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The ongoing saga of price hikes and a lack of purchase transaction data continues to plight Allstar fuel card customers.
Businesses have reported significant cost increases due to the introduction of a new transaction fee earlier this year and difficulty in contacting the firm's customer service department.
Arval, part of the BNP Paribas bank, sold Allstar to the global fuelcard provider FleetCor for £194m in December 2011.
Allstar customer Rod Collins, finance manager at Goulden Properties, described the new transaction charge of £2 plus VAT per fill as "extortionate".
Speaking to BusinessCar, he continued: "We get no better service from them [FleetCor] than we did when [Allstar was] owned by BNP.
"We have used the Arval Allstar card since 1994 without problems. Once the additional cost was levied we could not find anyone who could identify why or what it was for.
"As a small business we use the card for our directors' fuel, which is charged to them personally, as there is no benefit in company-provided fuel.
"The directors therefore suffer the total £2.40 cost - they are better off using their personal credit and debit cards."
Collins said his business had received no warning about the charges and, after repeatedly contacting Allstar, received a copy of the August 2012 tariff via email, which contained no information about new or additional charges.
This tallies with the feedback BusinessCar has received from fellow customers.
Other clients have begun sharing their experiences and searching for advice online.
Consumer finance website Moneysavingexpert.com has a lengthy forum thread containing posts from fleet managers and business operators exchanging opinions and advice, many of whom are reporting cost increases into four figures.
Forum users suggested that customers were leaving Allstar due to the extra charges and the level of service, and that many clients were being absorbed by The Fuelcard Company, itself a division of FleetCor.
Allstar provided a written response to BusinessCar's questions, but declined to answer whether there had been a rise in numbers of users cancelling its service. It also said it will not be reviewing the level of fee applied.
"Some customers have contacted us to understand the charge in more detail and, for the vast majority of these customers we have been able to demonstrate the many benefits and convenience of our unrivalled network," said the statement.
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