Complaint Review: Intermountain Express Transportation/C.R. England

I worked at Intermountain Express from 09/2003 to 12/2004 and was pretty much an assistant warehouse supervisor. I worked there when Ray Flowers worked there and know John and Wendy Drubay. Honestly yes there were problems with paychecks clearing and sometimes I even got a personal SpongeBob check as a paycheck. I had to start calling their bank (KeyBank) to ensure funds were availabe and then run to the back to withdrawl the funds. It was a pain! You know though they always eventually cleared the checks.

 As far as this report goes.. I will tell you what.. she was weird anyway I vaguely remember them and they used a horse trailer which is not at all appropriate for the type of freight they hauled. I helped with loading the freight and their equipment was not sufficient. Intermountain Express clearly advises that you are considered to be an independent contractor.. I even worked for them on a day route right after Ray Flowers started working with John Drubay which after much convincing got them to pay me based on miles at $0.40 a mile at the time it was a decent wage for a simple little trip to Ogden and deliver parts during the day.

They had problems but hey, I'll tell you what I BROKE a mirror on a truck and John Drubay paid for it himself, did not even make me pay for it. That was unexpected.

I quit one night which I kind of feel bad for now but I quit because the paychecks always bounced which was extremely frustrating for me trying to pay bills, so I told them I can't come in until I get paid and John told me "Well just don't come in at all anymore then" so that is how I quit. As far as the theft thing I used to lock the warehouse up at night and clearly remember that I locked it completely so it was a driver that had a key to the warehouse that stole the trailer. I remember coming in the next day and the guy who did paperwork and worked with me in the warehouse told me that someone had stolen the trailer and asked me if I had locked the warehouse. I did certainly lock the warehouse. Unfortunately too the surveilance camera across the way wasn't able to catch a glimpse of who did it.. I doubt it was insurance fraud. I bet it probably was this person.

Now I realize there were some problems with paychecks clearing that is definitely true, but they did make good on all of it. I got all of my pay in cash as I had requested. Intermountain Express seems to be doing well and despite everything that happened when I worked there, I would pick up a route or work in the warehouse again. I wanted to stay and grow with the company but just couldn't because the paychecks didn't clear!

Don't listen to this other report she knows d**n well she would haul transmissions and engines and sheet metal and batteries and AUTOMOTIVE PARTS she saw the freight and the vendors IE picks up from and was aware of how long the trip was to Winnemucca, NV.. That was a hard route, many drivers complained of the length but you know you can quit. There is no $6000 hold they require, you just have to be insured and list IE as "Additonal Name Insured" on your policy. The carquest parts are heavy and were palletized but that is how Carquest gave them to IE it is your responsiblity to break it down, or get a bigger truck with a pallet jack (which IE hadone, that is how I moved the pallets off the semi they came on). Whatever.. funny this Linda was convicted of murder.. kind of scary that I used to help her load the truck.. she tried to get me to come work for her.. I may have been the one that was murderd...

i worked at this company for 4 years... only a handful of times was my check ever on time.. or for the right amount( that means shorted). i stayed there for so long because i truley thought the company would get right and straiten up.. it is true. they are not a good company. and you will risk loosing money and working yourself.. and you life/ truck/ trailer into the ground. it is a thankless job and very underpaid. you harve been warned.. just pulll a "contractor" aside and ask them what they think. they stay there because they are afraid to leave and lose the 6,000 $ they "hold" for "safe keeping".. good luck !! your gona need it ; )

i worked at this company for 4 years... only a handful of times was my check ever on time.. or for the right amount( that means shorted). i stayed there for so long because i truley thought the company would get right and straiten up.. it is true. they are not a good company. and you will risk loosing money and working yourself.. and you life/ truck/ trailer into the ground. it is a thankless job and very underpaid. you harve been warned.. just pulll a "contractor" aside and ask them what they think. they stay there because they are afraid to leave and lose the 6,000 $ they "hold" for "safe keeping".. good luck !! your gona need it ; )

i worked at this company for 4 years... only a handful of times was my check ever on time.. or for the right amount( that means shorted). i stayed there for so long because i truley thought the company would get right and straiten up.. it is true. they are not a good company. and you will risk loosing money and working yourself.. and you life/ truck/ trailer into the ground. it is a thankless job and very underpaid. you harve been warned.. just pulll a "contractor" aside and ask them what they think. they stay there because they are afraid to leave and lose the 6,000 $ they "hold" for "safe keeping".. good luck !! your gona need it ; )

This report was filed by Linda Walker Fields (convicted of murder and currently serving a life sentence in prison, the link to the story is in the previous rebuttal) over four years ago. She filed the report shortly after we were contacted by the Elko, NV, DA. They questioned us about her routes, what time she usually arrived in SLC and what time she left. They quesioned us about the location of our warehouse and if it was close to the Jordan River where it crossed under California Ave. They wanted to know if she would have driven by there on her way to work and wanted to know the dates she ran for us. They questioned us about her story of the State Line Casino in Wendover, NV. She continually bragged to other contractors and employees about her family that had built and started the State Line Casino and that she was waiting for her inheritance. She told the story to the Elko DA. They verified the information was not accurate, rather, she had taken a life insurance policy out on one of her ranch hands, murdered him and dropped him in the Jordan River near California Ave, which is the reason she is now spending her life in prison. It was shocking to us, she and her husband seemed like a very nice people. The murder was committed prior to her contract with Intermountain Express

The information Linda states regarding the owner being ordered by the State of Utah to "Never run a freight business again" is absolutely incorrect. He also never "hid his identity" - he was and is the sales rep that represents Intermountain Express and is well known in the industry. His wife is a partial owner with him. The company operates in compliance with all State and Federal Laws. All information is easily verifiable.

