Becoming a Delivery Driver / Courier

[HDR]

Hi,

I am hoping to start work as a self employed multi-drop delivery driver (for Amazon or the likes) in the new year. I would also like to end up as a courier working entirely for myself after gaining some experience etc.

Is there anyone on here that has done this line of work or are doing this kind of work? I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice.

I am a little confused about the insurance I need for the van. Am I correct in thinking I need 3x. Hire and Reward, Public Liability and Goods in Transit? If so, where would you suggest I get quotes from please?

Also, what kind of mileage and fuel cost would I be looking at?

Any other advice would be most welcome. Thank you!

 

[fisicx]

@JEREMY HAWKE is the man to answer this.

 

[MBE2017]

I am a little confused about the insurance I need for the van. Am I correct in thinking I need 3x. Hire and Reward, Public Liability and Goods in Transit? If so, where would you suggest I get quotes from please?

Also, what kind of mileage and fuel cost would I be looking at?

Any other advice would be most welcome. Thank you!

Yes to the insurances, mileage and fuel depends on how much you drive, you could do 20k pa with Amazon, 100k as a self employed courier, there is no answer to that question.

As for further advice, don’t is mine. Every man and his dog gets a van thinking this is an easy job, which it is. It is also long hours, high investment high overheads and big depreciation, mostly for jobs which if you are working for Amazon or other couriers, often works out below NMW.

That is the reason 85/95% of guys go bust, but then along come another bunch. With a recession heading our way, things will only get bleaker.

If you can sell your own services, markets yourself, get and retain clients, then you can make a living, but it takes time.

 

[HDR]

Yes to the insurances, mileage and fuel depends on how much you drive, you could do 20k pa with Amazon, 100k as a self employed courier, there is no answer to that question.

As for further advice, don’t is mine. Every man and his dog gets a van thinking this is an easy job, which it is. It is also long hours, high investment high overheads and big depreciation, mostly for jobs which if you are working for Amazon or other couriers, often works out below NMW.

That is the reason 85/95% of guys go bust, but then along come another bunch. With a recession heading our way, things will only get bleaker.

If you can sell your own services, markets yourself, get and retain clients, then you can make a living, but it takes time.

Thanks for the reply.

I have worked in factories most of my working life and am sick and tired of being stuck inside, working 12 hour nights with the same old faces. I need a change. I enjoy being out and about and I enjoy driving so thought I'd give this a go. I can't think of anything else to do anyway!

As long as I can earn the same as what I earn now, I'll be happy. I would look to working for myself in the future though if I can build up the custom.

 

[fisicx]

I need a change. I enjoy being out and about and I enjoy driving so thought I'd give this a go.

You spend most of your time out the vehicle running up and down driveways and trying to keep to an unrealistic schedule.

 

[HDR]

You spend most of your time out the vehicle running up and down driveways and trying to keep to an unrealistic schedule.

I understand; I've heard the stories but a lot of people also enjoy the work. Even if it doesn't work out so much fun, it'll be something different I can complain about to factory work!!

 

[Mr D]

Thanks for the reply.

I have worked in factories most of my working life and am sick and tired of being stuck inside, working 12 hour nights with the same old faces. I need a change. I enjoy being out and about and I enjoy driving so thought I'd give this a go. I can't think of anything else to do anyway!

As long as I can earn the same as what I earn now, I'll be happy. I would look to working for myself in the future though if I can build up the custom.

Take a bottle in the cab for times you need to go.
Dispose of bottle before you get that thirsty.

This time of year drivers can be busy. Other times .... perhaps less so.
If a company hasn't got many deliveries for you .... your pay is low.

 

[HDR]

Take a bottle in the cab for times you need to go.
Dispose of bottle before you get that thirsty.

This time of year drivers can be busy. Other times .... perhaps less so.
If a company hasn't got many deliveries for you .... your pay is low.

That is the risk I guess... but with so many companies surely I could jump ship?
Also, Is it a case of being a good driver that you will be looked after more than others??!

