USPS OIG audit: Voyager Card Program for Highway Contract Routes – Unidentified and Unrecovered Fuel Overpayments

The purpose of this alert1 is to bring to your attention the need for the U.S. Postal Service to immediately reconduct the highway contract routes (HCR) Voyager reconciliation for the 2009-2010 fuel year and recover an estimated $9.9 million in overpayments due from suppliers. We are issuing this alert due to the urgency and time sensitivity associated with recovering any overpayments. The Postal Service’s ability to recover2 any overpayments for expired and non-renewed contracts becomes increasingly difficult as time passes. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) has expressed continued concern3 with the Postal Service’s control environment and related control weaknesses over the HCR Voyager Card Program.

Since 2005, the Postal Service has been providing HCR suppliers with Voyager fleet transaction cards from U.S. Bank Voyager Fleet Systems, Inc. to purchase fuel for their vehicles (also known as the Voyager Card Program). The Postal Service’s Fuel Management Program (FMP) policy provides guidance to suppliers and the Postal Service regarding the Voyager Card Program. Under the policy, the Postal Service must reconcile Voyager card transactions to determine whether supplier purchases exceed the annual allotted fuel gallons. The Postal Service’s Supply Management, Fuel Management Category Management Center (CMC) group performs this function. Accurate reconciliations are vital to the Postal Service so it can recover funds from suppliers that exceed their allotted fuel gallons.

We estimate that the Postal Service did not properly identify and recover about $9.9 million in fuel overpayments to HCR suppliers for fuel year 2009-2010. It failed to collect these overpayments because the HCR Voyager Card Program reconciliation process was not reasonably conducted and documented. Specifically, the process lacked:

 Detailed documentation to support fuel pooling by suppliers and the gallons that suppliers used over their allotted amount to determine the fuel overpayments. For example, for large suppliers, the Postal Service listed only the supplier name, over/under gallon amounts,4 and the amount due, if applicable. The Postal Service should have included documentation for each of the approved pools by listing every contract identified in a pool and the respective contract gallons, extra trip gallons, and actual gallons purchased.

 Summarized calculations showing that all gallons and contracts were reconciled and accounted for. Specifically, there was no complete list and count of all supplier contracts and their annual contract gallon allowances and purchases, or documentation on the negotiations and disposition on overpayments and collection.

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