I racked up $20,000 in personal charges on my company credit

[y4m]

(Well not me, per se.  But this person on Ask a Manager)

www.askamanager.org/2015/06/i-racked-up-20000-in-personal-charges-on-my-company-credit-card.html

A reader writes:

The short version of the story is that I genuinely misunderstood the way my corporate credit card was to be used. I have been using it over the last few years regularly for personal reasons, including medical, car payments (a car is required for my job, but not covered under expenses), and general personal shopping. My girlfriend did not have income for two years, and I used the card to cover expenses beyond my paycheck.

I can use PayPal to get cash out of the card and into my bank account, so what I have been doing is waiting until the bill is due (a new billing cycle) and taking out that amount with PayPal, then using the cash to pay it off, plus adding in my own money to try and reduce the balance a little. This just means I get charged PayPal fees for the cash advance, and it means nothing more is due until the next billing cycle. This results in the next month having that balance plus charges, minus any and all money I can put toward it out of my pay (generally $2,000 a month).

Somehow I have managed to rack up a rolling balance of $20,000 on this card and I can’t ever pay it all off in one go. I had a bankruptcy a few years ago and cannot qualify for a loan to cover the full amount.

I am scared to bring it up with my manager because it might mean I will lose my job once they realize what’s been happening, and if I lose my job I will no longer be able to contribute the $2,000 each month toward paying the balance off. Some people even have suggested I might be up for serious legal problems, and I just feel so stressed out every single day about the situation.

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I wrote back to this letter-writer and asked: “Just so I really get the whole situation, did you really think was allowed? Or were you hoping you could do it and pay it back before it was noticed?”

The response:
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Well, there’s a bit more to it. My main job fuction changed dramatically. After working for the company for two years on-site at a client office, I was informed that the client had canceled the contract, so I would need to do another function, which would require driving all over town instead of being based in an office.

My manager said point-blank that if I did not get a car within the week, there was nothing he could do for me. He stated clearly and explicitly that the company card could not be used for personal expenses, but he also mentioned that it would not be checked up on if it got paid in full each month. So, with that information I made the decision to go forward. I truly thought that all would be ok as long as I did whatever it takes to pay the balance in full each month, and it seems to have held true so far. But at the same time, I am aware that the company policy states no personal expenses.

The orginal plan was to use the money for a deposit on a car, and once the car was paid off, I would then have the car as an asset, which I could use as security on a loan, which I could use to pay off the card. All was going to plan, but the car got written off due to the engine totally breaking down after a month, so I then had to get another deposit on a second car. That was also ok until one day while at a red light a semi-truck smashed it up , and that second car was nearly paid off but then it got writen off as well. Luckily, for the second car I did have insurance, but the insurance company only agreed to pay out the remaining balance on that car loan and so I was again carless. Third car deposit, and four years later I am feeling trapped in this cycle where I am getting about $600 in PayPal fees every month.

I am starting to get unwell from the constant stress and thought that HR might see it as theft and I could be sent to jail, lose my job, and lose my reputation and ablity to get another job. Basically, I am terrified that I have ruined my life completely through an act which was made at a time of high stress and was short sighted, but done with the intention of saving my job. I don’t know if it is relevant but I have ADD, so impulse control, particularly when under stress, has always been an issue for me, and the whole thing was really traumatic with changing roles and several other factors. My mental state was definatly not clear at the time I started doing this.

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Ooooh.

Okay, yeah, this isn’t good, but you know that so I’m not going to dwell on that.

The right thing to do: Tell your manager what happened. Come clean and accept the consequences. There is a good chance that you will lose your job over it, but if you’re an otherwise good employee and you’re genuinely contrite, they may be willing to work out a payment plan with you and not take legal action. Legal action is possible, but it’s generally no one’s first choice, so if you show that you’re horrified at what happened and that you’re genuinely committed to aggressively paying it off, they may prefer to just let that happen.

The other option: I suppose that you could keep paying it off as aggressively as you can and hope that you have it paid off before anyone notices. I’m surprised that no one has noticed yet, and the fact that they haven’t might mean you could actually get it paid off before they do — but if they do notice, the fact that you didn’t proactively come clean won’t be good. On the other hand, I suppose you could plead ignorance and point to the fact that you’ve been aggressively working to pay it down to show that you had no intent of trying to get the company to shoulder the charges.

I think you should do the right thing and come clean — and I think that if you don’t, the guilt alone is likely to cause problems — but the right thing does come with a price, and while it’s easy to say from the sidelines that you should be willing to pay that price, you’ve got to make that choice for yourself.

Does anyone else have advice for this letter-writer, something that might help him clear this up faster? (And please be kind. He screwed up, but he clearly knows that.)

[v]

Reading this nearly gave me a panic attack. What a terrible spot to be in.