 

[fisicx]

Also, Is it a case of being a good driver that you will be looked after more than others??!

Nope, they don’t care about you. All they care about is the schedule. Your welfare is irrelevant.

 

[LuckyMac]

Yes to the insurances, mileage and fuel depends on how much you drive, you could do 20k pa with Amazon, 100k as a self employed courier, there is no answer to that question.

As for further advice, don’t is mine. Every man and his dog gets a van thinking this is an easy job, which it is. It is also long hours, high investment high overheads and big depreciation, mostly for jobs which if you are working for Amazon or other couriers, often works out below NMW.

That is the reason 85/95% of guys go bust, but then along come another bunch. With a recession heading our way, things will only get bleaker.

If you can sell your own services, markets yourself, get and retain clients, then you can make a living, but it takes time.

I was looking into this too. The hours are long too. Like i wanted to get a franchise with one courier company and you had to be the depot at 5am to load up. Then finish at 6. Long days and can be stressful

 

[Scottishgifts4u]

I’ve no idea if this is practical buy is it possible to specialise instead of general courier work? Transport motorbikes, become the go to ‘man with a van’ for your area, pick up flat pack furniture and build it.

Of course this will mean starting from scratch which is going to be more difficult than simply hiring yourself out to a parcel company.

 

[Martin Patfield]

The last business I was with we had multiple revenue streams.

One was providing drivers and vehicles to Amazon.
To DX and to Wincanton. So 3 separate strands.

Amazon was a nightmare. Drivers always having niggly accidents due to the time long days and tight time restraints in delivering. Cost a fair whack in insurance in the end certainly well over budget and that was us working on "worst case" - clearly needed a bigger worst case.
Even had a driver deliver a parcel then drive into the customers front porch. Made national news at the time.


I'd recommend signing up for UberEats / JustEat / Deliveroo / Amazon Flex.
I do these personally and just run all the apps side by side. If just eat and deliveroo are busy I turn Uber off. When it's quiet it's worth keeping all 3 on. Personally I treat each customer as I'd want to be treated and don't pick up more than one order at a time hence they get good hot food as expected Vs these pricks I see picking up 4 orders at once. Selfish.
Business insurance doesn't cover for this delivery. It needs to be hire and reward specifically. Google it.

If you want to be a delivery courier in a van then as all others have said it's hard work winning business. I've got a friend who has been self employed for 14 years now and only in the last year or so has all the hard work to build up his brand as it become worth while.


Why not become a postie? Outdoors delivering. Then do the food delivery when not doing that. Easy money. You don't have to find your own work.

You can easily do £100 profit each evening alone.

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

Why not become a postie? Outdoors delivering. Then do the food delivery when not doing that. Easy money. You don't have to find your own work.

.....and you'll be part of a 'factory' like team, something not to be sniffed at.

I went from office work to become a Rep, doing 1200 miles a week, 8 appointments a day and the only human contact I had with anybody other than customers - who really weren't that keen on seeing me - was the girl in the office who took down my orders over the phone. It can be a very lonely existence on the road.

 

[Paul Norman]

That is the risk I guess... but with so many companies surely I could jump ship?
Also, Is it a case of being a good driver that you will be looked after more than others??!

They are definitely not interested in how good a driver you are.

They are interested in how many parcels you deliver. Even if that means driver like a &%£

 

[Mark T Jones]

I'm not entirely sure how accurate the above is - I'd certainly be interested to hear from @JEREMY HAWKE

Mike Leigh actually made a short film about it, which was pretty gritty, but that was fiction.

Most of our local couriers run around madly, other than one who drives a Fiat Doblo, smiles & seems very relaxed.

OP, it might be worth you chatting to a driving agency to pick up some work whilst you consider - possibly less money, but infinitely more relaxed & flexible!

 

[japancool]

Had a knock on my door Sunday morning. By the time I had looked out the window to see who it was (about 30 seconds), I spotted an Amazon delivery guy knocking on every door on my street to find someone who would answer. He didn't wait very long to see if someone answered - he was 3 doors down from mine by that time!

