I just want to know if I'm bugging or not. I volunteer for a local gallery and part of the travel expenses are covered up to £12 per day. I live in London and it's awkward to get to. I can get one bus in one direction or two buses in a different direction. But both of the first buses are unreliable and have a terrible unreliable service. So I have been taking the train and bus or two to the gallery and have submitted my expenses as such. I've been working there since November and submitted my expenses for December well in advance but haven't been paid the £120 I am owed. Also for a while my contact wasn't replying to my emails asking why payment is so late. Apparently their system was down but they didn't make that known and he made sure to comment that he gets over 300 emails a week so he doesn't always reply even though I never had any issues beforehand. On the back of this I received this email whereby he plotted my journey from home to the gallery and asked why I wasn't taking the one or two bus cheaper option. This was the email I received;

"I’ve noticed that you’re taking the train and bus to get to the gallery – could you let me know what exact route you’re taking?

[mention of alternative route]

We have limited budget to reimburse for volunteer travel expenses and sustainability is something we have to consider when asking our volunteers to attend. With the number of shifts that you’re covering each month, the current route you’re taking isn’t viable for us in the long term. This is by no means looking to ask you to reduce or stop volunteering – I’m just looking to understand your current situation and see if we can make a change that will greatly impact the whole.

Please let me know your thoughts and I’d be more than happy to discuss this further if necessary."

Let it be known that myself and all the volunteers are the staff that keep the galleries open. Apart from the cafe without us they wouldn't have staff as we invigilators give up our time free of charge. It was noted in the volunteer handbook that travel would be expensed to a certain point but I found this email almost hostile insinuating that I'm a nuisance because I do about 3 shifts a week. So am I right to feel this way or should I suck it up? Thanks for reading