JB Hunt Trucking Lease/Purchase Rip-Off Lowell, Arkansas

i had a good one mine actually ran 75 if i topped it out.truck number was 376800.i never drove it that way just wanted to see what itll do.lol...liked jb just didnt make no money to take care of the bills at home so i terminated the lease in the first 3 months.

I am truly sorry about what happen to you i know it has been a couple of years but i just read your report my prayers are to you and your family. Thank you for the information I am pulling now but i will keep my head up and be on my guards. God bless you

how fast do the lease purchase trucks run?

This is Brett. I was your fleet manager. I would like to clear up a few things. I am going to go in order of your post so if it sounds like a bunch of random thoughts i apologize.

When you were on this load to Colorado I believe you were in the Central part of the country near Kansas City, MO. I could be wrong since it has been so long ago but the problem is unless we had a driver that had hours to get the load there then we cannot switch it. Also I do remember we did not have a load from that location to get you straight home.

The reason you had a $0 balance on your truck payment is because that his how much you paid in. You were in the hole and you did not make a truck payment that is why it said $0 in that collumn.

In reply to your post about the unemployment:

A judge calls the team leader. They ask them around 5 questions. If you say yes to 3 or more then you get unemployment. It is common knowledge that the northeast part of the country is run by unions so they most likely have lobbiest that set up the law to side with the person asking for the unemployment. Its funny you brag about getting unemployment when you were a owner operator.

During my 3 years at JB I had 6 drivers pay off their truck and I won fleet manager of the month 8 times in 07 when you were on my board. The only reason I say this is so you and everybody knows that I did know what I was doing and I did have common sense.

I am regretful to say that I read the reports listed against J B Hunt before signing on as a lease contractor. I, like some others, thought that most of the authors of these reports had to have done something wrong to bring all the dismal circumstances upon themselves. My apologies for my disbelief.

Let me begin by saying that I have a degree in accounting and a lousy credit history due to a failed business. Let's face it, if we had money for a down payment and the credit to support it, we'd buy a truck and do it right. I don't call myself an employee because I am not. I am a contractor, responsible for my own insurance, fuel and taxes.

I, like you, was deceived by the recruiting department. (I thought) I knew what all the espenses would be (and was pretty close) before signing contract at Lowell Terminal. I made a spreadsheet and plugged-in numbers for hours and thought I had the worst case week's scenario down and, though slight, should still net a couple hundred dollars profit for a really bad week. Boy was I wrong! I never thought I'd haul freight for as little as a lot of their loads pay the contractor. Had to sit for five days at one time. When I turned down a break even load, I was told I had to take a losing load paying me .40 cents/mile or would not be offered another one. Let us do the math! With fuel surcharge, at that time, being about .18 cents per mile, that leaves .22 cents/mile for freight charge. .22 cents divided by my 61% times JB Hunt's 100% equals .36 cents per mile (JB Hunt's total revenue?). Do you think JB Hunt could make a profit off those loads when they pay their driver up to .42 cents per mile plus benefits, fuel, maintenance, real estate, corporate staff payroll, etc. Do you think JB Hunt really sells and hauls freight for .36 cents per mile? I don't think so. I've hauled a couple like this and been offered many others which I prompty refused. Somebody is cheating! (I kind of hope they take me to court) By my calculations, it costs me .45 to .46 cents/mile, on average, to operate this truck, (fuel cost, maint. plan, fuel tax) not to mention the weekly fixed costs (truck pmt., insurance, etc.). Have to always either take a low paying load or dead head several hundred miles to get home. St. Louis is a fairly good freight hub. Don't know what the problem is there. I stay out 3-4 weeks at a time to cover the time I have to sit at home trying to get a load out. I was charged $60 out of my first settlement for "Motor Carriers Property Tax" (I don't own a truck). My truck was hit by a Owner/Operator leased to JB Hunt and, after all was said and done it cost me $600 for parts (I did the labor myself) due to being on private property and no police report. It was a hit and run but I got out of the sleeper in time to get the number of the JB Hunt trailer. I called the safety department to report it. They weren't helpful with giving me information to recover any costs. Said they knew who was pulling that trailer but wouldn't give me any information. The next week a "$20 Maintenance Fee" plus over $200 was charged to me and deducted from my settlement for which no one has any explanation other than, "it is in connection to the truck that hit you"! What I want to know is, WHY ARE YOU TAKING MY MONEY WHEN YOUR TRAILER HIT ME? They preach communication but can't seem to communicate within their own corporate headquarters. That's one of the signs that a company has become too big. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing.

