VINLEC customers may be due million $$ refund!

23.NOV.07

Editor: If you take a look at page 4 of Vinlec’s financial statements for 2006; Statement of Income, you would see the following.

Under Revenues, Fuel surcharge recovered was $40,957,343 and under Operating expenses, Fuel surcharge was $40,642,995; a surplus of $314,348.{{more}}

Without getting complicated, the surcharge is not a profit making mechanism. It was designed to recover the money in excess of the base price that the company spends on diesel, so on Fuel surcharge itself Vinlec should collect the same amount of money that it spends.

In 2005 the Fuel surcharge recovered was $33,503,845 and Fuel surcharge expenses were $32,835,782; a surplus of $668,063.

Over just these two years, VINLEC collected a surplus of $982,411 on Fuel Surcharge; close to 1 million dollars from customers that it evidently did not pay to any fuel supplier. Why and where did this money go? One way this can happen is if the company inflated the price of fuel used in its surcharge calculations. From all appearances, this money belongs to the customers and should be refunded. Maybe there is a good explanation from the folks at VINLEC and their auditors, KPMG. Their valued customers would certainly like to hear it.

Consumer Advocate