Truck Was Given Away While On Medical Hold

I went home for Thanksgiving for five days and on the third day I started noticing a slight discomfort in my groin area that just got worse by the fifth day so I reluctantly went to the ER and turns out it was an abscess. Because of the location I had to have urologist perform a surgical procedure to remove it. This put me out of commission for 2 weeks. So when I finally come off of medical hold I go back my local yard which is just a dirt lot for storage, to find that my truck isn't there. They had let someone else use it mine while their truck was in the shop. All of my thing are in that truck. TV, fridge, literally everything I own minus what I took with me on home time. I drive for Steven's Transport so it's OTR. Instead of having the driver return my truck to Lakeland, FL with my stuff. They bought me a flight to Dallas where I've been in a hotel all weekend waiting for Monday (Dec18). They say they are going to get me a different truck and meet the driver somewhere. If it's a new truck I'll meet him and I'll have to move my stuff to the new truck. If it's an older truck I'll just swap trucks with him since his is in the shop. I'm very upset and have major anxiety about the situation. I haven't worked since November 23 and the bills don't stop and I'll have to wait on my disability for the two weeks I missed. Also, I don't get paid for the time spent in Dallas getting a different truck. Can they just steal all your belongings like that? (I know I'll probably get it back but still) if nothing else I'm just venting. Crap like this makes me want to quit. But how could I if I wanted to? All my stuff is in that truck being driven around the country by some stranger and on top of that my savings account is almost empty from not working for 3 weeks.

That sucks for sure. I personally disagree with them doing that, but it is their truck and it only makes money when its moving.

If your available to be dispatched and they have you there in Dallas talk to your DM and see if they will at least get you layover pay. It’s not your fault they haven’t put you in a truck yet. It’s not much but anything is better than nothing.

A side note, they push leasing very hard. Don’t fall for a line that they can get you moving faster if you lease a truck.

James, I’m sorry this happened to you. From what you said, you didn’t even know your truck was being used by another driver until you went to get it back on the road. Why didn’t the company at least call you and let you know what their plans were? In my head, I’m trying to put myself in your situation. I would feel violated and angry if some stranger was given use of my truck without my knowledge. Are they going to go through all my stuff and get the truck dirty? Just too many negative aspects to list. I hope you will speak to your company and let them know how you feel.

What’s the company policy? When I worked for Schneider If you were going to be off for more than 5 days or something like that you were supposed to have your truck cleaned out. I know your situation is a bit different but off for 5 days and then going to the ER to be out another 2 weeks… I personally would have cleaned the truck out. It would have been nice to get a heads up yeah, but can you expect them to let their equipment sit for 3 weeks when they have drivers sitting idle?

You're still with Stevens since starting there several years ago? From all of the info you posted, I would be looking elsewhere.

I did get 7 days of layover. That's how long it took them to process me on the yard. Left out on Christmas Eve. Since then I still haven't met up with the truck that has all my stuff on it. I talk to the other driver every couple of days. Today I put my foot down and refused the preplan that has me going in the opposite direction of the other drivers home time coming up on the 5th. "No more loads until I get my truck back" let's see what they do.

That sucks for sure. I personally disagree with them doing that, but it is their truck and it only makes money when its moving.

If your available to be dispatched and they have you there in Dallas talk to your DM and see if they will at least get you layover pay. It’s not your fault they haven’t put you in a truck yet. It’s not much but anything is better than nothing.

A side note, they push leasing very hard. Don’t fall for a line that they can get you moving faster if you lease a truck.

I did get 7 days of layover. That's how long it took them to process me on the yard. Left out on Christmas Eve. Since then I still haven't met up with the truck that has all my stuff on it. I talk to the other driver every couple of days. Today I put my foot down and refused the preplan that has me going in the opposite direction of the other drivers home time coming up on the 5th. "No more loads until I get my truck back" let's see what they do.

That sucks for sure. I personally disagree with them doing that, but it is their truck and it only makes money when its moving.

If your available to be dispatched and they have you there in Dallas talk to your DM and see if they will at least get you layover pay. It’s not your fault they haven’t put you in a truck yet. It’s not much but anything is better than nothing.

A side note, they push leasing very hard. Don’t fall for a line that they can get you moving faster if you lease a truck.

Sometimes you have to stand firm. I always say it's best to pick your battles in relationships and employment carefully. When dying on a hill, best make sure it's one worth dying on. As someone who has had Christmas gifts and very important personal belongings on my truck, I would say that this hill is worth dying on. If they care at all about keeping you as a driver, they will get you taken care of. If they try bsing you around, I would suggest parking currently assigned truck and renting a car to drive to your previously assigned truck. Get your stuff, return your current truck to whatever terminal the company wants and move on. With a good driving record, you don't need to put up with being treated like a piece of expendable equipment.

They should have emptied your stuff out of the truck. My pitbull attitude would come out if that happened to me.

They should have emptied your stuff out of the truck. My pitbull attitude would come out if that happened to me.

Totally agree with Scott on this situation. I just spoke with a driver from my company who had a fall from his truck and tore up his knee badly. He was out of commission for 6 months. When the accident happened, the company immediately emptied out his truck and put everything in secure storage for him. When his knee recovered, he got all his stuff back plus a new truck.

I had a random thought about your situation based on an old joke. Play a country western song backwards and you may get your truck back. I know you don’t want to create an awkward situation with this, but enough is enough. Good luck getting this resolved.

Any updates for the fans?