Nations Express - Shaking Ground?

[Jefferson3000]

As a side note, I can not see where they EVER did have a broker authority.

I would just be careful if I was thinking about driving for them and of course I wouldn't pull a load for them with that kind of credit rating either if you had your own authority.

Hey McClain. Look up MC338387. Nations has their broker authority under a different MC than their carrier authority. Not uncommon. As far as getting paid, call corporate and ask to speak to a guy named Danny McPherson. He's VP of business development. We only got paid after calling them out in front of the entire Alliance community. We even looked at using a factoring company just for them. Unfortunately, no factoring company would take them. We were 90 and 100 days getting paid on loads. I did get inside scoop that they indeed ARE liquid, they just have a bad practice within accounts payable.

 

[miker]

I did get inside scoop that they indeed ARE liquid, they just have a bad practice within accounts payable.[/QUOTE]


Jeff, what do you mean by " they indeed are liquid"

 

[Jefferson3000]

I did get inside scoop that they indeed ARE liquid, they just have a bad practice within accounts payable.

Jeff, what do you mean by " they indeed are liquid"[/QUOTE]

It means that they're NOT broke. They've had a reputation for slow pay that long preceeds this current economic slowdown.

 

[Turtle]

I'll speculate that "liquid" means they're not filing for bankruptcy on Monday and that the reasons for the revocation and insurance changes and dates stem from the bad practices of accounts payable leaking over into other departments, like the department that's supposed to notify insurance companies and the DOT of any impending changes. But that's just speculation.

 

[Jefferson3000]

I'll speculate that "liquid" means they're not filing for bankruptcy on Monday and that the reasons for the revocation and insurance changes and dates stem from the bad practices of accounts payable leaking over into other departments, like the department that's supposed to notify insurance companies and the DOT of any impending changes. But that's just speculation.

That would be my assumption as well. Most of the companies that have a large carrier presence as well as brokerage presence generally incorporate them separately. They have separate numbers and separate accounts. I know of one broker we've dealt with out of Indy that has a clause in their contract that makes the other division liable if the brokerage doesn't pay. The more reassurance they can give to partners, the better the quality of partners they are able to maintain.

In my experience, you won't have a problem getting paid eventually. You just have to stay on them like a bad rash. If you need any more hints, please contact me privately. I'll do what I can.

 

[Turtle]

I would draw more of correlation using the revocation and the insurance, if it weren't for the fact that one policy ended and a new one took effect the same day. That sounds like what I speculated above, that they were just snoozin' instead of notifying everyone in a timely manner. If the revocation happened a couple of months before the policy was to end, that would be more of an indication of the insurer canceling due to non-payment. You can't read too much into the differences between voluntary and involuntary, much less "Replaced" and "Canceled", without really knowing what all is behind it. The online reports are handy, but it's the reports that you have to pay for that will tell you the details.

 

[Jefferson3000]

True, but it is the insurance carrier's responsibility to file the proper form with FMCSA. The carrier has nothing to do with updating Safer with the new info.

 

[Turtle]

Right, I didn't mean to imply that the carrier is the one who notifies the DOT about their new insurer.

 

[gjmcclain]

Jefferson -

You mentioned the Alliance and having to call Nations out in front of the Alliance and I understand that.

But, I would think that the other members would push for Nations to be removed from the Alliance. Afterall, most if not all these members run a pretty gosh darn clean tight ship and this kind of behavior (aka slow payment and bad credit) is not tolerated.

Just wondered what your thoughts were, not asking you to speak for the whole group.........just your thoughts cause maybe that kind of heat would turn Nations' head a few degrees if they do alot of business through the Alliance with the other expedite members.

 

[Jefferson3000]

Jefferson -

You mentioned the Alliance and having to call Nations out in front of the Alliance and I understand that.

But, I would think that the other members would push for Nations to be removed from the Alliance. After all, most if not all these members run a pretty gosh darn clean tight ship and this kind of behavior (aka slow payment and bad credit) is not tolerated.

Just wondered what your thoughts were, not asking you to speak for the whole group.........just your thoughts cause maybe that kind of heat would turn Nations' head a few degrees if they do alot of business through the Alliance with the other expedite members.

Frankly I would recommend you contact Nations yourself and just concern yourself with rectifying the situation for yourself. That's really my perspective. As far as rallying support, the Alliance is well aware of the situation and just recently did ban a another brokerage from posting. You will find that some brokers pay their friends quickly (the ones they know they will be needing most often), and leave everyone else hanging out to dry.

 

[gjmcclain]

Frankly I would recommend you contact Nations yourself and just concern yourself with rectifying the situation for yourself. That's really my perspective. As far as rallying support, the Alliance is well aware of the situation and just recently did ban a another brokerage from posting. You will find that some brokers pay their friends quickly (the ones they know they will be needing most often), and leave everyone else hanging out to dry.

Jefferson - I don't deal with Nations, but, I am concerned about the situation there. Not only for other carriers but for our fellow owner/operators and drivers. I wasn't asking you to rally up support from the Alliance to give Nations the boot, I was simply asking you or was attempting to ask you what if anything could the Alliance do besides put a little heat on the carrier. If I phrased it wrong then my bad. We had a few previous post here that said they had inside info that the company is liquid and money doesn't seem to be the issue, rather, it seems the issue MAY be just poor management. It is poor management of a carrier that is one main downfall of alot of our fellow owner/operators. That is why is it key for all of us to do a complete background check of carriers before we lease onto any of them.