During a conference call, which I suppose they have every couple months and encourage all drivers to call into, the question was posed as to why they continue to bring in more lease drivers when there is not enough freight for the drivers they have. The answer, plain and simple, was, "JB Hunt has truck payments to make and we need someone to make them". I agree with the author who wrote, "They don't care about helping you succeed". Bottom line is a few will succeed and many will fail due to no wrong doing on their part. JB Hunt's bottom line is the only one that counts.

I know some who read this will think, "this guy must be a hothead. Bet he gets on the phone and just lets them have it". I assure you that I am very business minded and diplomatic and have received the same treatment from those at JB Hunt whom I have dealt with. Attitudes is not my complaint. Policy and business practices is.

My advice to anyone who may read this before signing a lease with JB Hunt is think twice. If you don't have a down payment or credit to buy a truck, stick to being a company driver. Though, you may be fortunate and survive a three year contract to become a owner operator with a truck with over 700,000 miles, ask yourself: "Is it worth the risk and sacrifice?" These are tough economic times and most companies will stoop to any level and go to any length to survive. That's business (and corporate greed). Believe me, no one cares if you can pay the bills or feed your kids. I understand this now and, in business, contracts get broken every day. That's why I made the decision, today, to return their truck, broken contract and all.

Good luck in future endeavors,

Darryl

I am regretful to say that I read the reports listed against J B Hunt before signing on as a lease contractor. I, like some others, thought that most of the authors of these reports had to have done something wrong to bring all the dismal circumstances upon themselves. My apologies for my disbelief.

Let me begin by saying that I have a degree in accounting and a lousy credit history due to a failed business. Let's face it, if we had money for a down payment and the credit to support it, we'd buy a truck and do it right. I don't call myself an employee because I am not. I am a contractor, responsible for my own insurance, fuel and taxes.

I, like you, was deceived by the recruiting department. (I thought) I knew what all the espenses would be (and was pretty close) before signing contract at Lowell Terminal. I made a spreadsheet and plugged-in numbers for hours and thought I had the worst case week's scenario down and, though slight, should still net a couple hundred dollars profit for a really bad week. Boy was I wrong! I never thought I'd haul freight for as little as a lot of their loads pay the contractor. Had to sit for five days at one time. When I turned down a break even load, I was told I had to take a losing load paying me .40 cents/mile or would not be offered another one. Let us do the math! With fuel surcharge, at that time, being about .18 cents per mile, that leaves .22 cents/mile for freight charge. .22 cents divided by my 61% times JB Hunt's 100% equals .36 cents per mile (JB Hunt's total revenue?). Do you think JB Hunt could make a profit off those loads when they pay their driver up to .42 cents per mile plus benefits, fuel, maintenance, real estate, corporate staff payroll, etc. Do you think JB Hunt really sells and hauls freight for .36 cents per mile? I don't think so. I've hauled a couple like this and been offered many others which I prompty refused. Somebody is cheating! (I kind of hope they take me to court) By my calculations, it costs me .45 to .46 cents/mile, on average, to operate this truck, (fuel cost, maint. plan, fuel tax) not to mention the weekly fixed costs (truck pmt., insurance, etc.). Have to always either take a low paying load or dead head several hundred miles to get home. St. Louis is a fairly good freight hub. Don't know what the problem is there. I stay out 3-4 weeks at a time to cover the time I have to sit at home trying to get a load out. I was charged $60 out of my first settlement for "Motor Carriers Property Tax" (I don't own a truck). My truck was hit by a Owner/Operator leased to JB Hunt and, after all was said and done it cost me $600 for parts (I did the labor myself) due to being on private property and no police report. It was a hit and run but I got out of the sleeper in time to get the number of the JB Hunt trailer. I called the safety department to report it. They weren't helpful with giving me information to recover any costs. Said they knew who was pulling that trailer but wouldn't give me any information. The next week a "$20 Maintenance Fee" plus over $200 was charged to me and deducted from my settlement for which no one has any explanation other than, "it is in connection to the truck that hit you"! What I want to know is, WHY ARE YOU TAKING MY MONEY WHEN YOUR TRAILER HIT ME? They preach communication but can't seem to communicate within their own corporate headquarters. That's one of the signs that a company has become too big. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing.

During a conference call, which I suppose they have every couple months and encourage all drivers to call into, the question was posed as to why they continue to bring in more lease drivers when there is not enough freight for the drivers they have. The answer, plain and simple, was, "JB Hunt has truck payments to make and we need someone to make them". I agree with the author who wrote, "They don't care about helping you succeed". Bottom line is a few will succeed and many will fail due to no wrong doing on their part. JB Hunt's bottom line is the only one that counts.

