to want my expenses put back into my account quickly?

[alphabite]

I started a new job earlier this year which involves a fair bit of travelling to different parts of the UK. For longer distances I usually use the train to save my company money (I always check which is cheaper - the train or the milage rate to drive).

I pay for the tickets myself and claim back (which stupidly I did agree to). I was told expenses get paid into account on a weekly basis but on occasion it might take 2 weeks. It is now getting beyond a joke and is sometimes taking 3 weeks. This would be ok for a small amount but I am currently owed over £250 which I really need right now. I have emailed my finance department to hurry them up and they said it would be in my account by Friday. Friday has now come and gone and it's still not there. This is 3 and a half weeks later. I know we had a bank holiday weekend but it is not even in my account this morning.

AIBU to expect to get expenses back quicker than this? I have never had a job where I have to have so many expenses for travel and I am away from the office for much of the week/month so I don't get to see my boses or finance department much to talk to them about it.

I also worry about months where my finances are tighter e.g. around xmas and whether I can afford to pay for train tickets upfront and claim back without going overdrawn. I like my job, I love my colleagues but this is starting to annoy me and get me down.

If a company messed me about like that I'd be going by train and claiming petrol.

Pigletjohn - yes, even if it were true.

As you can see from most of the replies - most companies seem to reimburse expenses monthly. And most people manage this by having a credit card.

So I would expect anyone who worked for me to manage this, just like everyone else does.

If you can't get a company credit card, ask them to book travel for you centrally (is there a secretary who could do this?). Otherwise, request a float of say £500 and keep it in a separate account.

All companies I have worked for where I was required to travel have booked travel centrally and provided a credit card for other expenses. Small things like lunches were paid for by me and claimed back.

You shouldn't be out of pocket, but ime it's normal for finance to take about 3-4 weeks to reimburse cash expenses.

I am owed over £600 from February and March expenses....there has been some "mix up".
No company credit cards here.....It's mainly petrol which is paid per mile and small things like parking fees/stationary.

Thanks everyone. I can see there are very differing opinions. I suppose it'll take me a while to get used to such a different place of work than the one I was used to.

I will have a quiet word with finance to see if I can get things in the 1-2 weeks they said. I won't be getting another credit card as I believe for paying for things upfront and I hate debt of any kind. However for work expenses emergencies I guess I will just have to use my own credit card which I have for my own emergencies. I rarely use it but might have to in this situation.

Thanks for your opinions and advice.

butheneverdid sorry but i agree with alphabite. i dont have a credit card because i dont like being in debt. ive never been in debt even when i was unemployed. If i couldnt pay for something upfront i would go without. i fail to see why someone should get into debt to please their employer. the OP was told she would be reimbursed after 2 weeks so they have already lied to her once. Maybe if they had been a bit more honest with her to begin with she might be more willing to risk getting into debt for them no? Also in todays economic climate who would be willing to risk this anyway? what if the company went under and the Op then had no way of paying the credit card off.To not be honest with her at interview stage and then expect her to do this is taking the piss. She is their employee not a charity.

"I hate debt of any kind" is not a very well thought-out position, particularly in this instance. There are times when being "in debt" can be to your benefit.

If you don't want to get a personal credit card can you get work to book your train tickets for you and get accomodation invoiced? I do this to keep costs down on my card.

I have also asked for an advance for large expenses before, but that has been for overseas work.

If they won't do that then you will need to get a credit card, otherwise you are lending your work money.

I am just amazed at the attitude to business expenses on this thread.

I work for a large global company. And I guess I thought that it was just normal to:

• have a company credit card (either issued by the company or a personal one that is reserved solely for company use)
• get reimbursed on a monthly basis.

I have never seen this as "getting into debt", or being at all risky for myself in any way.

And yes, I would still be a bit if anyone who worked for me / who I worked with / worked for had any problem with this approach.

YANBU - it's not your job to finance the company & clearly you aren't on high enough salary for this not to cause you problems.

