Hello everyone
I’m Chris Walton and I am the news editor of Commerical Motor. I’m putting together a piece on fuel cards and fuel card use. Which ones do operators use? What do you look for in a fuel card? And, most importantly, have you ever had any problems with credit and direct debit bounces when using a fuel card?
All answers would be most welcome - and if you could please identify yourself (name, job title, company)so I can quote you in the article it would be appreciated. If you wish to remain anonymous then that is OK too.
Thanks everyone!
Chris
hi
fuel card companies are very well known for there rate variations i use three different fuel card companies texeco fast fuel, red fuel card, and abbey fuels,
every week abbey fuels are the cheapest every three or four weeks i will get a call from texeco to ask why i havent been using there card i tell them its the rate there charging then they ask how much im being charged by other fuel card suppliers, they then say they will match there price, if only i had the luxury of knowing what my competitors were charging then tell my customers i will match there price, they will tell me where to go and thats what i tell texeco.
i tell my drivers to only use the texeco fastfuel card only when absolutly nessasary.
fuel card suppliers make you feel like there suppling you with cheap fuel looks cheap without the vat put on but when you add the vat to the net price nine times out of ten your paying more than pump prices
john small
john small transport services ltd
bristol
The biggest gripe I have with fuel card companies (I use 3 different ones) is the price they charge you isn’t based on the volume used. They charge you as much as they can get away with until you notice and start to use another card then they will drop their price. I hate this practice and if there was a company that without fail linked the price to how much you use, i.e spend more with us and you get a lower price, I would stick with them solely. Also to get you to take a new card, firms willl quote you a ridiculously low price and then once you have the card they put it up. There are regularly owner drivers using 2000 litres a week getting a better price than people using 10 times that.
Silver_Surfer:
The biggest gripe I have with fuel card companies (I use 3 different ones) is the price they charge you isn’t based on the volume used. They charge you as much as they can get away with until you notice and start to use another card then they will drop their price. I hate this practice and if there was a company that without fail linked the price to how much you use, i.e spend more with us and you get a lower price, I would stick with them solely. Also to get you to take a new card, firms willl quote you a ridiculously low price and then once you have the card they put it up. There are regularly owner drivers using 2000 litres a week getting a better price than people using 10 times that.
Totally agree with all that. I’ve got two cards Fuel Card Co. and Red but one’s just taken over the other, I assume that prices will only go one way…and it won’t be down! 
MRC:
Credit is getting harder and harder to obtain for newer companies and the companies that have had a particularly bad year. New companies are not getting touched with a barge poll and rightly so, too high risk. But can overcome that issue with Bonds and Guarantee’s and such like.
Most hauliers look for good motorway coverage seen as though most hauliers are up and down most of the day. Supermarkets are pointless on a card such as ReD and Keyfuels. Never understood it.
I would also look for maximum security (some kind of smart/chip & PIN) cards.
Could go on for a while about them but i’ll leave it there
Why is this right? because someone else has ripped them before? Why should i have to give a deposit/guarentee? dont people keep moaning about a level playing field with there competitors/foreign hauliers?
I think being judged by someone elses actions is very unfair.Lots of people complained when Clarkson made the joke about driving a truck and murdering prostitutes( only judging us with infamous murderers ).
When i first started up fuel card companies were reasonable with me, now they are more than happy every second friday when they collect payment. never yet missed a payment, so the original risk has paid off for them.
My fuel useage is relatively low and within the local area as we only operate driver training. However, the card I favour is the Asda credit card. It’s a Mastercard rather than a fuel card. You can buy at pump price less 1p per litre. You have to learn which forecourts you can get on and which are just plain silly!
I also have cards with Fleet Green but they rarely match the Asda price.
Clearly it’s not feasable to take artics into Asda all the time - but maybe it’s worth bearing in mind and finding the accessable ones. 
I moved on to fuel cards, from buying in bulk, a few years ago. As I didn’t feel I was getting a sufficient reward for the risk of having large amounts of fuel on my premises. As a few have said, you get no rewards now for loyalty off the fuel card companies, and they all seem to be getting tied together, which can’t be good. I now buy most of my fuel with my credit card, taking advantage of cheaper prices, cash back and fuel company rewards.
It’s a bit sad when this is cheaper than ordering 500 gallon in bulk or using a specialist fuel card 
Fuel Card companies play games ! use one card exclusively for a few weeks and most will let the price creep upwards. As a small operator I feel it’s my duty to keep my eye on the ball and play the other fuel card game - having several cards and using the cheapest every week ! Comparing prices with others on here also helps !
I am concerned about the recent takeover of ReD by the company that already owns Keyfuels (and several others) - We could be heading for a monopoly situation soon !
MRC, i think you maybe wrong there. The Fuel Card Company who have just bough Red already sell shell, texaco & Esso. Its only really BP they donlt do. However Red sell BP therefore they will everything??
