Charles Barkwell - CDL Driver Reviews

Driver Review: Billy Pridmore

Billy Pridmore demonstrated repeated and serious violations of company policy during his time with our fleet.

Incident 1:
While on hometime, Billy was dispatched on a load scheduled for the following day. He confirmed receiving the dispatch and acknowledged that everything was good to go. However, he failed to report as scheduled, with no notice or communication. Multiple calls to him went unanswered and to voicemail. As a result, we were forced to cancel the load, upsetting the customer and damaging our relationship with them. Billy reappeared five days later with a vague and inconsistent explanation, citing illness and a dental visit, but was unable to provide any justification for the complete lack of communication.

Incident 2:
Approximately one month later, the same scenario repeated itself. Billy, again on hometime, confirmed a scheduled Friday dispatch and accepted the load the day before. Once more, he failed to show up the next day and did not contact dispatch. He arrived seven days later, again without any explanation for the total communication blackout. At this point, we charged him for the canceled load, as his no-show resulted in additional losses.

Retaliation and Termination:
After seeing the charge on his paycheck, Billy reacted with threats, stating he would return the loaded truck in the opposite direction of the scheduled delivery and bring it back to our terminal. Given this behavior and the pattern of unreliability, company management made the decision to terminate his employment. He was brought to the terminal on his next load and informed that this would be his final assignment. He was instructed to clean out the truck and turn in the keys.

Theft and Abandonment:
Instead of complying, Billy took the truck without permission from our Memphis, TN yard and drove it to Alabama. He refused to return the vehicle, claiming he would take his belongings home first, then bring the truck back — which never happened. Ultimately, the vehicle was abandoned at a random truck stop in Alabama. He removed his belongings and then attempted to extort the company for payment in exchange for the truck’s return.

Conclusion:
Billy Pridmore has shown a clear and repeated pattern of no-shows, failure to communicate, dishonesty, and eventually theft of company property. He also attempted to extort the company after abandoning a vehicle. Based on this history, we strongly advise against hiring him. A review of his record with other carriers shows similar behavior.

This driver abandoned a loaded trailer with freight and disappeared without any notice. By the time we located the trailer, the cargo had been stolen. As a result, we are now facing a claim from the broker and have been placed on their Do Not Use (DNU) list.

This driver's actions caused severe financial and reputational damage to our company. We strongly warn others: do not hire this driver – he is completely irresponsible and a major risk to your business.

This driver caused a serious accident, damaging our truck, and then abandoned the vehicle without notifying the company or taking responsibility. The truck was left in an unknown location, and we had to locate and recover it ourselves, resulting in major towing and repair costs.

This behavior is completely unacceptable and irresponsible. We do not recommend hiring this driver under any circumstances – he is a liability and cannot be trusted with company property.

We had a highly negative experience with this driver. He unlawfully took control of our truck, refused to return it, and stopped all communication. As a result, we were forced to involve law enforcement and hire a towing company to recover our equipment. The incident caused significant delays and financial losses to our company.

We strongly advise others to avoid working with this driver.

The driver failed to show up for the scheduled drug test appointment and completely ignored multiple calls and follow-up messages. We made several attempts to communicate, but received no response. This shows a clear lack of responsibility, reliability, and professionalism — especially during a critical step of the hiring process. Not recommended for future consideration.

The driver held the load for an entire week without delivery. This resulted in a large claim from the broker and a DNU status due to the driver's dishonesty

I had an extremely negative experience with this driver. When I informed him that the company owner decided not to assist with his license issue, he responded with profanity and discriminatory hate speech. His language was not only unprofessional but deeply offensive and inappropriate. I would strongly caution anyone from working with or hiring this individual.

The driver missed his flight at the final stage of the hiring process. Instead of taking responsibility, he gave multiple excuses. We needed someone reliable, but this showed a lack of commitment and poor planning. Not someone we would move forward with and recommend.

Went through our safety process, mvr etc. etc. Continuously been checking up with updates, whether he got his CDL since his temp. was expiring told us yes it is coming soon, and that "soon" to the point where he hasn't been answering our calls, messages, or anything. WASTE OF TIME!