[Closed] Quite within my rights or just taking the p!ss?

Driving to the Alps??? Pay your own fuel! If unsure just ask in the office

my dad used to have to pay overseas, but would always fill up in dover and come back empty.
I don't think his card worked abroad, though that was the 80's/90's.

Why not ask your boss/HR, you might not be insured either...

Don't have a company van and not in your situation but from an outsiders point of view your taking the p**s.

Personal fuel is personal fuel. Fill your boots.

1. Ask them. The policy will be quite clear.

2. Yes, you're taking the p*ss to expect work to fund you driving to the Alps. Would you also expect them to stump up for a plane ticket?

taking the piss as well but ask them if you are in any doubt.
that is a fiar drive for personal use - is it actually insured for abroad and breakdown cover?

I'd be more worried about the insurance than anything else.
I agree with the others about paying your own way too. Not what you wanted to hear, but you asked.

Taking the proverbial. But, I would ask to be sure of that and I might well fill up in Dover and return to the UK with an empty tank.

When I had company fuel it was always restricted to the UK so [as above] tank it at Dover and only put enough in to just get back there

One point, you have mentioned [to whoever does your fleet] that you're taking the van outside the UK haven't you?

I reckon it'd be taking the piss to go assuming it'd be fine.

If it's allowed, you're fine whether you ask or not.

If it's not allowed, better to find out what the issues are (fuel card, insurance, breakdown) before you go rather than potentially find out on the way, and get bollocked when you get back.

Personal fuel is personal fuel, it's one of the benefits. However my friends fuel card does not work abroad, so fill up in dover and return home empty.

You'll need to speak to fleet to get relevant paper work, you get a temporary v5 and insurance papers, I had to pay £11 for mine, I drovero the alps 3 times in the last 6 months and they can not say anything. My company also provided European breakdown, and I still get a hire car out there if anything goes wrong.

Ask your employers, not your wife.

Your wife doesn't sound very nice on this evidence.

If you worked for me, unemployment would go up tomorrow by one.

Basicly youre not asking your boss to pay for your holiday fuel, but just stealing it,also it would be very interesting if your boss found out and phoned the plod and said you didnt have permission to take it abroad, and then we have insurance and breakdown cover.

Driving with no insurance or invalid insurnce is a large fine and a ban sometimes, and also the sack.

Your wife doesn't sound very nice on this evidence.

Easy now.

I did qualify what I said Mol 😉

email the person in charge of company vehicles and ask (with no explanation why) "what exceptions are there to the free fuel and can you show me where it says so?"

Fill your boots.

Well as it's probably diesel I wouldn't recommend this as it'll leave them even more unpleasant than if they'd been wee'd in.

Project that's harsh. He has a fuel card and van for personal use, personal use is just that. Driving to the alps on holiday is personal use.

They will provide the legal documents for you to take it abroad.

Bit harsh there m_f .
Don't think its likely to be a black and white as your wife may think.
I'd deffo speak to HR in advance and get the bottom line before planning any more.

God gave you the right, what could possibly go wrong?

Reasonable personal use, not asa tour bus.

Bit harsh there m_f .

Reasonable personal use

Now IIRC, mine used to say that, but qualified it with a 12k example of reasonable
Using it as a tour bus doesn't make it unreasonable per se, if he's a low user the rest of the year as opposed to another employee who uses it more day in, day out

If your paying all the relevant tax for personal use of the van, including the provision of fuel for private use, then it comes down to the agreement you have with your employer.

As uplink has said above, you need to consider this as part of your annual use, not in isolation.

Driving to the alps and back is the equivalent of, what, five miles a day over the course of a year? Would you think you were taking the piss if you moved house three miles further away from work? Personal fuel is part of your salary package (and you get taxed to death on it).

As others have said, if it's a company van then there may be other issues in taking it overseas; last time I looked at this for myself (at a previous company) the policy was simply that I'd to tell work so that they could notify the insurance company.

Yes you're getting a bit of a bonus here, but that's the deal with personal mileage deals and vans. Aside from the tax, there's usually a quid pro quo where the van driver will often set off early on jobs, without having to pick up a van from a depot before starting work, often antisocial hours etc. Is it because it is abroad? If an Aberdeen fella took the van to Cornwall, the distance would probably greater. (Are you in Aberdeen, prahan?)

So imagine youre a bos of a company, and your worker has use of a comapny van, he then takes the van out of the country, racking up many more miles than should have been done weekly, all at high speed and witha load inside.

So you have extra maintance costs , added fuel costs, and added insuirance costs idf somebnody makes a claim against the driver.

