Kennedy Transportation Group TOLD ME I WAS GOING TO MAKE BIG BUCKS IF I LEASED A STRAIGHT TRUCK THROUGH THEIR COMPANY, OUTRIGHT LIED TO ME DECEIVED ME, Mississauga Ontario

How do you sleep at night you piece of garbage. How can you come on here and say that all these people are lying. Your whole business is a complete scam that you and your son have been very successful at. I guess after you did time in the states you decided to come up to canada and start ripping people off. DTG DT canadagroup and first and foremost kennedy transportation are complete b******* companies that take advantage of people trying to make a deceit living. ALL I CAN SAY TO ANYBODY THAT READS THIS STAY AWAY FROM THESE COMPANIES THERE A COMPLETE SCAM. jean marie st gelais you and your son denis will get yours in this life or the next you scumbags.

I have been in LTL straight truck business for 12 years.  When I started, I hung around a truck stop for a few days and spoke to people in the business.  I got the down low from a bunch of drivers.  I bought a used truck big truck, tandem, stretched the frame and dropped a 28' box on it.  Finance through GE via the dealer.

You can make a decent living in the business.  I averaged $2,800 gross weekly for 3 years straight then $3,500 for 3 years or so.  In order to make the $2,800, I was gone from Monday afternoon to Friday night.  The greater amount caused me to be gone from late Sunday to Saturday noon usually, doing 2 trips to Cincinnati or Indianapolis area twice a week back and forth to GTA.  Hard sluggin, I can tell you.  No job for a family person.

I had occasion to meet and speak to the Kennedy people when I was snoopin around for other opportunities.  I played dumb and listened to the spiel, the truck costs etc.  I ran from that bunch.

Over the years, I ran into a half dozen people that had done business with them.  When they told me how much they paid for the truck, I nearly choked.  3 of the folks I met were lucky, had moved on to other companies and managed to survive, with herculean effort, and had learned a hard lesson.  One poor Asian fellow I ran into on the New York Thruway was crying, real tears, in the parking lot talking to me about what he could do to survive.  He was doing $1200 or less per week and spending far more than that on fuel and payments.  He was working for a company, I won't say who exactly, but the word Star was in the name if you get the drift.  The other 2 fellows I met were also with this company, and flyin low, dieing slow.  I gave each of these folks the names of a half dozen companies to speak to and suggested they do what I was lucky enough to do.  Talk to drivers already in the industry.

I had to get out of the business recently, as my health had gone in the crapper.  Self-inflicted, really.  Eatin junk, no exercise, no sleep, cheatin the log book, working way too much.  Nature of the business.  Loved every minute of it though.

It is an interesting business.  You need to do your research, have general business sense, always have some money for emergencies, you will need it.

If you want a family and a life, get a real job.  DZ LTL or Expedite ain't it. 

*Always have all details and all preferences clearly stated in any contract.  If the salesperson/agent/administrator is being truthful, then he/she would not have any objections to using extra ink in the contract.  If they do not follow through on your preferences for the contract, do not sign anything, and leave.*  I, myself, was nearly swept off my feet with the exciting idea of earning $3000/week through Kennedy Transportation Network(near Brittania Road, Mississauga ON Canada).  But, fortunately, the required investment(CAD$30,000.00) and the holes in the contract, raised red flags in my mind while listening to the grand but vague salespitch.  *For anybody who is considering operating a transport business: Firstly, get your AZ license. Then, work as a company driver for a good company(has competitive wage, good trucks, health-dental insurance, benefits.)  The demand for truck drivers in Canada has been increasing for the past several years, so, finding company work near your home should not be too challenging. Perhaps, after one year as company driver, making industry connections, start your own business---On your own terms.*  Do Not use agency, like Kennedy.

You want to do business with Kennedy Transportation Network Ltd? THINK CAREFULLY. It is better to pay CN$ 300 and have a legal opinion before signing any contract, than to lose thousands of dollars, damage your credit record, distress your family and waste time afterwards. If you are not allowed to read and think about the agreement (contract) before the day of signing it, it is a bad sign. BE CAREFUL. If you are allowed to read the agreement beforehand, read the documents carefully with legal assistance (it has technical legal terminology). For instance, Kennedy Transportation’s add in newspapers and the Internet indicates that you can make UP TO… which means that if you make only CN$ 100 per week it is OK. The add also indicates that you can EARN… But is it net or gross income? Drivers would tell you that they hardly make CN$ 1,500 per week GROSS. You have to pay the lease, gas, maintenance, food, etc. Many drivers are trying to sale their trucks, but they cannot. And if they return their trucks, they got in trouble. The contract indicates that the business is the SOLE or ONLY responsibility of the driver or owner operator, meaning that Kennedy Transportation has NO responsibility and cannot be hold accountable. It may sound wrong and unfair, but they are legally covered. The law would protect them. It has been planned and executed carefully over the years.

