Discussion:
Engineers vans

Do you think its right for a forklift company to pass on chargeable repairs that a lease company has picked up on the van at the end of the lease and take it out of the engineers wages.?
  • Posted 28 Apr 2009 07:43
  • By Wind Breaker
  • joined 13 Jul'08 - 44 messages
  • eab, United Kingdom
Showing items 21 - 38 of 38 results.
towmotor, so was i , and my father before me and his father, you cant tell me anything about pride , a modern industry requires a modern union, the unions of the 70s/80s, is not what i am suggesting, no hard feelings towmotor, where was your father a miner.
  • Posted 2 May 2009 10:13
  • By coal_miner
  • joined 10 Mar'09 - 27 messages
  • yorkshire, United Kingdom
coal miner my father was a coal miner for many many years use the name with pride regards
  • Posted 2 May 2009 09:44
  • By towmotor
  • joined 19 Feb'07 - 360 messages
  • Ontario, Canada
what about creating a uk forklift engineers union, anybody up for it,


"strength in unity"
  • Posted 2 May 2009 09:12
  • By coal_miner
  • joined 10 Mar'09 - 27 messages
  • yorkshire, United Kingdom
Good for you all! interestingly, your employee will be doing the same to your customers when the leases come to an end.
It's about time the engineers in this industry stood and be counted!
  • Posted 2 May 2009 03:22
  • Modified 2 May 2009 03:23 by poster
  • By derek_h
  • joined 13 Nov'04 - 28 messages
  • S.Yorks, United Kingdom
Well im not going to sign the new driving policy and from what i gather all the other engineers are not signing it either there also want u to agree to allowing them to pass on information about u to other organisation and even things like a scratch or any dents thats havent been fixed in the time u had the van its all chargeable to the driver or engineer this is all about trying to save money buying puting cost to the engineers instead.The daft thing about it how on earth are the going to recruit future engineers with a policy like that engineers are like gold dust in the uk and lets face for what a modern engineer does they are not paid well for what they do because an engeer is on the frontline dealing with customers but they dont see it that way.
The way i look on it the possible bills u could get of a lease company for damage could be quite high and it would probably cheaper to jack in or get sacked and look for a job rather than agree to that because at the end of the day thats were the lease company will make there money on repairs at the end of the lease.
  • Posted 2 May 2009 02:54
  • Modified 2 May 2009 02:59 by poster
  • By Wind Breaker
  • joined 13 Jul'08 - 44 messages
  • eab, United Kingdom
I had a van stolen from a job site as the tech was working out of it , the guy unpluged the air hose going to the compressor , shut the doors , and took off , all the wile my tech was under the forklift. Maby I shoul charge the tech ?
  • Posted 2 May 2009 02:38
  • By lynn_w
  • joined 29 Jan'09 - 36 messages
  • Colorado, United States
true so very true
  • Posted 1 May 2009 09:05
  • By towmotor
  • joined 19 Feb'07 - 360 messages
  • Ontario, Canada
same old story,when the going gets tough,the engineers take an *** kicking,meanwhile the managers drive mercs and beamers,work in ivory towers deciding which part of the world they will hold their next pointless meeting in!.....sorry went off the subject a bit there!
  • Posted 1 May 2009 08:05
  • By tugmaster
  • joined 25 Aug'08 - 73 messages
  • United Kingdom
Dont sign the piece of paper,employment rights act says that if you do not give them permission they cannot take any money out of your wages.Except PAYE & Nat Insurance,hence they want you to sign the letter.
  • Posted 1 May 2009 02:10
  • By alan_m
  • joined 20 Apr'07 - 72 messages
  • United Kingdom
I've never heard of any employee ever having to pay for anything that happens to the vans in the USA. And there has been some doozys........ crashes, blown motors, broken windows, tip over on it's side.
  • Posted 30 Apr 2009 09:41
  • By mrfixit
  • joined 11 Dec'08 - 1,434 messages
  • New York, United States
I wouldnt sign to have a amount taken out for that.I sooner have the layoff.Sounds like you work for a crap company to me.
  • Posted 30 Apr 2009 06:37
  • By proshadetree
  • joined 23 Feb'06 - 484 messages
  • Tennessee, United States
It doesn't surprise me that employers are starting to not only make profit out of engineers work and then make the engineer pay for , in effect working for them as well.
It seems that employers have forgotten that the backbone of any company is their after sales service and it is the dedicated engineers that provide the extra income and " bread and butter " by looking after the customer and finding defects during the routine services.
After 30 years of being a part of it I have lost all faith in the industry when it costs an engineer to do the job that others profit from.
  • Posted 29 Apr 2009 07:13
  • Modified 29 Apr 2009 07:20 by poster
  • By derek_h
  • joined 13 Nov'04 - 28 messages
  • S.Yorks, United Kingdom
Its not so much contract of employment its the company policy is changing and there trying to get all the engineers to sign a bit of paper accepting it and authorising the company to take out there wages
Every engineer i know some were along the road of the life of the van has a knock or 2 its working van working in bad environments and also look at things ure sometime your asked to carry in your van.
I can see there point with the cost they must have to pay to lease companys to get the lease vans back up to a standard but i think its unfair to pass it onto engineers.
I think this one policy they are going to lose a lot of engineers i just some how cant see anyone signing it
  • Posted 29 Apr 2009 03:23
  • Modified 29 Apr 2009 03:25 by poster
  • By Wind Breaker
  • joined 13 Jul'08 - 44 messages
  • eab, United Kingdom
I would imagine that your contract of employment had a section written in it regarding the general conditions of using the company vehicle.
This would normally state that it is your responsibility to keep the van in a reasonable condition however, I would suggest that you read through your contract as I have never seen anything written that states an employee would be liable for any repairs unless it was caused by negligence in which case some companies have a clause that the excess for insurance is paid for by the employee.
Normal wear and tear including dents and scratches caused by stone chips are in general accepted by the lease company as unavoidable.
  • Posted 28 Apr 2009 17:30
  • By derek_h
  • joined 13 Nov'04 - 28 messages
  • S.Yorks, United Kingdom
Hello Eddie

The short answer to your question is no. But the the legal answer may be different. If the van has been willfully neglected and abused, that could be construed as gross misconduct and result in dismissal and an attempt to recover some costs.
  • Posted 28 Apr 2009 16:16
  • By AndyPandy
  • joined 26 Oct'07 - 175 messages
  • Staffordshire, WM, United Kingdom
the next question would be "at what point did they tell you".
I personally would hope they didn't charge me for the wear and tear of the van, and would wonder what "they" are doing for the portion of the profit "they" get to keep, (don't "they" share in the risk as well as the profit?) and who pays if the tech/engineer walks out.
  • Posted 28 Apr 2009 08:32
  • Modified 28 Apr 2009 08:32 by poster
  • By edward_t
  • joined 5 Mar'08 - 2,334 messages
  • South Carolina, United States
Anything chargeable as in dents scratches at the end of a lease just much the same as you would charge a customer for damage on rental trucks so if a lease company says your van will cost say £1500 to repair it comes directly out of the engineers wages
  • Posted 28 Apr 2009 08:01
  • Modified 28 Apr 2009 08:02 by poster
  • By Wind Breaker
  • joined 13 Jul'08 - 44 messages
  • eab, United Kingdom
that would greatly depend on the details.
what repairs? when did the company refuse to make those repairs under normal conditions and why were the repairs needed?
  • Posted 28 Apr 2009 07:53
  • By edward_t
  • joined 5 Mar'08 - 2,334 messages
  • South Carolina, United States

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