FLEETS have been warned to keep a close eye on service and maintenance bills amid claims of persistent overcharging by franchised dealerships. Shrewsbury-based Fleet Management Services has reclaimed almost £30,000 in credits from dealers, after analysing 13,000 invoices and finding 6% showed overcharging.

Derick Perkins, FMS director, fleet services, said: 'Our survey proves once and for all that overcharging of fleets by franchise dealerships represents a sizable problem. 'It was only through the experience of our team of skilled maintenance controllers that we managed to identify and so avoid the excessive maintenance costs revealed in our survey. Without them, overcharging of this kind would go unnoticed, costing our customers many thousands of pounds a year.'

The majority of rogue invoices arose from garages extending labour times from those pre-negotiated with FMS, or from garages failing to apply the right parts discount. These instances typically led to an overcharge of £20 to £25, but instances of over £2,000 have arisen, particularly with unauthorised work.