By Dave Sebastian

The Federal Trade Commission has again sued FleetCor Technologies Inc. and Chief Executive Ronald Clarke for allegedly charging customers hundreds of millions of dollars in mystery fees associated with fuel cards.

FleetCor provides companies with fuel cards for their employees. The FTC on Wednesday alleged that Fleetcor, operating under the Fuelman brand, told customers that they would save money, be protected from unauthorized charges and have no set-up, transaction or membership fees. FleetCor records show customers generally haven't achieved the advertised per-gallon savings by using the company's cards, according to the FTC.

FleetCor said it continues to believe that it is compliant with the law. "Rather than let the judge decide, the FTC is maneuvering to have the case decided through a partisan Commission vote," the company said.

The administrative complaint follows the commission's suit in federal court against the business-payments company and Mr. Clarke in December 2019 for the similar allegations. The Supreme Court earlier this year determined that the commission wasn't able to seek redress for consumers under a section of the FTC Act. The commission said it filed the new administrative complaint to ensure that it could still recover money lost by consumers.

"The FTC will do everything it can to get money back to FleetCor's business customers and unsuspecting fuel card users by refiling this complaint administratively," said Samuel Levine, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "We will also continue to work with Congress on a broader legislative solution following the Supreme Court's decision in AMG, which has hindered our ability to recover redress for families and honest businesses."

The FTC said its vote to issue the complaint was 4-1.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-11-21 1201ET