I know some who read this will think, "this guy must be a hothead. Bet he gets on the phone and just lets them have it". I assure you that I am very business minded and diplomatic and have received the same treatment from those at JB Hunt whom I have dealt with. Attitudes is not my complaint. Policy and business practices is.

My advice to anyone who may read this before signing a lease with JB Hunt is think twice. If you don't have a down payment or credit to buy a truck, stick to being a company driver. Though, you may be fortunate and survive a three year contract to become a owner operator with a truck with over 700,000 miles, ask yourself: "Is it worth the risk and sacrifice?" These are tough economic times and most companies will stoop to any level and go to any length to survive. That's business (and corporate greed). Believe me, no one cares if you can pay the bills or feed your kids. I understand this now and, in business, contracts get broken every day. That's why I made the decision, today, to return their truck, broken contract and all.

Good luck in future endeavors,

Darryl

I am regretful to say that I read the reports listed against J B Hunt before signing on as a lease contractor. I, like some others, thought that most of the authors of these reports had to have done something wrong to bring all the dismal circumstances upon themselves. My apologies for my disbelief.

Let me begin by saying that I have a degree in accounting and a lousy credit history due to a failed business. Let's face it, if we had money for a down payment and the credit to support it, we'd buy a truck and do it right. I don't call myself an employee because I am not. I am a contractor, responsible for my own insurance, fuel and taxes.

I, like you, was deceived by the recruiting department. (I thought) I knew what all the espenses would be (and was pretty close) before signing contract at Lowell Terminal. I made a spreadsheet and plugged-in numbers for hours and thought I had the worst case week's scenario down and, though slight, should still net a couple hundred dollars profit for a really bad week. Boy was I wrong! I never thought I'd haul freight for as little as a lot of their loads pay the contractor. Had to sit for five days at one time. When I turned down a break even load, I was told I had to take a losing load paying me .40 cents/mile or would not be offered another one. Let us do the math! With fuel surcharge, at that time, being about .18 cents per mile, that leaves .22 cents/mile for freight charge. .22 cents divided by my 61% times JB Hunt's 100% equals .36 cents per mile (JB Hunt's total revenue?). Do you think JB Hunt could make a profit off those loads when they pay their driver up to .42 cents per mile plus benefits, fuel, maintenance, real estate, corporate staff payroll, etc. Do you think JB Hunt really sells and hauls freight for .36 cents per mile? I don't think so. I've hauled a couple like this and been offered many others which I prompty refused. Somebody is cheating! (I kind of hope they take me to court) By my calculations, it costs me .45 to .46 cents/mile, on average, to operate this truck, (fuel cost, maint. plan, fuel tax) not to mention the weekly fixed costs (truck pmt., insurance, etc.). Have to always either take a low paying load or dead head several hundred miles to get home. St. Louis is a fairly good freight hub. Don't know what the problem is there. I stay out 3-4 weeks at a time to cover the time I have to sit at home trying to get a load out. I was charged $60 out of my first settlement for "Motor Carriers Property Tax" (I don't own a truck). My truck was hit by a Owner/Operator leased to JB Hunt and, after all was said and done it cost me $600 for parts (I did the labor myself) due to being on private property and no police report. It was a hit and run but I got out of the sleeper in time to get the number of the JB Hunt trailer. I called the safety department to report it. They weren't helpful with giving me information to recover any costs. Said they knew who was pulling that trailer but wouldn't give me any information. The next week a "$20 Maintenance Fee" plus over $200 was charged to me and deducted from my settlement for which no one has any explanation other than, "it is in connection to the truck that hit you"! What I want to know is, WHY ARE YOU TAKING MY MONEY WHEN YOUR TRAILER HIT ME? They preach communication but can't seem to communicate within their own corporate headquarters. That's one of the signs that a company has become too big. The left hand doesn't know what the right is doing.

During a conference call, which I suppose they have every couple months and encourage all drivers to call into, the question was posed as to why they continue to bring in more lease drivers when there is not enough freight for the drivers they have. The answer, plain and simple, was, "JB Hunt has truck payments to make and we need someone to make them". I agree with the author who wrote, "They don't care about helping you succeed". Bottom line is a few will succeed and many will fail due to no wrong doing on their part. JB Hunt's bottom line is the only one that counts.

I know some who read this will think, "this guy must be a hothead. Bet he gets on the phone and just lets them have it". I assure you that I am very business minded and diplomatic and have received the same treatment from those at JB Hunt whom I have dealt with. Attitudes is not my complaint. Policy and business practices is.

