As anyone who fills up at the pumps will know, the price of vehicle fuel has dropped considerably in recent months. That’s good news for lots of people.
And as one of Tamebay’s readers correctly noted in an email when he got in touch with us over the weekend: isn’t it time to start asking the question why postal and courier fuel surcharges haven’t been reduced too?
He wrote: “As fuel prices have fallen to a six year low I have been wondering why these fuel surcharges haven’t fallen. They go up quick enough but surely they should fall as well? I am about to challenge my suppliers over this. Interlink currently charge me 7%!”
It’s a good question. Are you subject to a fuel surcharge from a courier? Have they reduced it now the commodity prices for oil have fallen? If not, why not?
We urge you to contact your courier and find out what’s going on with fuel surcharges. And let us know the results so we can follow up. 🙂
10 Responses
Very good point, we also use Interlink and 7.75% is a high fuel surcharge to begin with. It will be interesting to see how you get on with them. Do keep everyone updated.
Over 15 years we have always got the courier to include the FS fee in the prices – but when we changed to Interlink in March 2014 it wasn’t possible.
More than likely the price they pay for fuel will not have changed as they will be fuel hedging and buying fuel 12 months or so in advance at a fixed price in order to avoid price fluctuations.
This is also a question that you might like to put to your local MP. There are reports that Government has been applying pressure to the Supermarket chains about the price of Petrol and Diesel on their Forecourts. After all with a General Election only months away a significant reduction in the price of fuel will do wonders for the Cost of Living Indexes. Just what a very poor Government needs to give it a glow in the run up to the Election to give us all a feel good factor.
So it may be that Government might be asking questions of every transport media that currently has Fuel Surcharges including Carriers and of course Airlines.
Royal Mail apply a 3% fuel surcharge
We’ve been using Interlink for at least 5 years and pay 7.75% on our invoices.
I’ve phoned accounts, customer services and now sales and have been told that they’re going to contact my local franchisee (who happens to be a good mate of mine) so I’ll see what they say and report back.
It went on when the fuel prices went up, so it needs to come off now that the prices are sliding.
Not interested in if they buy their fuel in bulk, they didn’t use that excuse when they put the surcharge on.
Noel
Many of the parcel companies peg the surcharge to the fuel price, so it should decrease. However the changes happen monthly, not weekly, and can be delayed by a month as well.
Interlink have dropped their surcharge to 6.8%. No announcement, it’s just changed in the last few days.
https://www.interlinkexpress.com/content/eshipping/fuel_surcharge.jsp