Linda and her husband were hired as Independent Contractors to run a route from SLC, UT, to Winnemucca, NV, Monday thru Friday (she lived in Elko, NV and was very familiar with the mileage from SLC to Winnemucca and back, definitely not 400 hundred miles). Their rate was based on mileage combined with estimated hours, which is calculated on load and unload time, the number of deliveries, maintenance costs, insurance costs, etc. It is a universal formula that is still used (after five years) for all contractors. Of course as a contractor, they are "self-employed" and considered a vendor to Intermountain Express. All payment terms are discussed in each interview and contractors are required to have the funds available to start their business and operate independently. This information is also included in the contract signed between each contractor and Intermountain Express. Contractors are required to have enough money to cover all of their expenses (including fuel) until their first payment and thereafter. They are paid on a weekly basis, their first check being paid the fourth week of working (still within thirty days). Linda and her husband did not have the cash flow to support their expenses (which were to be paid by them - their rate included compensation for fuel, maintenance costs, depreciation, etc). She was issued a fuel card that she was permitted to use, on occassion, as an advance for fuel money, which was deducted from her rate as any advance or pre-payment would be.

Each route requires a different sized trailer, depending on the amount of freight hauled into that area. Their route required a 24 foot trailer and was often full. They used a horse trailer from their ranch and had many mechanical problems with the trailer (and truck) and on several ocassions had to borrow a trailer from Intermountain Express and used a back up vehicle when they had problems with theirs. Their equipment was older, still in fair shape, but repairs would be expected with the amount of miles that they ran each week.

I don't recall a time that she had to unload her freight at the port and can't imagine her ever being 4000 lbs. over weight. We haul auto parts, sometimes that does consist of transmissions and/or engines, however, they are for smaller cars or trucks, we don't haul large engines or transmissions. There has never been a need for a forklift, maybe a pallet jack from time to time but 99% of the freight we haul is under 150 lbs, an average weight per piece is about 20 to 25 lbs. She was very well aware of the size of freight that we hauled and she ran the route with her husband as a team, I would highly doubt he would watch her unload freight by herself but maybe...

Linda was contacted about a stolen trailer loaded with freight. The West Valley Police Depart was involved with the theft and required that each of the contractors and employees be contacted before the report was actually filed. They wanted to make sure it was actually a theft before filing. Each of the contractors (not just lInda) were "contacted" (not accused). I am not quite sure what she is talking about with insurance fraud (although I think she must get that from experience, something I wouldn't know about). The trailer was covered with only liability and all freight claims were paid by Intermountain Express directly. There were no insurance claims filed by Intermountain Express. All information is easily verifiable with the West Valley Police Department and Intermountain Express' Insurance company. The trailer was stolen from inside a locked warehouse, definitely an inside job and a huge loss to Intermountain Express, especially being such a young company at the time. The trailer and freight were never recovered. This situation was a difficult finacial set back and did cause some delay in payments but not as Linda has indicated. She was paid in full in a timely manner.

Intermountain Express does do business with England Carrier Services but previously used Common Wealth for the same services, it was a very smooth transition. I am not really sure where she got her information, probably because we were such a small company at the time, we were all friends and shared much information and discussions about life and business.

It has just recently been brought to our attention about this report. It looks like the report was out there for about four years before we were aware it was there. I am a little baffled the report was ever allowed to be filed with such inaccurate information (and mis-spelled names) and why the report still exists. The credibility of Linda Walker Fields is another question, along with the timing of the report (shortly after we gave information to the Elko, NV, DA).

Intermountain Express has had it's ups and downs and struggles, especially in the beginning but Linda's complaint is far out of line and inaccurate.

I wish her luck and hate to see anyone spend a life as it sounds she is, however, I wish there was a way for her to make this report right.

After reading this report I was appalled at it. I felt pissed because even though it is not MY company I still work for them and my pride of that comes out now. The facts about the situation.

Contracted Drivers ( Those who have their own trailer, and or truck) Sign an agreement that gas will be paid from their own pocket.

Over 4000lbs cant be possible. The most weight on one package i've ever seen was five hundred and they dont accept more then five or six a night. Most of them are never even on the same trailers.

Though we dont have a forklift we do have handcarts, handtrucks and the like and all the trailers have ramp doors.

I'm also pretty positive that if our company was as horrible as Linda says, it most likely would not be around to this day and she had worked there back in '04' It's a small company and it does have it's problems but I enjoy working there. The people are great, I have laughs and it's a good place.


As an added note- this ripoffreport is coming from a woman sentenced to life in prison for murder.
http://www.elkodaily.com/articles/2007/06/16/news/breaking_news/breaking2.txt