[spunkarella]

Omg. I can't imagine.

How in the world has the company not realized this? Does he not have to turn in a copy of the bill?

[redredwine]

One of my coworkers got fired for this last year.
Sucks-he was a great guy and his family was going through alot financially. But that's a BIG no-no-NO!

[Balki.Bartokomous]

Ohhhh noooo. That's not good. And he sure as hell knows that he's not supposed to be doing it.

[raangoli]

Uhhh what? I am confused because he says he misunderstood and used the card for personal expenses even after his manager said it's not allowed. Also, if the card isn't being paid off monthly, then how hasn't someone noticed this yet?

This is not good.

[genet313]

Yikes.  I'm going both  ^o) and   for this guy.

[crashgizmo]

Ugh what an awful situation all around. I know the guy did wrong, but I also side eye the hell out of the company for not catching it earlier. I get pinged whenever I am like 2 minutes late on paying my company card in full.

I worked with a guy like this- he was only with the company 4 months and he put like $5K in plane tickets and hotels on the card for personal use, then tried to write it off as a business expense. He was an office manager, he didn't need a weekend in Scottsdale.

[Mushe]

Oh my god. This is legit making me anxious. For a stranger. Yikes. In my previous job, I talked to the public a lot, and I have a lot of sympathy for people who just get over their heads and don't have the kind of backup plan that I've always had, with stable parents who would, albeit grudgingly, help me out if I needed it. A common refrain was that they just needed their entire next paycheck, and then they could get caught up and start paying child support. Of course, that's never how it works, because they're not budgeting for expenses that may be inconsistent, but are to be expected, like car registration. Ahhhh. I am so glad I don't do that anymore, because it seriously made me sick with worry.

[mswax]

It hasn't been caught because he's been "cheating" the system by taking cash advances each month to pay the bill in full. Then those advances (plus fees) show up on the next month's statement.

How can some people be SO bad with money???

Also, his car story doesn't sound 100% honest, so I think there is more going on there too.

[steph96]

"The orginal plan was to use the money for a deposit on a car, and once the car was paid off, I would then have the car as an asset, which I could use as security on a loan"

I'm stuck on this. If he is able to get a loan to pay off the card using his car as collateral, then why couldn't he just take out a loan on the car in the first place? I know he mentioned bankruptcy, but I'm not understanding how one loan could be approved if the other one couldn't.

[patbutcher]

Holy crap. What a mess.

Someone got fired at my company for using the company card for her Christmas shipping to the tune of $3K.

I mean, he has been paying it off every month but the company is a little lax. I mean, accounting pay my card and the expense payable lady is in charge of the statementand checking everything - she would notice straight away that.
How is he left in charge of paying it off himself? Doesn't the company see his statement?

[agnes]

I guess I have a cold heart, because I don't feel sorry for this person. All I can think about is how this person was told not to use the card for personal use but did it anyways. I also think there's more to the whole car situation.  I'm guessing there's more to whole situation.  I get the feeling this person knew they were being sneaky and are afraid they're going to get caught.

However, if I was in that situation, I'd go with the second option, try my best to pay it off ASAP and play dumb and hope for the best if I did get caught. He needs to post his budget on MM.

[girlscout]

I too, must be cold hearted because WHO in the world would think this was okay?

[hamster]

Sitting in hell with agnes, as usual.

[sfy]

I am already having a stressful day. This dude totally stressed me the hell out. What about his girlfriend? She can't get a loan? They both need second jobs. I would sell everything and have nothing in my place but a mattress and eat nothing but ramen to get out of this. I'd borrow $100 from every person I know. $20K is a lot of money, but it's also not a lot when you consider the consequences. He needs to get this money. I don't know what the answer is, but what he's doing now...that ain't it.

[Deleted]

I can not imagine the stress this is causing the person. Wow.

This may be flameful but I can't keep this thought to myself. It makes me sort of mad that he is trying/hoping to put some of the blame on having ADD. Can ADD cause issues with impulse control? Yes. Was this pre-planned car purchase and embezzlement, which this was, even if he doesn't want to admit to it, an impulsive act? Maybe a little, but not really. From what I read, this went on for four years. This is you making a huge mistake. I understand that this statement appears to be made as an afterthought but it still reflects poorly on people that suffer with ADD.

[egishere]

This is crazy! I guess it is dependent on how his company has him submit his expenses so maybe that is why they haven't noticed? For my company cc my company pays the bill directly - I have to submit all my expenses and that is it. I have rented a car over a weekend on my company cc when I had a business trip starting on Mon in the same city and I just reimbursed the company for the two days. They don't care about stuff like that as long as its not abused. DH has a company credit card but he chooses to use a personal card instead to get flight points. He still has to turn in a statement and receipts and everything. He never puts any personal expenses on that card. I think someone did this at his company with the company issued card and they got fired for it - that guy was in serious financial trouble.

