What would you do? Car related/mileage

[biddibom]

I work in an outreach post and I'm expected to drive around a lot. I sometimes do 500 miles a week or more, so a lot.

I've been in my job 3 years and I really enjoy it, love it in fact. The issue is the cost of petrol. We used to be given pre-paid mastercards we could put petrol in with and this worked great.

Now, they've changed system and we pay for our petrol and claim it back. The issue is that it can take 3 weeks or more for the payment to come back to you- depending on when you catch the payment run. I'm currently putting in two full tanks a week, so nearly 100.00 and I really can't afford it upfront.

I told my boss today, and she basically just shrugged and said well what can I do? I'm a single person living alone, and it's a struggle. I basically had to plead poverty to her and it was humiliating. Other team members live in two person households and haven't complained a such so it's only me.

I'm going to have to leave arent i? Even though I love it. :(

Can you get a credit card specifically for petrol? You get 52 days (I think) to pay the balance before interest kicks in so if you set up.to pay full amount at the end of the month this should give you the time you need to claim it back

Just make sure you only Use it for this purpose so you dont get into debt.

Could you get a credit card and charge it all on that and then pay it back when they pay you? Not an ideal situation but probably the only way to keep your job.

Yes, get a credit card for fuel. If you think you might struggle to qualify, try your own bank or a 'credit builder' card.

Unless you've had credit history issues like defaults, or can't prove your identity or address you'll almost certainly qualify, so it's the obvious solution.

But why isn't it an 'ideal solution'? It's completely normal, which is why the OPs boss expected people to work this out for themselves so didn't see the issue.

Most people would get themselves a cashback card and enjoy the small freebie that they're earning at their employer's expense.

MN is so weird about credit cards.

I was also going to suggest a credit card for fuel.

Something else to check - who's car are you using? Your own, or a company/hire car?

If it's your own, you should be getting far more than just fuel as reimbursement.

Agree with this that's a lot of mileage you are adding it will be affecting the value of the car

Most organisations refund via expenses as it makes better financial sense for the organisation.

Pretty much any role that involves travel will involve upfront payment and expenses.

Presumably @biddibom youre receiving 45p a mile, so are making money on the fuel as such, even with these increased costs, so surely should be able to use this difference in advance.

A credit card sounds a good way forward.

As is ensuring that you put in claims promptly.

And regarding a new job, if you then have to travel to a workplace, that cost could be unrefunded costs that you just have to suck up. So a new job isn't necessarily the easy solution.

No.
HMRC rates are already above the true running costs and include allowances for wear and tear etc.
It's part of the way up of accepting a role with significant travel.

The voice of the 1950s - or is it Gradgrind from Dickens?

It's completely normal, which is why the OPs boss expected people to work this out for themselves so didn't see the issue

because it's "normal" doesn't mean it's right. The OP is under no obligation to provide her employers with an interest-free loan and her boss should recognise this.

And it's not that easy to get a credit card, banks have really tightened up their criteria.

OP, my advice would be to get a credit card if you can; but make clear to your employer that it's unreasonable for them to expect you to incur such big expenses without timely reimbursement. It's nothing to do with being a single person household by the way - lots of families don't have two incomes. It is about employers being CFs and maintaining THEIR cashflow at the expense of their employees.

I worked somewhere where people complained about late reimbursement of expenses, and they introduced a weekly payroll for expenses so the longest you had to wait was just under two weeks.

Detail would be helpful.

Is it a company car?
Car allowance?
Your car?
Do you get fixed mileage rates?
Do you get proportional reimbursement e.g. 40% of your monthly mileage is work then you get 40% of your diesel spend back?

Also LOVING that ppl think 45p a mile is standard.

There's no requirement for employers to give anything - it's a suggested rate for the first 10k miles.
I got 11p a mile (plus allowance which just covered a standard car on a high mileage lease) & had to claim the tax back on the remaining 34p via self assessment which is another ball ache.

But if you get a car allowance that covers the cost of leasing and maintenance of a new car it's a different situation than paying all the costs of buying and running your own car and then adding a huge amount of work mileage to it that will increase wear and tear and reduce resale value.

You're right & I conflated a couple of things I was trying to get across really - first, mileage rates can still leave you out of pocket (11p a mile doesn't cover the diesel element anymore - you're contributing to work miles with your own money) and also that 45p doesn't always happen. It's 35p I think at my work.

But yes, expressed it poorly.

I get 25p per mile.
it’s my car.
im also hesitant to get a credit card as my current spend is 440.00 a month on average so I’d need at least a 500 limit.

If you’re only getting 25p a mile it’s worth you doing a self assessment tax form to claim the difference between that and the HMRC rate.

Not sure if you can claim back previous years, but you could definitely do the last tax year, and they’ll probably adjust this years tax code so you should pay less tax and have a small rebate from this year.

If you're consistently doing 500 miles a week you'll only get tax relief on the first 10k miles per year anyway, but tax returns are nowhere near as complicated as people make out so worth doing anyway.

But you probably need a higher limit than £500 as there will be more than a month's spending on there sometimes.

Unless you've previously had credit problems you should be able to get a card with a higher limit. I'd ask for at least £1k and just use it to buy fuel, nothing else. Set up a direct debit to pay it off in full every month and just make sure you submit your expenses claims on time.

No, but if it isn't reclaimed then, she can claim directly from hmrc at the differences in rates.