Remember: the important thing is the meaning. The wording of the add and the contract can be changed at any time. There is when a legal opinion becomes important. By law you can cancel a written contract within a few days of signing it, but by the time you figure this whole package out, you have no time to cancel it. Kennedy Transportation suggests that you can become your OWN BOSS. But in practice you continue working for a company. The trucking company needs availability and reliability with deliveries. They are not forced to give you loads to deliver. They can terminate your contract at any time. You also continue working for a lease company, making lease payments, usually over a period of 5 years. You need to pay your own survival bills. For example, you may have to wait 2 or 3 days over a weekend in Texas for a load to be able to comeback closer to the border with Canada. If you decide to move, you usually have to pay the fuel and other costs. Kennedy Transportation suggests that you can create your OWN COMPANY and have others working (driving) for you. But if it is hard to earn enough money just to pay the lease, in practice within a couple of months you yourself would be looking to get out of that business. Unbelievably, very few drivers do not see other way out and stay there longer, most of them without serious family responsibilities. It is like many people getting used to bad jobs. Those who stay for several months often just got in more economic trouble.

    Unfortunately, the report from the Best Business Bureau about Kennedy Transportation is very superficial and misleading. If you want to have a good idea of how much money you would make, for example, contact TST Expedited Services in Windsor (http://www.tst911.com/) and Dynamex Canada in Cambridge (http://www.dynamex.com/). You can request written documents. If they do not want to show you reports, it is a bad sign. Even better, you can go to stops in the 401 (Service Centers, Husky, Fifth Wheel, Petro Canada) and talk with the drivers directly. You do not have to pay for that information and it will save you money and trouble. Look for midsize trucks (especially with sleepers). There are many companies. Ask the drivers: how much do they make? How many miles (no kilometers) do they run per week? How long do they stay on the route before going home? How much do they spend on maintenance? How much are their lease payments? How much do they spend on fuel and insurance? How long have they been in the business? What is the best way to get into the business? Specially, ask their opinion about Kennedy Transportation.

    Note this carefully: Transportaction Lease Systems Inc. is one of the companies that offer financial services (lease) to clients of Kennedy Transportation. If you want to have a good picture, ask in the Small Claims Court in Toronto (47 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto ON M2N 5N1) how many cases are there pending and the claim history involving Transportaction? In 2008, according to the clerk in the front desk, there were many cases (perhaps 100). When somebody returns the truck, in addition to keeping the down payment, they claim the rest of the lease (now up to CN$ 25,000 in a small claims court). And remember, the fees paid to Kennedy Transportation at that point are lost, including all other expenses, and time without a real job. You can also enquire about the claim history involving Kennedy Transportation. Follow this advice and —I am sure— you will not be disappointed. You will not make business with Kennedy Transportation. You will not get in trouble.

    If you really want to get into the trucking business, you can do it all yourself. Contact a company directly. They will guide you. Good companies provide even training and insurance at a low cost. You may be able to start with a good truck for even less than CN$ 20,000 and not get in debt. Enquire with the Ontario Trucking Association (http://www.ontruck.org/) and get the license (DZ). It may be better to start as a company driver and learn the business first, then become an owner operator. Companies like Kennedy Transportation seam gentle and helpful, but really they have no mercy. They do not care about you and your family. BE CAREFUL!

There is 2 in my family that this happened to as well.  My mother lost her house, her car, EVERYTHING! My husband only filed bankruptcy as he borrowed the money from my mom.  They got them for 3 trucks total!

Please please please do your homework.  I can't express it enough.  What my family has been though isn't funny.  My brother ended up driving the only truck we had left for one of the companies mentioned and they let him go when the guy who hired him was let go.  All those hired though this guy was involved with Kennedy and anyone he hired with though Kennedy was let go.  This is after trying so hard and for so long we finally gave up for our own sanity.

I Wish all the best of luck and if we are part of that Class Action Suit we are interested! They put my mother in the streets with NOTHING LEFT!

A Diabetic working pay check to pay check and she never had to work another day in her life and now she is thanks to them!

