Work expenses no credit card

LegacyUser

My husbands job requires him to travel several times a month. His employer has promised him a company credit card for the last 12 months and it’s still not happening. My husbands bad credit means he doesn’t have a personal credit card. So all the travel expenses are coming from his wages, this month alone that was €1000. We can’t afford this. He claims it back but it happens again the next month so it’s a vicious circle. And it’s money that is then not available to us to use, save, spend on emergencies or even a treat for the kids.
We are struggling financially, living month to month with no respite from the drudgery. Our marriage is suffering as a result.
He won’t force the issue with work as he’s afraid to rock the boat. So he’s rather have me angry as hell about it than make a stand in work. I’m so sick of it.
Has anyone any advice?
I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.
I haven’t have a break away in nearly 10yrs, he’s away travelling all over Europe, ok it’s work, but it’s away from the kids, staying in a hotel, meals and nights out socialising.
He then tells me I can go away whenever I want, but with what?! We have no spare cash!
I’m at a loss now as to what to do. We’re going round and round in circles, he refuses to talk about it, won’t see a counsellor with me and these financial issues are causing such a huge issue in the marriage and it’s a miserable existence.

AndrewJRenko

Most employers don't provide a company credit card in my experience. Some of the large multi nationals might.

Is there any way you can get a credit card with a small limit and give him a card?

dudara

A lot of companies will give a cash advances, which can be offset against the expenses. He could ask him employer if they will do this.

antix80

I think you trust your husbands version of events too much. The whole thing sounds very suspicious.

I think this is more suited to PI than work problems.

OMM 0000

When I was around 22, my girlfriend at the time was still a student. I got a credit card in my name, and got a duplicate card for her.

Can you do this?

antix80

antix80 wrote: »

I think you trust your husbands version of events too much. The whole thing sounds very suspicious.

I think this is more suited to PI than work problems.

Wow. As if the op wasn’t stressed enough. You must have missed the part where his expenses are reimbursed each month by his employer.

OMM 0000

antix80 wrote: »

I think you trust your husbands version of events too much. The whole thing sounds very suspicious.

I think this is more suited to PI than work problems.

Are you suggesting he's cheating on her...?

I also have to travel for work. My expenses are also 1000+ each month.

What her husband is doing is normal. He just doesn't have a credit card to make things easier.

EDIT to say: His work stuff is normal. Obviously the not talking etc. isn't normal.

killbillvol2

antix80 wrote: »

I think you trust your husbands version of events too much. The whole thing sounds very suspicious.

I think this is more suited to PI than work problems.

You're either being deliberately provocative or you're not very bright.

This is the way most companies work nowadays, the employee runs up the expenses and claims them back. That's no help to the OP though.

antix80

My point is a €1000 cash advance isn't going to fix the problem the op is having. And her husband has a history of financial problems.. He might have drink or gambling problems.

antix80

antix80 wrote: »

My point is a €1000 cash advance isn't going to fix the problem the op is having. And her husband has a history of financial problems.. He might have drink or gambling problems.

Where do you see that? There are a multitude of reasons why someone could have a poor credit rating through no fault of there own. You are making up your own story, the op is asking if it is usual for companies not to give credit cards and advice on how best to alleviate the financial burden of using wages to pay for expenses and then have to wait to get expenses back.

OMM 0000

antix80 wrote: »

My point is a €1000 cash advance isn't going to fix the problem the op is having. And her husband has a history of financial problems.. He might have drink or gambling problems.

It's possible he's putting his head in the sand, or lying, or cheating, or whatever, but the OP was specifically asking about how to ease the financial situation regarding expenses.

FishOnABike

antix80 wrote: »

My point is a €1000 cash advance isn't going to fix the problem the op is having. And her husband has a history of financial problems.. He might have drink or gambling problems.

I don't see where you get this from. There's nothing in the OP's post to suggest anything but a bad credit history / rating making it difficult for her husband to get a credit card with a reasonable credit limit and cash flow problems being caused by having to pay work expenses up front out of current salary.

Most people would find it difficult to manage paying significant work travel expenses out of their own pocket and claiming them back in arrears. Depending on expenses and payroll cycles it could be over a month before expenses are reimbursed.

If work related travel is very regular a rolling cash advance to cover the average monthly work related expenses would solve the cash flow problem but it would take discipline to ensure it is ringfenced for wok expenses and not dipped into for unexpected cost of living expenses.

IITYWYBMAD

antix80 wrote: »

My point is a €1000 cash advance isn't going to fix the problem the op is having. And her husband has a history of financial problems.. He might have drink or gambling problems.

