I've been retired for a while, but spent a lot of time travelling around the UK (and occasionally elsewhere) when Inwas at work.

When I started - expense policy was a per diem for 24 hours or over - you got a set allowance and it was up to you if you stayed in a cheap B&B and ate at Mc Donald's and pocketed the difference, or if you blew the budget on the posh hotel and paid for your meals out of your own pocket.

We also had smaller amounts if you were out for long or short days - a few pounds to buy a sandwich and a drink for short trips, enough for a reasonably priced meal if longer - no receipts required.

Then we went over to "actuals" with the nause of providing receipts for everything spent - and had to use a company provided hotel booking service........

Expenses soared - as folk no longer had the incentive to penny pinch, and the hotel booking service came up with prices well in excess of what people could get booking themselves (as an example, we were allowed to use it for leisure trips to save money...... I did it once thinking I'd saved myself a fortune - until I checked in and heard another customer being told that the just turn up rate was about 2/3 of what my "discounted rate rate" was..... Never again!)

Add in to that the requirement to collect all the receipts but you didn't have to submit them but just keep them in your desk in case you were required to produce them at a later date.gup to 5 years).. On clearing out my desk on my retirement, I found a large folder of unwanted never asked for receipts, which I took great pleasure in chucking in the bin.

I know I was never as willing to travel after the rules changed as most of my trips were from London to Bristol, and my subsistence was a can of Coke and a sandwich from the station newsagent whilst rushing to catch my train home.... The grief from the newsagent when asked for a receipt was unbelievable - but in the end with being asked dozens of times a day - he got into the habit of just handing you a blank receipt stamped with his details when asked - leaving us to put in the amount we wanted....