Chevrolets, Teeth Whitening and Lakers Tickets: 10 of The Most Ludicrous Business Expenses Revealed
- Travel management company unearth the most shocking business expenses and if they were successful
- These examples have been submitted by members of the public as part of a competition organised by TravelPerk to find the most absurd expenses claimed
Businesses are obligated to pay for employee work expenses, from travel between meetings to food and drink with clients, however some workers have submitted some seriously scandalous expense requests.
Travel management company, TravelPerk, has revealed the most shocking and successfully expensed travel receipts as part of a competition.
Here are ten of the best seriously cheeky expense requests!
- The Car Enthusiast
Expense: Chevrolet Corvette
Cost: £14,000
“I purchased a new loaded Chevrolet Corvette in 1993 and put this down as a company expense”
Arlen must have worked for a very generous business back in the 90s!
- The Sporty One
Expense: Lakers Tickets
Cost: £7700
Ngan explained how his co-worker passed off a Lakers game as a work expense: “My friend took a client to see a Lakers game and the client wasn’t even a basketball fan. He claimed he did it ‘for the experience’ and claimed back $5,000.”
- The Luxury Traveller
Expense: 1st class flights
Cost: £8000+
Adam explained how his boss got away with luxury flights, pretending he was going to client meetings: “Despite not having a single meeting booked in, my boss took back-to-back first class flights for two weeks and expensed it all to the company. The finance director was furious at me for booking it, but the company paid for it anyway.”
- The Gambler
Expense: Gambling in Las Vegas
Cost: £3000
Jeff spilled the beans about one of his co-workers jetting off to Vegas and gambling away his money: “A colleague of mine went to Las Vegas with a client who convinced him to gamble into the early hours of the morning. He lost over $5,000 and asked if he could write it off as a business expense, the answer was no.”
- The Nature Lover
Expense: Campervan
Cost: £9000
“Someone I know bought a camper and tried to expense it through the company. They said they did it so they wouldn’t have to pay for hotel rooms anymore.”
That’s one way to get a free holiday home, Jim!
- The VIP
Expense: A 250-mile limo ride
Cost: £800
Amanda revealed how their colleague got fired for pushing company expenses too far, “A new member of staff missed his train, but instead of waiting for the next intercity connection, he decided that a taxi wasn’t good enough and booked a limo instead. I heard they paid it. Then, they fired him two weeks later after he expensed Moet on room service.”
- The Sailboat Tourist
Expense: Sailboat Harbour Tour
Cost: £500
Wanting to shake up work meetings, Karl explained how his team rented out a sailboat for a conference: “We chartered a sailboat and did a harbor tour during a professional conference. That was our biggest expense, and we haven’t beaten it yet!”
- The “Pet Sitter”
Expense: Pet Sitting
Cost: “200
Shane explained how he tried to expense his dog’s day-care: “I tried to claim money back for my pet sitter expenses for my dog. I mean, someone has to pay to watch the dog so I can go to work right?!” If only all workplaces had the same views on pet-sitting.
- The Hollywood Smile
Expense: Teeth Whitening
Cost: £1200
Nadeya was working on an important client pitch and wanted to make a good first impression: “I wanted to make sure I looked my best for a face-to-face client pitch with one of my dream brands, so I booked in some dental work and a teeth whitening appointment to make me look my best, and luckily, I was able to get away with expensing the cost.”
- The Midweek Golfer
Expense: Golf Course Days Out
Cost: £450
Dan used his golf club membership to get out of work meetings and managed to expense his membership cost. “I was regularly out of the office for client meetings, but sometimes I wasn’t needed, or they were cancelled. So, a couple of times a month I would go to my local golf course and get breakfast or lunch while I was there. I told my manager that it was for client entertainment purposes.”
TravelPerk’s advanced features such as automated travel policies & in-app approvals help to guarantee compliance and avoid ludicrous expenses outside of policy.
To read even more of the most ludicrous expense confessions, check out the TravelPerk blog.