Fleet managers with fewer than 300 vehicles provided by the Whitechapel eco scheme have been left shocked by the news that their agreements have been cancelled.

A fleet manager, who was told the scheme was being withdrawn, told Fleet News that no reason was given for the service being axed.

The company received a letter from Lloyds TSB Autolease, which owns Whitechapel, that simply stated that the service agreement was being terminated.

“It’s all come as a complete surprise and we’ve received no explanation as to why the service is being withdrawn,” said the fleet manager, who did not want to be named.

“It’s not clear why they decided to choose those with less than 300 vehicles, but I imagine that there are a large number of fleets affected.”

Autolease said its decision only affects a ‘handful’ of fleets and it was still committed to the SME sector.

“We regularly assess our customers’ policies to ensure that our fleet provision offers value and is appropriate to their future needs,” explained a spokesman.

“For a handful of customers operating our Whitechapel employee car ownership scheme, we have put forward alternative options which are more appropriate for lower volume fleets in this current environment.”

Read the full story in this week's Fleet News