If that's how frantic you need to be, I'd avoid it.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Hermes (Herpes) do just local drop and pick up where you can use your car to deliver it might be the easy option at low cost to see if its what you really want to do. but them hours seem long and your driving licence is always a ticket away to meet timed deliveries

 

[MBE2017]

Hermes (Herpes) do just local drop and pick up where you can use your car to deliver it might be the easy option at low cost to see if its what you really want to do. but them hours seem long and your driving licence is always a ticket away to meet timed deliveries

Things are rarely as they seem.

Hermes offer a couple of options, strangely their self employed courier option shows one benefit as 28 days paid holiday per year, sounds more an employed option to myself.

Yodel look for people to do deliveries in their cars, most earn 70p per parcel delivered, you need to allow for insurances and breakdowns, many vehicles now, a clutch or even a faulty injector, you are looking at £500-1000 per repair, if not more. You also work six days a week and need to provide another driver when I’ll or on holiday, at your expense.

Plenty of weekend driving jobs as employed, insurances paid for, vehicle and fuel supplied paying £10/20 hr atm. I know which I would go for.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Well if I was starting out now I would be doing something totally different like the Range Rover ,Rolex wearing members of this forum

I'm my opinion if you don't have a massive fund to start up I would recommend running for the
multi drop companies. Like Hermes , Amazon and DPD
You need the bapsim of fire to fast track you into this industry if you have no experience of it

You will need courier vehicle insurance (don't cut corners on this)
Goods in Transit insurance ( up to 30 K is ok )
If it is just you public liability insurance.

I would say to cover most work on your own would be to have a Long Wheel base transit / sprinter

The type of van you will need will depend on your customer requirements .

We run small Berlingo vans
Long wheel base Peugeot Boxer vans and two Luton tail lifts . Customer requirements vary fro.m day to day

 

[HDR]

Well if I was starting out now I would be doing something totally different like the Range Rover ,Rolex wearing members of this forum

I'm my opinion if you don't have a massive fund to start up I would recommend running for the
multi drop companies. Like Hermes , Amazon and DPD
You need the bapsim of fire to fast track you into this industry if you have no experience of it

You will need courier vehicle insurance (don't cut corners on this)
Goods in Transit insurance ( up to 30 K is ok )
If it is just you public liability insurance.

I would say to cover most work on your own would be to have a Long Wheel base transit / sprinter

The type of van you will need will depend on your customer requirements .

We run small Berlingo vans
Long wheel base Peugeot Boxer vans and two Luton tail lifts . Customer requirements vary fro.m day to day

Thanks for the advice.
I was looking at a LWB if I can get one. And have been getting quotes for the insurances. I'm willing to get my foot in the door and get whatever work I can to start with but ideally I do not want to end up working 6 days a week just to cover costs. I would like to get into something a little more relaxed compared to multi drop somewhere down the line hence my idea to become an independent courier if I can get a steady stream of customers.

Couple of other queries I have if you don't mind:
What's the usual score with sick days and booking time off with these kind of companies?
Will the 16/17/18p per mile fuel allowance cover my actual fuel costs or will I need to put my own money in as well?

Thanks again for the advice

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Couple of other queries I have if you don't mind:
What's the usual score with sick days and booking time off with these kind of companies?
Will the 16/17/18p per mile fuel allowance cover my actual fuel costs or will I need to put my own money in as well?

No No and No

This will be a contract that would be completely in their favor . You would be liable and responsible for everything . The allowance never gets passed on to the van owner driver as they claim it is to cover their own fleet of trucks but it is a good place to start !

This is a very tough industry and nobody helps anybody

 

[Hannah_J]

It's interesting to see so many threads on this subject at the moment. As it's such a relevant topic we put together an article using some of your comments:

Do delivery companies need to do more to support small businesses?

Do delivery companies need to do more to support small businesses?

How is your business preparing to deliver orders over the busy Christmas period? If you’re posting products out to customers, the performance of your delivery provider is critical for customer satisfaction. A report out last week by Citizens...

www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk

Have a read and let us know what you think...

