Fuel Card - Am I being ripped off?

AllanMT

My company offered me a company car and fuel card recently which I took up - my car was rubbish and tbh I wanted a bit of luxury!


I pay for all fuel on my Fuel Card and then pay for my personal mileage once a month @ 14p per mile out of my wage.


For the last 2 months the amount I am paying in personal mileage is more than the fuel I have put in the car!

For example, this month I did 1000 Business Miles & 2000 Personal Miles (rounded up for ease) I put in £260 of fuel. The cost for me is £280.00 plus the deductions being made in my tax for the car itself.....

Am I missing something as surely I shouldn't be paying more than is being put in - especially as the company pays for my business miles?


This is my first post so please be nice....

DTDfanBoy

Fuel isn't the only expense incurred when running a vehicle

JimmyTheWig

AllanMT wrote: »

I pay for all fuel on my Fuel Card and then pay for my personal mileage once a month @ 14p per mile out of my wage.


For the last 2 months the amount I am paying in personal mileage is more than the fuel I have put in the car!

For example, this month I did 1000 Business Miles & 2000 Personal Miles (rounded up for ease) I put in £260 of fuel.

Woah, that's a pretty impressive fuel consumption. We'd be paying two and a half times that for 3000 miles!

Do you have the option of not using the fuel card?
E.g. what if you pay for fuel yourself? Would the company then pay you for your business miles? [If they'd pay the 14p per mile then you'd be laughing!]

AllanMT

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

Fuel isn't the only expense incurred when running a vehicle

No I realise that & am fine with the Tax I pay on the car itself, its the fuel!

Hintza

As above; you need to factor in how much this car costs to run per mile. What Car give a rough idea but it will be somewhere north of 50p/mile.

So you are probably getting a good deal.

Your example suggests personal mileage is around two thirds of total mileage. It is a good deal.

tykesi

AllanMT wrote: »

No I realise that & am fine with the Tax I pay on the car itself, its the fuel!

But you're not paying just for fuel, you're paying for fuel AND wear and tear on the vehicle, surely?

If it was your own car you'd be taking the hit on depreciation as well as maintenance etc so it would be costing you a whole lot more to run than just what fuel you put in. The company, in providing you with this car are saying they're happy to take the hit on these when you are travelling business miles but why should they take it when you're using the car for (twice as many) personal miles? The extra you pay is a contribution to all these other factors, not just fuel.

AllanMT

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Woah, that's a pretty impressive fuel consumption. We'd be paying two and a half times that for 3000 miles!

Do you have the option of not using the fuel card?
E.g. what if you pay for fuel yourself? Would the company then pay you for your business miles? [If they'd pay the 14p per mile then you'd be laughing!]

If im honest not sure, when I ran my own car any business mileage was paid at .45p per mile - but obv. it would be lower.... but your right even .14p would be ok.

AllanMT

Hintza wrote: »

As above; you need to factor in how much this car costs to run per mile. What Car give a rough idea but it will be somewhere north of 50p/mile.

So you are probably getting a good deal.

Your example suggests personal mileage is around two thirds of total mileage. It is a good deal.

That might be partially correct, however the fuel card is purely a fuel cost and does not take account of wear and tear on a hire vehicle.

Herzlos

But you're not paying for fuel. You're paying 14p/mile, which includes fuel, but also depreciation and wear and tear.

InsideInsurance

AllanMT wrote: »

That might be partially correct, however the fuel card is purely a fuel cost and does not take account of wear and tear on a hire vehicle.

What fuel/ engine size is the vehicle?

Sounds like its simply the HMRC rate they are charging you which is 14p/mile for a petrol under 1.4L

Do you have a BIC charge for the ability to use the fuel card for personal use?

Ultimately this is a negotiation between you and your employers though there may be a tax implication if the rate they charge is not high enough for HMRC not to consider you are getting a benefit from the fuel card.

AllanMT

InsideInsurance wrote: »

What fuel/ engine size is the vehicle?

Sounds like its simply the HMRC rate they are charging you which is 14p/mile for a petrol under 1.4L

Do you have a BIC charge for the ability to use the fuel card for personal use?

Ultimately this is a negotiation between you and your employers though there may be a tax implication if the rate they charge is not high enough for HMRC not to consider you are getting a benefit from the fuel card.

Its a 1.6 Diesel, forgive the ignorance - what is a BIC Charge?