I'm Back

Well, my company started bouncing checks again 12 weeks ago--same two twice. My Business account got restricted even before it shrank to nothing. I went "on strike" and shut myself down. Stayed in hotels while they paid me a little at a time through partial payment company checks and comchecks.


They STILL owe me 2700 bucks.


Your first impulse is to blame everybody, but the situation here is more complicated. Minority owner Junior can't see the books for some reason, and doesn't know where that (from a LOT of freight they moved) went. The woman who does the accounting and payroll came in with the new "money" partner--which is when checks started bouncing.


Junior is reorganizing with Ed and others. They'll form a new company, and Junior will oversee payroll and make damn sure everybody gets paid first.


I believe Junior. The new company will be as solid as he is.


Unfortunately, while I was down I had plenty of time to interrogate other drivers about where they worked, and to send out applications.


I got rejected by Liberty Transportation again, despite the terminal manager's efforts on my behalf. The damage that some scumbag(s) did to my DMVR while running around like maniacs with MY CDL was still there. You can't fix it without an attorney and 8-12 grand.

(By the way, these are the lowest of the low. The very reason they need to destroy other people's driving records is because they are the most reckless, dangerous idiots on the road. THEY are the ones the Safety and Compliance officers are intending to keep away from their loads and equipment. WORSE: Because they screw guys like me up, they're on the road and I'm NOT. Burn in hell!


Only later, I discovered that one of the tickets (which was mine) was the one time in seven years I missed a weigh station. That's not a moving violation, and shouldn't have even been ON my DMVR. A phoney ticket will also drop off my record in 9 days, and another in two months, leasing me almost sparkling clean. I'll only have one legit conviction and one BS one.


SO, 5 weeks after Liberty, I tried a new company that another owner-operator drove for. He told me about it while we were standing around waiting for repairs at T/A.. I applied. They leased me on, and now here I am on my first run. 836 miles, less than 1k, 1600 to the truck!!! Direct deposit--no bounced checks.


I set it up to send 60% to my corp. account, 20% to my SEP IRA, and leave 20% on my Comdata card.


The 20% is paying my ungrateful employee, me. He loaned the corp. over 29k to buy the truck and APU 3 years ago and was never repaid. Up until now, his compensation was peanuts, as a lot went into truck repairs and enhancements, and the business.


However, me the driver got to stay in hotels, use the coprporate internet and laptop to fool around, got all his meals and cash whenever he needed it. All the other drivers make more than he does, however, and I'm sick of his whining.


NOW, he's going to get 20% of the net in addition to his expenses and bennies. However, for his own good, I heve to lock it into his SEP IRA. This of course means that the Corp. earns 20% less, but I have to repay the money I owe me eventually, with interest, and I've decided that half of his 20% will be payments on his original loans. So, as I've already heard from him, he STILL makes less than the other guys. Can't make the guy happy!


Now me still gets his hotel stays and grub and clothes and stuff, plus 20% of the net. He's terribly irresponsible, and putting in into his IRA is for his own good. Me is about to turn...what is it--54--so we gotta get some dough in there ASAP.


For no charge, I am going to manage me's IRA portfolio for him. Me has seen my track history and is screaming about that, but I insist. I promise him I'll be more responsible this time, and take fewer risks than I did as a trader. We're several weeks away from any unconventional moves in that area, and I'll do some more home-work and check out various strategies. I'll keep at least 40% in interest-bearing or high-yield investments, leave the Gold microcaps alone, etc. and only trade in weeks or months to reduce slippage and commissions.

What's screwed up here is that I had to set up a Huntington bank account in Me's name to simplify cashing company checks which might bounce. I needed a brick and mortar bank, and chose the one that my old company used to write their checks on.


E-Trade...wow...


First off, when these checks TO the account bounced, the account was restricted. I mean, I didn't WRITE any bad checks. There was no hint of impropriety. Checks TO the account bounce, and it gets restricted!

In order to lift the restriction, the guy at E-Trade has to get me in a 3-way call with the company that bounced the checks, and they have to say why the checks bounced on a recorded line! Whywhywhy?


After setting up the Huntington account and getting some debt-payments from my lessor into it, I linked the accounts and transferred money to fund my E-Trade Corp. Account. They never acknowleged reciept. It was mailed, so I cancelled those checks and re-submitted another one.

E-trade never acknowleged this either.


THEN, they found out that my restricted account would not let any money IN!!! I told them: "Those checks were cancelled. They're gone. Here's money for the account. Why are you doing this to me? Are you insane?"


Of course, they just work there, and policy is policy, no matter how idiotic. Finally got BJ on the phone (Junior is ALWAYS too busy). She doesn't directly handle payroll, and was naturally not about to get herself in trouble. But I did get her to say that there was a cash-flow problem, and several of us got stiffed. There is was--the reason for the bounce on the recorded line.


Isn't this just freaking...I mean...


So NOW, here comes another E-Trade issue: I and only I own my corporation. MY NAME is on the debit card and checks. So when I set up the SEP IRA for me and tried to move funds into it, I was not allowed to.


Why? Another E-Trade policy...I can't link the accounts. Apparantly they're afraid I'll steal from the other shareholders (myself and I) or something.


So NOW, I will have to transfer the money from the Corp. account to me's Huntington account, and trust that irresponsible bastard to transfer that money into his IRA. It's assenine.


More later.