Cycle Scheme - Don't Bother

[Norm]

Cycle2Work, administered by Halfords, using the P41 Tax Code method.

So you don't use Cyclescheme then and whether or not everyone in your company loves it is completely irrelevant.

As is the "P41 tax code method", whatever the heck that is.

Go find out about Cyclescheme, you can find enough of the bad bits on here so you don't even have to look too far. Some pointers would be the margins that they take, the hard work that they make the administration, the charges that they make at the end of the rental period, the pressure that they put on employers to sell them the bikes...

 

[wiggydiggy]

So you don't use Cyclescheme then and whether or not everyone in your company loves it is completely irrelevant.

As is the "P41 tax code method", whatever the heck that is.

Go find out about Cyclescheme, you can find enough of the bad bits on here so you don't even have to look too far. Some pointers would be the margins that they take, the hard work that they make the administration, the charges that they make at the end of the rental period, the pressure that they put on employers to sell them the bikes...

Yes we do, we use 'Cycle to work provided by Cyclescheme' (its in my info pack), and the fact people in my company love it is as relevant as your opinion.

P41 Tax Code Method is simply the method of repayment, I understand there are several BTW

I won't go 'and find about Cyclescheme' as I already know enough about it, you make some fair points about the scheme which I know about but to me and my experiences the negatives don't outweigh the benefits.

I am guessing you have had a negative experience with the scheme?

What is surprising about people's attitudes (inc yours) is how negative they can be towards the scheme which, for all its negatives, offers a cheap and affordable path into cycling at benefit to the user.

Is it really that bad?

 

[Norm]

I have no negative attitudes towards the cycle to work scheme.The cycle to work regulations offer some significant tax savings to employers and employees if the individual scheme is correctly set up to maximise those benefits.

Cyclescam, on the other hand, are a different issue. Far from "cheap and affordable" they are there to make money from a scheme which the government put in place for people to save tax. If more employers ran the scheme themselves (generally less administration than using Cyclescam) then there would be more profits for the LBS and more savings for the employee.

I didn't realise that (and I'm very surprised that) Cyclescam were behind the Halfords scheme.

There is no such thing as a P41 tax code.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Just got back from a great 45 miler on my wonderful Cycle2Work bike, really enjoyed it and heartily recommend to anyone to look into the scheme types available

 

[Norm]

Maybe, now that you are back, you could check your documents as Halfords claim that cycle2work is their own scheme, which is "managed by our team at the Head Office in Worcestershire.".

So, you don't have any experience of Cyclescham, just like there is no "P41 method".

 

[wiggydiggy]

Maybe, now that you are back, you could check your documents as Halfords claim that cycle2work is their own scheme, which is "managed by our team at the Head Office in Worcestershire.".

So, you don't have any experience of Cyclescham, just like there is no "P41 method".

I am guessing then that Cyclescheme, like Halfords, is a company that will administer/run the scheme for companies to help with the 'tax free entry to cycling' for people that work. My experience using Halfords has been positive, I am guessing (as you still haven't told me) that you have had a negative experience with 'Cyclescheme'.

The 'P41 Tax Code Method' was simply the phrase used by the lady on the helpline to describe final payment, from memory as my notes are at work:

12 x monthly payments to the value of the voucher - these earnings are not subject to tax/NI
Final payment is the tax payable on an amount dictated by 'fair market value'

 

[Norm]

I am guessing then that Cyclescheme, like Halfords, is a company that will administer/run the scheme for companies to help with the 'tax free entry to cycling' for people that work. My experience using Halfords has been positive, I am guessing (as you still haven't told me) that you have had a negative experience with 'Cyclescheme'.

There's no need to guess, chap, I said a while ago that "you don't use Cyclescheme then". The thread is about Cyclescheme, you might have good experience from Halfords but, as I again said a while ago, that's irrelevant.

Maybe you should have taken my suggestion of yesterday and gone to check what you were talking about, rather than ...

