Author: Fuel Card Services

Gen Z demonstrates top car maintenance confidence (Image credit: iStock/Halfpoint)

Gen Z demonstrates top car maintenance confidence

Posted on | by Fuel Card Services

The UK's youngest drivers are showing the greatest affinity for vehicle maintenance, with half of 17 to 24-year-olds claiming they could carry out basic car maintenance themselves.

Research by insurer LV= has shown how 50 per cent of young drivers are confident enough to do this, compared to just 31 per cent of older motorists.

LV= claimed the can-do attitude of today's young drivers is helping to ensure they are able to fix many minor issues with their vehicles themselves, helping to save them time and money,  before these problems grow into big ones.

Responding to the research, Tony Hill, operations and compliance manager at Gemini Accident Repair Centres, commented: "Every driver should have a basic level of car maintenance knowledge, such as how to check the engine oil or assess the tyre wear.

"This is primarily important for safety, but it could also help motorists save money by spotting easily fixable repairs early on."

Common tasks that all drivers should be able to complete include the aforementioned checking of tyres for wear and tear, but also the knowledge of how to keep them properly inflated, as well as the importance of clean windows and mirrors to ensure full visibility, and checking your lights before embarking on any journey.

Ben Robb, brand manager at The Fuelcard People, commented: "It really is positive to see more and more young drivers are becoming confident regarding the maintenance of their vehicle.

"We now want to see more people, across all generations, developing the skills and positive attitude that will help to make the nation's vehicles safer and better maintained all-round."

Fuel Card Services ‘floors’ company fleet management with £5k saving

Fuel Card Services ‘floors’ company fleet management with a 5k saving

Posted on | by Fuel Card Services

A nationwide flooring retailer has become one of the latest firms to be wowed by Fuel Card Services.

Flooring Superstore has enjoyed healthy growth since its formation in 2012 and today, its fleet of more than 40 vehicles completes in excess of 400 deliveries a day out of six dedicated stock warehouses dotted around the UK.

With deliveries and fleet size constantly on the up, the County Durham-headquartered firm needed to keep a tight leash on its fuel costs if it was to avoid hefty wastage.

That’s where Fuel Card Services came in.

Craig Richards, head of logistics at Flooring Superstore, explained that delivery plays a crucial part not only in the company’s business but also its customer experience.

“As our fleet continued to grow, we needed to effectively manage our fuel consumption – hence the need for Fuel Card Services,” he said.

“Choosing which provider to go for was easy due to the vast array of fuel cards available. From major fuelling stations such as BP and Shell to leading Supermarkets such as Tesco and Morrisons, the UK coverage from Fuel Card Services is brilliant.”

As a result, the location of its drivers was irrelevant because fuel is easily accessible without any delay.

“Using Fuel Card Services also meant we could access real-time reports 24/7,” Mr Richards added. “This enabled us to set purchase controls in order to monitor exactly how much fuel is used and improve driver fuel consumption.”

Another major benefit was having a dedicated account manager, which Craig says “made things a whole lot easier”.

“We have saved over £5,000 from using Fuel Card Services and would recommend them to any business looking to re-evaluate their fuelling process,” he concluded.

Fuel Card Services is one of the largest independent agents of fuel cards in the UK, working as agents on behalf of most of the major oil companies including BP, Esso, Shell and Texaco.

Apply online for your fuel card and start saving today.

Property replenishment firm calls in Fuel Card Services for ‘wheely’ impressive savings

Posted on | by Fuel Card Services

A company specialising in property replenishment and exterior cleaning has polished up its fleet operating costs thanks to Fuel Card Services.

Mr Wheely Shine’s trio of vehicles may only just qualify as ‘a fleet’ in dictionary terms, but the opportunity to slash monthly fuel spend is appealing regardless of fleet size.

Gary Richards, managing director of Mr Wheely Shine, was approached by Fuel Card Services account manager Lee Puxty towards the end of last year after identifying how the firm could save money when buying fuel – the head of Denbighshire-based independent firm was understandably very keen to investigate the potential.

“Everything we spoke about was aimed at saving us money, and for a small business, this is vital,” explained Mr Richards.

Commenting on Lee Puxty’s value to Mr Wheely Shine, Gary added: “With Lee’s excellent customer service skills, we feel that he is now apart of our team.”

