Western Express Contract?

Hey all,

(Before I begin with this I matter, I wanted to say I already had my CDL prior to going to Western Express).

So I joined up with Western Express and signed that 12-month contract/agreement last year May 2019. I worked with the company up until mid July 2019 (one and a half months total) and left because I had military duties (National Guard training for a month long). They then emailed me stating I have to redo the training because I been away “too long“. I was a little angry so I didn’t go back. I haven’t returned to any trucking jobs since then (been working with the NG). But now (April 2020), I get an email stating I have until April 23rd to call them and let them know if I will come back to work for them or pay the contract $2500.

So my question is:

Does anyone know how far Western Express takes these matters? Such as, will they flag me from getting hired at any other carrier or pursue this in court or give the debt off to a collections agency etc?

I also find it weird that they waited almost a year to dump this on me.

Any advice or real info would help.

Treat it as if they’ll garnish your wages. They may or may not.

It’s a collection matter and you broke your contract out of spite.

You could call them and see if they’ll accept 50-75% of the $2,500. But they have the upper hand.

Pay up or show up and drive.

Good luck.

Pay up or show up and drive.

Adam, Steve gave you the perfect advice.

Let's break it down a little. Everyday we teach people about the Commitment required to succeed at trucking. Western Express painfully knows how the lack of commitment from new drivers has cost them greatly. That's why they have that contract. They tried to get a commitment from you. You let them down. You had other commitments. Why would you sign a contract knowing you had other commitments?

I've had a saying for years now - it goes like this... "A contract, is a contract, is a contract." It's repetitive for a reason. It drives the point home. You have this misguided understanding that since you had a CDL already that the contract isn't binding. That's silly! The contract had nothing to do with Western Express helping you obtain your CDL. It was designed to get you to commit. You ignored it because you had other commitments.

I worked with the company up until mid July 2019 (one and a half months total)

That means they never made a dime off of you. In fact, I know for sure, they lost money with you. One and a half months is a really poor effort at establishing yourself as a driver - it ought to embarrass you.

I also find it weird that they waited almost a year to dump this on me.

That's funny, because I can just imagine the folks in the office at Western Express, sitting around the table in a meeting saying, "I just find it weird that Adam has never bothered to contact us with a proposal to make payments or offered any possible attempt at keeping his agreement with us. Maybe there's some overriding issue. Let's give him a little more time to offer some resolution to this issue." Finally they gave up on you and sent you notice. What's your response? You're trying to find some advice from folks who have kept their commitments, hoping to find us encouraging you to be a schmuck!

Grow up and act like the man you are. Pay up or shut up. Finish that contract. You can pay it off or drive it off. They have given you two options. Jump on one of them. You'll be proud you kept your word, and we would be proud to welcome you into the brotherhood of truckers - a brotherhood of people who follow through and "git 'er done!"

Adam, I wanted to address something else you said earlier, but didn't have the time to deal with it. My day is over now, so here it is.

I worked with the company up until mid July 2019 (one and a half months total) and left because I had military duties (National Guard training for a month long). They then emailed me stating I have to redo the training because I been away “too long“. I was a little angry so I didn’t go back.

That was a perfectly normal response from Western Express. I'm quite sure any company would send you back out with a trainer under those circumstances. You're a brand new driver. You have one and a half months experience and then you take off for a month. You simply don't understand this career if that angered you. It's a very normal reaction. You are considered a high risk. They've got to cover their tail.

What do you think would happen to them if you had a serious accident? The lawyers would tear them to pieces in court. All because they didn't make sure you knew what you were doing.

Your biggest issue here is that you simply don't seem to understand this career. You don't understand the commitment it takes and you don't understand the liability involved.

Hey Adam, forgive me - I'm really not trying to pile on here, but unfortunately your post is full of "teachable moments."

Does anyone know how far Western Express takes these matters? Such as, will they flag me from getting hired at any other carrier

That seems to be your real question or concern. We've been responding about your contract, but honestly it seems you could care less about that contract. What you really want to know is if this will keep you from getting another trucking job. Well, let's talk about that.

Yes, this is most likely going to keep you from landing another trucking job. It won't be from any actions taken by Western Express though. No, unfortunately you have "flagged" yourself from getting hired by other carriers.

You now have what the industry considers a "stale" CDL. You have not been behind the wheel for over a year now, and prior to that you had about a month worth of experience. Nobody's gonna touch that without you starting at square one again. That's not the only strike against you either. You quit at the very beginning of your first trucking job - a huge mistake!

