Anybody Done LGV Training Recently?

snelporte

I paid £2000 for my hgv2 with ADR course and now the company (PATHWAY) has gone. :mad: I was so angry with them putting the phone down and then not picking up I went to their offices and they moved out the day before. Hackney trading standards was involved. If you paid on a debit card sadly your not covered but if you paid by credit card you maybe able to claim with section 75 which is the route i am attempting. I have lost £350 which i paid for a test but it maybe worth phoning the bank as they said i might of had a chance if it was a visa card but sadly i didn't. A complete con and they acted is disgraceful, hope you get more luck than I have...............

harveybobbles

Anybody Done LGV Training Recently?

Certainly not some of the clowns I see tailgateing on the m6...

postie1001

I'm just about to take my C licence theory and hazard perception tests, and then go for the actual lessons.
(9th August for the tests, then 16th for lessons...if i pass the tests!)

I don't know if this will be useful to anyone, but if you want a properly approved LGV training school, the DSA (Driving Standards Agency) have a list of people they recommend as approved instructors.
http://www.dsa.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=324

I'm using RoadTrain, as their website is hugely informative, especially in regards to the price you'll pay. I've found other LGV websites are a bit hesitant, to say the least, about what it'll cost you.
They're also very friendly on the phone.. and seem to be going that bit further to give you the info you need as someone starting out.
RoadTrain website here:
http://www.roadtrain.co.uk/hgv_lgv_training.htm

Quinny_2

harveybobbles wrote: »

Certainly not some of the clowns I see tailgateing on the m6...

And the car clowns that think I can stop with 44 tonnes on board, when I've left a SAFE gap to stop in time, and they feel the need to fly into it. :mad:

skiddlydiddly

I wouldn't let the promise of work influence you if its an agency.Our company use lots of agency drivers and I train them in our working practices.From speaking to them, agency drivers get the brown end of the stick in every company they are sent to.Often they are just driving regular vans at a lower rate rather than getting a higher one for ones requiring a class 1 etc.They also can receive very short notice of jobs and nothing is guarenteed.
To me, agency work is what you do when for whatever reason you really can't get anything else.If it was with view to a full time job it would be a different matter of course.

Quinny_2

skiddlydiddly wrote: »

I wouldn't let the promise of work influence you if its an agency.Our company use lots of agency drivers and I train them in our working practices.From speaking to them, agency drivers get the brown end of the stick in every company they are sent to.Often they are just driving regular vans at a lower rate rather than getting a higher one for ones requiring a class 1 etc.They also can receive very short notice of jobs and nothing is guarenteed.
To me, agency work is what you do when for whatever reason you really can't get anything else.If it was with view to a full time job it would be a different matter of course.

Your remarks couldn't be further from the truth....by a long way, and I find them very insulting. :mad:

I've been an agency driver for nearly 5 years, and I do it because of the variety, not because I can't get a regular job. (I left a regular job to go down this route.) It also allows me to see which companies treat their employees like crap, and therefore avoid them if they offer me a job. It also allows me, a seasoned professional, the chance to drive a variety of equipment I wouldn't normally get if I worked for one company. I usually find that I get exactly the same equipment to drive as one of their regular drivers. For example, the last 2 days 58 plate Iveco Stralis. Tomorrow I'll be driving for a very high profile brick and block manufacturer, and I'll be driving 58 plate Mercedes Actros, the same as their guys.

I agree that some times jobs can be very short notice, however as you climb the pecking order, that tends not to be the case. I have time off when it suits ME, and not have to book in advance, nor give a reason to some jumped up office !!!!!! and wait and see if I can have the day off in question. I am self employed and pay less tax, and yes we do have quiet spells, but then again so does everyone, and as a contractor you expect that, but we are paid more per hour than a regular driver to compensate for the quiet time.

So before you go spouting off, you need to be clear in your facts.

skiddlydiddly

Quinny wrote: »

Your remarks couldn't be further from the truth....by a long way, and I find them very insulting. :mad:

I've been an agency driver for nearly 5 years, and I do it because of the variety, not because I can't get a regular job. (I left a regular job to go down this route.) It also allows me to see which companies treat their employees like crap, and therefore avoid them if they offer me a job. It also allows me, a seasoned professional, the chance to drive a variety of equipment I wouldn't normally get if I worked for one company. I usually find that I get exactly the same equipment to drive as one of their regular drivers. For example, the last 2 days 58 plate Iveco Stralis. Tomorrow I'll be driving for a very high profile brick and block manufacturer, and I'll be driving 58 plate Mercedes Actros, the same as their guys.

I agree that some times jobs can be very short notice, however as you climb the pecking order, that tends not to be the case. I have time off when it suits ME, and not have to book in advance, nor give a reason to some jumped up office !!!!!! and wait and see if I can have the day off in question. I am self employed and pay less tax, and yes we do have quiet spells, but then again so does everyone, and as a contractor you expect that, but we are paid more per hour than a regular driver to compensate for the quiet time.

So before you go spouting off, you need to be clear in your facts.

Sorry if you took it as an insult, because it certainly wasn't meant to be derogatory to agency drivers.

I was trying to get the point across that as an agency driver you are generally in after the rest of the workforce and get the worst jobs.Its certainly what the agency drivers I talk to complain about.

They also complain that they often have to wait about before actually being able to do the work they are being paid to do, often waiting for hire vehicles which puts them behind timewise and makes them look less capable when all management look at is what they have done and the hours clocked to do it.

I can see why you would take my comment badly about agency work being what you take when you cannot get anything else, it didn't come across very well.I meant that personally I'd do it in between jobs as I don't like to be messed about workwise, which is what the drivers I have spoken to complain about a lot.I wasn't being condescending about the job so please don't take it that way.
If you have found a good agency to do work for then stick with them, as I think you are in a minority in a time where they can pick and choose and their attitude reflects that.

Quinny_2

No problem. Sorry if my retort seemed a bit strong.

The way I look at it is if I have to sit about for 3-4 hours waiting for a vehicle, then I'm getting paid for it and as long as that is the case, then I don't particularly care.

I know at the end of the day I can do the job as good as, if not better than most staff drivers, because a lot of staff drivers have this almighty chip on their shoulder about the company they work for. If they are that bad then why don't they leave? It's because they are in the comfort zone and frightened of anything other than the norm.

Your comment is not taken personally, and I do know what you mean, but if I'm as good at my job as what I claim, then there must be a reason why I keep getting asked for by name at companies I work for. I guess as an agency driver I must be the exception.

smjxm09

What's the difference between LGV and HGV?

The reason I ask is that I have a friend who spent his redundancy money on getting a HGV license 18 months ago but can’t get a job as all the companies he has gone to want a minimum of 2 years experience.

mchale

HGV= heavy goods vehicle
LGV= large goods vehicle

no difference, only in name