Help with Company Car information

[me!!]

Hi

I was looking for some advise on the following as i am sure that my company cant do this?

I have a company car and pay my tax and also get a fuel card so pay for tax on this as well, all has been fine up to now, I have been with the company for 9 years and have now just been told that they intend to charge all that have company cars that go back with excess mileage the cost of this, We report our mileage every month and as myself and another member of staff are potentially going to go over the spec millage and don't want to be paying for carrying out company business.

can any one help or advise me if they can do this as looked at my contract and it says nothing about paying for excess millage

Regards

Me!!

[PAWS]

Re: Help with Company Car information

It looks like this is a fully expensed company car, i.e. including private mileage and as you say you pay paye through the nose for this.
It appears your company either underestimated (or dare I say lied) to the car leasing company to get a better deal and now expect you to pay the difference! I wonder if they also underestimated the mileage with the car insurance company in which case the cars were not even insured.
I will be interested to see what the clever beagles have to say on this as I do not know what the legal standing is but morally this is totally wrong. If I was you, whatever the outcome I would run from a company that behaves like this.

[Sangie595]

Re: Help with Company Car information

Hi

I was looking for some advise on the following as i am sure that my company cant do this?

I have a company car and pay my tax and also get a fuel card so pay for tax on this as well, all has been fine up to now, I have been with the company for 9 years and have now just been told that they intend to charge all that have company cars that go back with excess mileage the cost of this, We report our mileage every month and as myself and another member of staff are potentially going to go over the spec millage and don't want to be paying for carrying out company business.

can any one help or advise me if they can do this as looked at my contract and it says nothing about paying for excess millage

Regards

Me!!

So the excess mileage is solely a result of company business? Not your own private use of the car?

A company can certainly change policy. So the issue comes down to whether you can demonstrate to the company that the excess is a result of company business, and that the private usage is a minimal one in comparison. Because if you cannot you are on weak ground. The company have changed their policy. So they are going to go ahead and charge this against salary, and your only recourse then would be a claim for unlawful deduction of wages - if you can prove that it is. So in reality, you need to be able to resolve this by discussion with the employer. If there is a significant amount of private mileage which accounts for the run into the excess, then that may be a hard argument to win.

[me!!]

Re: Help with Company Car information

So the excess mileage is solely a result of company business? Not your own private use of the car?

A company can certainly change policy. So the issue comes down to whether you can demonstrate to the company that the excess is a result of company business, and that the private usage is a minimal one in comparison. Because if you cannot you are on weak ground. The company have changed their policy. So they are going to go ahead and charge this against salary, and your only recourse then would be a claim for unlawful deduction of wages - if you can prove that it is. So in reality, you need to be able to resolve this by discussion with the employer. If there is a significant amount of private mileage which accounts for the run into the excess, then that may be a hard argument to win.

Many thanks for the response and sort off thought this!, My Car is part of the role so as from the start of next month i will be keeping a tally of my Business Millage and my personal millage and will do this until I hand the car back, i have also been double tasking for the business and this has increased my millage and this will be noted as well!

I will need to see if they carry out this and will present them with my day by day millage at the end of every month.

Will let you know what happens if anything as hope its just idol talk.

Regards

Me!!

[Sangie595]

Re: Help with Company Car information

Many thanks for the response and sort off thought this!, My Car is part of the role so as from the start of next month i will be keeping a tally of my Business Millage and my personal millage and will do this until I hand the car back, i have also been double tasking for the business and this has increased my millage and this will be noted as well!

I will need to see if they carry out this and will present them with my day by day millage at the end of every month.

Will let you know what happens if anything as hope its just idol talk.

Regards

Me!!

So you have no record at all of business v. personal mileage. That is a shame.

I think that your best action currently (in addition to what you have already said you will do) is to put in a grievance and make all of these points to the employer. Argue that any change should only be introduced with a new lease car, not the existing one, because there are no records to support the suggestion that the business mileage is a result of anything other than business use - which they should pay for. Or, of course, reduce business mileage.

It is always worth remembering as well that having a company car is having a hostage to fortune. It's all very well, but a company car can be withdrawn, or you can lose or change jobs. If you were in a position to be able to say "fine, company care is used for nothing except company business" then you would reduce the tax burden on yourself as a result; and then the company could not make any claims about the excess because it would be all theirs. Obviously, not everyone can do that or wants to. Despite the costs they are still a perk for many.

I am also very, very out of date on company car taxation, but it used to be the case that the personal taxation level on company cars reduced the more business mileage was done. Is this not the case any longer? Because if it were, there would have to be a record of these mileages for tax reasons.

[me!!]

Re: Help with Company Car information

So you have no record at all of business v. personal mileage. That is a shame.

I think that your best action currently (in addition to what you have already said you will do) is to put in a grievance and make all of these points to the employer. Argue that any change should only be introduced with a new lease car, not the existing one, because there are no records to support the suggestion that the business mileage is a result of anything other than business use - which they should pay for. Or, of course, reduce business mileage.

It is always worth remembering as well that having a company car is having a hostage to fortune. It's all very well, but a company car can be withdrawn, or you can lose or change jobs. If you were in a position to be able to say "fine, company care is used for nothing except company business" then you would reduce the tax burden on yourself as a result; and then the company could not make any claims about the excess because it would be all theirs. Obviously, not everyone can do that or wants to. Despite the costs they are still a perk for many.

I am also very, very out of date on company car taxation, but it used to be the case that the personal taxation level on company cars reduced the more business mileage was done. Is this not the case any longer? Because if it were, there would have to be a record of these mileages for tax reasons.

Thanks for that info,

Car tax is not like that any more is about the cost against the CO2 emissions

Will be keeping a record of the millage from now on

Thanks again