 

[SillyBill]

Just to counter with my own anecdotal. My father came out of retirement (much to the delight of my mother) to work for Hermes as he was unfulfilled without the routine of work. He works 6 days a week and absolutely loves it. Round size determines how your day is and how long your hours are ultimately. He is first at the depot in morning so he can get loaded early and out and therefore finishes about 2pm ish every day, most of the year. Straight into the pub for his pub lunch. Around busy times (Black Friday/Xmas etc.) he will finish about 5-6pm (this is when other couriers with bigger rounds are still working up to and past 8pm). So these busy times make up a small bit of the year for him but on the flipside earn him quite a bit extra pocket money. He is is own boss for the most part (which would be essential for my father as he doesn't suffer fools) and is left to get on with it, deliver your parcels and you don't hear a peep from Hermes. Hardly a difficult formula. The money isn't his motivator but he earns well enough (certainly more than NMW/factory type work) and as I say, he doesn't have a big round like some. Given you are paid per parcel the more you take on the more you earn. And you can always cover rounds/split rounds with your fellow couriers to earn more or take a break and go on holiday while they cover you. My dad used to have 2 rounds and was working longer hours, he was able to negotiate to split half of one round out and give it to another courier and retain the rest for himself. As he is a bright button he made sure all the addresses he didn't want (long driveways etc.) were given up and the easy stuff was retained. Like anything in life, you can make anything into something if you have it in you. The thing I get from him is the sense of community he gets from it in a world seemingly lacking it, he has all of his "regulars" where he is the friendly face they see everyday. I can see the appeal.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Just to counter with my own anecdotal. My father came out of retirement (much to the delight of my mother) to work for Hermes as he was unfulfilled without the routine of work. He works 6 days a week and absolutely loves it. Round size determines how your day is and how long your hours are ultimately. He is first at the depot in morning so he can get loaded early and out and therefore finishes about 2pm ish every day, most of the year. Straight into the pub for his pub lunch. Around busy times (Black Friday/Xmas etc.) he will finish about 5-6pm (this is when other couriers with bigger rounds are still working up to and past 8pm). So these busy times make up a small bit of the year for him but on the flipside earn him quite a bit extra pocket money. He is is own boss for the most part (which would be essential for my father as he doesn't suffer fools) and is left to get on with it, deliver your parcels and you don't hear a peep from Hermes. Hardly a difficult formula. The money isn't his motivator but he earns well enough (certainly more than NMW/factory type work) and as I say, he doesn't have a big round like some. Given you are paid per parcel the more you take on the more you earn. And you can always cover rounds/split rounds with your fellow couriers to earn more or take a break and go on holiday while they cover you. My dad used to have 2 rounds and was working longer hours, he was able to negotiate to split half of one round out and give it to another courier and retain the rest for himself. As he is a bright button he made sure all the addresses he didn't want (long driveways etc.) were given up and the easy stuff was retained. Like anything in life, you can make anything into something if you have it in you. The thing I get from him is the sense of community he gets from it in a world seemingly lacking it, he has all of his "regulars" where he is the friendly face they see everyday. I can see the appeal.

As I have said it is good "training " for starting a business in this industry but it is no way a business in itself .
Nobody makes any money on it

 

[Gav1987]

It's so hard to find a forum for courier drivers or those looking to get in the industry isn't it?

I'm debating becoming a courier driver for Amazon and genuinely wondered what type of van I should purchase.

I was reading this blog about the best vans for courier drivers but wasn't sure how good the recommendations were. Does anybody have any thoughts or advice?

Cheers

 

[simon field]

It's so hard to find a forum for courier drivers or those looking to get in the industry isn't it?

I'm debating becoming a courier driver for Amazon and genuinely wondered what type of van I should purchase.

I was reading this blog about the best vans for courier drivers but wasn't sure how good the recommendations were. Does anybody have any thoughts or advice?

Cheers

Long wheelbase Sprinter.