I won't go 'and find about Cyclescheme' as I already know enough about it

... pretending to know anything at all about Cyclescheme.

 

[Grizzly]

I've used cyclescheme twice now and I wont be using it again. My first bike was discounted and it was mine after 18 months, with a final payment that was the same as the monthly payments had been. The last bike was from the same shop but this time I was told I could not get a discounted bike due to the charges made by cyclescheme, and with the £1000 limit all I could get was an entry level road bike. At the end of the scheme I was offered the bike for £180 or a 3 year extension for £68, I've taken the extension so the bike will be mine after 4 1/2 years. Next time I'll use my LBS, I'll get the bike I want and that fits me (because you get a better service) and it'll be mine after a max of 3 years. OK I'll be paying tax on the money that use to pay for the bike but I think the benefits outweigh the tax savings.

 

[Peteaud]

My employer would tell me to F.O

Halfords seem to be good

 

[wiggydiggy]

Norm I've lost interest. I was hoping for a mature discussion about the merits and pitfalls about the various cycle schemes available, you seem more interested in trying to score points. Bye

 

[Norm]

Norm I've lost interest. I was hoping for a mature discussion about the merits and pitfalls about the various cycle schemes available, you seem more interested in trying to score points. Bye

Maybe you should have approached it differently, then. This specific thread was about Cyclescheme, not about the merits and pitfalls of the various schemes.

You weighed in with "without Cyclescheme I would have very poor bikes over the last 2 1/2 years as I couldn't have afforded to buy a good one" and, since then, I've just been trying to understand your specific experience of Cyclescheme.

As an aside, the merits and pitfalls of the various schemes are irrelevant to many people who are locked into a specific scheme chosen / set up by their employers. You cannot just switch to another brand like baked beans.

The Halfords Cycle2Work scheme seems to be well regarded by most who use it. Unlike Cyclescheme.

 

[Alembicbassman]

The spirit of the scheme was to get people out of cars and using a bike for part or all of the journey to work. I read somewhere that the contract stated the bike will be used 50% of the time for work related travel. The incentive was that lease payments were taken from salary before tax with the option to purchase the bike at the end of the agreed period.

It was not intended for people to indulge themselves with a £1000 bike tax free and use it at weekends.

It appears HMRC issued clarification on the matter last year which makes the scheme less attractive for those wanting a discounted deal on a new bike.

Personally I can't see any merits in the scheme. Using the voucher at full RRP plus administration fees for bikes you can get up to 20% off by shopping around, using voucher codes etc... means you lose any tax saving. Many credit card companies offering interest free purchases for 12 months means you can pay in instalments from your wages by setting up a simple standing order.

By shopping around and buying discontinued models I have regularly made savings of 50% on new bikes' RRP.

I think my employer (Boots) offers the scheme through Halfords, but I've never been tempted by it.

 

[jayonabike]

MY employer (Royal Mail) also offers the scheme through Halfords but with a limit of £500 so I've never used it. I shop around, find a bike with a good discount and buy it on the credit card. I bought a Dawes Century from Spa cycles which normally retails around £1100 for £725 and even with interest on the monthly payments was still less than the full whack price. I had it paid off in less than a year as well.

 

[Rancid]

my company is very pro cycling and actively push the cycle to work scheme.
As this was my first bike my concerns where not so much getting the best discount, but more to do with getting the best advice for a total novice.

Now that I'm a little more seasoned and have a better idea, for my next bike i would most probably try to find the bike i wanted and then drive a hard bargain on it.

As someone else already said, the cycle to work thing is for people to cycle to work, not for seasoned pros to try and save a few £££ on a multi grand racer.

 

[Linford]

Lady who does the books said that she contactedthe rev, and the bikes cannot be gifted at the end of the term as it is a disposal of assets in the taxmans view, and also the bike could/should theoretically be used by anyone in the company until the hire period is finished - reality is thisis unlikely, but she reckoned it was all a bit of a con which the rev are well up to speed on, and there was not a lot of mileage in taking part in it