FleetCor agrees to pay $100 million to settle FTC action over hidden fuel‑card fees
FleetCor and its CEO have agreed to pay $100 million to resolve an FTC administrative action over undisclosed fees on fuel cards used by small businesses. The settlement follows a 2023 federal district court summary judgment that found FleetCor charged hidden fees and misrepresented fuel‑card savings, a ruling upheld by an appeals court in 2026.
The $100 million will be used to provide redress to FleetCor’s business customers who were harmed by the undisclosed fees. FleetCor and Clarke also agreed not to oppose reimposition of a federal court injunction against Clarke. Under the consent order, FleetCor may not bill a customer for any charge without obtaining the customer’s express informed consent and providing clear, unavoidable information about that charge. The order further bars the company from hiding charge details behind hyperlinks and from making deceptive claims about the gas savings or fraud‑control features of its fuel cards.
“FleetCor deceived its small business customers by promising fuel savings that never materialized, while unfairly charging them hidden and unauthorized fees,” Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection said.
The FTC first filed a complaint against FleetCor in federal court in 2019, alleging that the company imposed unauthorized fees and misrepresented the benefits of its fuel cards. In 2023, a federal district court granted summary judgment to the FTC on all counts, finding that FleetCor had charged hidden fees and misrepresented gas savings. A federal appeals court affirmed that judgment in 2026, upholding the permanent injunction against the company.
What we know
FleetCor and its CEO will pay $100 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission administrative action alleging that the company charged its customers, who overwhelmingly are small businesses, undisclosed fees in connection with their use of fuel cards that FleetCor falsely promised businesses would save them money.
In a complaint first filed in federal court in 2019, the FTC alleged that FleetCor Technologies Inc., now known as Corpay Inc., and its CEO Ronald Clarke imposed a broad array of unauthorized fees that its customers never knew about and did not agree to pay, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and harming tens of thousands of customers.
In 2023, a federal district court entered summary judgment for the FTC on all counts, finding that FleetCor had charged its customers hidden or otherwise unauthorized fees and misrepresented the gas savings and fees associated with FleetCor’s fuel cards.
In 2026, a federal appeals court upheld the summary judgment against FleetCor on all counts and affirmed the permanent injunction against it.
The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement was 1-0-1.