# Franchise : Redundant last week. I am thinking of going with "Fastway Couriers."



## gavt

hi all,
I have just been made redundant last week. 

I am thinking of going into franchise with fastway couriers. I have checked their website and even had a meeting with the general manager and got all the info i needed and was happy with that. But i will need to take out a loan in order to buy the established area in dublin 1 and 3 with 50 established customers and gauranteed income.

Just a couple of questions:

Is it worth taking the risk? Seeing as no jobs are safe anywhere and Fastway doesn't seem to be affected by the recession and when i went to their depot they seemed really busy!

What does anyone know of there business? Is there any money in it to make?

I would appreciate all your comments as i certainly do not want a bad start to a new year especially now that jobs are hard to find..

Thanks


----------



## ubiquitous

gavt said:


> Fastway doesn't seem to be affected by the recession



I don't know anything specific about Fastway, but every business is affected by the recession in some way or other. If there are less goods being manufactured and sold (the essence of a recession) there is less demand for courier & delivery services. Take extreme care before committing yourself.


----------



## rabbit

I agree with above comment.  I have a friend who works in a very large well known ( household name ) courrier company, not fastway and not in Dublin.  He told me how many boxes they used to shift a day + how many they shift now, and its sobering.  Be careful.


----------



## vandriver

Make sure you do your costings.A new van will cost you around 500 to 600 a month.Insurance will be 250 a month,then diesel servicing tyres phone could be another 1000 a month.Also you will not get holiday pay and may have to pay someone to do your run.Finally,you will not get paye tax credit.Are they busy because their rates are low?


----------



## gavt

hi van driver i dont know when iwent to their depot they seemed really busy unloading the vans..and was told as an established area for sale with 50 customers there is already a guaranteed income..


----------



## z103

> when iwent to their depot they seemed really busy unloading the vans..


When did you visit? - before Christmas?
I would at least hold off and visit them in January to see how busy they are.


----------



## Sue Ellen

gavt said:


> was told as an established area for sale with 50 customers there is already a guaranteed income..



To what extent is the income guaranteed?


----------



## silvermints

I dont have any experience with Fastway Couriers but I would urge caution before buying into this or indeed any franchise opportunity.Dont rush or be rushed into handing your money over without a thorough investigation of whats involved. I would also be sceptical of any guaranteed income promised.


----------



## gavt

hi leghorn i visited just las tuesday when i was made redundant..

sue ellen for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that..

also i have never been outta work before so im worried of having no job especially with a child....


----------



## mathepac

gavt said:


> ...
> sue ellen for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that....


Did they give you any idea about costs - van repayments, insurance, fuel, maintenance, phone, etc.? Or can you talk to the guy selling?

If he is selling off areas, he will obviously keep the most profitable for himself (that's not a criticism, just good business sense), so just be cautious as previous posters have suggested.


----------



## gavt

hi mathepac, yeah he said a good jumbo van 5 years old would be about 8000euro,il have to check out my insurance but as a previous poster has suggested it would be about 250 a month,il have to provide my own fuel and maintenance..i will ask to speak with the guy selling

i very much appreciate all the info from all the posters..i realise it might be hard but as there is no work anywhere i thougth this would be the best thing to do...

any more info would be greatly appreciated...

thanks


----------



## Complainer

gavt said:


> hi van driver i dont know when iwent to their depot they seemed really busy unloading the vans..and was told as an established area for sale with 50 customers there is already a guaranteed income..


How many franchisees are serviced by this depot?

Why is he selling  the established area, if it is so profitable?


----------



## Purple

There are couriers coming out of the woodwork at the moment looking for business... I'd take the advice above and hold off 'till the new year. Spend a few days hanging around the depot and see for yourself if it's busy.


----------



## dockingtrade

i checked out these before and the way i see it is your basically an employee with all the risk.


----------



## mickk

gavt said:


> hi leghorn i visited just las tuesday when i was made redundant..
> 
> sue ellen for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that..
> 
> also i have never been outta work before so im worried of having no job especially with a child....




How do you include vat in your earnings? Honestly driving around doing deliveries for 1.40 a box and paying through the nose for the privilege doesn't sound like my idea of fun. I know fastways competition are very busy in the last two weeks but the drivers reckon the company will let go 10 vans in Jan...


----------



## Hans

I use Fastway couriers and I feel sorry for them, two drivers have left the business since I started using them as they said there is no money in it. That is my personal experience and can only relate what they told me.


