When foreign work goes wrong

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS EX-PAT BRITISH TRUCKERS (INTERACTIVE)
1

Well, here’s the story.

After working 6 months odd in the US, I went over the border to try and work for a Canadian company. I got all the paperwork sorted, which cost a small fortune ($5,000 total), and then things went wrong.
The guy I was staying with turned out to be an ■■■■■■■, and the company turned out to be unable to organise anything except dodgy deductions from pay-packets. I wasn’t the only one who suffered, there was a couple from NZ who were also highly upset.
CIC (immegration Canada) decided to help out with paying for my flight back home. :cry: They’re looking into contract breaches at the company.
Ho hum… :unamused:

2

Somebody might believe Pat Hasler now, He has been warning of immigration problems and companies deducting money since I joined TruckNet.

Even TruckNet are advertising jobs in Canada now.

There are some jobs advertised driving a moon buggy, send me 10 grand and I will apply for a work permit for you :stuck_out_tongue:

3

Alli,
Why did you pay out the $5000?
Hindsight I know is a wonderfull thing, but it would’ve been better for you to come home first and then tried via the PNP thing to get into Canada.I know you post on Trucknetcan alot and you would have read that “Steve the bulker” got in via PNP and using ESI recruitment relatively cheaply and I think some couples are now doing it themselves direct with the Canadian trucking companies now almost for nothing!!! Check out : www.excoboard.com/exco/index.php?boardid=7531 (They could do with you posting your experiences on here!!!)
By the way I take it you’ve binned the idea of a 2005 harvest run?(Gavin Burrows is away back over again for this season with Altendorfs) I see some cutters are still looking for last minute harvest truck/combine drivers and with your recent experience you should have no probs getting on with someone.I take it you now have the Canadian equivalent of a class A CDL?
Also (sorry for all the questions!!!) you never did tell us what you thought of your time on the harvest and if you would do it again!!!

4

I gave up my US CDL for a canadian learners :unamused: never managed to pass the Canuck CDL test :frowning:
The harvest was ok, but I can’t afford to do it this year, maybe next year.

5

Alli,
You didn’t have any luck whatsoever overthere did you :question: :unamused: :wink:
Wheelnut,
I think the big problems will come when all these people who have gone out to Canada on the ONE year work visa called the “Provincial Nomine Programme” and then some of them don’t get accepted for their “landed status” after the one year has finished.There will be alot of unhappy British truck drivers and their families over in Canada then :exclamation: :exclamation: :exclamation:
Hope it dosn’t happen though :wink:

6

Alli,
You have not lost your US CDL :exclamation: US and Canadian licences are interchangable, if you got a US CDL all you have to do is contact the DMV in the town you passed and tell them you lost your licence, pay them a $20 fee and get a copy.

In the USA you only have to hand in your licence if it is another US State :exclamation: I have a US CDL A and I am allowed to keep my UK licence.

If you passed a US CDL you were entitled to exchange for a Canadian licence, you don’t exchange it for a learner permit if it is a full licence.

The company you went to in Canada lied to you. If you tried to re-enter the USA without returning to you port of origin eg;- The UK you would have been in breach of your work visa agreement and been barred from re-entry to the USA for 10 years :exclamation:

You should have just gone home and done it the right way :exclamation:

Everyone learns by mistakes and I know you had your heart set on driving over here or in Canada, but if CIC paid for your return ticket instead of really helping you then I have to say I am sorry , but … You were deported :cry:

CIC don’t just hand out funds like that, if your case was genuine you would still be there and they would be helping you.

As Wheel Nut said, if only people had listened to my advice they wouldn’t be in this mess, I know of quite a few who didn’t, came to Canada, found out the hard way and are now back in the UK :cry:

7

Yep! Gotta agree with Pat, all you lot out there that seem to think you know better than us about the problems and pitfalls, think again, and again, cuz we DO know better than you.
Pat, Stuart, myself and others have told all you wannabe Ex Pats, time and again, we’ve told you about the problems with immigration, getting licensed, homeland security we’ve pointed out that the grass is’nt greener over here, we’ve told you about the difference’s in the trucking culture and how hard it is to get used to all the differences with rules, regs and general working practice’s, but no-one wants to listen. ■■■■ it! I was writing about this in Truck & Driver almost 5 years ago and several times since, it’s like talking to brick walls most of the time. :unamused:

8

Allikat,

I’m so sorry that your experience has turned into a disaster! :frowning:

Jim.

9

It was only a removal order, not a full deportation. According to the judge I can go back 12 months after I left. 11 months to go… :unamused:
By the way, US immegration were in full posession of the facts, and happily issued me a nice lil I94 card to let me in there again. So the US is fine with me.

And sorry Cliff mate, some of us have to learn the hard way :stuck_out_tongue:
Given that I’ve learned a lot, and not been banned from the country forever, then I am working on heading back there in maybe a year or 2.

10

Ok then :exclamation: You’re all set for the future, next time do it right though Alli and maybe you’ll have better luck :slight_smile:

11

I will Pat mate. My motto for international travel is “always make life easy for Immegration”, and then things will go easy.
I co-operated with CIC even when they were going to get me out. The Immegration lawyer was gobsmacked, she told me “He never does these in 7 minutes!!!” :laughing: I just cut to the quick, and asked him nicely to get on with it :laughing:
They just handed me a ticket, and let me get on with getting out on my own. I may need to have the spare $1200 to pay them back when I go over next time, but that’s just a bit more saving up to do.