[kadams767]

Am I crazy in wondering how he even has a company card after a bankruptcy? Don't most companies that give out company cards run credit checks or am I really naive on that?

[pumpkin]

OMG I'd be in such a high state of anxiety and stress all the time I'd likely have a breakdown.

I feel anxiety and stress now about the stupid CC debt I'm working really hard to pay off. I can't imagine what knowing I was a work CC and that I could lose my job would be like

[kadams767]

Jun 4, 2015 12:18:25 GMT -5 Lucy Honeychurch said:

This is insane. I can't believe nobody has noticed yet. I once saw someone get fired because of $50 worth of petty cash.

Someone in my office got a "talking to" for using our FedEx account, even though we are allowed to use it and reimburse the company for the charge, because the admin felt it was "abuse" of that perk. 

[ESF]

On the one hand, the guy could just be a total dipshit, and worthy of an eye roll and a "good luck, tiger."

On the other, he could be an economically insecure person whose problems are the result of, and compounded by, his obviously not well-treated ADD and other issues.

Either way, I have to imagine this level of anxiety is just awful to live with, and I feel badly for anyone who has to go through life like that.

I'm doubtful that criminal charges are going to result. This company is clearly disorganized. He really should spend his time finding a new job, then come clean.

[awkwardpenguin]

I feel very little sympathy for this guy. He knew it wasn't allowed and did it anyway. Then proceeded to dig a deeper and deeper hole every month.

I also can't believe the company hasn't noticed. What poor financial management all around!

[oswin]

I have no sympathy for him because he even lied on his initial question, claiming he genuinely misunderstood the policy - when he made it perfectly clear in his follow-up that he knew he wasn't allowed to do exactly what he did.

[Pom]

This made me wtf and wonder how no one has caught on to this yet. Someone at Mr. P's company got fired for buying a customer a sweatshirt on his company card. I fully believe they would lock a bitch up over this...,

[dr.girlfriend]

Yeah, there's many shady parts to his story, but ugh...what a horrible situation to be in. I get the sense he's blaming a lot of things (the semi driver, which...why would his insurance pay if it was the other driver's fault?, his girlfriend, his ADD, his boss for "not being clear"). He dug his hole and now he's in it, but what a horrible hole to be in. He's totally going to lose his job, and probably face charges because of this. I can't imagine what the cash advance on $20k is turning out to be every month.

[v]

Jun 4, 2015 13:23:40 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Yeah, there's many shady parts to his story, but ugh...what a horrible situation to be in. I get the sense he's blaming a lot of things (the semi driver, which...why would his insurance pay if it was the other driver's fault?, his girlfriend, his ADD, his boss for "not being clear"). He dug his hole and now he's in it, but what a horrible hole to be in. He's totally going to lose his job, and probably face charges because of this. I can't imagine what the cash advance on $20k is turning out to be every month.

insurance.lawyers.com/auto-insurance/property-damage-and-no-fault-car-insurance.html

Maybe? Car insurance confuses me.

[Deleted]

OMG! I would flee. There is no recovering your reputation from something like that.

Random Question: would let he be able to roll the entire balance to a low interest card, thus removing the debt from the company's problem. "At least," then it would only be his personal finances and not involving his employer?

But wait, his company handed a dude who had a personal bankruptcy in his past a company credit card? Bad judgement on their part.

[sfy]

Jun 4, 2015 12:56:33 GMT -5 @meepmeep said:

OMG. I once accidentally charged a personal Amazon order on my company card (was entered as method of payment from a company purchase earlier in the month, and I chose the wrong Mastercard) and didn't notice it until a week later when I went to pay my personal credit card and the charge wasn't there. I nearly hyperventilated and sent high priority emails to my boss and accounting immediately. "What do I doooooooooooo? How do I fix it? I'm so sooooooooooooorrrrrrrrry! Etc." (I filled out an expense report and sent a check and it was fine.) I would die if I were this guy.

My husband's corporate Amex and his personal Amex both end in the same last five numbers (I know, what are the odds of this) and he accidentally chose the corporate to book a hotel for a personal stay for us.  You would have thought he committed the heist of the century the way he was acting.  I was like, calm down, guy, it was an honest mistake, geez.  You pay it, maybe explain it, but no one cares about things like this...but the letter writer?  He is going to get fired if they learn about this.  He'll be lucky if that's the extent of what happens.

Jun 4, 2015 13:48:15 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

OMG! I would flee.

[dcn]

I reconcile some employee credit card accounts and just.....can't imagine how this could happen. This guy is an idiot but the company has TERRIBLE controls. TERRIBLE. My eye is practically twitching at the thought of this.