My Driver Recruiter Lied to Me…Now What? [Common Lies and Solutions]

The driver consultants at Anderson Trucking Service (ATS) hear this, and variations of this, every single day — sometimes several times per day. 

And we’ll be honest, we can totally understand why it’s frustrating to be lied to, especially by a driver recruiter. They have your future in their hands. If they mislead you, you might end up in an awful situation that’s the opposite of what you needed out of a trucking company. You might feel like you’re being set up for failure. 

No company’s policy is to lie to drivers. The policy is to be honest. However, misunderstandings can still happen. 

We know how misleading information can feel like a lie. How miscommunication can sound like you’re both speaking a different language. Regardless if it’s a lie of omission, it’s still a lie.  

In this article, we’ll cover some of the most common things drivers tell us that recruiters have lied to them about and we’ll provide solutions. We’ll also tell you how you can ensure that you get the truth from every recruiter you speak with. 

Do Driver Recruiters Lie? 4 Common Misunderstandings

Learn more about common lies and/or misunderstandings and then solutions to avoid them. 

Lie #1: They Told Me I’d Make More Money

We hear this one often. A recruiter tells a driver they’ll make such and such money, but when they arrive at the company, they don’t make near what the recruiter promised. 

Or, maybe they only made that much for the first few weeks when they were eligible for the company’s guaranteed pay. Or maybe the recruiter didn’t explain that they were being paid for only loaded miles, not unloaded miles. 

Maybe they didn’t explain the hiring bonus correctly and it seems like they’re missing out on a lot of money. 

Solution

Pay is a big deal. It controls what you can and can’t afford and also how hard you have to push to make a good living to support yourself and your family. 

Oftentimes, recruiters and trucking company websites list pay based on what their top 10 or 20 percent of drivers are making. Realistically speaking, there are probably a lot of drivers who won’t be in that top earner range — whether it’s because they don’t like to run hard or they want to be home often. 

The best thing to do is to ask the recruiter what the average driver is making. That’ll give you a more realistic feel of what you can expect to earn too. 

We recommend that you speak to drivers on the carrier’s fleet. It helps if you talk to a few drivers or talk to someone in the same driving division as you so that you get a good look at what you might make.

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 Here’s an honest look at what ATS drivers are currently averaging per week — with a breakdown of the top earners and the average earners. 

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Then, you need to get really specific about your pay questions with the recruiter. When do you get your sign-on bonus? Are you paid for all miles or only loaded miles? Do you get the full fuel surcharge? Do you get any discounts? When do you get paid? What are the bonuses? The list is truly endless. 

Lie #2: They Guaranteed Me a Truck, But it Isn’t Available

It’s extremely difficult to guarantee a truck — especially nowadays when trucks are hard to come by and many companies’ trucks are all full.

So if a recruiter absolutely guarantees that there’s a truck waiting for you when you get to orientation, you may want to call their bluff.

I’ve been doing this a while, and in all my time here, I’ve maybe been able to guarantee that a truck would be waiting for a driver at orientation once — and that’s when there weren’t truck shortages and we already had a lot of empty trucks. 

It just doesn’t happen often. 

Solution

This may either be a result of a blatant lie from a recruiter or a simple misunderstanding where you and the recruiter are speaking a different language. 

For instance, I’ll give you the spiel I use with drivers. When they ask what equipment we have, I say, “We have 2016 - 2022 Peterbilts, Volvos and Freightliners.” 

In some cases, the driver will take that at face value. They hear, “Great! I can get a 2020 Peterbilt then — just what I wanted!” 

But I really meant that those are the trucks we have on our fleet, but truck selection is subject to availability when the driver comes to orientation. 

We’re speaking two different languages and misunderstanding each other. 

Therefore, it’s my job to understand what the driver is thinking and to explain how our truck selection process works at orientation and what they can expect. It’s the recruiter's job to explain that you’ll be able to choose from what’s available when you get to orientation and that none of the models are guaranteed to be available. 

If a recruiter doesn’t do that on the phone with you, first and foremost, ask them to clarify what will be available. Secondly, explain your needs. If you can’t drive anything but a 2020 Peterbilt — and chances are slim that you’ll drive away from orientation with one — that’s not the company for you. Plain and simple. 

Lie #3: Lease Details

Leasing can be straight-up confusing. You know it. I know it. We both know it. So it isn’t uncommon for a driver to come to us saying that their previous company was untruthful about various lease details. Maybe they were misled, the pricing structure wasn’t explained properly or they had to use what was left in their maintenance account to fix the truck before it could be turned over to a new driver. 

As driver consultants, we’ve heard it all. 

With this particular lie, it seems to be that drivers are encountering a lot of lies of omission. As I said before, leasing is confusing, so you may or may not know what to ask. How do you know to ask about maintenance accounts and tire discounts and balloon payments if you’ve never leased before? You’re doing your best, but you don’t know what you don’t know. So if a recruiter is only telling you so much, they may not be lying, but they may not be including every detail. 

Solution

There are a few ways to combat this lie and get to the heart of the information you need. 

One: Ask tons and tons of questions. But Robbie, you’re thinking, I haven’t leased before, I don’t know what to ask! And to that, I say: Here are some great articles to guide your research. 