12

Even TruckNet are advertising jobs in Canada now

Just noticed this thread,

A note of clarification.
We do not carry adverts for jobs in Canada.
The banner advert for Canadian Immigration is for a Lawyer who specialises in immigration.

Colin Singer (Immigtation CA ) will freely admit that you can emigrate to Canada without his help, but as Allikat discovered there are many pitfalls.

Colin is approved by the Canadian Immigration authorities and unlke truck companies who advertise direct in some Truck Magazines is not interested in gaining employess at any price, If you do not get to live and work in Canada totally legally and happily, he doesnt get paid, and the Canadian authorities will look closely at his licence to practice.

It is a choice that everyone who wants to emigrate has, they can do it alone, and many do with no problems, but hiring a specialist immigration lawyer can ensure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s crossed.

13

I will actually post on this, not because of anything Rikki has just said, but because further up someone mentioned ‘Steve the bulker’ who has ‘Done things the right way’

I am in regular contact with Steve (Geordieboy) He is not a happy chappie :exclamation: He finds it very hard to earn a decent wage, gets taxed to the hilt and is away for weeks on end with just the odd day home each month. He is so poorly paid he can no longer afford to use the internet, hence no postings for a long time and finds it very hard to get by.

Steve informs me he is waiting to get his final ‘Landed status’ then he will be back in the UK like a shot to earn some money in a ‘proper job’. The reason Steve is waiting for his ‘LS’ is so he can return any time he wantswithout having to go through all the problems again.

Life on this side of the pond ain’t so good after all :exclamation:

14

You really dont need a lawyer - they charge you a fortune for something you can easily do yourself! You just need to make sure that you research it well - they government website is very informative and there are contact numbers with very helpful staff who are willing to assist you with anything you do not understand!

Also re steve the bulker - also sounds like a case of not researching things well - make sure you know what your getting into - what your pay is going to be what the cost of living is what your time away is etc
Dom is home at least 2 nights thru the week and weekends and earns much better money than he earned in the uk!
It is the same everywhere there a good and bad companies.

This is a huge move - make sure you have things on paper before you enter into anything!

15

Definitely. It is possible to earn a great wage there, but do remember that Canada has a similar big tax government to the UK.

Good companies exist everywhere, and so do bad ones. i hit on a bad one, as did, apparantly Steve. Once he gets Landed Status, he can change companies, and maybe get a better job. Until then, he’s stuck. Good luck Steve.

16

Also re steve the bulker - also sounds like a case of not researching things well

This coming from you Cattleman■■? :open_mouth: :open_mouth:

I remember all the PM’s you used to send me about this, that & the other. Advice on this & that. But hey, I forgot. You know it all now don’t you?

Oh well, i’m not gonna dwell on that :unamused:

I know why i’m here, & as much as I enjoy driving trucks, I WILL NOT be doing so until I retire. I’ll just plod on doing things the way I want to.

Once he gets Landed Status, he can change companies, and maybe get a better job. Until then, he’s stuck. Good luck Steve.

Thanks Alikat, & how correct you are & it’s not that it’s a bad company, it’s just something I can’t (at this time) go into full details about.

I came over here with all intentions of living in my truck, (sometimes I think I still am :confused: ) but it’s the usual scenario, more work, more tax. I was on track for an unbelievable salary at the end of the year, but the taxman had other ideas.
Now i’m just taking it easy & waiting, just like the rest of the drivers who have come over here.
I’ll persevere with what i’ve got. I came over here with a 110% attitude towards this job, unlike those that came over for a “holiday”. It’s a struggle, YES. But I don’t regret it one bit!!!

Quote
“I am in regular contact with Steve (Geordieboy) He is not a happy chappie He finds it very hard to earn a decent wage, gets taxed to the hilt and is away for weeks on end with just the odd day home each month. He is so poorly paid he can no longer afford to use the internet, hence no postings for a long time and finds it very hard to get by”.

Thanks Pat, but it’s not that bad really :slight_smile:

Hey, I’m even driving a brand new Freightliner Classic now, what more could I want■■? :sunglasses: :wink:

17

i never said i knew it all■■? i dont know it all and i have a lot to learn still - was just trying to give advice!

and yes may have asked questions whats wrong with that ? i looked into it well and researched ! thats what people need to do :unamused:

all the pms eh? :confused:

i dont personally know steves situation - just trying to immpress on people to know what they are getting into and research it well

i am sorry to hear steve isnt doing so well i hope things turn round for him soon.

18

If you attempted to get a license and you FAILED the test it’s a matter of record.
Attempting to interchange a license when you have failed the test is fraud.
Fraud is a crime.
First you claim to be experienced then you can’t pass a test.
Now somebody is advising you to commit a fraud in our country.
You’re a perfect example of why importing foreign “drivers” is a load of crap.

19

i got to keep my us cdl in england and got a hgv in england wud never give up my cdl

20

The test I failed was for a different class than the US CDL I had. It was -20 outside and I’d just concussed myself doing the pretrip… I only failed on the air pressure numbers.
Every driver trainer I had supervised me for an hour or two, and said they couldn’t be bothered watching me any more, since it was obvious I knew what I was doing, and went to bed. When million milers tell you you klnow how to drive a semi then I don’t argue.