Christ on a stick. We're less than 10 years out of the worst recession this country probably ever had, rents are at an all time high, and this is the type of drivel people have to listen to when asking for advice?

OP, most employers are pretty clued in and reactive, when it comes to situations like this. Personally, I find it unreasonable that an employee would have to bank roll the company for 1k+ per month, irrespective of the salary involved. I'm guessing that the employer does not know the effect that this burden is having on your home life. Your husband needs to address this as a matter of urgency.

Obviously, if you feel your relationship is at the stage that counselling is needed, that does bring other questions to a head, but I would suggest picking the lowest hanging fruit first, and get him to get this issue sorted.

antix80

I think people are missing the point. A cashflow issue like that should not prevent saving like op suggests.

If it's going on 10 years.. Well that's less than €2 a week to get out of this supposedly endless cycle of delays receiving expenses.

Op if your husband is happy with his (seemingly) low paid job that let's him jet around europe and spends €1000 a month on hotels and meals.. Well maybe he could get a higher paying job doing something else that doesnt come with travel and expenses.

Strumms

Insist on a cash advance. Otherwise you are loaning your employer money. You receive money from them not loan it to them.

If there is no cash advance available or company credit card given simply refuse the trip by telling them in email...

“I’m sorry but at the current moment I’m not in a position to finance the company to pay for the work trips which they require I do. I as you know CAN and am flexible regarding every facet of my employment here but like everyone I have personal and family commitments which driven by finances do not lend to me being able to lend my employer money to cover this work. Please let me know when you have come up with a fair , workable and appropriate alternative.”

Regards,

Xxxxx

That's kind of standard in the public service and a lot of employers follow that model too.

Travel and then submit a travel claim form and get reimbursed the next month.

OMM 0000

antix80 wrote: »

I think people are missing the point. A cashflow issue like that should not prevent saving like op suggests.

If it's going on 10 years.. Well that's less than €2 a week to get out of this supposedly endless cycle of delays receiving expenses.

Op if your husband is happy with his (seemingly) low paid job that let's him jet around europe and spends €1000 a month on hotels and meals.. Well maybe he could get a higher paying job doing something else that doesnt come with travel and expenses.

That wasn't your original point though.

Your original point was that he's cheating.

I agree there's something wrong with their cash flow / savings situation.

Strumms

Deleted User wrote: »

That's kind of standard in the public service and a lot of employers follow that model too.

Travel and then submit a travel claim form and get reimbursed the next month.

If the money is available to reimburse it will be there to advance also. It’s just the company being somewhat lazy, tight and pig ignorant.

my3cents

Strumms wrote: »

If the money is available to reimburse it will be there to advance also. It’s just the company being somewhat lazy, tight and pig ignorant.

Maybe the company knows it can filter real expenses that are reimbursed but won't pay in advance because they know they will never see the money again. There has to be a reason for someone not being able to get a credit card.

Toots

I know a guy who worked for a small company and had to do similar with expenses etc when he travelled. Company wasn't in a position to have company cards (it was a small family run one) and it worked out fine initially, but then my friend's wife lost her job so he wasn't in a position to fund his trips up front and then claim back expenses. What they ended up agreeing was the company would advance the money but he had to submit receipts for everything. Anything that wasn't covered by receipts had to be repaid either directly or be taken out of his wages.

AulWan

If expenses are recurring and reimbursed monthly, shouldn't his reimbursed expenses from the previous month also be paid with his salary, so it should break even, after the first month? *slightly confused*

Strumms

my3cents wrote: »

Maybe the company knows it can filter real expenses that are reimbursed but won't pay in advance because they know they will never see the money again. There has to be a reason for someone not being able to get a credit card.

If they advance me €1000 euros tomorrow for a trip and I come back with receipts and an expenses form that cover €850 of that. I owe them €150. I either hand over this cash on my return, it’s documented by giving me a receipt or it’s debited from my next pay. Simple.

FishOnABike

AulWan wrote: »

If expenses are recurring and reimbursed monthly, shouldn't his reimbursed expenses from the previous month also be paid with his salary, so it should break even, after the first month? *slightly confused*

Could be close to two months if expenses are reimbursed monthly an expenses claim just missed the cutoff date for inclusion in this months payroll.

Sure you get it back eventually but a lot of people would not be in a finanvial position to be continually out of pocket for a month or two.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

If they advance me €1000 euros tomorrow for a trip and I come back with receipts and an expenses form that cover €850 of that. I owe them €150. I either hand over this cash on my return, it’s documented by giving me a receipt or it’s debited from my next pay. Simple.

