Complaint Review: Hoekstra Transportation LLC - St. Anne Illinois

Junk people put junks on DAC

That is very good. You are absolutely right.

Every trucking company should keep a good reputation. If the trucking company knows how to respect and treat drivers like human beings, that trucking company will be respected and drivers will enjoy working for the company.

After reading comments by John and other drivers, I talked to recruiter for sure that the Hoekstra was not crooked. Recruiter and I discussed the mater for an employment. Previous drivers comments are

Hoekstra Trucking

Do not go to work for this company. They have no respect for their drivers or the law. Log books are used only as showing dot what they need to hear or see. One hundred percent on time delivery all the time.... At there convienance. Kind of like a small time outlaw werner company. Don't scratch there truck or you will pay for any damages incured. Don't get pregnant or you will more then likely get fired so I've heard. Getting paid 50 50 shot.

I was most definatly not impressed by this companies cut throat ways of doing business. Definatly one of those companies that step on the little guy to get to the top. They tell you loads are ready when they are not even close to being ready so they can get detention pay. They do promise a 34 at the house and you better take it. it will make up for the absence of no 10 hr breaks throughout the week. Owner operator be worned they will feed you to dot. Remember stepping on the little guy. Companies like this should be removed and disbarred from the industry. If you have no accedents prior to working for this company that will change. Running with little sleep is just short of DWI and crashing is inevitable.

I called 'em a couple times & they were rude on the phone. That's about all I know other than that their website says "average length of haul: 300 miles". That means short-haul. And short-haul means sit around in a loading dock all
day, not sleeping because the truck occasionally shakes from a forklift or you have to wait for them to call you on the CB, the same CB they call everyone else on. Then you gotta be at the receiver first thing in the morning. That must be
what you mean by never getting any sleep. That's why I don't let my company run me short any more.

User Rating: 1 out of 5 stars by Havingfun

01/26/2011

WARNING to all Drivers who are considering going to work for Hoekstra Transportation LLC. I have resently left their employment after being there for over 1 year. In that year I have put up with lies and deception almost on a daily bases. I have been away from them for 3 weeks now. I have sent them my final compensation letter thru the mail as well as by email over two weeks ago. As of now I am still owed my 1- weeks vacation pay and my last 3 -loads pay. I have
filed a complaint for final compensation with the Illinois Labor Board. I feel now I will have to sue them in cival court to receive my final pay. SO MY RECOMENDATIONS ARE NOT TO GO TO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE
SCREWED OVER Was this review helpful? 00Report Abuse | Subscribe to Havingfun's reviews Comments (1) Ruth - 04/25/11  

I also was a past employee, but I was terminated by Matini Transportation in Drums Pa. which Heokstra owns 60% of this company, which was justifed, I messed up. but they have withheld money that's illegal to do by state and Federal labor laws. Will charge back drivers for anything they find, basicly they're lairs cheats and frauds, Like the above driver said stay away They basicly stole $1700.00 dollars which was owed to me.

Hoekstra Transportation LLC Penalty charges against driver paychecks. Driver pays for truck insurance, not the company. St. Anne, Illinois I recently started work for this company only to learn my paycheck seems to always have penalty
deductions or charge backs. For example, all "out-of-route" miles result in a subtraction from my paycheck. So, if a driver spends extra time looking for a place to fuel up, they count those miles as out-of-route miles which is charged back against the drivers paycheck. Same thing happens if a driver gets lost, those miles gets charged back to the driver. Same thing happens if a driver travels to find a place to eat at the end of a driving day.

These are also out-of-route miles and can add up over the coarse of a week or month, so these charges can be excessive. Of course all these miles is charged back to the driver's paycheck. A driver can argue all he wants but out-of-route miles is at their discretion as to what Hoekstra Transportation may decide to charge. The charge backs to the driver paycheck doesn't stop here. If the driver fails to report unloading or loading or arriving at a stop, each
violation results in yet another charge. Failure to fuel up at their fuel stops, oops there goes another charge. The charges against a driver's pay check can be excessive and let me say, the driver has no choice. They are quick to
say you signed their agreement when starting work during orientation. The same thing goes with their truck insurance. The deductable is $10,000 per accident, and if the driver has an accident is found to be at fault he is quickly
informed he may have to pay a portion up to as much as the full $10,000. With the driver being stuck for the deductable, the company doesn't pay anything. It is writen in the driver manual that he pays the deductable in case of an
accident where he might be at fault. Although I'm a company driver, I think maybe it would be wise to buy insurance on their truck. That way I wouldn't get ripped off again. The problem here is they don't tell the driver about these
policies until after the driver has been hired. Most people are in total awe when I tell them of these money stealing policies against the driver. They have flat out told me, any accident where I am at fault will result in me paying
their deductable. With that high of a deductable, it feels like the driver is paying for the insurance in any accident. The driver is forced to sign many documents in working here. Beware of this company! Most will learn of these facts only afterward. They will quickly charge back and take your money. I admit to be desperate for work, and signed most of their demands before being allowed to drive for them. Obviously it's time I leave before they take more. I have myself to blame as I did blindly sign their documents during orientation.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 5/28/2010 7:50:35 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/trucking-companies/hoekstra-transportat/hoekstra-transportation-llc-p-62f5c.htm.

Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report.
Finally, I trusted the recruiter who said the comments were not true. I took a risk for being an employee of the Hoekstra transportation.
 
I was hired (06/28/2011) for Martini Transportation based in Drums, PA, by Hoekstra to run east-coast. I did
until Martini was sold to Celadon Trucking and I was shifted to Hoekstra transportation to run mid-west region.
One occasion was accident involvement that never took place. I was called and asked about any accident. I said there was no accident. The warehouse (the World Pasta) St. Louis, MO, was located at the dead-end and one lane street. I stayed there the whole night to pick up the load in the morning. No one came to show any vehicle damage. I asked the Safety Person (holding title, Director) to call police officer to determine whos fault. He declined. A week later, this letter appeared on the PeopleNet (QUALCOMM) demanding money.  

(driver-name) charge Back Amount $1226.00. Reason for charge after investigating the accident involving damage you were alleged to have caused in St. Louis, MO. We have found that you should be responsible for the financial burden this report has placed on our company. Hoekstra Transportation reserves the right at any time to demand full amount of this charge to include to against your last paycheck should your status of employment change. You may set up charge back in the amount of no less than 200 dollars per week, weekly deduction.

Do you know what the handbook says about proper accident reporting procedures-do you know the steps for
reporting an accident and your responsibilities as a driver? There seems to be a disconnect based on your message 20. Thank you (Intouchmail.com wrote) you sent: Can you have pictures if nothing happened? Do you have an unreported accident?

I do not understand. Thanks You, Jake Lee from V4660680@ Intouchmail.com Jan 12, 2012 3:24 pm

It did not say where, how and when-

Investigating (what?)

What kind of vehicle was involved?

I refused to pay for the demand because I needed proof or evidence of vehicle-damage and name of the person who was involved in an accident as well as police report.

Monday (01-/16/2012) When I came to Kankakee, IL to deliver the load St. Anne, IL after dropping the trailer. I came to the yard to take break, but actually, truck repair. Most of my time have used up at the truck and trailer repair since I worked there. 

Tuesday (01/17/2012) I was terminated with no discussion. I was not sad; I was not angry; I eventually realized that
the letters posted by previous drivers were absolutely right. The company kept my last paycheck. I called payroll department. It told me to call other departments. I called and left messages. I received no response. I sent email,
but no reply.

I wrote a letter to the president of the company.
 
Hoekstra Transportation
St. Ann, IL
                                                                                   
01-15-2012

I have been working for Hoekstra Transportation for 6 months. I have never had a road accident. If an accident is involved, there will be the police officer who can determine the case and whos fault. I have a lot of respect for the company and people who work with me. To protect other drivers and companys reputation, I would have to have name, address, drivers license, phone number and damages of vehicle of the person who was involved in an accident (where, when and how). Without the evidence of whos fault, how could a driver have to pay for the damage that was not revealed?

Should I pay for the damage, if a person who ran into my trailer and his/her vehicle was damaged?

I follow the rule and regulation. I do not have any higher position other than being a driver. I did what I was told. My concern is to take the loads safely and securely to the customers. I have never mentioned about other drivers or companys policy to anyone.

Baseless charges of 2 accidents were placed, one in St. Louis, MO-dated 01/01/2012, and the other one in Canton, OH-01/01/2012 on DAC reports with no proof. I did not go to Canton, OH. Look at my log that would show where I was at the time. How could these two accidents occur at the same day (500 miles apart)? The one who placed these two accidents does not seem to have any standard whatsoever. Driver might fly instead of driving to have accidents at these two places. Actually, the one running the business should place 20 accidents instead of 2.  Who will believe these
accusations of unjustified accidents? 

The one, who places these unpleasant things, will.

 (AA) driver 

Before you go to work for any company, please read what the previous drivers have said and companys policy
before signing a bunch of papers. I do not want any driver who will end up with a miserable situation after he/she leaves the job or is terminated with/without reason. Bad reputations of he/she-employment history may be placed on the DAC reports. When you apply for a job at this company, it may think you are not smart and cannot find other jobs therefore you come to work for the company. Some drivers need jobs desperately and they try to pick up any driving job but at the end, there will be different stories. Trucking companies need drivers.