God Bless

Leasing Company Response:

I WISH I COULD WRITE MY NAME AND EMAIL HERE:

I have been waiting and watching this site to see if more people respond with concerns and situations regarding Kennedy Transportation Network and their business model. The reason I define Kennedy as a business model is based on the premise that every potential Owner/Operator, leasing company and legitimate trucking firm will all give you the exact same stories and situations. This is accomplished by the extensive time and resources the Owners of Kennedy Transportation and their employees have placed in creating this well thought out and very detailed scam, fraud or theft. Both Mr. St. Gelais' and Mr. Rick Butler are not ethical business people and have assisted in the ruining of many men and women's lives. How they sleep is beyond me, how they have remained in business is a miracle but also part of their thought out plan. If someone speaks out they sue and proof from Harry on this website was the last straw for me. I have met this gentleman and his lawyer recommended that he rescind his comments as the bullies at Kennedy will not quit and will keep him in court spending whatever money he had left to defend their slander suit. I am going to now take the time and detail my experience as a Leasing Company in the hopes that both consumers and leasing companies stay away from the ST. Gelais' and Rick Butler. They will steal your money, they will create fake ID, they will set up fraudulent loans, they will offer leasing companies security deposits that do not exist, they will do everything they can to get the very last penny out of Owner Operators pockets all the while tricking unsuspecting leasing companies with the promise of great business opportunities.

I AM THE LEASING COMPANY WILLING AND ABLE TO START A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST THIS COMPANY AND THEIR OWNERS AND EMPLOYEES.

Here is the TRUE story of my time with Rick Butler, John and Denis St. Gelais and all the manipulative staff members at Kennedy Transportation Network (KTN).

I received a phone call from Rick Butler in November of 2006 to discuss KTN and their need for an alternate leasing source. At this point we indicated that we were not interested in the HD truck market but would entertain a discussion in 90 days. This would give my company enough time to do some background and education on the truck market and the business that KTN will propose. By February of 2007 we decided to test the waters with KTN and completed our first deal. The gentleman and his wife had better than average credit, history in the trucking industry and currently held very steady employment of 15 years at the same company. We completed our rigorous credit evaluation and determined the risk to be minimal based on the GUARANTEED INCOME LETTER written and signed by Mr. John St. Gelais. This lease lasted 6 months and the client received a total of 4 runs in that time. I can only verify what the Owner Operator has stated and showed me on his run sheets upon repossession.

During the 6 months before this deal fell apart I completed 16 more transactions. Too date 9 is performing fine and 8 have been repossessed. We turned the funding tap off in November of 2007 and have been trying to deal with the problem since.

I would like to point out that KTN first guarantee to us was work for the customer, the second is a trust fund that has security payments in reserve, which they do charge the client but will not admit to a leasing company. I have letters of guarantee and proposal from KTN but they will deny they issued the letter. Thirdly, they guarantee the assistance in the remarketing of their former client's trucks after repossession. This is the biggest farce of them all. They refuse to help because of one simple fact: They are not only KTN, they are also Abtech, who build the truck and they are Aberstar, the first and in most cases the only company that will offer work.

So follow the line here: I come in and want to find a job placement. You take my money and perform multiple credit checks and applications until you find a leasing house that will accept my credit score once I have secured a job. KTN, on my behalf, place me with a company they control 100% and conclude the job placement letter with the Leasing Company and sell that same leasing company a truck that a St. Gelais owned company built and over priced. The leasing companies do not hesitate to the over statement of price because there is a healthy down payment, a strong credit bureau and a job placement. Do you see the end result yet? They do not care if you pick up a box for Aberstar, they want the KTN fees and they want the leasing company to purchase the truck. Why would they be motivated to help the leasing company remarket the truck to the next available applicant if they are in the business of selling trucks? Why remarket to a new unsuspecting client a repossessed truck, showing non-confidence in the business model when their true intention is to profit between $10 and 20,000 per truck plus all the admin fees that KTN charges. IT GETS WORSE AND DEEPER.

I asked myself why do some perform and some cannot. Are there some people that try harder than others, some that give up too soon? I take the time and call each and every client of mine (the 16 remaining) and ask them these same questions. They begin crying and screaming how ineffective KTN is and how they felt set up for failure. At this point I invite them all in to my office for one on one interviews. Remember, at this point I am still trying to figure out what I am dealing with and how deep am I.