How is this helping the op?

As you have done in many other threads, you have decided your way is right, their way is wrong and the employee should not stand for it. The company does it this way, they are entitled to do it this way, the public service does it this way.

The best the ops husband can do is explain the difficult situation this puts him in and hope they accommodate him. Beyond that, it may be necessary to look for another job with less travel and a different way of doing things.

Try switching from warrior mode to helping/reality mode.

Strumms

Dav010 wrote: »

How is this helping the op?

As you have done in many other threads, you have decided your way is right, their way is wrong and the employee should not stand for it. The company does it this way, they are entitled to do it this way, the public service does it this way.

The best the ops husband can do is explain the difficult situation this puts him in and hope they accommodate him. Beyond that, it may be necessary to look for another job with less travel and a different way of doing things.

Try switching from warrior mode to helping/reality mode.

I’m in in the ‘mode’ of appraising the situation and coming up with the fair and appropriate mode of resolving the situation. The company has a responsibility that is pretty evident yet they are not going far enough to resolve satisfactory.

JustMe,K

We refuse to issue company cards to our employees because our CEO has a long held belief that people are more likely to use cards for things they wouldnt expense (like bottles of water etc). Without getting into the fact that he is being ridiculous and tight, its his view and his decision. Everyone is expected to front load expenses, and nothing is reimbursed without a receipt.

Speak to whoever deal with it and see if there is a way to manage the expenses better, I am sure they have a way around this. It might be that he does expenses weekly rather than monthly to help mitigate the outlays, depending on the size of the company. If an employee came to us and stated they could not afford to front load expenses, we would just have to find a way round it. As it stands when I know people have expensive periods in their lives, I book flights, pre pay hotels etc on the company cards instead of the employee front loading them which helps, as well as processing expenses within a couple of days when they are more than €100. The bottom line is the person responsible for the processing of the expenses should be able to come up with a solution, or refer it to someone who can.

heroics

In a previous company I worked in they would book and pay for flights/accomodation on a company card and then I only claimed for other expenses which reduced the amount dramatically.

Could your husbands company do something similar.

Tombo2001

IITYWYBMAD wrote: »

Christ on a stick. We're less than 10 years out of the worst recession this country probably ever had, rents are at an all time high, and this is the type of drivel people have to listen to when asking for advice?

OP, most employers are pretty clued in and reactive, when it comes to situations like this. Personally, I find it unreasonable that an employee would have to bank roll the company for 1k+ per month, irrespective of the salary involved. I'm guessing that the employer does not know the effect that this burden is having on your home life. Your husband needs to address this as a matter of urgency.

Obviously, if you feel your relationship is at the stage that counselling is needed, that does bring other questions to a head, but I would suggest picking the lowest hanging fruit first, and get him to get this issue sorted.

Unreasonable but normal.

That's life. Expenses are paid retrospectively, for most costs. Because they are incurred on the road.

Flights you pay in advance. Others no.

By all means go in and ask a company to change their accounting practices for expenses, reason being that you don't like it.

Use phrases like 'Christ on a Stick' to the head accountant, and refer to the recession and rents and so on.

This is not 'low hanging fruit'.

Tombo2001

OP

Can I ask - if this travel expenses issue ended tomorrow - would your personal finance issues then be resolved? Or would your partner find some other reason to leave you with no cash at the end of the month?

Jim2007

antix80 wrote: »

My point is a €1000 cash advance isn't going to fix the problem the op is having. And her husband has a history of financial problems.. He might have drink or gambling problems.

Obviously you have a lot of issues to dealt with and projecting them on to other people will not help.

Tombo2001

JustMe,K wrote: »

We refuse to issue company cards to our employees because our CEO has a long held belief that people are more likely to use cards for things they wouldnt expense (like bottles of water etc). Without getting into the fact that he is being ridiculous and tight, its his view and his decision. Everyone is expected to front load expenses, and nothing is reimbursed without a receipt.

Speak to whoever deal with it and see if there is a way to manage the expenses better, I am sure they have a way around this. It might be that he does expenses weekly rather than monthly to help mitigate the outlays, depending on the size of the company. If an employee came to us and stated they could not afford to front load expenses, we would just have to find a way round it. As it stands when I know people have expensive periods in their lives, I book flights, pre pay hotels etc on the company cards instead of the employee front loading them which helps, as well as processing expenses within a couple of days when they are more than €100. The bottom line is the person responsible for the processing of the expenses should be able to come up with a solution, or refer it to someone who can.

How exactly is OP supposed to go and negotiate terms for expenses with her Husbands employer?