My advice to anyone who may read this before signing a lease with JB Hunt is think twice. If you don't have a down payment or credit to buy a truck, stick to being a company driver. Though, you may be fortunate and survive a three year contract to become a owner operator with a truck with over 700,000 miles, ask yourself: "Is it worth the risk and sacrifice?" These are tough economic times and most companies will stoop to any level and go to any length to survive. That's business (and corporate greed). Believe me, no one cares if you can pay the bills or feed your kids. I understand this now and, in business, contracts get broken every day. That's why I made the decision, today, to return their truck, broken contract and all.

Good luck in future endeavors,

Darryl

Hey Ernest. My name is David and I just terminated my contract with JB Hunt's Lease Purchase Program and I can relate to your experience with them. Currently they are experiencing a dramatic reduction in freight availability and partly this is a result of the current economy. Although the majority of the freight they did have was cheap freight that didn't pay for itself, let alone profit the truck. I have written a detailed report on the lease purchase program with them for my blog at screamintrucker.com/wordpress and I'd like you to take a look at it. There are some people who have completed the Lease Purchase Program and I believe I could have stayed and eventually completed it as well if the loads were profitable, and I didn't sit for days on end waiting for freight. But I was experiencing the majority of my problems with the safety department and could not keep the safety department off of my back. I don't feel like JB Hunt ripped me off, I just feel like they lied to me about their freight and also lied about benefits. I just feel like their safety department is made up of a bunch of snot nosed punk kids who don't even know how to drive a truck. I have a perfect driving record and a perfect safety record and have never been involved in an accident nor have I ever had a suspension or a dui. But JB Hunt, treated me like I just got my cdl yesterday and I have been driving a big truck for 10 years. I have never been treated so poorly. I informed the safety department that I feel the truck should get looked at and they dismissed my concerns. So I dismissed myself from the company. The loads they offered me to haul paid between 40 cents per mile and around 1.00 per mile and I turned every load down below 80 cents per mile. This caused me to sit nearly every where I went because all JB Hunt has is cheap freight. I am pretty glad I left when I did because I was getting a really bad taste in my mouth with them. I can tell you this...After working there I can certainly confirm all of the rumors talked about on the cb radio are true.

Hey Ernest. My name is David and I just terminated my contract with JB Hunt's Lease Purchase Program and I can relate to your experience with them. Currently they are experiencing a dramatic reduction in freight availability and partly this is a result of the current economy. Although the majority of the freight they did have was cheap freight that didn't pay for itself, let alone profit the truck. I have written a detailed report on the lease purchase program with them for my blog at screamintrucker.com/wordpress and I'd like you to take a look at it. There are some people who have completed the Lease Purchase Program and I believe I could have stayed and eventually completed it as well if the loads were profitable, and I didn't sit for days on end waiting for freight. But I was experiencing the majority of my problems with the safety department and could not keep the safety department off of my back. I don't feel like JB Hunt ripped me off, I just feel like they lied to me about their freight and also lied about benefits. I just feel like their safety department is made up of a bunch of snot nosed punk kids who don't even know how to drive a truck. I have a perfect driving record and a perfect safety record and have never been involved in an accident nor have I ever had a suspension or a dui. But JB Hunt, treated me like I just got my cdl yesterday and I have been driving a big truck for 10 years. I have never been treated so poorly. I informed the safety department that I feel the truck should get looked at and they dismissed my concerns. So I dismissed myself from the company. The loads they offered me to haul paid between 40 cents per mile and around 1.00 per mile and I turned every load down below 80 cents per mile. This caused me to sit nearly every where I went because all JB Hunt has is cheap freight. I am pretty glad I left when I did because I was getting a really bad taste in my mouth with them. I can tell you this...After working there I can certainly confirm all of the rumors talked about on the cb radio are true.

