Courier Business Stuff

I was checking the search engine referral statistics for the Courier Info site and noticed that it seems to be getting quite a few hits from people searching Google using phrases like “do I need a courier licence” or “do I need a licence to be a courier” which bring up the page Do I need an Operator’s Licence? as the first result.

So – Do I Need a Licence to be a Courier?

In the UK there are is no special licence required to operate as a courier. You’ll need a full driving licence of course if you want to drive a van, car or motorbike. You could ride a motor bike on a provisional licence but you’d be limited to 125cc bikes which are of very limited use in the courier industry; you’ll also struggle to get proper courier insurance on a provisional licence.

Your normal full driving licence will allow you to drive vans up to Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Insurance for Couriers, Vans

Karoshi is a Japanese word which is literally translated as “death from overwork”. It generally refers to sudden deaths by stroke or heart attack caused by work-related stress.

In 2006 a 45-year-old Toyota employee died, apparently from working less than 20 hours overtime per week in the run up to launching a new product.

His death has now been classed as an industrial injury, meaning that his family can claim against his employers’ insurances.

60 hours per week is classed as a short week by many in the UK same day courier industry. While HGV drivers are limited by law to 48 hours work a week and any employed workers can insist on working a maximum of 48 hours per week with 5 weeks holiday per year, many courier owner-drivers and courier company owner-managers work in excess of 70 hours per week with few if any holidays.

For the working man, doing his best to provide for his family, is it not better to have a few more years to spend with the family, rather than a few extra quid each year and an early death? Life is apparently a journey, not a destination.

(Written by me, working at 1837 on a Saturday evening)

Posted under Courier Basics, Courier Business, Drivers' Hours, Employment

A week or so ago I read the PC Pro review of the new TomTom GO 930 satnav with IQ Routes™ technology (is there a TomTom equivalent of the annoying Intel sound that has to be played every time that phrase is read out?). If satnavs are your thing then it looks an impressive piece of kit.

One particular paragraph of the review stopped me in my tracks and made me think about the general problems people have had with satnavs since their introduction – namely satnavs sending drivers down unsuitable roads:

According to PC Pro, “The most significant upgrade to the new range is TomTom’s new route-finding ability – dubbed IQ Routes. What this means is that the 930T, along with the rest of the new “x30″ range, calculates routes not using the speed limit data alone, but also by taking into account the average speed of real-world traffic on those roads.”

Just pause for a moment to let that sink in - not the fact that IQ Routes™ (cue the jingle again) calculates routes based on the average time taken to travel those routes but that TomToms in the past have calculated the fastest route based on the speed limit of the road.

Even my first copy of Autoroute had options to set different driving speeds for different types of roads – rural A roads, urban B roads, urban motorways etc. It beggars belief that up to now TomTom have been basing their route calculations on speed limits.

Think about it – is it generally possible to make better time on an Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, SatNav

What is CMR?

CMR stands for “Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route” which translates as “Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road”. It was devised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and was brought into UK law by the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965.

When does CMR apply?

It applies to every contract for the carriage of goods by road in vehicles for reward, when the place of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery, as specified in the contract, are situated in two different countries, of which at least one is a contracting party to CMR.

The current contracting countries are: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan.

It doesn’t apply:

(a) To movements between the United Kingdom, The Republic of Ireland, The Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Insurance for Couriers, Legal Issues

The recent rise in popularity of the use of satnavs by same day couriers may actually be slowing down deliveries and causing couriers to drive more miles than necessary, if the results a recent experiment conducted by Reader’s Digest magazine is to be believed.

According to a report in The Scotsman, the navigational experiment took the form of a ‘race’ over a 989 mile route between three teams of drivers.

The race was won by a team of men relying on reading road signs and asking directions. In second place was a team of women relying on their map-reading skills and the car relying on satnav finished over an hour and a half later.

So apparently men can ask for directions, women can read maps and satnavs don’t always find the most appropriate routes.

The report goes on to quote Luke Bosdet from the AA: “Unfortunately, many drivers become slaves to their satnavs – turning sharp right on to railway lines, rivers and, in one instance, a toilet on a German building site.”