LionelNashe

Tombo2001 wrote: »

OP

Can I ask - if this travel expenses issue ended tomorrow - would your personal finance issues then be resolved? Or would your partner find some other reason to leave you with no cash at the end of the month?

Or, would the OP spend the €1000 on a holiday for herself or the family and then they'd be back to Square 1.

OP you really have listed two problems the expenses and the more general problems of living month to month and the stress of that.

Others have addressed funding the expenses - solving that would relieve some stress but won't do anything about the other stresses.
What could you (both or individually) do to get out of the cycle of living hand to mouth?

JustMe,K

Tombo2001 wrote: »

How exactly is OP supposed to go and negotiate terms for expenses with her Husbands employer?

talk about splitting hairs - her husband should go speak to them

meeeeh

We pay an amount in advance and they usually drop in the expenses. We have only a couple of people travelling and not very often and I usually have to chase them for the bills. They already got the money so there is less of an initiative to get things sorted. It's a pain but I prefer it to them financing their stuff. I think it's fairer.

Getting expenses paid in advance would help with your cash flow but it still doesn't change the fact that your family income isn't sufficient. While I can completely understand how your credit rating could be bad after the last recession the fact is that with Brexit on horizon things won't get better so you need to look into employment if you are not working or into getting better paid jobs. Or reducing your outgoings. Your income simply isn't enough and if you are not able to save something in the period of strong wage growth it won't get any easier in future.

Strumms

meeeeh wrote: »

We pay an amount in advance and they usually drop in the expenses. We have only a couple of people travelling and not very often and I usually have to chase them for the bills. They already got the money so there is less of an initiative to get things sorted. It's a pain but I prefer it to them financing their stuff. I think it's fairer.

Getting expenses paid in advance would help with your cash flow but it still doesn't change the fact that your family income isn't sufficient. While I can completely understand how your credit rating could be bad after the last recession the fact is that with Brexit on horizon things won't get better so you need to look into employment if you are not working or into getting better paid jobs. Or reducing your outgoings. Your income simply isn't enough and if you are not able to save something in the period of strong wage growth it won't get any easier in future.

A family income should be chosen with providing for your family as your priority, not loaning a big corporation money who refuse to front up and pay for work and travel that THEY want you to do.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

A family income should be chosen with providing for your family as your priority, not loaning a big corporation money who refuse to front up and pay for work and travel that THEY want you to do.

There's no mention of the company size by the OP.
An advance or company credit card or personal credit card would solve that overnight but wouldn't solve any of the other problems listed.

meeeeh

Strumms wrote: »

A family income should be chosen with providing for your family as your priority, not loaning a big corporation money who refuse to front up and pay for work and travel that THEY want you to do.

You can be on a high horse about it all you want but the fact is if your cash flow is so tight 1000 Euros affects your ability to live despite working full time then that means you have more serious issues.

BarryD2

FishOnABike wrote: »

Could be close to two months if expenses are reimbursed monthly an expenses claim just missed the cutoff date for inclusion in this months payroll.

Sure you get it back eventually but a lot of people would not be in a finanvial position to be continually out of pocket for a month or two.

Yes but I agree with previous poster, this is confusing. If this is a regular set of expenses, it would have been a savings issue for the first month or two but after that, it should not affect monthly disposable income. As the additional expenses roll over month to month and are paid month to month, the end result should be the same.

Strumms

meeeeh wrote: »

You can be on a high horse about it all you want but the fact is if your cash flow is so tight 1000 Euros affects your ability to live despite working full time then that means you have more serious issues.

I think most people with children, mortgages , rent, car loan would be struggling if someone nicked 1000 euros out of their monthly income.

It’s not a high horse you need be worrying yourself with but rather the low road of pay to work which you might be advocating.

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

I think most people with children, mortgages , rent, car loan would be struggling if someone nicked 1000 euros out of their monthly income.

It’s not a high horse you need be worrying yourself with but rather the low road of pay to work which you might be advocating.

Who is nicking money? You really are blinkered.

The ops husband is being reimbursed at the end of each month, this is common practice, and saying that the employer is doing something wrong or underhanded just derails the thread for your own agenda.

It isn’t a high horse, it’s just nonsense and another thread turns into the Strumms militant philosophy of how employers are doing wrong.

MrS, €1000 is very low for a month of expenses if it included flights and hotels, and would be about right for meals, taxis/hire cards, hotel incidentals, drinks with clients etc. Maybe the op could confirm if husband has to book own hotels/flights, I’m inclined to think an employer does the hotel/flight booking to ensure costs are kept as low as possible.

meeeeh

Strumms wrote: »

I think most people with children, mortgages , rent, car loan would be struggling if someone nicked 1000 euros out of their monthly income.