 

[Jefferson3000]

Jefferson - I don't deal with Nations, but, I am concerned about the situation there. Not only for other carriers but for our fellow owner/operators and drivers. I wasn't asking you to rally up support from the Alliance to give Nations the boot, I was simply asking you or was attempting to ask you what if anything could the Alliance do besides put a little heat on the carrier. If I phrased it wrong then my bad. We had a few previous post here that said they had inside info that the company is liquid and money doesn't seem to be the issue, rather, it seems the issue MAY be just poor management. It is poor management of a carrier that is one main downfall of alot of our fellow owner/operators. That is why is it key for all of us to do a complete background check of carriers before we lease onto any of them.

No offense taken. These things can be rather sticky sometimes. I'm always glad to offer info that might help someone resolve an issue with their carrier, or in this case, a beoker. However, as some of these things get into specifics, I'm really not comfortable discussing them in a public manner. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

I mean them no harm. I would like to see them get their legal and financial ducks in a row as well.

 

[gjmcclain]

I agree, just want them to get their little ducks in a row and take care of their financial obligations which they seem to push off to the side by their own choosing.............. well, Jefferson, thanks for your input and take care.

 

[dhalltoyo]

As we seem to be rapidly moving toward nationalization under the current administration (the act of taking an industry or assets into the public ownership of a national government or state) the cash flow problems at Nations Express, Express 1, All State Express, Bolt, etc. seem pale by comparison.

Not to worry though as our first mulatto president (no, he is not black...the greatest hoax ever perpetrated by the media) has his boys uptown dat be workin' hard and doin' swell...and while nobody be lookin'...another corporation's books dey be cookin...den...wham...bam...dey be guvment owned and operated.

Here is a neat little trick from to increase cash flow. They send out a check that has a 90 day expiration date, but within 30 days they put a stop payment on that check. You get a letter from your bank stating that the check has been reported "lost/stolen". I'll give credit for originality.

Any odds on which carriers won't be around come January 2010?

 

[rodeehos]

All i know is that they owe me more than the average american makes in a year and my oldest invoice with them is from mid-october and i need to get paid. I talked to an owner of another carrier the other day and they owe him a tremendous amount of money also. His oldest invoice is from mid-october as well. He can't get anywhere with mgmt at nations either. I am frickin' tired of it. The owner/pres of nations could at least contact carriers like us that they owe a lot of money too and let us know what the heck is going on instead of not returning voicemails or acting like they don't give a dang that we need our money. Maybe turtle if you were in my shoes you wouldn't be so empathetic for nations.

 

[Turtle]

Maybe turtle if you were in my shoes you wouldn't be so empathetic for nations.

My comments here were based on those jumping to conclusions based on limited or misleading evidence. That you think I have empathy for Nations is a good example of that, actually. I have no empathy at all for Nations. I am not contracted with them nor do I haul freight for them. Carriers come, carriers go. Nations may be fine, they may be in serious trouble, I couldn't give a rat's aѕѕ one way or the other.

 

[x06col]

All i know is that they owe me more than the average american makes in a year and my oldest invoice with them is from mid-october and i need to get paid. I talked to an owner of another carrier the other day and they owe him a tremendous amount of money also. His oldest invoice is from mid-october as well. He can't get anywhere with mgmt at nations either. I am frickin' tired of it. The owner/pres of nations could at least contact carriers like us that they owe a lot of money too and let us know what the heck is going on instead of not returning voicemails or acting like they don't give a dang that we need our money. Maybe turtle if you were in my shoes you wouldn't be so empathetic for nations.

IF they owe you THAT much THAT long, why don't you make a bit of a detour while out sometime and GO SEE Willie, steada playing phone tag with the help?? You may even wanna rub his bald head a bit to git him purring to the accounts payable department. Can't hurt.

 

[Jefferson3000]

All i know is that they owe me more than the average american makes in a year and my oldest invoice with them is from mid-october and i need to get paid. I talked to an owner of another carrier the other day and they owe him a tremendous amount of money also. His oldest invoice is from mid-october as well. He can't get anywhere with mgmt at nations either. I am frickin' tired of it. The owner/pres of nations could at least contact carriers like us that they owe a lot of money too and let us know what the heck is going on instead of not returning voicemails or acting like they don't give a dang that we need our money. Maybe turtle if you were in my shoes you wouldn't be so empathetic for nations.

1. Go see them in Charlotte.
2. Ask to see Danny McPherson

or,
1 Call Accounts Payable
2. Ask to speak to their Controller
3. Let them know you'd hate to have to file against their bond.

I did a combo of the two and had a check in days.

For now, if they ain't payin', I ain't haulin'.

 

[RLENT]

Here is a neat little trick from (image which implied a particular carrier) to increase cash flow. They send out a check that has a 90 day expiration date, but within 30 days they put a stop payment on that check. You get a letter from your bank stating that the check has been reported "lost/stolen". I'll give credit for originality.

Is this one that you've actually experienced yourself ..... or just more "news" that you "picked up" while at a truckstop ?

 

[rodeehos]

Got a call this morning from the girl in a/p and she told me that she put a check in the mail last thursday for a couple of invoices from late october. I asked about the one from mid-october and somehow they overlooked it, even though i have called and asked her about several times over the past few months. I guess something is better than nothing at this point.