More than a third of professionals overclaimed on mileage last year, according to a new report from Allstar Business Solutions.

The study found that more than a third of professionals overclaimed on mileage in 2016.

The study of 1,000 working professionals also revealed that 17% of employees deliberately overclaim on all of their business expenses each month, while a quarter of people claiming up to 20% extra, potentially costing the UK economy a total of £1.6bn a year.

When asked why they choose to overclaim, 40% of respondents said they don’t feel they get paid enough; 36% said they do so to make up for money owed from lost receipts. Shockingly, almost a third (29%) simply follow their colleagues lead, highlighting a worrying trend in UK culture, stating that it’s something that “everyone does”; while 28% simply feel they can “get away with it”.

Paul Baker, vice president customer management at Allstar Business Solutions, said: “It is of no doubt that our research has revealed some shocking findings and it appears overclaiming is a very big problem for British businesses. Not only is it costing individual companies, it is also having a much bigger impact on our wider economy as a whole and people don’t seem to care that it is both dishonest and illegal.”

To help businesses Allstar has created a dedicated white paper looking at pay and reclaim in much more detail, specifically in relation to fuel.

To download the white paper, visit: http://e-allstaremail.co.uk/p/3GJF-1T7/payandreclaim