How about a list of courier firms worth working for (if there are any!), good experiences and bad experiences you’ve had along the line?
You can blacklist the bad ones and recommend semi-decent firms.
Such as…
Quicksilver - non-existent verbal guarantees amounting to about £6 an hour that vapourise into thin air as soon as its ‘quiet’ (particularly around January), keep you sat around all day or collecting overnights in town then expect you to do a run up to Luton six at night. Just about the laziest, most useless and incompetent firm I’ve worked for. Actually ‘ADL’ weren’t much better.
I know its simplistic but why not spill the beans! Some of the stories of shitty practices are worth a laugh over if nothing else.
I’ve always thought that the term ‘self employed’ means nothing more than you can be very readily screwed rather than anything else.
CDS: (Central Dispatch Services) Park Royal, W3 - What all Courier firms should be like. No BS, run by father and son (The Sullivans). They just lost the Beeb account to City Sprint so I’m not sure what the work level is like any more. Still, good controllers, great laughs.
TDL: (The Doctors Labs) W1 - Small circuit, best rates paid in the industry however. Previous London Medical knowledge required, although there is a Two year waiting list to get on circuit!
I think there’s a huge difference between good despatch firms and ones you want to avoid like the plague, problem is you never know until after a few weeks work whether it’ll be worth it…
Courier Systems are rumoured to be terrible with accounts short changing riders weekly unless you double check your pay slip against the jobs you have done.
Never heard of TKG. Do you mean TCG (The Chain Gang)?
Cheers Charly,
Yeah ive done abit of research on Courier Systems, they seem abit suspect, they want to take 500 quid deposit (even though i will be using own bike) aswell, is that a normal thing?
I dont know where i got TKG from;) i actaully mean The Keen Group, i think they are a pretty small firm, if anyone knows of any other firm that might be taking people on please let me know.
Most firms will take £50 a week out of your wages when you start to around £200-400 mark. This is to cover the two-way radio and XDA/PDA against loss or damage. Check the small print but you should receive the deposit back in full when you leave and return the kit to them intact.
I’ve done couriering with courier systems a couple of times when my usual work was thin. Prepare for crap addresses, crap radios, they’re busy at times, but favour the bods they have had on board long term, I didnt stay long enough to find out. I doubled up quite a few loads and the controller does try, but overall its just not worth doing. The pay is really low, like Canada square to Southall £12, no return. Go for someone with better rates. Their rider turnover rate is very high. Prepare to quiz the staff about your wage slip if you can be bothered :w00t:
CYC are supposed to be good, unfortunatly did not get expeirance with them, but i know a few people that have moved to them, If you cna get your foot in the door city sprint but dont know what the rates are like.
Courier Systems are without a doubt the worst courier company I have ever worked for in 20 years of working as a courier in central London, I had the misfortune of working with them not as choice but they took over a company I was working for, I saw a happy bunch of couriers earning good money turn into a miserable bunch earning nothing within a year. Everything about this company smells funny I would not trust them at all, every week there was a problem with our wages they would give us wait and returns and only pay one way this is just the tip of the iceberg, don’t get me started on dodgy multi’s picking up numerous W1’s to find out that they put them all on multi’s yet charging the booking companies full price an all jobs, this company is out to rip off anyone… I spoke to lot’s of courier systems workers and never found one that was happy to work for them…Be aware DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY…
Courier Systems are without a doubt the worst courier company not only in London but the entire UK, I had the misfortune of working with them not as choice but they took over a company I was working for, I saw a happy bunch of couriers earning good money turn into a miserable bunch earning nothing within a year. Everything about this company smells funny I would not trust them at all, every week there was a problem with our wages they would give us wait and returns and only pay one way this is just the tip of the iceberg, don’t get me started on dodgy multi’s picking up numerous W1’s to find out that they put them all on multi’s yet charging the booking companies full price an all jobs, this company is out to rip off anyone… I spoke to lot’s of courier systems workers and never found one that was happy to work for them…Be aware DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY…
Hello mate,
Looking for a job at the moment, to kill off a few months until my university course kicks off in September.
What is it like for someone like me looking for courier work? Never done it before, closest thing I’ve done is food delivery in another town (not London). I know the central London fairly well, but obviously I don’t have the knowledge of a cab driver, right down to blue plaques and small residential streets. I filter a lot in/out of central.
Some (=a lot?) companies need you to have your own bike. I assume you look for your own insurance, what’s this like? 2x more expensive than normal personal social+domestic+commuting insurance? Would rather have a company bike (500cc?) to be honest, but I’m guessing that’s harder to find. Am attached to my 125 so don’t really want to sell it to buy something bigger nor do I want to run it into the ground doing courier work. I have a full bike licence.
Have been in touch with a guy from City Sprint who seems a bit useless on answering my question about hire bikes and insurance… and just intent on setting me an up an interview and test.
Going to go make sure I get to know those bits of London I don’t know so well for Monday then… assuming he replies to my emails… :ermm:
does anyone know what the knowledge test is made up of? emailed city sprint about working for them as I always see they have drivers on the road around my area, they got back to me saying I had to sit a test but they don’t mention what’s on the test.
