TELEMATICS: Slash fuel cash
Date:
12 August 2013
Margerison claims that most companies don't necessarily know what they're spending on fuel - it's only when they sit down and think about it that it becomes a problem. "You need to understand the feeling around fuel bills," he says. "Do you think it's about right or do you sit down and think 'crikey, that's a lot'? The vast majority of businesses don't know. As long as some private mileage is claimed, they generally don't mind.
"HMRC doesn't have to do a lot of digging to find problems, though. If they see Monday and Friday fill-ups with 10 miles of private mileage, it's pretty obvious."
The private mileage issue, and the fact that a company car can and usually will be used for personal trips, is crucial when it comes to what a business is paying for. It is something that a properly implemented telematics programme can help with, but it's also an area that can prove contentious with drivers.
According to Chris Chandler, principal consultant at Lex Autolease, firms need to tread carefully when they're introducing such a programme: "In a car it can be more contentious with drivers, but there are ways round it. Company cars have a private use element, so there can be a more negative reaction to having that installed. You can have a button just to log private journeys in detail that the driver can press to show where the last business journey ended and where the next one started."
He continues: "With private mileage you have no control on expenses whatsoever. If you pay business mileage at its flat value then it is in the driver's interest to drive efficiently."
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