The night that the 16 were to arrive turned into a circus in my showroom. I ended up interviewing over 40 people that night, asking them to sign credit applications so I can legally re-check their credit. I now realized the second stage of the KTN fraud. On the same day that I would be signing up a client to his/her new lease, two hours later a second leasing company will arrive and sign the same client to one of their leases. Not for the same truck but for multiple trucks. You see, leasing companies will not offer multiple trucks to one client or allow a client to get a second or third truck so as to not over burden the clients ability to pay on truck one. KTN saw this as a weakness in their business plan so they addressed it by asking the clients not to mention the other trucks to the first or second leasing company and by organizing delivery on the same day so the LEIN registrations would not be public knowledge until it was too late. STILL MORE

This is the best part of the whole set up. It has two stages. You call KTN and state the obvious I cannot make any money doing this little work. Rick Butler's idea is to sell you more trucks with new placements so the volume will make you a profit. The client is into the deal so deep they find another whack of money and hire the staff that Rick suggests and rent a warehouse that Mr. St. Gelais knows about. The planted staff is paid wages that double or triple the actual job value but the client's ignorance and the complete trust they place in KTN to help blinds them from this reality. When the ware house plan fails you are able to find these same dispatchers and the like working in the office at KTN again. The final stage of this plan is the famous OFFER. The ST. Gelais team will walk into the board room and offer you an instant success plan. Why don't you buy Aberstar, now you have an instant cash flow business with contracted work? They offer to broker the deal for you, for a fee, and accept a deposit. This deposit will be waived to them the second they make the deal impossible for you to close. I wonder who owns the building the client is suggested to rent. hmmm I wonder?

I have met and interviewed many owner/operators that have been suckered into purchasing 3 to 20 trucks and have lost between $30 and $750,000.00 according the scam level Rick Butler and KTN decide to run on them. I have discussed with many leasing companies their level of involvement and where they are now. The end result is eerily the same. The operators are bankrupt and the leasing companies and banks are losing upwards of $50,000 per truck.

Currently there are, in the neighborhood, of 200 KTN trucks available on the market. I know of two leasing companies that have shut their doors for good and I cannot find one leasing company that will now lease Expedite trucks to anyone unless the business is 20 years established. This is shameful and has ruined a complete segment of the market.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and websites like this will get the word out, heck I found it and can barely use a computer. I want to keep going here and spelling out more of the myth that KTN has created but this letter would go on forever.

Read it and ask questions before getting involved in anything to do with this company and keep trying, if you are one that was affected, to find people that have a similar story. Call your original leasing company to find oout if they are part of the CLASS ACTION SUIT being designed now.

God Bless,

Leasing Company.

I happened upon this article due to the obvious similarity of the company name. I am the President of Kennedy Transportation, Inc out of Romeoville, IL - a Chicago suburb. We have been in business since 1983. We do not have any "straight trucks" . . .only over the road tractor trailers. We maintain top notch equipment and pay our billls on time . . .just as we pay our drivers and owner-operators every week - like "clock work". We have been awarded "Carrier of the Year" three years in a row by the Wrigley Co . . .one of our better customer / shippers. I just don't want to be confused with or lumped together with a company as described in this article. I empathize with the problem . . .but please be assured - we have no connection in any way with this Kennedy out of Canada.
Thank you,
Frank Galman
President
Kennedy Transportation, Inc
8 Greenwood Ave
Romeoville, IL 60446
800-323-3734
frankg@kennedytransportation.com

First of all let me be clear that I do not have any personal information of or dealings with "Kennedy Transportation".

However, I am an experienced truck driver in all aspects of trucking as an employee driver and a lease driver and owner operator.

With that said, I completely believe the OP 100%. This is a very common scam that is perpetrated against rookies in the business every day.

My advice:
NEVER believe what a salesman tells you. It means nothing.

ALWAYS get it in writing. If they make any performance guarantees at all you cannot prove it later unless those performance guarantees are in writing on a signed and dated contract.

Verbal conversations / promises never happened when it comes time to go to court.
ONLY what is in writing counts.

Get it in writing!!

Just common sense here.

I am not now, nor have I ever been a truck driver. But by reading these reports, in my opinion, I believe the reports of those speaking against Kennedy more than I believe the reports from Kennedy employees. I truly believe Kennedy is deceitful and lies continually to prospective employees as well as current employees. In my mind, they are the scum of the Earth. Just my considered opinion.

In support of Michelle and Jason!

I worked for Kennedy Transportaion fo a few months. When I saw the number of people that came in, some crying, some begging for help, I had to leave.

The trucking industry is by no means new to me. I'll try to avoid non-relevant info.

I've been truck driver, truck owner, safety manager, maintance manger and driver recruiter.

There is no doubt that some who enter into a business fail, the failure rate at Kennedy is way too high.

I've seen way too many idividuals fail and also those who started companies through Kennedy.

Ask Kennedy how many repos they have at any given time? Reseel them and make more commision!

Send me a photograher and I'll show you at least 40 repos on one lot right now!

Ask truck dealers how many times a year they prepare the same truck for sale!

I try to live an honest life but it seems that only the crooks get ahead.

Harry

I would like to clarify my report posted previously on March 4 2008 and to inform anyone who reads this that what I have stated in the report was not accurate.

