Company refuses to reimburse employee for business travel expenses, claiming they didn't follow policy, leading employee to spend double on the next trip: ‘They paid up’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 26, 2026 9:45 AM EDT

Sometimes, the easiest way to show someone they are wrong is by following their exact instructions and letting them deal with the consequences.

Even though most companies would do anything to save money by refusing to give hardworking employees pay raises or by piling up work on people instead of hiring more staff, there are still many ways these companies waste their precious money. Whatever they "save" by acting cheap in one department gets thrown away in other departments, even when there are plenty of ways to cut these costs.

When you work for companies like that long enough, you learn that even if you come up with a solid improvement plan to save valuable money in these wasteful departments, you will most likely be met with rejection. Changes are often too scary for big corporations, so they would rather keep at it with what they know than introduce a change they don't want to deal with.

The only way to show them they are wrong is by following their instructions and heavily hurting their pockets in the process.

Take the employee below as an example. This employee goes on business trips twice a year, so they are familiar with the business travel expenses they have to submit every time to get reimbursed. After a few trips, this employee realized there are much cheaper ways to manage these expenses, and even offered them to the company in an attempt to save the business a few hundred bucks every trip. However, since these cheaper ways did not follow the policy, the company refused to give them a try, even after the employee insisted they cut major costs. 

It was only after the employee followed the policy to the point that the company truly saw how much they were wasting by not listening to the employee who just wanted to help. All it took was adhering to the rules, and the employee got the company to open its eyes to new possibilities.

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  • Employee going on a business trip.
    via RealPeopleGroup

    Employee going on a business trip.

    Model representation. 

  • Spend more money? You got it.

  • After the local auto parts company I worked for in my town merged with one based in another state, my position required me to travel to that state twice a year - once in late April and once in November. I loved the flights, the driving, the scenery, and getting to meet up with my coworkers. It was something I actually looked forward to.

  • My first trip was in May (rescheduled because of bad weather) and I followed the company policy about travel, Ubers, everything to the letter. The way it worked was any trips from the hotel to the office, to eat, any food orders, it all had to be done by using the Uber App. I would pay for it all then submit for reimbursement after I got back.

  • Before I started at this company, I ran my own business so I knew the value of a dollar and how to do things in a way that would get the job done but not spend a fortune. I tried to keep this mentality with the new job, so when I saw that I spent nearly $400 on everything (the company paid for the flights and hotels) I thought it was a bit excessive with the Uber upcharges.

  • Looking at everything that I had purchased using the Uber app, meals, trips, everything, I figured I had spent nearly $200 more than I should have if I were to go to a grocery store and buy everything I need.

  • The company's main office was in the New England area and the next trip was coming up in December. I wanted to do some sightseeing and my supervisor at the time mentioned that the company would pay for a car rental and that I would be responsible for the gas. 

  • This seemed like a very reasonable arrangement so I set the reservation for the car, make sure that my credit card was empty before the trip, and I had a wonderful time being able to see snow for the first time in many years during that trip.

  • Man driving a rental car.
    via Getty Images

    Man driving a rental car.

    Picture does not depict real parties.

  • When I turned in the receipts for everything during my December trip, the total came up to less than $300 - and that included the car rental. But I soon got a notice of denial from the accounting office telling me that because I hadn't secured permission for the rental of the car, they were not going to pay for that.

  • When I explained that renting the car cost them less than every Uber trip that I wanted to take - and I had calculated that it would have cost me at least five or $600 to go everywhere that I wanted to go using Uber, I was told it didn't matter and I should have "followed policy."

  • The funny thing was, there was nothing in the policy about whether or not I could rent a car but there was a specific line on there saying that I needed to be financially responsible with company money, consciously aware of what I was spending, and since I didn't have my own vehicle there at the time, anything that I needed could be done through the Uber app. When I pointed this out, the accounting team replied with, "we'll pay you back for the car, but not the gas (Which was exactly what my supervisor said) but next time, just use Uber."

    Cue malicious compliance.

  • The next trip was the following April. I knew where I needed to go, what I wanted to do, and what I wanted to eat. It was essentially the same exact itinerary I had in December, but this time it was only through the Uber App. When I got back home and figured out the total, it was well over $600. Needless to say, the accounting team was not happy.

  • Young businessman at the back of an Uber.
    via Getty Images

    Young businessman at the back of an Uber.

    Stock photo unrelated.

  • They did try to argue the pricing, saying I had spent too much for one person. But when I pointed out that the only difference between April and December was the cost for the Uber upcharges, and that I had actually gone to fewer places (no rental car, no sightseeing), they paid up and asked me which rental agency I preferred for future trips.

  • Hunkyboy440 If you want to be rid of a stupid rule, simply follow it to the letter. The stupider the rule, the better this tactic works.
    via Hunkyboy440
  • Specialist-Path-4750 Inflexibility on the part of the company cost them more money than using some common sense.
    via Specialist-Path-4750

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employee job uber work travel expanses business trip Travel workplace company money
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