Operating a fleet isn’t always predictable and Mr Richards witnessed first-hand the flexibility of Fuel Card Services when his usual petrol station switched brands unexpectedly.

“Our local petrol station changed overnight from Texaco to BP, so I phoned Lee and within 48 hours, we had our new cards and pins,” he revealed.

With Mr Richards now a fully fledged supporter of fuel cards, he is spreading the word of how they can benefit companies of all sizes.

He signed off by saying: “We have already highly recommended Fuel Card Services for small and large businesses in our area.”

Fuel Card Services is one of the largest independent agents of fuel cards in the UK, working as agents on behalf of most of the major oil companies including BP, Esso, Shell and Texaco.

Apply online for your fuel card and start saving today.

Photo: bizoo_n/iStock

Guaranteed Maintenance for single vehicles or large fleets

Posted on | by Fuel Card Services

Keeping cars, vans and business vehicles on the road is expensive, there’s no getting away from it. Autoserve, just as the name suggests, is here to take that pressure from you and negotiate big fleet maintenance deals for your business.

Whether it is a single vehicle or a fleet of vehicles, a full maintenance contract, particularly for high mileage users, may well be a great benefit.  It’s called Autoserve Plus.

Autoserve Plus is operated from its national control centre by experienced staff with technical knowledge and specialist computer data systems.  Personal service is a byword and a member of the Autoserve team, rather than an automated system will always answer you.

Autoserve Plus gives access to a nationwide network of 500 main dealer service centres and many more independent specialist companies. Services such as auto electricians, glass, tyre and exhaust suppliers as well as vehicle hire can also be arranged for one off or extended term hires.

With Autoserve Plus, drivers are informed of forthcoming service and MOT dates, whilst fleet managers are constantly updated on all vehicle mileage readings to be able to extend contracts or re-allocate vehicles.

Fuel Card Services has partnered with Autoserve and by joining this scheme you benefit from:

Up to 60% off main dealer prices 

Free collection and delivery of vehicle 

Garages throughout the UK 

Guaranteed levels of service 

Protected manufacturer’s warranty 

All costs approved before work 

To find out more, visit Autoserve answer three questions about your business needs and a member of the team will get back in touch with you to create a maintenance plan that’s right for you.

 

FORS at Heathrow For Safety Roadshow’

Posted on | by Fuel Card Services

FORS, the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, will be talking contractor safety to suppliers working at Heathrow Airport, as part of a safety roadshow.

A team from FORS will be on site at the airport’s Time for Safety Roadshow on Thursday, 14h September, designed exclusively for the logistics and construction contractors working at the airport, to learn more about safety in the workplace and on its network of roadways.

The event is organised by Wilson James Ltd, a FORS Champion and logistics contractor at Heathrow, with further support from major Heathrow partners Morgan Sindall, Mace, Ferrovial and Balfour Beatty.

John Raper, HLI Integration Manager at Wilson James, said, “The event is part of our work towards Heathrow’s Health and Safety programme to improve road safety awareness, for all its logistics and construction partners with a specific focus on the people, plant and machine interface.  This year’s event features road safety-themed interactive demonstrations and practical training, and we are thrilled FORS are able to once again support.”

The FORS stand is due to be placed close to an Exchanging Places HGV run by FORS Gold member Powerday, giving attendees the chance to experience how other road users are seen from the cab of a truck, with information about how both FORS and CLOCS work with contractors to support safety for drivers and other road users.

FORS, who first attended the event in 2015, joins a host of leading supplier and contractors and safety organisations, at this year’s event, including CLOCS, IAM Roadsmart, the Green Commute Initiative, Sustans, TomTom, Resonate-mp4, and AA DriveTech.

There will also be a focus on cycling at the airport, with Dr Bike from Heathrow, ahead of the launch of the airport’s new cycle lane for workers, with cycle lessons, safe cycling skills, and information about the cycle to work scheme on offer.

Paul Wilkes,  Business Services Manager, FORS, said, “FORS is thrilled to be taking part in the Time For Safety Roadshow again, to continue to raise awareness of accreditation to Heathrow contractors and suppliers, and offer advice on road safety and road awareness for fleet operators and their drivers who work on a variety of construction projects at Heathrow Airport.

Report by Rachel Pearson – Major Accounts Manager at Fuel Card Services

If you are a FORS company, or if you are working towards accreditation, your business is entitled to some exclusive fuel cost saving offers from Fuel Card Services. Click here for more information.