Fleets could face rising costs if they fail to get their drivers to adhere to service requests.

That’s the message from leasing companies after Fleet News revealed almost three-in-four (71%) fleet managers struggle to get their drivers to abide by service intervals, putting warranties at risk and leaving potential problems unchecked (Fleet News, October 8).

“What we try and do, particularly with our larger fleets, is support them by providing ‘proactive service management’,” explained Ian Thomson, director driver services at Lex Autloease.

“Clearly, we can’t do this for everybody, but for a lot of our customers we will give them an indication when vehicles are due to be serviced. However, this is never an exact science.”

Nevertheless, it’s in the interest of leasing companies to work with fleet managers, as Thompson and others in the industry acknowledge.

“A missed service will create an issue where the warranty is concerned, maintenance costs could increase and ultimately residuals can suffer as it affects vehicle life meaning the customer could end up paying more,” said Thomson.

“The impact is that everyone in the disposal chain, including the leasing company, suffers financially as a result,” added a Lombard spokesman.

For the full article see this week’s Fleet News.