Arrange a meeting and sort out an alternative way - per diems paid in cash, a company credit card, or an expenses float of some kind.

Alternatively as others have suggested, get a credit card and ONLY use it for business expenses. If they are late reimbursing you so you have to pay interest, charge that to them too! It won't be a 'debt' as such, but a tool to manage your finances.

What about if someone was up to their credit limit and couldn't go over it? Why should an employee be expected to take on a debt that might be really inconvenient?

we had this with my dh's employers. He was out of pocket by hundreds which we could ill afford. In the end he had a meeting to state that we could no longer be a creditor for the company and the result was a float was paid to him. He uses a pre-paid credit card and the float sits on there so there is a clear differentiation between our personal finances and his expenses.

When his expenses are paid, all money goes immediately onto this card and he also includes the £10 monthly fee in his claims as he stated he was not willing to burden himself with the threat of extra debt if there was a problem with the funding of his expenses in any month.

YANBU to be vexed that work aren't sticking to what they told you but if they can't change then you're going to need to find an alternative.

I definitely agree with those saying that it makes sense to use a credit card for exactly this kind of reason. It's not 'getting into debt' more a prudent way of managing your own cashflow. I have a personal credit card which I put all my work expenses through on (no company credit cards available). It stops me having to use my 'own' money to pay for these things and provided I get the claims in on a timely basis I always have enough money to settle the bill in full each month and therefore I never pay interest.

I actually make money doing it this way as I have a cashback credit card and I reckon the work aspect of it probably contributes about £40 or £50 a year towards what I get in cashback.

YANBU, this really annoys me. Ours have to be with finance by the 14th of the month to make payment at the end of the month, but our admin person has a very lax approach to processing them and getting them to finance, so it's 6-8 weeks if we're lucky. There is no order either, some expenses you out in very recently have been paid quickly, others that were done ages ago, still waiting for. We have no petty cash either. I had the cheek to ask if we had a taxi account and got the 'you should be able to manage your money' raised eyebrows/cats bum mouth like your colleagues who are on 80k (I am not btw!).

Well put, daisydoodoo - while having another CC may be an easy step for some people, it isn't an option for everyone, and could be quite embarrassing if it was put forward by the company as a "solution" (but couldn't be used by the OP).

I was made bankrupt (by Inland Revenue, with figures they plucked from thin air as income tax, when I've not earned enough for 10+ years to even go away for holidays) and even though that is going on 6 years ago, it means half the house insurance brokers won't even quote me, and credit is still out of the question [even with 10K in the bank, some of the cash from the sale of my home].

ButHeNeverDid - "or being at all risky for myself in any way"

There have been plenty of firms (in years gone by) with a sales team out on the road, often owed around 2-3 K in unreimbursed expenses for accommodation, fuel, and business lunches (I was a recipient of some of those lunches).

In uncertain times, when a firm could give employees less than a week's notice that they might be made redundant, and no notice at all that the firm is going into administration, anyone with outstanding expenses could find themselves with that unpaid debt not being honoured, or find those items being at the very end of the payouts (after some firm like E+Y or PwC get their hands on a big slice!)

Sadly, while you don't consider it risky, that might be blind faith in your employer. Others clearly have had different experiences with past employers and for whatever reason, don't feel they want to add a credit liability when it is for the benefit of the employer and their cashflow not to issue a company card, and leave the employee "hanging on" for money.

While it is relatively easy for someone on any medium to high salary to simply get another card, and feel confident that the expenses won't break them if there's a delay in the company paying out, it's a bit of an assumption to think that what you do and think is the 'right' approach. That you are amazed by others frankly amazes me :)

Mine are done monthly and that has always been the same for any company I've worked for. Although, as my current employer is small if my expenses rack up then I ask them to put through an early run and they do.
I just have a seperate credit card that I use only for expenses - it boosts my credit rating so everyones a winner :) The tricky thing is making sure you dont use it for anything else