Write to Stephen Briers 

Sensible refurbishment can lift values

I would like to challenge the standpoint in your article “Forget repair costs, Bluecycle tells fleets” (July 2).

I agree it is important to consider the cost of repair against the value the repair will add, but in our experience it comes down to ensuring that the refurbishment is appropriate.

Fleets should consider using ‘smart’ repairers for small refurbishments to keep the cost of refurbishment below the £1,000 to £1,500 mark and speed up repair time.

A professional ‘smart’ repairer will always understand the difference between fair wear and tear on a vehicle and a refurb that will lift the value of a car significantly.

Mark Llewellyn
Managing director, Revive! Auto Innovations (UK)

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Be wary of parking firm bullyboys

With regard to the money-making extortionists that purport to be private parking companies (Fleet News, May 28 & July 2), I would warn: be wary of the way they will get their money.

After fighting one of these companies, it refused to discuss the matter further and put the fine into the hands of a debt collection agency.It threatened to put my name as a bad credit risk and not that of my company.

It is about time that the Government got to grips with proper legislation to outlaw these “cowboys”, along with the “cowboy clampers”.

Being based in central London, our spend on ‘legitimate’ and ‘extortion’ notices is £35,000 per annum. 

The prime advice is to warn all drivers to be extremely diligent where, how and when they park and to keep all parking receipts.

Finally make sure that all correspondence is sent recorded delivery, so that you have proof of delivery

This especially applies to supermarkets, DIY stores and fast food outlets who use these PPCs.

Brian Goddard
Fleet manager, CBS Outdoor

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AFR solution

The common denominator from your respondents is that HMRC’s advisory fuel rates (AFR) are not representative of actual costs, given the constantly fluctuating price of fuel.

If an AFR is incorrect compared to actual cost by as little as 1ppm, this represents around 10% of fuel cost.

The solution is to pay actual pence per mile for fuel – employer, employee and HMRC are then happy – although this does require accurate record keeping.

Adrian Harris 
MIDAS – FMS

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From the forum…

The feature on multi-supplier fleet solutions in the Managing Costs guide (Fleet News, July 2) has proved a keen debate at www.fleetnews.co.uk. Here are a few of the responses…

Key to multi-supply is accountability, and part of the reason for appointing a management company has to be the delivery of accountability. Our experience of this service has been nothing but positive and we’ve seen far tighter control with the interests of our business at the centre of everything. We’ve also lost some headcount but have an invigorated fleet operation, happy drivers and lower costs. Medicine

“Managed route” sounds like “screw the leasing company in an auction process”.Why pay a third party to do this? If you have a large fleet, surely you employ a professional fleet manager who can take a multi-supply route? Sole supply with a quality leasing company can achieve considerable financial and adminstration savings for any fleet operator.The automotive and leasing industry has been through tough trading conditions and beating them up on price is not sustainable. Compareiseasy

I am well aware of the benefits of well-controlled multi-supply but only if the organisation can deliver a seamless service. The description of the offering was just another organisation that believes shopping around to save 50p per month on the rental but losing out on a seamless customer experience with the benefit of other sole supply benefits is worth it. Spade

Multi-supplier options may save money for fleets but when you have three different suppliers who can’t provide accountability the saving means nothing. Hannah Jones