Drivers need jobs. How can a trucking company make money without drivers? Driver is the main source of income for a trucking company. Some companies, honest, dishonest, fair and unfair, are almost everywhere. Some companies treat
drivers like criminals. If you work for a dishonest company, you may have faced a character-assassination. Character assassination is the main problem for any driver. This is happening to experienced and professional drivers all over.

This is not the company. People taking a position like safety director or fleet manager place all kinds of unpleasant things on DAC reports.  DAC report 

Accident/incident#                       1

Date                                             
01/01/2012

DOT reportable:     No

City/state     CANTON, OH

Injuries:        O

Fatalities:      O

Hazmat          No

Description:   Sideswipe opposing
                                                   

Misc:

Accident/incident#    2

Date:                                            

01/01/2012

DOT reportable      No

City/state      Saint Louis, MO

Injuries:     O

Fatalities:   O

Hazmat:      No

Description      Sideswipe opposing

If a tractor-trailer did sideswipe opposing, there would be injuries and some one would be dead or taken  to a hospital. Evidently, the one who placed these kinds of accidents on DAC doe not have any driving experience and how to drive a tractor-trailer either.   

I had worked for different companies and left them or given up the jobs. I never posted about those companies on the board. I do not want to say about this company (Hoekstra transportation) which is bad or good. This is my experience.
 
AA

Driver John, who by the way is actually Dan from Michigan, has again posted false statements that are not supported by fact. You state that you still work for the company and fear termination if you identify yourself. This is false. You attended one day of orientation and then left without notice. You did not even check out of your hotel room.  Several days later you sent an email detailing why you left that is almost word for word the same as your post here. Here are the facts Dan: you failed to successfully complete orientation and you never received a check from us. You once again have resorted to personal attacks and name calling which diminishes the validity of any actual complaint you may have. 

Allowing the con artists of Hoekstra Transportation to see my full name other than Driver John is good enough.  After all, I will decide when I leave, not you.  I would image I would be quickly terminated or given the crap runs.  Oh no, not the Hoekstra potatoe farm!  LOL.

Family owned does not make you better than a company owned business.  Family owned for Hoekstra Transportation means, screwing the driver and keeping more for their family.  My paycheck always have those surprise deductions I have already talked about.  I have to go by those deductions I read on the check stubs. (Fact).  

Your family policy clearly states a driver will have to pay up to $10,000 per accident if the driver is found at fault.  You can't deny it, read the ever changing employee manual.  I read your manual to other truck companies and most are taken back...ah... shocked.  I keep getting replies like, "WE PAY FOR OUR OWN INSURANCE."  I don't have any accidents, or else I might have to sell my house just to pay the Rip off Hoekstra outfit.

At least with the good old fashion COMPANY owned truck businesses, they don't try to force the driver to pay for their insurance.  After working here, it becomes clear (non family) company owned is better!

This method of making money off from the driver is good if they can get away with it.  For example, I should go out and buy a truck.  Then hire some rookie to drive my truck.  Then, buy an insurance policy with a high $15000 deductible.  Make the driver agree to pay me up to $15000 if he gets in an accident.  This is good, he gets to pay me up to my deductable amount of $15000 which mean I don't have to pay for any insurance up to the first $15000.  It gets better, because I get a very nice cheaper rate of insurance.  Sure, push it all off on the driver.  And then the best part, tell everyone I'm a family owned business, when actually I'm screwing the driver over. 

Hoekstra Transportation, your running a scam against the driver.  You got caught ripping off the driver and you know it.  Not to worry, you will soon receive my notice to leave.  The best part of all this is you can't stop the truth from getting out.  Have you read the other forums yet?  I'm just getting started.  You won't mind if I publish the employee manual will you?  :-)))

The person who filed this complaint identified himself as DriverJohn from North Lake, IL. A search of company records shows we have never had a driver who resided in North Lake, IL.

This entire tirade is very similar to an email I received from a driver who recently failed to complete orientation. This driver left without notice after one day of orientation. He did not return our phone calls when we attempted to check on his welfare as he did not even bother to check out from the hotel where we accomodate drivers attending orientation. This driver never drove a mile for us and never received a single pay settelment. His complaint falsely claims that his pay was deducted several times. This is not true. Our company policy does state that drivers may be charged back for at fault damages and excessive out of route miles. We have never charged a driver for being lost or going to eat a meal. We routinely allow drivers to divert from established routes to take a break at home.

The policies are in place to protect the company from that small minority of drivers who take advantage and abuse the system. This driver never gave our company a chance. We employ 170 drivers and 30 support staff. That is 200 families who are happy to work for Hoekstra Transportation and work hard everyday to make the Company successful. Our company is family owned and operated and has been in business for four generations. It saddens me to hear false statements about our Company especially when they come from a driver who does not have the character to accurately identify himself. Hiding behind a false name and location and claiming that you were treated unfairly when it is not true diminishes any validity your arguement may have had.

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