The research by car leasing firm Flexed.co.uk found that huge numbers of business drivers are committing simple frauds such as logging their private driving as business miles in order to cheat their boss out of money. Other drivers are unwittingly doing the same thing simply by being too lazy or uninformed to record their driving habits accurately.

• 89% said they had submitted an inaccurate mileage claim in the past
• 63% had added personal miles to their total for personal gain
• 20% said they'd added private miles ‘by mistake’
• 36% didn't keep accurate records of the business and private mileage, so ‘just made something up that looked right’
• 12% didn't realise they had to keep personal and business mileage separate

‘Either through laziness, lack of knowledge or just greed, virtually every company with a car fleet is losing money through inaccurate claims,’ said the firm’s Mark Hall, "But most bosses seem to put up with what they think are acceptable losses.’

‘It's almost as they see it as a fringe benefit of the job,’ added Mark Hall.

In fact, the comments the company heard from drivers revealed the sense of entitlement of some business drivers:

• ‘Everybody does it, nobody in this company has ever been caught.’
• ‘I make the odd mistake on my paperwork, but I've never been asked for receipts.’
• ‘Diesel's so expensive, I think I deserve something back.’
• ‘Victimless crime, isn't it?’

The company also highlighted the risk to employees.

‘It's an epidemic that's costing businesses millions of pounds per year, but very few are ever actually caught,’ Hall noted. ‘Those that are usually face internal discipline rather than bringing the attention of the law down on a company, and drivers we spoke to usually paid the money back if questioned.’

‘Only one business driver we spoke to knew of anybody who had been sacked for faking their miles. It's certainly not a victimless crime, but there is a culture of impunity for those who do it,’ he added.