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Prestons of Potto has fuel agreements with all of its

1st May 2008, Page 43
1st May 2008
Page 43
Page 43, 1st May 2008 — Prestons of Potto has fuel agreements with all of its
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major clients, but nonetheless, chairman Anne Preston says it is very difficult to administer. 'It is a major headache. It is difficult to write a fuel clause and also because you are always lagging behind [the real price of diesel].

"It is very time-consuming to monitor it all the time and prices are always based on last month, which means you are always a month behind." Prestons fixes its baseline on the price of fuel when the contract starts. 'Some we invoice [with the surcharge] and some are built into the rate. Many clients ask for the price of diesel to be built into the rate otherwise they face a whacking surcharge. So there are many different surcharges and invoicing methods to be handled," says Preston.

"It's extremely frustrating. One client estimates that lp on the price of diesel equates to a 0.5% increase in rates. One hauler I spoke to has seen diesel go up by 4p/litre so technically he should have a 2% rate rise."

Preston thinks the spiralling costs of fuel are unparalleled and that we are already seeing fuel companies respond by asking for more frequent payment and allegedly putting increased numbers of hauliers on stop.

"In my entire working life, I have never seen anything go up so fast or be as unpredictable as the price of fuel," she says.

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