Fleets could cut fuel bills by a quarter by employing a third party to record and verify mileages submitted by drivers

The Miles Consultancy (TMC) claims that a significant number of employees take advantage of expenses systems and its Mileage Audit service has revealed the true cost of the problem.

“It’s amazing when you look down an expenses claim and see how many of the mileages end in a zero,” said Paul Jackson, managing director of TMC.

“A large number of drivers have got into the habit of rounding-up their mileages, but a couple of miles here and there are adding up to hundreds of pounds per driver in over claims.”

A minority of drivers are more deliberate claiming for journeys they did not make, exaggerating actual mileages and using fuel cards to refuel cars belonging to family and friends.

TMC says it regularly uncovers drivers who over claim for as many as 1,000 miles per month.

“It’s almost impossible for a fleet manager to manually audit all the forms, spreadsheets and receipts,” explained Nick Chambers, implementation consultant at TMC.

“Those organisations that have fuel cards are in a better position, but without independent auditing they will still be paying around 10% more than they should.”

Mileage Audit requires drivers to report their odometer reading and itemised business mileage on a monthly basis online, via a text message or telephone call.

By analysing the resulting data, its team can spot unusual claim patterns based on their experience of 70,000 drivers who have already been signed up to the scheme.

In addition, when drivers know that they are being independently monitored, TMC says they take more care to report mileages accurately.

The average reduction in claims following proactive capture and verification of mileage by Mileage Audit is 24.9%.

“We chase drivers to make sure they record their mileages on time and contact them directly to query any irregularities, making them aware that their employer will be contacted if these continue,” said Chambers.

The system costs 99p per driver per month and TMC say that fleets need only reduce claims by nine miles per driver each month to cover the cost of the service.

TMC says it also helps streamline the paying of mileage expenses and can provide a payroll-ready file based on the business.

Find out if you could save on what your fleet is paying in petrol, visit the fleet news petrol prices page for more information.

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