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TruckNet's Rikki Chequer discovers that the cost of fuel still weighs heavily on hauliers' minds.

28th January 2010
Page 9
Page 9, 28th January 2010 — TruckNet's Rikki Chequer discovers that the cost of fuel still weighs heavily on hauliers' minds.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Owner-operators are back on one of their favourite subjects again: the cost of fuel.

One topic on the forums not only shows the disparity between prices offered to individual hauliers, but the sometimes quite striking variations in price between different brands of fuel cards (even between brands owned by the same parent company). In some cases, using them can be more expensive than filling up at motorway services.

In another forum, an owner-driver warns against the perils of using fuel cards for extra services. He used a truck wash priced at £25 and paid using his bunker card. When his invoice arrived, he says he had been "charged £32.50, plus VAT [£38.18]".

The owner-driver called the truck wash and asked if it had put its prices up; (it says not) but the card company charged the truck wash 20% of the cost as commission, so for every wash paid for on the card, the fuel card company took a fiver from it. It then charged the cardholder a 30% surcharge (£7.50) for using the card. So. according to the owner-driver, the card company got £12.50 for every wash paid for via drivers' cards — almost half the original cost.

Even in these difficult times, some people are still making enough to 'bling' their trucks a little. However, not all the products seem to come up to the standard drivers expect.

One owner-driver writes: "In February 2008, I purchased a set of alloy wheels from a reputable firm. Wheels that apparently did not need polishing. At Truckfest last year, I went to the seller's stand and told them I wasn't happy. The gentleman came over and inspected them. He admitted one was of poor health, but the others I apparently hadn't cleaned properly or polished. I was not impressed. Is it just me?"

Other drivers using the same brand have come forward with comments such as: ''Same as the two super-singles on the front of my truck. They must be from same batch," and "if you got some from a had hatch. I must have them, too".

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