Combatting Fuel Theft

One issue fleet managers must be aware of is the potential of fuel theft.

Fuel theft can cost fleet businesses substantial amounts of money. The key to combat this is to find areas in the business where fuel theft can occur.

The three areas where fuel theft can occur are:

  1. Misuse – when employees intentionally use company resources for personal use like using company money to fill their own car tanks
  2. Misuse – using company dollars to purchase non-fuel items such as snacks at the gas station
  3. Theft – when a company card is stolen from the holder or skimmed at the pump

Fortunately, regular monitoring practices through improved technology have helped detect as well as eliminate situations of fraud for fleets.

Today, fleet fuel cards present fleet companies with an innovative and easy approach to identify unauthorized employee behavior. A fleet owner now has the ability to set customized restrictions unique to each driver–including types of purchases, amount of money that can be spent per day and where drivers can make purchases.

Fleet card systems provide detailed reports that outline the specifics of each purchase made by cardholders. Due to accurate and reliable reporting, the administrative task of matching and running reimbursement checks is therefore eliminated–ultimately saving the company time.

Along with utilizing fuel cards to conquer fraud, GPS tracking and reporting methods can show real-time employee locations, underperforming vehicles, poor driver habits and more. Fleet managers can use this information to track down the employees who may be guilty for such behavior and address the issue almost immediately.

Fleet managers need to keep an eye out for fuel theft of varying kinds, as this crime could easily be one of the most devastating financial happenings to your fleet’s profits. Whether you’re paying for fuel with cash or a fuel card, make sure that all the numbers add up as they should! For more information on choosing a fleet fuel card that’s right for you, get in touch with a member of our Fuelz Fleet Card team. Our card was designed and developed by a fuel company, not a credit card company!