Travel costs a discussion

I always use the AA fuel calculator online, you put the departure and destination and the make and model of car and it works out the exact cost of fuel that day with the current cost of petrol. I drive a 2 litre engine, from here to manchester it is 40 miles each way so 80 altogether and £25 more than covers my diesel and parking so looks like you are being totally ripped off I'm afraid unless she is driving a 5 litre sports car. Offer to calculate the journey on the aa calculator and offer her what it costs for the fuel, I personally would question it myself if it is that expensive something isn't right.

Chancer - PMSL 🤣 

Tell her to get get some roller blades.

Edited by Timmee

Is she using a helicopter?

I now confirm all costs prior to the shoot, having had issues like this in the past. 

I always get an all inclusive quote before agreeing to a shoot.  I haven’t used the AA calculator but my sums produced a minimum of £15 and a max of £20, so she is taking the proverbial.

If someone is talking about a contribution towards travel in a car, my starting point would be the HMRC guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-travel-mileage-and-fuel-allowances/travel-mileage-and-fuel-rates-and-allowances

Which puts it at £22.50?

This, as I understand it, is the amount she'd be able to claim as an expense if she covered the costs in her shoot price.

I'm not a driver myself so I'd be totally open to arguments as to why that might be inadequate, and it's a given that if I was travelling by train to cover that distance, it'd quite possibly be more -- so I might consider *that* my upper limit, in fact. 

But at £70.00 it would seem like you're covering something else instead. Perhaps the reality is that the tank is nearly empty and that is closer to what normally goes in.

Edited by Unfocussed Mike

When I am booking the models and giving them all the details beforehand, I always say that I will give them £20, £30, towards the petrol costs, so that when they then say say to my shoot offer, I know that their wages and travel expenses are all covered.

Thanks Guys, I had expected / offered £20.00 which I thought was fair.

Lesson learnt

Carlos said

I always get an all inclusive quote before agreeing to a shoot.  I haven’t used the AA calculator but my sums produced a minimum of £15 and a max of £20, so she is taking the proverbial.

Same here. 

If I feel that someone is taking the wotsit, I find myself wondering if they're giving me a 'f*** off' rate. But whether or not that is their intention, that's the effect it has on me.  

I'm guessing she's charged you for an hourly rate too...

Personally I don't have any qualms about that as I work on the road myself I expect to be paid for the travel time but it needs to be stipulated at the start...

The HMRC rate includes wear and tear for the first 10k... Some places due to the current fuel costs up that generally between 6 and 10p/mile...

What somebody expects and what they get are two totally different things. I know what I would have told them to do!

Hartleys said

I'm guessing she's charged you for an hourly rate too...

Personally I don't have any qualms about that as I work on the road myself I expect to be paid for the travel time but it needs to be stipulated at the start...

The HMRC rate includes wear and tear for the first 10k... Some places due to the current fuel costs up that generally between 6 and 10p/mile...

Could be the answer!.......charging 80 minutes of her time for the travelling, plus fuel?

Edited by David HC

It does sound expensive.

The lesson to learn is that it is a good idea to resolve financial matters before you make the booking.

(A) You've already said agree things in advance. Did she actually say "towards fuel" or something like else like "as travel costs".  

(B) My car is a largish one, and £70 will get me fuel for 500 miles. I'd ask if she got a decimal point in the wrong place , or if she was billing for 50 litres of petrol instead of 50 miles. Possibly she got lost, but that would be very lost.  

(C) If it's not an arithmetic error, then car plainly runs on the piss taken out of photographers 

(D) I bill clients more than fuel costs but I don't think I've ever had one who would pay more than £1 per mile, AA rates or maximum allowed by HMRC as expenses are two common defaults   

Edited by CalmNudes

a 50 mile round trip - I'd pay £10, that more than covers the petrol cost.  I had a model quoting me 45p a mile the other day.  She drives a Porsche....needless to say it was a no from me!

I'm afraid I think she woke up and decided to push her luck "I don't get out of bed for less than !!!! (old phrase but still sometimes true) Needless to say the shoot didn't go ahead after I'd booked a day off work and setup the studio.

Lesson learnt, won't do that again