 

[Gav1987]

Long wheelbase Sprinter.

Thanks for the reply Simon. It's much appreciated. Any particular model?

 

[simon field]

Thanks for the reply Simon. It's much appreciated. Any particular brand/model?

Mercedes Sprinter is the brand/model.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Sprinter certainly seems to be the 'go to', possibly because it goes twice as fast as any other vehicle on the road? (Not unlike the basic repmobile Cavalier 1.6L back in the day)

 

[MBE2017]

It's so hard to find a forum for courier drivers or those looking to get in the industry isn't it?

I'm debating becoming a courier driver for Amazon and genuinely wondered what type of van I should purchase.

I was reading this blog about the best vans for courier drivers but wasn't sure how good the recommendations were. Does anybody have any thoughts or advice?

Cheers

There used to be some, but they seem to have died a death a couple of years ago.

Merc Sprinters are bullet proof normally due to reliability, or should I say used to be, which version you need is down to your type of work. Personally I think the MWB Hi Top is ideal for most situations, used to have three, only had one breakdown in a decade, but always serviced correctly and on time.

My advice is to borrow or hire one for a few days before deciding, you will have a better idea after a few days, then you need to choose the right engine. Most Merc Sprinters are slow, being underpowered on the whole, but then again where can you speed these days? Most modern vans are good these days, but very expensive to boot.

An alternative is to simply rent the correct vehicle when required, if things do not work out hand back the keys and walk away, no big up front costs either.

 

[Gav1987]

There used to be some, but they seem to have died a death a couple of years ago.

Merc Sprinters are bullet proof normally due to reliability, or should I say used to be, which version you need is down to your type of work. Personally I think the MWB Hi Top is ideal for most situations, used to have three, only had one breakdown in a decade, but always serviced correctly and on time.

My advice is to borrow or hire one for a few days before deciding, you will have a better idea after a few days, then you need to choose the right engine. Most Merc Sprinters are slow, being underpowered on the whole, but then again where can you speed these days? Most modern vans are good these days, but very expensive to boot.

An alternative is to simply rent the correct vehicle when required, if things do not work out hand back the keys and walk away, no big up front costs either.

Really insightful, thanks. My mate has got a Vauxhall Vivaro and has said I can get insurance on that for a weekend to see how I find it so that'll be my first port of call. Thanks again for the reply.

 

[MBE2017]

Really insightful, thanks. My mate has got a Vauxhall Vivaro and has said I can get insurance on that for a weekend to see how I find it so that'll be my first port of call. Thanks again for the reply.

Not sure if they are still the best, but Northgate used to be most courier companies go to for hiring vehicle a decade or so ago, so if you want to try different makes and models, you could try them.

I used to borrow vans from garages for a week or so before committing to buying them, nothing like real life experience to notice niggly problems, such as a high load floor, or awkward side door movement, poor mirror visibility, uncomfortable seats etc. Easy things that can be missed by just sitting in a vehicle for a couple of minutes.

Don’t dismiss just getting a driving job for a while to see if it’s actually the career for you.

 

[Gav1987]

Not sure if they are still the best, but Northgate used to be most courier companies go to for hiring vehicle a decade or so ago, so if you want to try different makes and models, you could try them.

I used to borrow vans from garages for a week or so before committing to buying them, nothing like real life experience to notice niggly problems, such as a high load floor, or awkward side door movement, poor mirror visibility, uncomfortable seats etc. Easy things that can be missed by just sitting in a vehicle for a couple of minutes.

Don’t dismiss just getting a driving job for a while to see if it’s actually the career for you.

Thanks, again. Genuinely invaluable insight for a newbie!

 

[MBE2017]

Thanks, again. Genuinely invaluable insight for a newbie!

You are welcome, if you work hard, preferably for yourself, get your own clients, in a few years you to could be as rich as @JEREMY HAWKE.

Like any business though, be the best you can and charge what you are worth.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Forget what sort of van you would need get the business in first !
Then set your operation up for your customer requirements !
You can get van anywhere within the hour !