Complaint Review: Zero Transport/Tri-State

Zero Transport is an expedited trucking company that hired me to drive in a team on a box truck nationwide. The owner is named Korey Walper, who is also a dispatcher for Tri-state. They put me through 3 days of orientation in Millbury, Ohio (near Toledo), and put me up at the Budget Inn in Perrysburg. During orientation, I discovered that they don't pay for the first 100 miles of deadhead (in other words, the first 100 miles you drive to pick up a load, you don't make a dime). After 100 miles, they pay 5 cents per mile. They pay their drivers 20 cents per loaded mile.

I also found out during orientation that they deduct $25 per week for "escrow" to cover any damages to the truck you might cause. I was in orientation from 7:30 AM until 5 PM from Monday 7-13-15 until Wednesday 7-15-15. We were out in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of nowhere with no transportation, and they couldn't even serve us lunch or drinks. After orientation, I was told that if I quit in the first year, I would be responsible for paying them back for the cost of orientation and the hotel, which I never agreed on. That's like inviting your employee over for dinner, then after the meal, telling them that you'll deduct the cost of the meal from their pay.

That's just dirty. So, I drove for Zero Transport for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, I was dropped off at home for my hometime on 8-01-15. We received 1 day at home for every week on the road.= 3 days hometime. Then I find out that my co-driver has decided to retire, and they're going to give that truck to another team. Sheri, who really runs things, tells me that she's going to put me on another truck as soon as he is done with his hometime. A few days later, I call for an update and she tells me that he went back on the road without me, and she needs to find me something else. She tells me to check with the Tri-state recruiters to see if they could put me in somewhere temporarily, and I did so.

They had nothing. A week later, she tells me to have patience, and she will find me something. At this point, she stopped answering or returning my calls. I called and left messages for days, and sent texts. So, finally, I called Tri-state and spoke with the owner, Korey. He tells me that he's "just a dispatcher", and doesn't know what's going on. I tell him it would be nice if Sheri would return my calls, and let me know what's going on. The next day (on 8-14-15), now 2 weeks after I was dropped at home, I receive a text from Sheri telling me that she's terminating me because she has nowhere to put me.

Then she tells me that she's keeping my escrow because I was there for less than a year! WOAH! Wait just a minute. I did not quit. I caused no damage to the truck. I did everything that they asked me to. I even sat at home like an idiot for 2 weeks waiting for them to place me somewhere else after they told me to be patient. While I could have been seeking employment elsewhere. And, now they're going to take my money, too? I've come to the conclusion that this company is nothing but a scam. They're a small time petty little 2 bit trucking company that doesn't have a clue how to treat their drivers. They use and abuse them, then keep their money, throw them away and ignore them when they're done with them. DO NOT WORK FOR THESE PEOPLE! There are plenty of other better trucking companies out there! These people are nothing but a bad joke.