CH: Expenses not being paid back

SnowyOwl_2

I do voluntary work for a charity and it has been going really well for me and for the organisation. There is however one fly in the ointment - I submitted an expenses claim for a couple of hundred quid in October and it still hasn't been paid back to me. I've sent reminders but to no avail. My latest tactic is to down tools and do no more work but I don't rate my chances of that being successful. The person in charge of the cheque book is also the chairman & founder - as it's a v.small charity he looks after the financial side. As you can imagine I am none too happy about this - I spent money only after having had confirmation that I could get the money back (I have spent more than I have claimed back but absorbed these other expenses myself). Now they have my receipts but don't even acknowledge my claim (it definitely arrived, of that I am 100% certain as I enclosed other items in the envelope and they arrived). I am especially annoyed as I became unemployed in November and have only recently managed to find a job - I really could do with my expenses back as I don't get paid until the end of April and of course my JSA has stopped.

What should I do to get this money back without further delay?

pinkfluffybabe

This is unacceptable. It is fundamental in good volunteer management to pay volunteers out of pocket expenses. See here:
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/missions.php?id=622
and here:
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/docs/veinfo/expenses.pdf

I would suggest that first of all you put a formal letter to the individual concerned stating your disappointment that you have not been reimbursed, and state that if you are not reimbursed, you will have to consider your ability to carry out the volunteer role. It would be worthwhile referring to any volunteer policy or agreement that exists within the organisation. Also, if you have recieved expenses in the past you can refer to these instances.

You havent said where you are in the country, but if you get no joy from the letter, then it may be worth contacting an organisation who can support you to get your expenses back. For example Volunteering England - http://volunteering.org.uk/index.htm or your local volunteer centre may be able to help:
http://volunteering.org.uk/missions.php?id=369&PHPSESSID=e570b356b836153fbb65229c0f55d0e8

I hope this helps you out. Please feel free to PM me if you need more information, I work in this field and would be happy to help you with your situation.

SnowyOwl_2

Thank you! That is excellent information, I hope that they listen to it.

I'll send a letter to them and give it a week or so for them to respond. I might contact you some time in the future for advice, but in the meantime please accept my thanks.

Savvy_Sue

May also be worth contacting other trustees to make them aware of the situation. It may be that they can make sure you get your money, especially if one of them usually countersigns cheques!

Appalling practice! If there is a query over the claim then the least that can be done is to promptly inform the volunteer of the delay, ask for missing information etc.

SnowyOwl_2

Hi Savvy_Sue

As it happens I received a couple of emails from one of the other trustees today giving me a load of work to do. I simply wrote back and asked him to confirm that he's countersigned the cheque that has been owing to me since October. I wasn't rude but I think I did get the fact that I am unhappy with the situation. If I ever do any more work for them it won't be until after I have the cheque cashed.

Snowy Owl

Savvy_Sue

SnowyOwl wrote:

As it happens I received a couple of emails from one of the other trustees today giving me a load of work to do. I simply wrote back and asked him to confirm that he's countersigned the cheque that has been owing to me since October. I wasn't rude but I think I did get the fact that I am unhappy with the situation. If I ever do any more work for them it won't be until after I have the cheque cashed.

Oh that sounds like an excellent plan! Hope it works.

SnowyOwl_2

I received a rather snotty email today telling me a cheque is in the post. There was even an actual apology, then patronising waffle like the signator being snowed under with work etc etc. So what if he had an entire month off at Christmas and chose to go away and do no charity work at all during that time. How's that for taking the p!ss??!!

Savvy_Sue

SnowyOwl wrote:

I received a rather snotty email today telling me a cheque is in the post. There was even an actual apology, then patronising waffle like the signator being snowed under with work etc etc. So what if he had an entire month off at Christmas and chose to go away and do no charity work at all during that time. How's that for taking the p!ss??!!

This does not sound to me like a well run charity! They need to have effective mechanisms for paying their bills - how would a utility company respond to not being paid for so long? I feel embarrassed and apologise profusely if I can't get a counter signature on a volunteer's expenses cheque the same day I receive the claim!

Still, glad the cheque is on its way, hope it arrives soon!