Firms' fuel sweetners
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• Some transport firms resist switching from cash to fuel cards because drivers resent losing the perk of putting sweets and cigarettes on their fuel receipts, Shell believes.
"Transport managers have told me they wanted fuel cards, but their personnel directors ruled it out because it would cause too much trouble," says David Watson, Shell UK Oil's sales promotions and advertising manager.
Such firms are in the minority, however. Shell's survey of 207 transport managers and 100 lorry drivers suggests that 75% of HGV drivers use a fuel card. Drivers using bunkering services or travelling less than 24,000km/15,000 miles per year were excluded.
Most transport managers believe that fuel cards eliminate the "fiddle factor', says Shell. They also aid security. Up to £1,000 in five currencies can be carried by drivers without cards on continental trips.
From next month Shell will invoice its Euroshell customers net of VAT, reclaiming the money itself (CM 4-10 April). It can take as long as three years to reclaim VAT from Italy.