FLEET decision-makers have attacked standards of service among fleet management companies, claiming their procedures are a ‘total mess’ in some cases.

Accusations were levelled at some leasing companies offering fleet management as part of a service package, with a warning that fleets must check service standards can be delivered before signing any deals. Fleet decision-makers speaking at the Association of Car Fleet Operators London West meeting said poor service was affecting drivers, as well as causing headaches for management.

‘It is worse now than it has ever been,’ one fleet chief told the meeting, ‘It is a total mess. We outsourced our fleet management to a leasing company and the data integrity is a nightmare.

‘We are getting a lot of errors with P11ds and other forms. It is all basic things we are having problems with, such as vehicle allocation and reporting.’

Members heard that web-based services where fleets input their own data and can piggy-back on a leasing company’s own systems were very good, but others pointed out this defeated the object of outsourcing to reduce workload.

The solution, one delegate claimed, was that ‘if you want things done properly, do them yourself’.