Most industries have a few tall stories and the fuel card business is no exception. Much of the nonsense is perpetuated by certain suppliers with a vested interest in playing with smoke and mirrors.

The Fuelcard People believe that the best foundation for any long-term relationship is honesty. So, here is our guide to some of the very silly claims that certain less scrupulous companies might make in trying to win your business.

Myth 1: “Transaction charges are necessary.”

If a company is dealing with zillions of litres of fuel per year, they should be making more than enough profit to invest in infrastructure, training or anything else they need. Adding an instant £2 to a customer’s bill every time they start pumping fuel is, at best, a questionable strategy. If we do not need to do this, nor should anyone else.

Myth 2: “Discounts are not important.”

Seriously, some firms expect you to pay pump prices. These rascals might not be unrelated to the same folks who insist on levying extra service fees, transaction charges and other such nonsense. When we can offer savings of up to 4p per litre, but still make a reasonable profit, do you even care why other suppliers want to charge the full price? Remember, the whole point of a fuel card is to spend less on refuelling.

Myth 3: “Fuel cards are all the same.”

If this were true, we would not invest heavily in offering an unbeatable range, covering every major brand. Esso alone has more than one card type, to suit different users, as does Shell. This myth is promoted by firms with limited ranges. If a supplier can not offer you discount refuelling at all of BP, Esso, Shell and Texaco, at a minimum, proceed with caution.

Myth 4: “You don’t need a named account manager.”

Most suppliers seem to believe that if you have a query, you should join a call centre queue for a random, anonymous operator who has never heard of you. We think that you should have the direct line number for a dedicated individual, so that you always speak to the same person, who understands your needs. Whether you want to check something on an invoice or simply order more cards, we think that talking to somebody you know makes a difference.

Myth 5: “Fuel cards don’t work at supermarkets.”

If a supplier says this, you can bet that they are talking about their own offering. Our range includes diesel and petrol fuel cards that, as well as being valid on thousands of forecourts nationwide, can be used at Tesco, Morrisons and the Co-operative. That also applies to Moto service stations and smaller chains as Gulf, Jet, Murco and Pace.

Myth 6: “You need one card that can be used everywhere.”

This line was pushed for years by a supplier refusing to give discounts, despite it being contradicted by common sense. BP, Esso, Shell and Texaco all have massive nationwide networks. Having a fuel card accepted by only one of these isn’t a problem unless you think that their forecourts are hard to find. In reality, most of our fuel cards offer multi-brand acceptability, and if, like so many, you usually refuel at the same place, this myth becomes particularly pointless.

If you know of other fuel card myths, we would love to hear them. Any time that a potential supplier makes a claim that sounds unlikely, you know what to do: just call us on 0844 870 6942 and, as always, we will give you a straight answer.