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Business travellers left out of pocket

Published: 06/06/2009 - Filed under: News »

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More than 30 per cent of employees don’t claim back all of their travel expenses, according a recent survey by Barclaycard. The average amount left unclaimed was £373 per person each year in the UK, totalling a possible £0.5 billion.

The survey also revealed a divide between men and women, with the fairer sex far more likely to claim back expenses. Men fail to claim on average £366 a year in expenses whereas women fail to claim £293 – £73 less than men.

In addition, the more senior a traveller is, the less likely they are to claim all of their business travel costs, with chairmen or chairwomen failing to claim an average of £719, compared to personal assistants who failed to claim only £25.

Neil Radley, managing director of Barclaycard Commercial, commented: “Anyone who regularly travels on business knows keeping track of all expenses can be tricky, especially when your top priority is your performance. Managing incidental and often small costs can drop to the bottom of the list of priorities.”

The 13th annual Barclaycard Commercial Business Travel Survey was conducted in December 2008, among a nationwide sample of 2,202 Barclaycard Commercial card holders.

In other news, Amex recently released figures suggesting that travellers are also losing out on cash when it comes to changing money into other currencies, due to sheer confusion – see online news May 25.

Visit barclaycard.com

Report by Sara Turner

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COMMENTS » 

AlexanderJ - 06/06/2009 14:20

Excellent article, however I'd be interested in hearing what peoples best ways of tracking expenses is? on a trip of 2 weeks or more taking in several countries and differing currencies, its increasingly impossible to track just what is spent and where.

JeniWalters - 08/06/2009 10:59

I know that I haven't claimed full expenses a lot.

Sometimes it is just such an arduous process for small amounts, or I've lost receipts or not sure if something is really claimable. The internal claims process in companies I have worked for is rather discouraging - I am sure some of the red tape is there to deter.

I prefer the company to make and pre-pay for all travel and accommodation costs, but not all companies are willing to do that.

Need to work out a better system.

DoorsToManual - 13/06/2009 16:31

Call me old fashioned: One big envelope and one lazy Sunday afternoon. Hasn't failed me yet.

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