Adios :(

Farewell chaps and chapesses, I'm throwing in the towel.

My insurance renewal quote arrived the other day, and because I'm still 24 until 2014, I've been quoted £250 per month (not including GIT or pub liability). That's what I've been paying all year, but I thought that once I was through my first year the insurance would come down. At that rate it's just not practical for me to go on.

Very sad to leave the game. Over the last few months I felt I was getting the hang of it. Business has been gradually on the up, repeat customers are building in number, I've got more confident with pricing, and I've been learning the tricks of the trade. Sadly though it's just not enough.

The last year has been a great learning curve and I don't regret it for a moment. Most of what I've learned has been through this forum, so thanks everyone for being such an opinionated bunch - in the best sense!

I've been working quite a bit for The Courier Company Cambridge lately, who are now short a back up subbie. They're decent guys with a can-do attitude and a growing portfolio, so do keep them on your radar (they're on mtvan). Based in Foxton just south west of Cambridge.

Sorry to hear, but irrespective of you being under 25, most of us pay around 2 1/2k for insurance so not a lot of difference really. Your plight highlights the fact that being legit is hampering your ability to compete with those that don't have the relevant insurance, and that is something that needs to change.

There are far too many who don't check, don't care or make assumptions.

There are others that must know because the rates on offer cannot be sustained unless corners are cut.

You are the type of courier we should be encouraging into this industry, instead we let you go, to be replaced with who knows what.

Sorry to read that Theo, I've been very tempted also but would still have to pay £159 per month for the H&R insurance so will hang in there for a bit (when I get back to driving my van that is).

Sorry to hear it hasnt worked out for you. There are those that continue to operate without proper insurances etc and who does the reputation of couriers no good whatsoever and yet they will probably go on and on and as has been said before that is a shame. I believe the time has come to have some regulation in the industry. I know when I operated my Artic I had to have my operators licence and have 6 weekly inspections unit and trailer to check for road worthiness. Vosa are very hot on this and of course there are some that operate with out these but not as many as there are couriers operating in the same manner. Good luck with whatever you do from here.

Sorry to hear you leaving this trade Theo. If it helps, i pay £292 per month for my insurance and the includes £10,000 GIT. This is my first year so far and i have made some good contacts. Its been slow starting, but just starting to pick up now. I'm doing a lot of networking to gain my own customers and that is showing to be a tough job to do, so mainly i sub-contract for vendors on here and now on Courier Exchange. If i cant get regular work to cover my overheads , then i will quit also. I'm sure i can make this work tho. I agree with you about the forum on here, you can get some good tips and ive had some laughs at reading some of the banter. I hope all goes well in future for you, good luck

Sorry to see you go theo, is there no way you can overcome this insurance obstacle?

Sorry to see you go, if you don't ind me asking what were you paying before, worth ringing round?

Thanks guys.

If I can find a source of more regular work then I might continue, but currently it looks unlikely. I only really want to go on if I have a decent source of regular Transit work, and therefore earn a salary which suitably rewards my effort. As it is I'm scratting around for whatever I can get. Recent marketing to local businesses resulted in lots of friendly phone calls, so I thought I was making progress, but very little business has come of it.

MK, last year for my H&R I paid a £650 deposit plus £235 a month for 10 months. I think I pay about £130 p.a. for GIT. I did lots of ringing round last year, and this insurance company was the only one under £5k!

It doesn't help that I took out an overdraft to get me going last year, so I need to factor in paying the bank back as well. I was very lucky last summer and got off to a promising start, but then it took a few more months to actually learn the nitty gritty of how the sameday industry works. Although I'm in a much stronger position now with contacts and know-how, I don't yet have the necessary volume of work to justify such high overheads. (I know a few small businesses with total fixed overheads about £500pm who turn over more than £100k)

The Courier Company Cambridge (TCCC) have been great recently, but most of their work is covered by their own vans and I've been a back-up. They want to use me more as their business builds, but unfortunately I don't think it's going to pay the bills just yet.

Being split between Norfolk and Cambridge has been a nightmare too. I can't be available in Cambridge as regularly as I'd like, which has been inconvenient for TCCC.

Sorry to hear the bad news mate. Im 28 and still paying just over £145 per month with 2 years ncb. I see where you are coming from. Along with the fuel costs its a joke. Hope life works out for ya. Best of luck