Constant Erosion

[roony]

Just noticed my HTD has gone down. On enquiry it's apparently because the price of Petrol has fallen.
WTF!!!:suspect:

[blogger]

What next different rates for petrol and diesel?????????

Yet another reason to get the F out.:D

[airborne_artist]

What fuel cost index does MoD use?

This one? http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuel/index.html

[Compressorstall]

Even though the prices are due to rise with the increase in duty..! Yesterday the PM said that the Govt were doing loads to help us...did he mean to help us in our decision to leave?
Many of us cannot afford to live next to work and so endure a lengthy commute...HTD makes it a little easier and pays for all those servicings that come around a lot more regularly than if we lived on the Patch.
Grrrr! And it's only Monday - does anyone have any good Armed Forces news???

[roony]

UK Average fuel prices for Unleaded 95 Octane 2007

Jan 87.5
Feb 86.9
Mar 89.5
Apr 92.8
May 95.9
Jun 97.0
Jul 96.7
Aug 96.2

Oh yes, I see now! They're practically giving it away these days!!

[Wrathmonk]

When did the amount you received change? The on-line documentation (JSP 752) is still quoting the 1 Apr 07 figures and the last briefing note to affect HTD was dated Jun 06. Granted, the documentation may not be up to date on line but where else would whovever you sought advice from get their information?

[roony]

It changed in August.

Not only did the rate change, it also changed its name to "HTD Automatic", possibly to absolve anyone of such a ridiculous and unjustifiable decision.

[Tiger_mate]

The rate for 'service' journeys by private car has also gone down. Does anyone know how to reclaim M6 toll money on JPA? (Having just done a journey that way (service journey/private car).

[Wrathmonk]

Just a thought, and I am in no way connected with JPA etc, but could the new "automatic" mean that, rather than using the manual method of working out how far you drive to work each day (i.e accepting the figure you provided) that they are now using AA/RAC sites to calculate the distance (post code to post code) and, no doubt, using the shortest route it produces regardless if it is via B roads and cart tracks! Worth asking the question as to the actual mileage you are being given (inc the personal contribution) - don't forget that until recently if you had to abate any allowance claim on JPA because (for instance) you already receive HTD that covered part of a duty journey, unless you put in a minus sign against it, it gave it to you as an addition rather than a deduction. Wonder how much that one cost .... you would have thought that being an abatement would automatically make it a negative figure. Ho hum - school boy error me thinks! Lodge a query through JPA asking for the journey length you are being paid for.

[GalleyTeapot]

I lost over £30 per month on HTD when I was forced to go onto the the automatic system rather than claim manually. Under the automatic HTD they pay you for 15days travel per month (I think) whereas under the manual system I was claiming for 20-22 days per month ie the amount of days I actually was travelling to work every month.

[ShyTorque]

These rates have always been a pain in the proverbial and they have always seeems unfair, IME!

Some years ago I was based in the north and posted back to my old job, to a base in the south at very short notice, due to a shortage of instructors with my qualifications. There was a long waiting list for MQs and the schools couldn't offer a place to one of my kids, so I was obliged to keep my family in our own house up north (no MQs at my previous base either, we had bought locally - it was either that or a surplus MQ in the opposite direction from my previous posting for 2 years plus). I therefore commuted on a weekly basis, a distance of about 150 miles each way. I went to claim MMA but was told I was not entitled to claim any motor mileage at all as it was about 5 miles short of the required distance, according to the distance calculated by admin. This was about ten miles less than I actually drove; according to my car mileometer. As usual, there was no appeal!

However, I took a mate, who had been put in a similar situation to myself, with me. I drove him the extra 15 miles each way to and from his home. He was entitled to claim allowances as a passenger; I got nothing.

It was little perks like this that made me decide that was to be my last posting. Despite being offered Spec Aircrew, I took my option and walked. :*

[Melchett01]

Just a thought, and I am in no way connected with JPA etc, but could the new "automatic" mean that, rather than using the manual method of working out how far you drive to work each day

Don't think that's what 'automatic' is - having started looking to moving Melchett Towers outside the wire and one of the things I checked up on was HTD as as has been mentioned, most of us have fairly lengthy commutes. From what I could make out, the automatic rate is what you get when your HTD is automatically paid as part of your monthly salary whereas the manual rate is what you get for ad hoc journies which you have to claim for.

