# cycle 2 work scheme



## the enemy (3 Aug 2009)

I work for Royal Mail & they issue an " LOC" - letter of collection, which is issued by Halfords. Have read on here that some LBS's accept them. Vouchers/LOC- same thing, is there a difference? Am I stuck with Halfords? 

Thanks


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## twosquarewheels (3 Aug 2009)

I do believe you can use Leisure Lakes, theres a great big thread about it on Royal Mail Chat

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/comm...&t=17692&sid=02b3114b9139d5163be9ce340b5eb4cd

Just don't get caught up in the politics.


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## addictfreak (3 Aug 2009)

I know with us, we have a list of shops we can use. If im not mistaken there are several schemes in operation and each one has a list of suppliers. Mine is a fairly local thing as we all work within Tyne and Wear.


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## marchammer (3 Aug 2009)

Hi, My wife was the same as you.And she got hers from Leisure lakes,


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## the enemy (3 Aug 2009)

Did you order online with them marchammer? & can you get accessories too with them.


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## marko (3 Aug 2009)

the enemy said:


> I work for Royal Mail & they issue an " LOC" - letter of collection, which is issued by Halfords. Have read on here that some LBS's accept them. Vouchers/LOC- same thing, is there a difference? Am I stuck with Halfords?
> 
> Thanks



Having just got my bike through a similar scheme, I can't work out if there are 2 different schemes running here.

The Cycle 2 Work scheme seems to be something run by Halfords themselves so one would expect a lock in.

There is also however cyclescheme.co.uk which delivers exactly the same tax breaks but allows you to choose from a whole range of LBS as well as Halfords and major chains. The website will give you a list.

If your scheme is the Halfords one then you may be stuck but check out the small print because this is a national scheme sponsored by the Inland Revenue and not just something special to Halfords.


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## The Jogger (4 Aug 2009)

our scheme had the loc voucher with halfords on it, I used mine at an lbs, thank god!


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## MrGrumpy (4 Aug 2009)

ohh will remember that, my RM C2W scheme is finished now, was thinking of getting another bike but will might wait. Is it still a voucher upto £500 ?


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## the enemy (4 Aug 2009)

Yes and you get an extra £75 voucher(free) to spend.


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## MrGrumpy (4 Aug 2009)

thats what it was last time I, however would a LBS except the extra £75 voucher to spend??


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## andyfromotley (5 Aug 2009)

i had a halfords one and could only use it at halfords or lesuire lakes. i went to thier bury shop and they took it just like cash. Be warned though that if you order a bike through them via halfords, they will charge you the list price, the shop doesnt, they charge you whatever its for sale for. my accidental discovery of this saved me £150 on my bike, list/net price 1150 shop price 1000. Honestly you really couldnt make halfords up if it didnt already exist. Having told the repeatedly that if i couldnt get a boardman team before i went on holiday on the 23 july then i didnt want it (as our scheme closed whilst i was on holiday. i returned today to a phone call telling me my boardman was ready for collection, FFS! Incompetent idiots.
If anyone knows chris boardman tell him to sell his bikes through LBS he will be a multi millionaire!


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## the enemy (5 Aug 2009)

Do you kow if you are allowed to add to the voucher? eg ..£500 voucher and add £38 for bike i want. 
Ta
ATB


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## HLaB (5 Aug 2009)

the enemy said:


> Do you kow if you are allowed to add to the voucher? eg ..£500 voucher and add £38 for bike i want.
> Ta
> ATB


Thank goodness my company joined the cyclescheme rather than cycle to work and I went through a lbs who done similar no problem.


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## gekko (6 Aug 2009)

No, you cannot add your own money to the voucher for tax reasons. It's best to choose your bike prior to applying for the voucher so you know exactly how much you'll need. A number of shops will take Halfords vouchers directly but I only know of the London ones. I got my bike directly from Pearson in Sutton. I got a bit off the accessories so that the bike and bits came to £500 on the nose and I didn't have to get a bigger voucher (our company only allows you to jump by £50 at a time).

My Halfords voucher came with an extra 10%, redeemable at Halfords only. I thought that I had forgone this by purchasing at another store, but the other day I got a voucher for £50 through the post so I can buy one or two more accessories. Not sure if this is standard for the Halfords scheme or just something my organisation has negotiated but it's not bad as you don't have to pay this bit back.


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## MrGrumpy (6 Aug 2009)

aye Halfords are pure rip off when it comes to accessories, I bought my langster 2 years ago on C2W with the £500 voucher plus £75 extra accessories coupon. Had everything priced up from wiggle etc nd when i went to halfords to order I had to halve my list of wants due to the extremely expensive pricing  Maybe next time I see what i can do with the voucher elsewhere.


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## gekko (6 Aug 2009)

I spoke to Pearson about the extra voucher but they wouldn't take it as there's nothing in it for them. It's a gift rather than being part of the scheme as such as you don't pay it back. This means that an LBS can't claim back the money for that part. I agree with what you say about being able to source stuff cheaper elsewhere but it's a free voucher so it's still £50 (or £75 in your case) that you wouldn't otherwise have.


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## g00se (6 Aug 2009)

gekko said:


> No, you cannot add your own money to the voucher for tax reasons. It's best to choose your bike prior to applying for the voucher so you know exactly how much you'll need.



Accoring to my employe's intranet FAQ about it, in the current cyclescheme.co.uk scheme, the voucher value is fixed, but you can pay more out of your own pocket. Though there is no tax saving on this. So if you have a £500 voucher for a £500 Specialized Thing, you can change your mind and get a £575 Kona Wotsit by just dipping into your pocket for £75. Provided the LBS are happy to supply a different bike.


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## the enemy (7 Aug 2009)

g00se said:


> Accoring to my employe's intranet FAQ about it, in the current cyclescheme.co.uk scheme, the voucher value is fixed, but you can pay more out of your own pocket. Though there is no tax saving on this. So if you have a £500 voucher for a £500 Specialized Thing, you can change your mind and get a £575 Kona Wotsit by just dipping into your pocket for £75. Provided the LBS are happy to supply a different bike.



Thanks Goose.


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## HLaB (7 Aug 2009)

g00se said:


> Accoring to my employe's intranet FAQ about it, in the current cyclescheme.co.uk scheme, the voucher value is fixed, but you can pay more out of your own pocket. Though there is no tax saving on this. So if you have a £500 voucher for a £500 Specialized Thing, you can change your mind and get a £575 Kona Wotsit by just dipping into your pocket for £75. Provided the LBS are happy to supply a different bike.


That's my recent experience of the cycle scheme which lbs is going to turn down an extra few quid The cycle to work scheme through Hellfrauds may me more restrictive but I've no experience of that.


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## addictfreak (7 Aug 2009)

The bike I bought was 1500, I just paid the 500 up front to the LBS. Still saving me around 300 with easy montly payments taken at source.

However not all LBS are willing to do this, even the one I used asked me not to let the cat of the bag.


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## nigelnorris (7 Aug 2009)

Evans is another one that will allow you to add cash to the voucher to buy a dearer bike.


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