- The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed an administrative complaint against fuel card marketer FleetCor Technologies, Inc. and its CEO (collectively “FleetCor”), alleging that it misled its business customers with unrealized promises of savings on fuel in violation of the FTC Act.
- The complaint alleges, among other things, that FleetCor charged its customers hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel-card fees while promising that its cards had no set-up, transaction, or membership fees. In addition, FleetCor allegedly promised customers specific per-gallon savings in its advertisements, which customers generally did not recognize.
- The complaint seeks to prohibit FleetCor from billing consumers for any charge without receiving their prior express and informed consent. The complaint also seeks to require that FleetCor employ a Chief Compliance Officer, file periodic compliance reports with the FTC, among other things.
- The current administrative complaint against FleetCor follows a lawsuit the FTC filed against FleetCor in December 2019 over similar allegations. In the earlier lawsuit, the FTC sought monetary relief under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, which the U.S. Supreme Court recently held does not allow for such recovery. According to the FTC, it filed the current administrative complaint against FleetCor under Section 5 of the FTC Act to ensure that it is still able to recover money damages for consumers.