New to Courier work

Hi,

I have been considering doing courier work, as i love driving.

I was just wondering if any one can steer me in the right direction on going about this.

I have researched about how to become a courier and no what insurance to have.

How easy is it to find work around the Leicestershire area?

Which are the best Courier Exchange companies to use?

I have not got my van yet, but in the next couple of weeks i am hoping to get a Berlingo size van.

Thank you in advance. Hope you can answer my questions.
Mark

hi mark,

if your going to buy a van get a sprinter/transit (long wheel base) u need insurance for hire and reward, try coversure for a quote there very good (beat best quote by about £300 for me)

not sure about work in your area mind,

CRV manual is handy helps you out for setting up and gives you hints ant tips but for £45 it's quite steep for a book on common sense,

stay away from courier network (so i have been told) the IP address has been traced back to America, prob some 15 year old sitting in his room trying to make a quick buck...

Courier Exchange sounds good till they tell you the price (£375 for 6 months) but if you listen to there patter then say no they can put u in contact with a company that will front 80% of the money that is owed to you if you send them a copy of the invoice for that job for a small fee of 2.4% (that's £2.40 for every £100) and they will give you free 6 months membership to courier exchange (as they want you to earn as much as poss to make money from you) they do this as most big company's only pay once every 30 days from date of invoice, it's a big help and saves all them big credit card bills for fuel in the 1st few months of setting up,

hope this helps
Erin Douglas Bateman

Hi Erin,

Thanks for your reply. I do appreciate it.

A couple of days ago i purchased the CRV guide and it gave me a few hints and tips on how to set up my Courier Business. Your advice about the courier exchange was very helpful which i will try. As with the van i am restricted on how much i can spend. I am borrowing the money of my family. I think i should be able to borrow around £1500. I no it doesn't sound a lot but i no in my area i can get a Berlingo 2002 for around that price range.

If i have any more queries, will it be ok to email you?

Again thank you for your help

Reality check required here I fear... before you splash out on anything. You really need to be thinking in terms of the newest, lowest mileage van you can afford and I don't think £1,500 is going to do it (not in my experience, anyway). You also need to consider that you will not be getting any cash coming in for, perhaps, the first two months, which means you're going to need a substantial amount of cash to keep feeding it diesel for that time.

I would suggest that you need to think in terms of at least £5,000 cash reserves before you even consider getting your plan off the ground.

Another way of stepping into the industry is to speak to DHL. TNT sameday who usually allow an older vehicle for a few months to get you working, (Not something like a blue 1995 escort though I'm afraid ) Just as long as it is a clean looking white van.

They also pay weekly.

Just a thought!

Reality check No2. Insurance for H+R ( hire and reward) won't cover you.

If you are a courier, then you need courier insurance, and that is £2000+ for a newby like you. Any thing less is false and not legal if you are required to prove your credentials to the authority's.

Reality check No3, £1500 does not buy a reliable vehicle. 1st thing to do BEFORE you spend or borrow a penny. Go Find The Business. Call, and visit, and listen. Then build a business plan, then spend MORE time, seeing a accountant and your bank manager.

And maybe if you are right in your plan, people will say yes.

Light Haulage is legal and does cover you for courier work.

"definition that insurance companies put on "Courier" & Light Haulage, according to them a Courier is someone who delivers to multiple addresses in a day, a light haulier is someone who delivers to two or three addresses in a day"

As for a van, There are plenty of very good 2nd hand low mileage vans you can get for £2500-£3500 that will serve you very well as a start up.

Anything cheaper and you are getting a bit iffy. Breaking down is a no no in this industry.

According to an insurance guy I know the following applies.

Years ago equity red star did a policy based on the amount of drops carried our per day, Couriers took advantage of this and the policy's were used for both courier and light haulage.

They say now that if your delivery is collected and delivered the sameday it is COURIER.

If it is collected and delivered next day it is Haulage.

Another insurance broker we also know says. If you are carrying Goods for hire and reward and your vehicle is not over 3.5 ton you are a COURIER. Over 3.5t HAULAGE.

This is still a little sketchy as all insurance brokers we know all have differing opinions.

My 2001 Kangoo cost me £850 and it does anything from 500 miles per week to 1500 miles, it has never let me down and still returns 45mpg average, as long as the oil is changed regular and bare essentials done it will keep going for a lot longer yet, i see so many broken down vans and they are 05, 06, 07 etc etc. I done 600 miles in it on Thursday and it never missed a beat. So you don't have to spend thousands on a van, mine is an ex British gas van so i know it was well serviced from new.

After all the expenses of buying a van and getting insurance, the hardest part is getting the work!

There are lots of people in this business and starting every day. Consider this, if you were a business who subbed out work to drivers who would you trust? So that's a hurdle to get over, getting known and trusted if you are looking to get subbie work.

Of course you could get your own direct customers, but again your in a very competitive market and as a one man band with a certain size of vehicle, when you approach potential customers how do you build in resilience for the time they want you but your already busy? or they want a different size van? This is where building contacts and trust come in again so that you can approach others to help you.

Loving driving is not the be all and end all either. If your successful getting business and you have driven thousands of miles all over the country this week and your tired and its Friday evening and you get the call from that company you've been trying to get into and its gonna be another late night...

Just some thoughts from another newbie after 6 months making my way in this business... oh and don't forget that sometimes you have to wait some time for your money, maybe 60 days in some cases so make sure you have something to get by on. Luckily I have been able to avoid the none payers but there is always a first time.

And on that cheery note, good luck. Its hard but can be done and its enjoyable in the most part. Funny enough its not so much the driving I enjoy, its meeting new people and quite often seeing interesting places and businesses.