Eddie2 I'm guessin you work for Barloworld!! Legaly it's a change/addition of contract so just don't sign it before talking to a union. They want you to pay to repair the van but they won't even insure your personal tools that are left in it. I know numerous engineers had their vans broken into and lost a lifetime worth of tools and not got a penny back for them. Seems a bit one sided.

Seems pretty rough that the guys at the coal face, the ones making the money, have to pay for a buisiness running cost... time to find somewhere else to work me thinks

Have you actually sat down and read your contract, the damage charges are for at fault damage and worked on a rolling 24 month points system.

if you go over these points you will get charged, yuo have a month's amensty to get any damaged repaired. any minor damage must be repaired before going back to the lease company and will only be charged if it is deemed at fault and you have the opputunity to despute any issue's.

applies to all vehicles, I still haven't signed mine yet either

Hey There Wonderphil, Barlow Rand on Atlas road Boksburg?
Can you remember anyone called Allen Oberholzer ?

I was there pre 1993

Give him my regards if you Know him!

I used to work for Barloworld in SA, they leased all their vans, but they never charged the technicians for any damages, usually the vans went way over the lease agreement mileage and Bworld had to pay in

Leasing companies are feeling the pinch just like everyone else. The market for second hand vehicles has completely dried up in the UK so they're not realising book values any more. I reckon this is the only way they can make their margins now?
I work for a medium sized FLT company who leases all of their equipment and we recently got charged £800GBP (around $1200USD) for sending a van back after four years lease with nothing more than stone chips on the paintwork and scuffs on the front and rear bumpers.
Oh how I wish we could all charge the same damage fees to customers when they send their equipment back after five years!

I no one things for sure when it comes my turn to leave the company there is no way im giving a months notice now i will be timing so i leave on wages day lol they wont get the better of me lol

I know some really big US forklift companies that lease service vans, and pay top dollar to the lease company. there are many ways to not make money, if you get my drift, and you can learn many interesting things if you "follow the money" too.
The bottom line to me here is; there is a renegotiation of compensation happening, and someone has started the negotiation with a "hard line demand". It would seem to me that the next question (and I think Eddie answered it) would be if you feel you have what it takes to "call the bluff" or "bluff" your self.

sounds like accounting messed up and now theyre trying to do some of that "CYA"
instead of admitting they should have figured something like that when they signed the lease, they just want to pass their mistake down the line

(i dont know how the UK is but) theyre gonna charge you,
pay for the repairs with the money that YOU PAID,
and take a 1500 pound tax deduction (whats to stop them?)

i can see leasing sales vehicles or even a box truck
but a service van no way
theyre just in the line of fire too much

any company in this business would know that a service van is gonna get messed up just by its nature (and small dents and scratches are expensive to fix when you turn a lease in)

how they only accounted for a "best case scenario" and didnt assume that there might be an additional charge is sloppy accounting (they didnt have their bases covered)

with that mindset, your company should be buying forklifts not selling them (lol)


what if you had gone way over the miles and they owe 1000 pounds for the overage?
would they charge you for that?

its not your fault they made a bad deal and didnt have foresight to expect some damage charges (IMO)

Its a big comany in the uk that is shrinking all the time as the years goes on every single van and car is leased i think the vans if i mind right its 4 year lease.I think its silly leasing things buts its accountants that runs everthing and they would only lease if it was cheaper.

who the heck would lease a service van in the1st place??
its not like its a boxtruck making deliveries
i have a brand new van, Ford E350, no scratches (yet) but i wouldnt have even thought of trying to lease it... just-in case
most service vans after 5 years get pretty beat up (at least where i live lol)

heres a story mrfixit
at my old place
a guy did a pump in a 11k lb mitsu cushion w/ a roll clamp
the pump is in the weight
so he parks the machine next to the van (E250)
pulls the counterweight
changes the pump
begins to test the pump
raises the mast fully and tilts forward
notice i didnt mention that he reinstalled the weight

the machine falls forward and crushes his van lol
the back looked like a triangle when i seen it
they said the back doors were blwn 30 feet off of it lol

i dont think they made him even pay the deductible
and i worked for a real crap company lol

For gods Sake, do not mention the company name as they tend to send nasty solicitors letters making threats.

what company is this any ways

The it wasnt me approach doesnt work its still driver or engineers resposibilty yeh sure u can report every little bit of damage and get the insurance involved but u still have to pay the excess on the insurance.
My mind is made up i aint signing it and that way they cant take money out of my wages and if it means getting the sack then so be it to be honest about i like my job even if the pay isnt that great but maybeys this is the push i need to move on to a better job.
We all had a joke about paying these bills and the way things is working out if u do have to pay these repair bills it would be probably cheaper near the end of the lease to run a forklift into the van and right the van of and then u only have the excess to pay on the insurance

just sign it and report every little bit of damage, saying it was done on site when you came back to it. like shaggy say's - it wasnt me lol.