It’s not a high horse you need be worrying yourself with but rather the low road of pay to work which you might be advocating.

In previous post I wrote I forward some money for the expenses before they leave and it's usually enough to cover all their expenses because I believe its fairer. You decided to ignore that and insinuated I'm advocating something completely different. It's a nasty way to misrepresent what I said and I have nothing more to say to you.

Strumms

What is fair is if you travel for work, work covers 100% of your expenses. Again if you are going to need 1000 euros for hotels, food and taxis, this money is advanced to you, 500 ? Same, 2000 same. Not even for a 24 hour period would I advance them a cent.. they WANT you to go there ? They pay... comfortable 3-4 star hotel with good amenities such as a gym, pool, centrally located to give you access to comforts, social and entertainment aspects of the city.....

Strumms

Strumms wrote: »

What is fair is if you travel for work, work covers 100% of your expenses. Again if you are going to need 1000 euros for hotels, food and taxis, this money is advanced to you, 500 ? Same, 2000 same. Not even for a 24 hour period would I advance them a cent.. they WANT you to go there ? They pay... comfortable 3-4 star hotel with good amenities such as a gym, pool, centrally located to give you access to comforts, social and entertainment aspects of the city.....

Employer is covering expenses, unless I missed it, the op has not said that vouched expenses are being refused. The rest of your post is nonsense.

Strumms

Dav010 wrote: »

Employer is covering expenses, unless I missed it, the op has not said that vouched expenses are being refused. The rest of your post is nonsense.

Nonsense is contained here... https://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?user=895100&sort=newest


And despite what the OP said the scope of the conversation has widened as with any topic on this site, so welcome to boards.ie

whippet

Strumms wrote: »

What is fair is if you travel for work, work covers 100% of your expenses. Again if you are going to need 1000 euros for hotels, food and taxis, this money is advanced to you, 500 ? Same, 2000 same. Not even for a 24 hour period would I advance them a cent.. they WANT you to go there ? They pay... comfortable 3-4 star hotel with good amenities such as a gym, pool, centrally located to give you access to comforts, social and entertainment aspects of the city.....

out of curiosity what do you work at?

I have been claiming expenses / mileage monthly in arrears for almost two decades and it has never been a problem .. some months this could be close to 2k but usually about €800-1000.

After the first month there isn't a problem.

I think the OP's husband has a bigger issue with budgeting etc and that is where the focus should lie

Strumms

I have worked in the aviation industry as a trainer for 10 years hence the requirement to travel.

If you are comfortable with your own situation that’s good, maybe thinking bigger picture though that everyone may not be of the same mind or personal resources.

MrMusician18

whippet wrote: »

out of curiosity what do you work at?

I have been claiming expenses / mileage monthly in arrears for almost two decades and it has never been a problem .. some months this could be close to 2k but usually about €800-1000.

After the first month there isn't a problem.

I think the OP's husband has a bigger issue with budgeting etc and that is where the focus should lie

There's really two issues here. A budgeting/money management issue that really belongs in PI tbh and then the issue of expenses.

The savvy business traveller is usually able to turn trips abroad into a fairly profitable endeavor. And someone on the road all the time should know all the tricks to reduce cost to maximize return. After a couple of months travelling you really should be in the green wrt expenses and costs.

Phileas Frog

Surely this ceases to be an issue after Month 1 if the expenses are ~ €1000 every month ?

skallywag

It is not the norm for companies to issue credit cards in my experience, and I know quite a lot of folk who use their private credit card and then get reimbursed the following month.

I would imagine though that his company do not know that he does not hold a private card himself. I would advise having a word with his boss about this, in such a case I think that either issuing a card or providing a cash advance of some kind is quite acceptable and reasonable.

Certainly ignore the 'suspicious/drink/gambling' hysteria.

One thing to keep in mind too OP is that the vast majority of people I know find business travel a real pain and would much rather not do it, myself included normally. It might sound attractive being all over Europe, going out to dinners and socializing etc., but it really very rarely is, and is much more of a chore and a burden than actually genuinely entertaining.

BillyBird

whippet wrote: »

I have been claiming expenses / mileage monthly in arrears for almost two decades and it has never been a problem .. some months this could be close to 2k but usually about €800-1000.

You've given your employer an interest free loan of €1k for the last 20 years.


If you're happy with that, no problem. Many of us would not be.



I was lucky enough to be in a well paid job, but no way I would have supported that on principle alone.