Pilot / Flying J to pay $92M for rebate program

mpierce wrote:
General customers were NOT over charged. Even most trucking companies were NOT. JUST some of those who were getting a special extra discount for volume per contract.

So, NOTHING was taken from the general public. So, why would they get a refund?

just so were clear....

Pilot agreed in November to pay out nearly $85 million to settle claims related to the fraudulent withholding of fuel rebates and discounts in a class-action lawsuit with 5,500 trucking companies.

i completely agree - but at the same time who do you think was paying for those discounts that the volume customers were getting ?

i dont begrudge anyone (especially flying j) for doing deals w/ volume customers.

How much stock do you have in Pilot/flying?

Vulcaneer wrote:

Robin1953 wrote:
.

However good management principles should require they fire those employees that implemented this scheme, and ultimately cost the corporation all the legal costs and the 92M settlement. Yes...the executives and managers that were responsible. And no severance/retirement packages either. And no help with their legal fees to avoid prosecution. They now face prosecution. In fact FJ/Pilot should be prosecuting them as well. Not that they'll ever recoup anything from them. But they need to send a strong signal that they won't accept such behavior in the future.

==============================

Think maybe they will fire their Republican Gov. Haslam from Tennessee too????
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FRAUD Truck-stop company to pay $92M in fines
Authorities say the truck-stop company owned by Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has agreed to pay $92 million in fines for cheating customers out of promised rebates and discounts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Pilot Flying J has accepted responsibility for the criminal conduct of its employees, 10 of whom have pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme.
The agreement was signed Friday by attorneys for the nation’s largest diesel retailer. The agreement does not protect any individual at Pilot from prosecution and requires the company to cooperate with an ongoing investigation of current and former employees.

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/DFREEP/
page 11A.

Robin1953 wrote:
Not to be argumentative but the "general public" always pays for any such foolishness. It is called overhead.

I do agree that the 92M will ultimately be paid by the FJ/Pilot customers. Maybe a couple of cents/gallon. Bottom line is they need to do what they should to stay in business, and to satisfy their financial needs. And also to maintain their facilities and continue to support their 100's of thousands employees and suppliers.

And I do agree that FJ/Pilot caters to RV's and for that I do appreciate them. And also because they have identified the RV business as important to their business model, the RV community has spent millions of dollars with them. That does not make them a bad company. And for those that don't appreciate FJ/Pilot, they are free to drive on by, to choose many other businesses that offer the services they want.

However good management principles should require they fire those employees that implemented this scheme, and ultimately cost the corporation all the legal costs and the 92M settlement. Yes...the executives and managers that were responsible. And no severance/retirement packages either. And no help with their legal fees to avoid prosecution. They now face prosecution. In fact FJ/Pilot should be prosecuting them as well. Not that they'll ever recoup anything from them. But they need to send a strong signal that they won't accept such behavior in the future.

Shot-N-Az wrote:

Dick A wrote:



I have always been treated fairly by Pilot/Flying J. They are still the only fuel company catering to out business.

The above statement bears repeating. I will never understand the bashing and negative press FJ gets on this board. It's undeserved.

agree .... RV dedicated lanes at Flying J, propane fueling stations, a tank dumping area, designated RV parking .... name another chain that offers those amenities .... I also agree with the statement above that Love's seems to go out of its way to discourage RV customers

Jim

Dick A wrote:



I have always been treated fairly by Pilot/Flying J. They are still the only fuel company catering to out business.

The above statement bears repeating. I will never understand the bashing and negative press FJ gets on this board. It's undeserved.

mpierce wrote:
General customers were NOT over charged. Even most trucking companies were NOT. JUST some of those who were getting a special extra discount for volume per contract.

So, NOTHING was taken from the general public. So, why would they get a refund?

Not to be argumentative but the "general public" always pays for any such foolishness. It is called overhead. When I used to audit for a state agency we removed fines from overhead because the government would not help cover the costs of illegality but John Q public paid the full boat. That is why I always laugh when I read all the people that howl for a company to be taxed instead of them...guess where that tax goes...overhead. It is just then added to the cost of the product and/or service provided.

General customers were NOT over charged. Even most trucking companies were NOT. JUST some of those who were getting a special extra discount for volume per contract.

So, NOTHING was taken from the general public. So, why would they get a refund?

Popsie wrote:
Is this something that RVers should be able to get some sort of refund out of if they fueled up at a Pilot or Flying J ???

Not unless you had a fuel volume/price agreement w/ Flying J.

The issue had to do w/ special volume pricing that some large companies had w/ Flying J - based on some volume amounts the companies received "rebates and discounts" from flying J (apparently those rebates were not being paid as agreed upon).

The scheme was known by a variety of euphemisms including "manual rebates." Sales team members would reduce the amount of money due to trucking company customers they deemed to be too unsophisticated to notice, according to the affidavit.

The scheme was widely known in the sales department, according to court documents, with supervisors teaching other employees how to do it.

So that 92M is going to be reimbursed to the Pilot/Flying J customers, right?