Hey Ernest. My name is David and I just terminated my contract with JB Hunt's Lease Purchase Program and I can relate to your experience with them. Currently they are experiencing a dramatic reduction in freight availability and partly this is a result of the current economy. Although the majority of the freight they did have was cheap freight that didn't pay for itself, let alone profit the truck. I have written a detailed report on the lease purchase program with them for my blog at screamintrucker.com/wordpress and I'd like you to take a look at it. There are some people who have completed the Lease Purchase Program and I believe I could have stayed and eventually completed it as well if the loads were profitable, and I didn't sit for days on end waiting for freight. But I was experiencing the majority of my problems with the safety department and could not keep the safety department off of my back. I don't feel like JB Hunt ripped me off, I just feel like they lied to me about their freight and also lied about benefits. I just feel like their safety department is made up of a bunch of snot nosed punk kids who don't even know how to drive a truck. I have a perfect driving record and a perfect safety record and have never been involved in an accident nor have I ever had a suspension or a dui. But JB Hunt, treated me like I just got my cdl yesterday and I have been driving a big truck for 10 years. I have never been treated so poorly. I informed the safety department that I feel the truck should get looked at and they dismissed my concerns. So I dismissed myself from the company. The loads they offered me to haul paid between 40 cents per mile and around 1.00 per mile and I turned every load down below 80 cents per mile. This caused me to sit nearly every where I went because all JB Hunt has is cheap freight. I am pretty glad I left when I did because I was getting a really bad taste in my mouth with them. I can tell you this...After working there I can certainly confirm all of the rumors talked about on the cb radio are true.

Hey Ernest. My name is David and I just terminated my contract with JB Hunt's Lease Purchase Program and I can relate to your experience with them. Currently they are experiencing a dramatic reduction in freight availability and partly this is a result of the current economy. Although the majority of the freight they did have was cheap freight that didn't pay for itself, let alone profit the truck. I have written a detailed report on the lease purchase program with them for my blog at screamintrucker.com/wordpress and I'd like you to take a look at it. There are some people who have completed the Lease Purchase Program and I believe I could have stayed and eventually completed it as well if the loads were profitable, and I didn't sit for days on end waiting for freight. But I was experiencing the majority of my problems with the safety department and could not keep the safety department off of my back. I don't feel like JB Hunt ripped me off, I just feel like they lied to me about their freight and also lied about benefits. I just feel like their safety department is made up of a bunch of snot nosed punk kids who don't even know how to drive a truck. I have a perfect driving record and a perfect safety record and have never been involved in an accident nor have I ever had a suspension or a dui. But JB Hunt, treated me like I just got my cdl yesterday and I have been driving a big truck for 10 years. I have never been treated so poorly. I informed the safety department that I feel the truck should get looked at and they dismissed my concerns. So I dismissed myself from the company. The loads they offered me to haul paid between 40 cents per mile and around 1.00 per mile and I turned every load down below 80 cents per mile. This caused me to sit nearly every where I went because all JB Hunt has is cheap freight. I am pretty glad I left when I did because I was getting a really bad taste in my mouth with them. I can tell you this...After working there I can certainly confirm all of the rumors talked about on the cb radio are true.

Not at all was i lucky. I had my problems during my 3yr contract and some magor ones at that.

In the three years i had to replace the following:

turbo, Drive tires 2x, Steers 2x, EMC, complete front steer assembly and two 2 jobs. I didn't have that type of money in my maint escrow, but JB did the STA deal for me.

As for why you where awarded unemployment comp from Pa, I couldn't or won't even begin to guess, but congrats on that.

Yes i thinking you might have been behind on yuor payment, but i admit i missed that statement in your previous post, my bad sry. But they had some reason in their minds as to why they repo'd your LP Trk, Go figure that out and you'll end up going nuts,


But enough of all this I wish you luck in your future endeavors.

Hey James!!!

If JB Hunt is so right and helpful then why did Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry award me unemployment compensation? Congratulations on completing your lease/purchase program, guess you had no MAJOR problems in your life for those 3 years, lucky guy.

They tried pretty hard to get me to come back, but I can't work for someone I don't trust. When my belongings were returned, I somehow lost my $100 kingpin lock and another $100 worth of load locks I personally purchased. I know to what you are referring...you think I was behind on my payments for the truck and that's why they repo'd....WRONG!!!!! The settlement I got in the mail the day they took the truck shows a $0 balance for the truck payment.

Again, I warn everyone...BEWARE!!!! And if you do go with JBH, pray you have a trouble free life for the next 3 years, or you just may lose your livelihood too!

I don't doubt the problem you had getting home for your family emergency. JB's FM's aren't known for the ability in common sense, but as far as the other problems you encountered.

As for your problem with when you where ready to return to work, they usually give 5 days for funerals and if more time is needed all you had to do was reset your ETA and call your FM Or send a msg over the OBC to him. I understand that is was a bad time with your fathers passing, but if the program was that important to you, you would have found a few minutes to make the call.

As for the repo, well I can't begin to even speculate on what that was all about, but I think(know) there more to it. JB doesn't want those trucks back. They want you to complete the program and they will go out of their way to help you do it, all you have to do is ask and work with them.


If you are asking who the heck am I to say and question your story, I am A JBH IC who has completed the program and yes I had my hard times and JB worked with me through it. It only took a phone call and alittle time.