I think the manual rate is more because you are limited as to how many times you can claim it each month.

Well that's from what I could make out from the scribbly bible, but to be honest it may as well have been written in Swahili, so someone may actually have a better / correct explanation than I can come up with.

[roony]

It's nothing to do with how many days they pay you for travelling or a change to which route they calculate you have taken. It's just that the rate has gone down, simple as that; explanation, "The price of fuel has come down".

This means i'm about £150 a year worse off, compounded by the fact that fuel has actually gone up.

You probably wouldn't notice £150 over a year, but it smarts a bit when backed up with complete bo11ock5.

[Wrathmonk]

Roony

Fair enough - I shan't offer possible explanations to your gripes in order to give you a line to take with Admin wg/JPAC or whoever and perhaps find more to the HTD issue - personally I don't believe the answer you were given is correct. I think there is more to it than that and you have been fobbed off with a "plausible" reason by a slack barsteward to get shot of you. Rather than bleat here, get the facts together (particularly the petrol prices) and take it up through your chain of command.:ok:

[Sospan]

The drop in rate was announced a few months back, stating that due to recent decreases in car maintenance costs, lower insurance costs and a decrease in fuel prices the new rate would reflect these prices accordingly.

P.S dont shoot the messenger, I only saw it on the wall in PSF. :mad:

[roony]

Phew! Thanks for that, such a relief to know my car is now more reliable and will need servicing less frequently. I could offset the extra cost against cancelling my RAC cover which is now obsolete anyway.

Job done!

[Wrathmonk]

Roony

If you were angry yesterday this may just tip you over the edge....

http://www.people.co.uk/news/tm_headline=scandal-orse&method=full&objectid=19833418&siteid=93463-name_page.html

Interesting they only highlighted Navy and Air Force personnel ...

[roony]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7011568.stm
If I concentrate really hard and imagine my cash paying for a squaddies council tax and not subsidising some gits equestrian fetish, I may get through the day without hitting someone.:hmm:

[Mr-AEO]

They probably didn't include the Army because they DO own horses.

PS - Why do we get 14p per mile when travelling by bicycle and only 10 more when travelling by car? I know that bikes these days can be very gucci etc, but are they only 10p apart when you take account servicing, insurance, etc etc?:confused:

I suspect the answer is that it encourages more Carbon neutral commuting. Jolly good; I will now set off on my bicycle to a meeting at a secret airfield in Somerset in my uniform. Of course, the meeting is not until next week, but I am a slow rider and mustn't exceed 6 hrs in the saddle a day (H&S you know). I should be able to claim overnight subs because I can't get there in one day, and laundry allowance to get my uniform smartened up after the messy road. All in all, the claim will be substantially higher than if I had taken my car.

Failing that, leave the car and use a Hire Car if that is convenient to you. If it's duty travel, refuse to use your own car.

[Wader2]

mileage rates have indeed gone down.

This was all covered (badly) in a brief released a number of weeks ago.

The brief went into painful detail about modern cars need servicing less, price of fuel etc etc.

That is :mad:s. The maximum tax-free mileage allowance is 40 pence per mile which goes someway towards the true cost of running a car - tax, insurance, MOT, servciing fuel etc.

The lower rate for travel on duty is 25p (in my case) which would be about £7.50 per gallon. That gives a margin of about £2. You would need a lot of those £2/g to pay for your annual service which of course varies both in frequency and cost car to car.

The HTD rate and the public transport rate are supposed to compensate for using your own car in lieu of public transport. The daily deduction is supposed to equate to the amount the average worker would pay to get to work.

[Wader2]

I therefore commuted on a weekly basis, a distance of about 150 miles each way. I went to claim MMA but was told I was not entitled to claim any motor mileage at all as it was about 5 miles short of the required distance, according to the distance calculated by admin.

This is like a case some years back (20) when my Sgt was in receipt of sepal. A few months in some bright spark reassessed his claim and decided he was not living far enough away. Their first stab at correcting this was to take it all from his pay in one month!

He did not drive and lived in Durham. His journey home by train was passed Durham to Newcastle and then a local train south again.

:mad:

Anyway, just shows that nothing has changed.