----------



## Caveat

No specific knowledge, but I always got the impression that _Fastway_ were kept busy.  We use them and they are among the cheapest so in that respect, assuming that most companies won't ditch the courier aspect of their business completely, they should be competitive in a recessionary market.


----------



## nai

was speaking to someone yesterday directly involved in the van courier business and he was bemoaning how bad business is (even the lead up to Christmas) - they used to do alot of furniture/household deliveries which are down approx 30% in the last year which has really hurt with the increased cost of fuel/tolls etc.


----------



## Lollix

Purple said:


> There are couriers coming out of the woodwork at the moment looking for business....


 
All too true I'm afraid. If I was to go into the business just now I wouldn't want the extra load of a franchise fee on my back, not right now anyway.

PM me and I'll give you a related business idea that I saw recently in another country, and that isn't here yet. It will have limited value if everyone knows about it, but the first person to tie it up will make money and it might be worth a shot. I'm not looking for payment, I'll pass you the idea for free.

Sorry, I won't give it to anyone else unless Gavt doesn't want it, so no point in asking!


----------



## gavt

hey lollix i have just sent you a private mail


----------



## Lollix

Response gone to you, hope it works out.
Apologies to everyone else for the secrecy, but if I gave the idea to the world in general, everybody would be at it.
Good luck with whatever you do.


----------



## johndoe64

gavt said:


> for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that..


 
How much is the franchise fee and whats the betting this first 20K is coming out of that?


----------



## Elphaba

Fastway courier where we are based is always busy. Guy before him ripped people off by increasing minimum spend on labels. I'd check out 
the area and potential customers in Dub 1 and 3 before I'd commit. Good luck.


----------



## elgransenor

Hi,
I think Joe Duffy on Liveline did a piece on Fastway a while ago and if I was you I would tread very carefully and speak to existing franchisees.

Ignore the bull the company gives you and you cannot assess the business that you will do from the number of vans in the depot.

There could be many drivers sitting at home twiddling their thumbs.

Talk to the franchisees.


----------



## rabbit

sound advice


----------



## Declanxxx

Hi,
I looked into fastway couriers a few years ago. A quick calculation showed me that the guaranteed earnings for the trialperiod amounted to the initial investment i was to make.
I looked at other courier companies and found many of them took you on as "self employed" with the main requirement that you had a good quality van. Night Link,securi speed, and many others.I got an "owner driver" position with An Post and found it very good. So I recommend you get in touch with them and other big courier companies see what they can offer. Also I believe RTE radio did something on Fastway Couriers last year,(may have been Joe Duffy Show)so you could email and ask them or search RTE web site.Good Luck


----------



## simplyjoe

I cannot believe this is still on the go. Speak to past operators. Not people with something to sell. Guarantees! Really! Are these new runs that you are taking on? If not why are existing operators getting out? The answer is as abvious as the nose on your face. Get real. Do not commit to anything until you do your full research including speaking to past operators with nothing to sell. Do not rely on anything else told to you.


----------



## scas100

i used to be a driver for fastway- they'll make it all sound rosy before you buy, but believe me the figures you will have been shown will be extremely creative. for my sins in a previous life i've been a courier for the last 18 years and i don't think i've every found a bigger bunch of amateurs so heavily biased against the driver to work for. simply AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE.


----------



## jackmackey

Hi I have just been exploring the idea of franchising myself as it looks like I might have no job later on this year so I am trying to cover all bases. I had a look at and Irish website  called www.franchiseoptions.ie and got plenty of information/brochures etc including stuff from Fastway. While I was impressed with the operation after talking to them, I am still looking at other franchise opportunities. So hopefully something will come up.


----------



## woodland

The Problem I see with fast way couriers is that you are heavily dependant on Both selling your books of labels For Fastway the company, and receiving commission from these, also very reliant on getting collections from the existing customers, did you get any figures from fast way on the earnings from this split of business, I would look very carfully at the volume of books of labels that are been sold ,


----------



## JamesGG

There was something on the TV about fastway a while ago wasnt there? Some poor chap after investing X amount was out of pocket.


----------



## Irish Guru

I remember listening to Joe Duffy who did an extensive expose into sharp tactics with courier franchises. The archives on RTE could be  a help. I understand it is a very shark ridden area so be careful. No reflection on Fastway just the industry.


----------



## elgransenor

I heard that programme some time ago and it would not encourage you to have anything to do with their franchise programme.

Talk to existing franchises;they would put you right.


----------