You have branded yourself as a quitter. That doesn't go unnoticed in this business. The recruiters know how tough it is to find people who can make it out here. With most applicants they try to find out what they can to give them any slight clue that this person might work out. Having tried it once and failed is a non starter for most of them. They just aren't willing to waste their time on former trucking failures.

All this to say you've got legitimate concerns. You are going to have a tough time becoming a truck driver. If you really want this you'll have to drop your focus on what Western Express did and take a serious look at what you did. Your actions have made it very problematic to get a job in trucking. If you really want to change your trajectory, here's what you should do. Go back to Western Express, with hat in hand, and finish that contract. That action will show you have the character and the gumption to excel in this challenging business. Get a solid year of steady safe driving employment established and you will have set yourself up for success. Any carrier will be proud to bring you on board at that point.

Hey all,

(Before I begin with this I matter, I wanted to say I already had my CDL prior to going to Western Express).

So I joined up with Western Express and signed that 12-month contract/agreement last year May 2019. I worked with the company up until mid July 2019 (one and a half months total) and left because I had military duties (National Guard training for a month long). They then emailed me stating I have to redo the training because I been away “too long“. I was a little angry so I didn’t go back. I haven’t returned to any trucking jobs since then (been working with the NG). But now (April 2020), I get an email stating I have until April 23rd to call them and let them know if I will come back to work for them or pay the contract $2500.

So my question is:

Does anyone know how far Western Express takes these matters? Such as, will they flag me from getting hired at any other carrier or pursue this in court or give the debt off to a collections agency etc?

I also find it weird that they waited almost a year to dump this on me.

Any advice or real info would help.

You have only a couple of things in life that cost you nothing but pays you big in dividends, your word is one of of those. I'm guessing you accepted the $2500 from them happily so why do you feel like not following your promise by fulfilling your contract or paying them back the money is ok? They didnt dump anything on you, it would seem you are dumping on them. If you paid a contractor $2500 to remodel your bathroom but they chose not to do it because you did something that made them mad and they would neither do the promised work or pay you back how far would you go to get your money back? No difference here. Seems they are being quite generous by still offering you a job. Dont be the guy whose word means nothing it's a bad way to live.

Another bit worth mentioning is that 2500 will go into collections, and will hit your credit. You're not going to be able to run from it even if you are able to get hired on by another company. Get on a payment plan pay as you can everybody ends up happy. Do the right thing.

Adam, I wanted to address something else you said earlier, but didn't have the time to deal with it. My day is over now, so here it is.

I worked with the company up until mid July 2019 (one and a half months total) and left because I had military duties (National Guard training for a month long). They then emailed me stating I have to redo the training because I been away “too long“. I was a little angry so I didn’t go back.

That was a perfectly normal response from Western Express. I'm quite sure any company would send you back out with a trainer under those circumstances. You're a brand new driver. You have one and a half months experience and then you take off for a month. You simply don't understand this career if that angered you. It's a very normal reaction. You are considered a high risk. They've got to cover their tail.

What do you think would happen to them if you had a serious accident? The lawyers would tear them to pieces in court. All because they didn't make sure you knew what you were doing.

Your biggest issue here is that you simply don't seem to understand this career. You don't understand the commitment it takes and you don't understand the liability involved.

Hey Old School, I just wanna start by saying thank you for all the advice you gave. I know I screwed up by thinking I would be able to take on two commitments at once - the military and trucking. I know it was a stupid thing to do and yes I admit that I am a stupid kid that still has alot to learn. The reason I posted what I did was to get real experience of the damage that will brought on myself for the mistake I made. My plan is to return to trucking in September because that is when I get out of the military for good and then I can finally fully commit to trucking. As of right now I cannot. As of right now I’m part of the National Guard task force helping the hospitals deal with Covid-19. I do plan to be a trucker. And I know I can commit to trucking because I’ve been committed to the Army for 9 years.

Irregardless, the loan will have to be paid off one way or another.

And, this can result in an Article 15 if not taken care of. "Failure to properly manage debts, both business or private."

Irregardless, the loan will have to be paid off one way or another.

And, this can result in an Article 15 if not taken care of. "Failure to properly manage debts, both business or private."

No, National Guardsman are only under UCMJ if activated by the federal government (deployments etc.). This is a state activation. Your thinking active duty probably.