FleetCor Says It Will Appeal Court’s Decision in Fuel Card Case Brought by FTC

Global business payments company FleetCor has announced that it will appeal the ruling in a case involving the company’s fuel card business in the U.S. brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In a Tuesday (Aug. 9) decision, a court granted the FTC’s motion for a summary judgment as to liability for FleetCor and its CEO, Ron Clarke, while denying the FTC’s claim for monetary relief, the company said in a Wednesday (Aug. 10) press release.

“FLEETCOR strongly disagrees with the ruling on liability, which the Company believes was reached prematurely,” the company said in the statement.

PYMNTS reported in August 2021 that the FTC had filed an administrative complaint against FleetCor for allegedly charging customers “hundreds of millions of dollars” in “mystery fees” connected to their cards.

Read more: FTC Sues FleetCor Over Fuel Card ‘Mystery Fees’

“FleetCor, marketing under the ‘Fuelman’ brand name and through co-branded cards with businesses around the country, falsely told its business customers that they would save money, be protected from unauthorized charges, and have no set-up, transaction, or membership fees,” the commission said in a news release quoted in the August 2021 article.

According to the FTC, the firm’s own records show that most customers have not reached the advertised savings by using the company’s cards, PYMNTS reported.

In its Wednesday press release following the recent ruling, the firm said that beginning in 2017 it voluntarily cooperated with the FTC, addressed the concerns raised by the agency and has seen no change in customer behavior as a result of those changes.

“FLEETCOR takes governance and oversight matters seriously and is confident it has acted in accordance with all applicable laws,” Lead Independent Director Steven Stull said in the statement. “The Board fully supports the Company and Ron Clarke in their efforts to overturn this ruling.”

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