Sarah Sands from the organisers of the experiment, Reader’s Digest, is quoted as saying “It goes to show that when you’re trying to find remote locations in the Lake District or navigate busy city centres, you’re better off relying on the people who live there, rather than a line on a piece of paper or a computer.”

I’d suggest that the outcome of this experiment Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, SatNav

Plan your route. Don’t just rely on your Satnav; sometimes there’s a much more direct, shorter and quicker route if you just glance at your map.

Avoid buying fuel (or anything) at motorway services. If you’re caught short for fuel (or anything else) try Cheap Fuel Near Motorway Junctions for conveniently positioned fuel and supermarket sites.

Check your tyre pressures regularly. You’re meant to do this every day for the sake of safety of course. You’re normally meant to increase your tyre pressures slightly when carrying heavy loads and when driving at motorway speeds for long periods. Check your van’s handbook for the manufacturer’s recommendations. Think how much harder it is to pedal a bike with flat tyres than with well inflated tyres.

Close your windows on the motorway. Apparently an open window at 70mph can increase your fuel consumption by nearly 10%.

Drive smoothly. Change up early, don’t race away from the lights in low gears, read the road ahead of you and try to avoid coming to a stop. Keeping the van moving slowly is far more economical than stop-start driving.

Lose weight. Every bit of extra weight you carry around with you is costing you money. Even carrying a 25 litre jerry can of fuel with you can increase your fuel consumption by 1%. How much of the rubbish you carry around in your van do you really need?

Slow down. Cruising at 80mph rather than 70mph will gain you less than Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Vans

So you’ve got your Goods In Transit Insurance (up to say £15,000), you’ve got your Public Liability Insurance (up to say £1 MILLION) and you think you’re pretty much covered for everything, right? Wrong.

Unless you only ever carry goods under your own ‘Terms and Conditions’ or ‘Conditions of Carriage’, which you make available to your customers before you carry out any work for them then you could be wide open to a claim for unlimited damages from your customer or even from your customer’s customer.

Your Goods In Transit insurance might well cover you for £15,000, but what if the goods you’ve collected are worth far more than that? A consignment of computer chips or a pharmaceutical sample can be worth many times that and if it was lost, stolen or damaged while under your control you would be liable for the full value unless your Conditions limit your liability.

That’s not the worst of it though. Most couriers’ Conditions quite rightly disclaim any liability for consequential loss. Without this essential restriction to your liability your losses are potentially unlimited should a late, lost or damaged consignment cause your customer any financial loss due to your ‘negligent act’. A ‘negligent act’ could be as simple as you leaving goods in your vehicle overnight and them being stolen, being late for a delivery because your cambelt broke due to being overdue for replacement, subcontracting your delivery to a muppet or just sending a document by overnight delivery and it being misrouted.

In the absence of suitable Conditions the only defence that you may have against a claim is to be able to prove that your customer’s loss occurred Read More…

Posted under Courier Basics, Courier Business, Courier Financial Issues, Insurance for Couriers, Legal Issues

I know that quite a few people seem to reach this page when they’re searching for freelance same day courier work etc. Please read this page if that’s what you were looking for.

Ah, so Earnings = Income – Fuel Cost? You’re providing the vans and the insurance yourself are you?

These “standard business expenses” which “should be part of ur business model” are paid for FROM YOUR GROSS TURNOVER.

There’s no way around: Profit = Turnover – Fuel – OTHER EXPENSES.

Your mindless assumption that standing costs will disappear just because they’re already included in someone’s business plan are laughable.

Without wishiing to get too personal, your obvious lack of mathematical and business skills demonstrate admirably why an owner-driver would be exceptionally foolish to allow you £7000 credit.

I’d agree to an extent that it’s easily possible to make ‘a wage’ running at those rates. I just don’t think I’d personally be happy putting all my eggs in one basket by relying on one small, recently formed business for all my work while at the same time supplying them with a line of credit that no bank would agree to without security.

To put it bluntly, it’s one thing working for TNT or DHL at those rates, it’s quite a different thing working for you, or working for us for that matter if we offered those payment terms.

Posted under Courier Basics, Courier Financial Issues