• Short-Term vs Long-Term Semi-Truck Lease: What’s Right for Me?
• What Trucking Companies Don’t Tell You About Lease Agreements
• Should I Lease a New or Old Semi Truck? An Honest Comparison
• Everything You Need to Know About Leasing a Semi-Truck: Pros and Cons
• 8 Best Trucking Companies to Lease a Semi-Truck with in 2022

The internet is your best friend here, as are other truck drivers. Read up on lease programs to see how they work. Then talk to other drivers to see if what the recruiters are saying about their program adds up. 

Two: It’s your right to ask for a dummy lease before you even agree to go to orientation, so make sure you take advantage of that. If you have no idea what you’re looking at when reviewing the dummy lease contract, I highly suggest having a professional review it for you. They’ll be able to explain anything you don’t understand and best of all, they won’t have any bias toward the companies you’re looking at. 

Lie #4: They Said I’d Get More Home Time

Home time is a big, big issue we hear about all the time. 

Did your recruiter tell you you’d get home time every weekend? But instead of home time, you only have time for a 34-hour reset and you’re not routed anywhere near home? Are dispatchers failing to honor your home time requests? This can be a huge issue of contention for drivers and it’s a primary reason they quit. 

So are recruiters lying, or are they failing to include extra details?

Solution

In some cases, this lie might actually be more of a misunderstanding. 

Oftentimes, an over-the-road (OTR) trucking company like ATS will tell drivers they can go home every two to three weeks. That means sometimes drivers really will go home every week. But other times, they’ll wait three weeks. It will always vary, which is why recruiters say two to three weeks. 

To avoid any confusion, the recruiter should be explicit about what that home time policy really means, and you should get specific about what it means if they don’t clarify it. 

It’s also a good idea to ask about their policy for requesting time off, how good dispatchers are at honoring requests and so on. This is another great opportunity to talk to other drivers on the fleet about this. 

How to Ensure You Find a Truthful Company 

Those are just some of the most common things we hear drivers say recruiters have lied to them about; we know there’s probably a lot more. 

Obviously, you want to find a transparent company with truthful recruiters. 

If you want to get to the heart of the issue, review these tips.

Check out Reviews

You can look at reviews of trucking companies on social media platforms like Facebook and other job sites. Read a good mix of good and bad reviews. 

Notice patterns. Does it sound like a lot of drivers are upset about one particular issue at that company? Are they saying they don’t get the home time they were promised and home time is your primary need? Better find a different company to pursue. 

Talk to Drivers at Truckstops 

Sure, you could ask your recruiter to give you the name of a driver to speak with, but if you want a truly random sampling of drivers, you have to head to the truck stops. If you see drivers for the company you’re considering parked there, talk to them. In fact, talk to a few of them. It’ll be a good random sampling. You’ll probably hear from drivers who love the company, some who aren’t sure and maybe some who are upset. 

Ask about their experience with the company and see if it aligns with what recruiters are telling you. 

Be THOROUGH in Your Questioning

As I mentioned above, a lot of issues are less blatant lies and more lies of omission or misunderstandings. While recruiters should definitely be thorough and a good recruiter will be able to anticipate your needs, you have to advocate for yourself. Be very thorough in your questioning. Ask more than you think you need to. Make sure you get clarity on everything you’re wondering about.

If it helps, have someone on phone calls with you to advocate for you. I’ve talked to countless drivers who’ve had a spouse on the phone to help absorb the information. 

Keep Track of Information From Every Recruiter You Speak To

It’s easy to mix up information when you’re talking to 10 people. One company tells you they have great pay but their home time isn’t the best. One company has decent pay but the home time is great. Then there’s the other company that’s above average in every category. This company allows pets and this one doesn’t and this one only allows dogs, not cats. 

Yikes — even I had trouble keeping track of all that as I was writing this article. No doubt it’ll be hard for you to keep track of all this without writing it down.

I can’t stress enough the importance of taking good notes for every company you speak with. 

In fact, this checklist of questions to ask your recruiter can help you. 

Label the company’s name at the top of the sheet, list your questions and then jot down answers. You can compare answers easily once you’re done speaking with all the companies you’re interested in. 

Keep those notes, bring them to orientation and make sure everything you jotted down aligns with what you hear at orientation. 

Don’t Make Assumptions 

Assumptions can get you into trouble. When you’re talking about your career and your livelihood, never assume anything. Make sure you ask questions until the subject is crystal clear to you. When we aren’t sure and we assume something is one way or the other, that’s when we tend to get into trouble and end up with misleading information. 

If They’re Lying at Orientation…

Alright, let’s say you’ve made it to orientation and something doesn’t feel right. Things feel like they’ve changed, people are telling you different things than what you heard from the recruiter and they’re telling you what you have written down in your notes is wrong. 

My advice? Start asking more questions.

Sometimes policies change but they haven’t been articulated across the company yet; a little clarification from the right person goes a long way. 

However, if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Trust your instincts. Either ask questions and clarify until the information does sit right with you, or ask for a ticket home. Even though you’re at orientation, you don’t have to stay. You haven’t signed anything yet.

Ask the Right Questions

Ultimately, being lied to is an issue of respect. If you feel like you aren’t being respected at your current company or the recruiters you’re talking to, this article has tips to help you advocate for yourself and get the respect you deserve. 

You’ve read it over and over in this article: Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. But maybe you aren’t quite sure what to ask and you need some assistance.

By now, you probably know what I’m leading up to: A link to this handy dandy checklist that’ll help you keep track of everything! You can download the checklist for free and receive access to a long list of questions that will guide every conversation you have with a new recruiter.