FleetCor Technologies, now known as Corpay, and its chief executive, Ronald Clarke, will pay $100 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission administrative action over hidden fuel-card fees, the agency announced September 17. The deal follows rulings by a federal district court in 2023 and a federal appeals court in 2026 that found FleetCor charged its customers, overwhelmingly small businesses, hidden or otherwise unauthorized fees. The FTC said the money will be used to provide redress to the business customers harmed by the company’s practices.
What the courts found about FleetCor’s fuel-card fees
The FTC first sued FleetCor in federal court in 2019. According to the agency’s September 17 announcement, the complaint alleged that the company and Clarke imposed a broad array of unauthorized fees that customers never knew about and never agreed to pay. The FTC said those fees totaled hundreds of millions of dollars and harmed tens of thousands of customers.
The complaint described how the fees stayed out of view. FleetCor often waited several billing cycles before it began charging many fees, making them less noticeable. Its invoices did not disclose that any fees were being charged, so customers had to seek out separate account management reports, and even there many fees were obscured among other information or not listed at all. FleetCor also charged late fees to customers who had paid on time or whom the company had prevented from paying on time, and it misrepresented the gas savings, fraud-control features and fees associated with its fuel cards.
In 2023, a federal district court entered summary judgment for the FTC on all counts, finding that FleetCor had charged hidden or otherwise unauthorized fees and misrepresented the savings and fees tied to its cards. In 2026, a federal appeals court upheld that judgment against FleetCor on all counts and affirmed a permanent injunction against the company. The appeals court affirmed the judgment against Clarke on all but one count and vacated the injunction as to him.
Before any refund notice arrives. Redress from an FTC order can reach former customers long after the business relationship ended, and the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice in The Settlement & Refund Recovery System helps separate the real deadline from the other dates on the page.
How the $100 million settlement works
The court-imposed order already bars FleetCor from billing a customer for any charge unless it has obtained the customer’s express informed consent and provided clear and unavoidable information about the charge. It also prohibits the company from hiding material information about a charge behind a hyperlink and from making deceptive claims about its fuel cards.
The new settlement resolves a separate FTC administrative action. Under it, FleetCor and Clarke will pay $100 million, and they have agreed not to oppose reimposition of a federal court injunction against Clarke, after the appeals court vacated the injunction that had applied to him personally.
“FleetCor deceived its small business customers by promising fuel savings that never materialized, while unfairly charging them hidden and unauthorized fees,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “In addition to the relief the FTC has obtained in federal court, this order will help return money to the customers the company took advantage of.”
The Commission voted 1-0-1 to accept the consent agreement, with Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson recused. The FTC will publish a description of the agreement in the Federal Register, followed by a 30-day public comment period, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed order final. Once an FTC consent order is final, each violation can bring a civil penalty of up to $53,088. Filings in the matter are collected on the FTC’s case page.
Who could receive money
The FTC said the $100 million will be used for redress to FleetCor’s business customers harmed by its practices. The agency has not yet announced how customers will be identified, how payments will be calculated, or when they will be sent, and the order must first clear the public comment period and a final Commission vote.
In past cases, the FTC has typically distributed money through a refund administrator and posted details on its refunds page, which lists active and completed refund programs. The agency says it never demands money, makes threats, asks people to transfer money, or promises prizes, so any message asking a FleetCor customer to pay a fee or share a bank login to receive a refund is a red flag.
Lessons for small-business owners, including retirees
FleetCor sold fuel cards to businesses that buy gas for their vehicles, and the FTC said its customers were overwhelmingly small businesses. For an owner at or near retirement age who runs a family firm or a side business and keeps the books personally, a monthly fee buried in a report that never appears on the invoice can add up for years without drawing attention. Money lost that way comes straight out of the income many older owners count on to supplement Social Security or savings.
The conduct the courts described points to a few practical habits. Business owners can compare each fuel-card invoice against the full account statement and any online account reports, rather than relying on the summary total. They can watch for new charges that begin several months into an account, and question any fee described only behind a link. And they can confirm how and when payments are credited, since FleetCor charged late fees to customers who had paid on time.
Business owners who were FleetCor or Corpay fuel-card customers can keep old invoices, account statements and correspondence with the company. Those records could help confirm the relationship if a refund program is later announced. Complaints about fees or billing practices can be reported to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Getting ready for a refund that has not been scheduled yet
The FleetCor order sets aside money for harmed business customers, but the details of any payout will come later. Former customers who keep their account history in order will be better placed to act when a notice arrives.
The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes the four-date rule for reading a settlement notice, the scam-proof rules for spotting fake refund offers, and a claim log and payment tracker for recording each notice and payment as it comes in.
Build a simple refund file with The Settlement & Refund Recovery System.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
