To c2w or not to c2w...

[Norm]

Wrong? what all of it? which part and would you care to elaborate Ive been into great detail about two schemes CTW and Cyclescheme however clearly I have mis interpreted their advice. Perhaps you could clarify?

I did all of that in the post which you quoted.

 

[Norm]

I'm being pedantic here, but this is wrong. There is no requirement for the employer to recoup the cost of the bike from the employee during the course of the agreement

Ironically, I've been criticised on here for over-emphasising the possible benefits available to those who are in a friendly scheme, because there are so few people who would be covered and it builds expectations in those who don't read the details.

I've also posted, many times, that there is no requirement for the full purchase price of a bike rented under the scheme to be recovered.

Maybe we should just leave people to stew in their ignorance, laughing and pointing fingers when they whine about how little they are having in reality, as someone will pull apart every comment unless you write a full set of scheme rules, including implementation guidance.

I'm answer, geek, yes it is possible to get more than the 50% figure which I used. However, I reckon less than 1% of people who have got a current scheme running who will see that sort of saving. Given the number of people who sign up because they've seen a "save 50%" headline, and who have no idea of the details and the fact the savings are usually under 20% (especially to those whose employers sell to a 3rd party like CycleScam), I'll stick to the way I say it

 

[Cyclist33]

My administrator Cycle Scheme says that for a small fee (around £10 - £15) they extend the hire period to 3 years, after which the value of the bike reduces (as per the HMRC website) to a low single digit figure. You pay no further monthly payments of money after the first year, which is when they offer of the extended hire period is given to you. Otherwise you would be looking to pay ~25% of the initial value to buy the bike.

But this all depends on who you're employer is. I haven't found an employer yet you is interested in taking the bike off the employee, and really only wants to off the scheme as a added benefit to their employees as part of their compensaton package. Its just more admin for their HR/finance depts.

I have heard/read that Halford administored scheme can 'in theory' source any model under £1000 but I think you may pay a small admin fee for them to source the bike.

FWIW, I have chosen a CX bike. The Cotic >X< as it has disk brakes, is a UK company, and were mainly an MTB specialist.

Cyclescheme charge you 7% to re-hire a bike of that value for a further 3 years.

To give you some idea, mine was £640 RRP, I paid 12 monthly instalments of £35 net and now have to pay either £160 to buy the bike - total cost £580, saving 9.3% - or pay £45 to re-hire the bike for another 36 months, during which time the bike still belongs to Cyclescheme so if I sold it I would be breaking the law, and if they went bust I'd be ****ed, and during this 36 month period the government may revise the rules again like they did 6 months ago.

By contrast, I just bought a road bike on interest free. RRP of the bike was £675. The deal was £550, I pay it over 12 months. I bought £250-RRP wheels from Merlin online, for £150, and sold the stock wheels for 80. