying goods.*




https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories


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## Puddy_Tat (Jun 12, 2013)

evildacat said:


> Bloody missed out by one year passed in 1999. I have category B which it explains is up to 3.5 tonne


 
That would, as I say, cover Transit sized vans, so still quite a lot of scope.



evildacat said:


> but I also have B1 any idea says nothing on the website about it.


 
that's a new one on me.

According to this, it's quad bikes.


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## evildacat (Jun 12, 2013)

Global Stoner said:


> https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories


 
Maybe time for eye test again!


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## xslavearcx (Jun 12, 2013)

worked as a cycle courier for 2 years. all the main employers did so on a self-employment basis, and that was for van drivers, motorbikes too iirc. I got £150 a week basic and if i filled enough sheets (of signatures) i would get paid over the basic amount. You got paid per delivery. I never made much over the basic, but then, i was kinda lazy, but others got around 250 a week. What really sucked about the job was that if something went wrong with ones bike, which invariably it did when you cover those kinda distances, then you had to pay to get it fixed and/or buy the parts. Maintainance costs i reckon took up about a quarter of my income. It was only because my partner at the time was signing on as well that it was worthwhile, otherwise it wouldnt have been.

that was between 2000 and 2002


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## cypher79 (Jun 12, 2013)

I took a job as 60 drop a day delivery driver a few years ago thinking it would be nice and easy. I quit after one day, it was an absolute nightmare.
Didn't get back to the depot until 8 at night and still had half the parcels left, lol.

I would probably do it again if it was just dropping off small parcels at houses. Most of the parcels I was dropping off were big and heavy and at commercial premises.


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## CosmikRoger (Jun 12, 2013)

I was a motorbike courier for about 3 years in the mid/late 90's but I started off in the vans. For both the companies I worked for in London you had to rent their vans, late model transits if I recall and they also provided the insurance. You were paid weekly by cheque, but for a 10% fee they would pay you cash. They were both under self employed contracts. I hated it, sitting in traffic all day while you're burning diesel, waiting around for what seemed like hours for the controller to give you the next job.
When there is no work sometimes you got motorbike jobs, letters or really small parcels and you would only get the motorbike rate.
I lasted about three months I think before i got on my bike as it were, and they were three of the worst months of a really shitty career so far.
If you are set on it, don't go down the self employed van route get a salaried one every time


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## evildacat (Jun 12, 2013)

Anyone work for a supermarket/food delivery to home kind of thing?

Pretty much seems to be as I expected, not set on doing it for a living just hate current job and searches so far have not yielded much so just expanding what jobs to look at.


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## Maggot (Jun 12, 2013)

evildacat said:


> Anyone work for a supermarket/food delivery to home kind of thing?
> 
> Pretty much seems to be as I expected, not set on doing it for a living just hate current job and searches so far have not yielded much so just expanding what jobs to look at.


 
I haven't, but from what I've heard Ocado are better to work for than Tescos/Sainsburies.


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## Wilson (Jun 12, 2013)

I did couriering/multidrop for about 4 years, it was totally shit, if you want to see what it's like go to a depot and ask if you can go out on a round with one of the drivers, what youre talking about is called multidrop.


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## Puddy_Tat (Jun 12, 2013)

evildacat said:


> Anyone work for a supermarket/food delivery to home kind of thing?
> 
> Pretty much seems to be as I expected, not set on doing it for a living just hate current job and searches so far have not yielded much so just expanding what jobs to look at.


 
I did contemplate it a little while ago, but really not sure I'm up to the lifting and carrying bit.  The ones I saw advertised were all short term contracts, and seemed to be on the basis you were guaranteed anywhere between 1 and 3 days a week, but expected to work more hours / days when it suits them.

If you're thinking of going driving, have you thought about buses?  I've written something of an essay about it on this here thread

I don't know which bit of Lincs you're in - buses are kinda patchy in rural areas.  Stagecoach (depots are Lincoln, Newark, Gainsborough, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Skegness) will take on people who don't have a PCV (bus driver) licence and get them through the necessary training, although you probably have to pay them a proportion of your training costs if you quit within 2 years.  The smaller operators generally will only take on people who already have a PCV licence.  (if you want to PM me, I may be able to offer advice on whoever's local to you.)

Wages aren't wonderful, but are considerably less shite than they were in the 1990s when there was still a large pool of drivers out there who' got made redundant in the 80s following privatisation / deregulation - a lot of that generation have now passed retirement age or have gone into other jobs and let their PCV licences lapse (you have to have a medical and renew every 5 years once you're 45.)  The big groups (like Stagecoach) are passable to work for - most offer a pension scheme for a start.


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## moomoo (Jun 13, 2013)

I deliver colostomy bags. It's alright, usually do around 15/20 drops a day but the distances I cover mean that I'm quite often late home. I use a company van although my boss asked me to do an extra day today and use my own car but I had to refuse as I don't have company insurance and he didn't want to hire me a car. 

It also looks like I may soon be out of a job as we've been taken over by a company who uses couriers to deliver as its more cost effective than having employed drivers.

But I enjoy the job itself. Especially when I'm effectively getting paid to drive around the countryside listening to the radio and stopping when I want to look at sheep.


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## evildacat (Jun 13, 2013)

Puddy_Tat said:


> I did contemplate it a little while ago, but really not sure I'm up to the lifting and carrying bit. The ones I saw advertised were all short term contracts, and seemed to be on the basis you were guaranteed anywhere between 1 and 3 days a week, but expected to work more hours / days when it suits them.
> 
> If you're thinking of going driving, have you thought about buses? I've written something of an essay about it on this here thread
> 
> ...


 
Thanks for the offer but I couldn't see myself driving a bus, this thread was to se if what I believed and heard about courier jobs was true so I shall not be added them to my job pool search.


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## dessiato (Jun 13, 2013)

Friend of mine does international courier jobs on a self-employed basis. He likes it but says that the hours and deadlines are tight. He uses a 3,5T van and also uses it to sleep in to save money. When he gets work he is well paid, but sometimes there can be long times between profitable jobs.

Prior to this he worked for the Film Drivers Guild. This was very profitable once he was established. The hours were horrific during a shoot. The start-up costs were very high. You must have a very good, new car. He chose Jaguar because it was different and some liked to use him for that. It was a also a good reason, to some, for refusing to use him. You might, if you live in London and can afford it, consider this as an alternative.

As a cautionary tale one of his friends died while working as a courier. To save money he slept in the back of his van. Because it was winter he had a gas fire that he used to try to keep warm, CO poisoning killed him. Sometimes saving money is a bad idea. He left a wife and two very young daughters.


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## craigxcraig (Jun 13, 2013)

When I came back from travelling (2011) I was stuck for work and having previously been a cycle courier (97) decided to get on my motorbike and become a fully fledged professional biker...

Lasted about four weeks - worked 60 hours a week in all weathers and after paying for petrol, insurance, radio hire and cups of tea, ended up with about £30 in my pocket. The poor sod who joined at the same and didn't have his own bike so had to hire, ended up owing them money!


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## Frumious B. (Jun 13, 2013)

craigxcraig said:


> When I came back from travelling (2011) I was stuck for work and having previously been a cycle courier (97) decided to get on my motorbike and become a fully fledged professional biker...
> 
> Lasted about four weeks - worked 60 hours a week in all weathers and after paying for petrol, insurance, radio hire and cups of tea, ended up with  about £30 in my pocket. The poor sod who joined at the same and didn't have his own bike so had to hire, ended up owing them money!


Not surprising. The only way to get a living wage in that business is to be a controller or a boss.


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## Frumious B. (Jun 13, 2013)

dessiato said:


> He chose Jaguar because it was different and some liked to use him for that. It was a also a good reason, to some, for *refusing to use him*.


 
How come? Did they want a Rolls?


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## Frumious B. (Jun 13, 2013)

My Dad used to be a Blue Badge tourist guide. http://www.touristguides.org.uk/ He got a big, used Audi and would drive tourists around, talking history at them. There was lots of driving, early starts and long days, the punters all wanted to squeeze in lots of sights, e.g. York, Stratford, Chartwell, Windsor plus London. He took a history exam to get the badge, it wasn't hard. The pay was good and the tips could be huge. He turned on the charm and dropped the odd name, gave the punters the impression that they were in the company of someone very interesting. The punters were usually American. Having an Audi was a big plus, the punters thought it much more appealing than a Granada or what have you. If I had to go back to a driving job I would definitely look into it. Current rates are here http://www.touristguides.org.uk/DriverGuideFees2013-14.pdf  For example, you take three people to Stratford and Warwick,  you get £625 for the day.


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## dessiato (Jun 13, 2013)

Frumious B. said:


> How come? Did they want a Rolls?


 
They preferred Mercedes


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## Frumious B. (Jun 13, 2013)

Ignorant eejits.


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## Part 2 (Jun 14, 2013)

I did multi drop years ago when I passed my test, it was for Parceline. I was there about 10 days.

At the interview I made it quite clear that I'd never driven a 7.5 tonner, so on the first day they gave me the keys for a 10 tonne. After I pointed out I wasn't licensed for it they sent me out with another driver for 2 days to learn to drive a 7.5.

I managed to write off 3 cars in the next 8 days, then they decided they had no more work for me. I still laugh about it but in hindsight it was mental, pretty fucking irresponsible really.


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## mantoni (Oct 24, 2017)

Hi evildacat,

Let me share my experience with you. I work as man and van driver ( i own Man and Van  company) since 1999. Few years back I was able to make a lot of money with no effort. For example in off-season I was making around £800 - £1000/week. Now is completely different story. If I'm able to make £500/week I feel vary happy. The problem is that in 2017 too many people are working as self employed drivers and they dumping the prices. I'm planning to start a plumbing company because the rates there are much better and the competition is small. So I suggest you to find another niche where you can make more money with less effort.  

These are my two cents.

Regards,
George


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