Kennedy Transportation completed their responsibilities to me appropriately and I have no information to suggest that any of the other companies mentioned in my report discharged their responsibilities to their customers other than appropriately.

Unfortunately, as a result of personal reasons, I did not want to continue to operate my trucking business and posted my previous report in an attempt to pressure Kennedy transportation into re-selling my truck to another operator thereby relieving me of any further lease payments.

I subsequently tried to remove my report from the site, however the site refused to allow me to do this. Therefore I am writing this to correct my previous inaccurate report.

My name is John St. Gelais and I am the President for Kennedy Transportation Network Ltd. There was a posting on your site by a Jason O'Neil slandering Kennedy on March 4th, 2008. Kennedy posted a rebuttal on April 4th, 2008, setting out what actually happened. Unfortunately, now 2 anonymous additional postings have appeared slandering Kennedy. Kennedy would like to respond to these postings but cannot as we have no information as to who posted. Our company has been in business for over ten years and are a member of the local Better Business Bureau. Our reputation is important to us and we take complaints seriously. We deal with a large number of clientele and as with any business occasionally people are unhappy. However Kennedy cannot address or respond to generic slanderous comments.

We would request that you require the posters to reveal who they are or you delete the postings from your site. It is easy to try to ruin someone's reputation without identifying yourself. We would hope that your site would not support this type of behaviour.

We also lost close to 100,000 being caught to the exact same misrepresentation.

we are very interested in a class action legal suit against them and also know of several other victims of this scandal!!!

please contact us (((email redacted)))

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

When my wife read the report submitted by Mr. O'Neil, she immediately thought that it was me who had written it, because the same story described by Mr. O'Neil applies to myself. In fact, I wish I had read this report before getting into this same situation.
It is absolutely ridiculous to make such claims and promises and to not deliver on them. Solely, from the matter of humanity, I believe it is inhumane to bring people to the brink of bankruptcy in order to make yourself rich.

To make this report more easy to read and factual, I will go by points:

1. Kennedy promised big money

2. Kennedy promised I will start working right away. In reality, it took over 1.5 months for me to start working (after having bought the truck).

3. I have never rejected any orders and still have not made even close to paying off my monthly bills. This concerns only business expenditures, not even my personal bills.

4. My credit and debit cards are all red figures and many times I needed advances just in order to buy fuel for the truck, to keep working.

5. Truck insurance that Kennedy set me up with was triple the amount I currently pay (I had to decline the insurance company they provided, and found one myself.)

People who enter such business ventures are normally those, who earned the startup money through hard labour. I feel deeply sorry for Mr. O'Neil, who not only lost his money, job and does not see his family, but Kennedy is attempting their last assault by accusing him and suing him for defamation.

FYI: So far, all the people I've met or heard about who started their business throught Kennedy transportation are in a really bad financial situation.

Anybody who finds themselves in a similar situation, and wants to do something about it, please contact me at (((ROR redacted)))

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

We would like to inform anyone who reads this story that what is stated by Mr. O'Neil is completely false and without merit. Our corporation treats false accusations very seriously and, as a result, we have commenced legal action against Mr. O'Neil for defamation.

Kennedy has been dealing with Aberstar, T.S.T. and Dynamex for many years and has had a successful commercial relationship with all of these carriers. Further, these carriers represent only a few of the carriers with which Kennedy has successfully transacted business. Through the years, Kennedy has placed numerous individuals with carriers who have gone on to be successful in their business venture.

Kennedy makes no promises, to any one, of guaranteed income. However, carriers to which Kennedy has referred individuals have advised Kennedy that the average earnings of $3,000.00 per week, for Mr.O'Neil's type of truck, is easily obtainable and further informed Kennedy that some individuals with a strong work ethic are exceeding these numbers.

In our view, Mr. O'Neil was not motivated to make his business successful. Instead of investing the time necessary to get his business established Mr. O'Neil elected to use this site to pressure Kennedy to re-lease his truck and pay back funds that Kennedy has rightfully earned. Kennedy is not a dealer nor in the business of re-leasing trucks. But more importantly, Kennedy will not succumb to these sort of tactics.

Kennedy is instrumental in providing its services and expertise to facilitate and assist individuals in starting their business with the opportunity to succeed. Each individual is informed that he alone is responsible for the performance of his business venture. The success of the business is based upon the individual's efforts and he must allow ample time to establish his business. This normally takes an average of three months. Not a few days or a few weeks.

Do not base your decision on starting up a trucking business on the experience of someone who never really tried to succeed or one person's interpretation of the facts.
We urge you to contact Kennedy and see, for yourself, what a motivated self-starter can accomplish.