What would you do.Just say No.

sounds like taking the p*ss to me, but ask first. If you are insured then all is ok. Are there any other company van Drivers? you could ask them what they do. I'm all for a bit of p*ss taking 😀

Don't forget, you will also need the right to drive, on hire form thing.

If you don't have it WITH YOU when driving abroad, the French police will arrest you till YOU can prove you are legally allowed to drive the vehicle 😯

Personally, I used to do the Dover trick too 😉 (fuel card restricted to the uk)

EDIT VE103 vehicle on hire cirtificate!

imagine youre a bos of a company, ... What would you do

suck it up, or not offer it as a benefit in the first place.

suck it up, or not offer it as a benefit in the first place.

+1

Diddums for the poor bosses. My heart bleeds.

Boss: Here's free fuel as part of your benefits package.
OP: Great! Can I use it for personal mileage?
Boss: ... no?
OP: Oh, right, that's a shame.
Boss: Bwahahah loser.

We always used to go abroad in company cars but:

1. It was the only car we had so Dad was allowed to use it for any personal mileage including abroad. Dad had to go abroad with work anyway so sometimes flew, sometimes took the car over to mainland Europe, Ireland or Jersey so was covered for abroad anyway.

2. The fuel card only worked in the UK so as above he filled up at Dover and then was very frugal when we were away and we limped back to port.

3. Might be different rules with a van as it's not a car that you could expect to use instead of buying a personal car. Also these days a lot of things have been clamped down on and companies are keeping better hold of their money.

I think you had better ask and obviously be prepared to pay your own fuel bills abroad.

Isn't this preetty much black and white? If you're allowed to use the van for personal use (including fuel) then you're allowed to use the van for this trip. If not it'll say in your contract/terms of use.

Ask your boss!!!

As for insurance your vehicle is automatically insured third party wherever you are in the EU, no need for green card etc...

OK, quick update for you all. I've had a word and the answer is yes, I can use the vehicle for personal use and for personal fuel use, even if it is abroad.

Oh and mastiles_fanylion -

Your wife doesn't sound very nice on this evidence.

Yeah, ask your boss. It depends on whether they view personal fuel as an unwanted expense or a great way of keeping staff happy.

EDIT: too late. Obviously the latter.

Ask the boss man +1

Just put a couple of 1 gallon cans in the car and fill them up each week until you accumulate enough for the trip. Over a period of months nobody is going to notice. Come trip time, Bob's your Uncle and you're in the clear.

In the past, i've always done this. Company car, with privae usage & fuel.

I paid (a hell of a lot of) tax on it, so damn right i'm going to use it. I did clarify Euro use (insurance) and fuel though, as obviously I wanted to be covered.

My boss told me to use my fuel card in the UK & put any fuel on my company card when in Europe.

In hindsight, I wouldn't expect it any other way.

Fish pie, fish pie, fish pie!

My wife is extremely nice.

Friend did this last year, was within his benefits to pay for fuel to the alps, and his card worked abroad. On the insurance front, only he was able to drive though which was a bit of a pain.

only he was able to drive though which was a bit of a pain.

Ah yes, this...

And grow up M_F - totally uncalled for.

It will depend upon each individual companies "fair use policy"

If one of my employees did this to me I would feel inclined to locate it on the tracker fly out there with the spare key and bring it back.

Seems fair. Would it be taking the piss to drive to Scotland? It's nearly as far to fort William from Devon as it is to the alps.

As people are obviously not reading: He's asked his employers, they've said it's fine.

He's not working for you and he's not driving your vans, so relax!

If I were your boss: On handing you your P45, I'd advise you that your far more suited to the public sector. 😉

Personally, I never had a problem with filling up in the UK on the fuelcard and paying for my own fuel on the continent while on holiday.

But I am not a chiseller. I take statements like 'reasonable use' to mean, well, be reasonable.

Oh and mastiles_fanylion... you'll leave me with no choice but to provide you with a knuckle sandwich.

Its a decent thing of the company in this current climate, especially given the price of fuel.

I suppose the cost will be pased onto the customer 😉

You did the right thing though IMO asking the gaffer!

You need the vehicle owners permission in writing to take the vehicle out of the country. I'm guessing at that point the fuel issue will be addressed anyway.

Personal opinion if you have to ask on here you already know the answer. Its the one with the "P" in it.

Seems fair to me, personal use would cover holiday driving unless it was specifically excluded. Clearly sensible to check, and your boss gets to prove he's a decent bloke:)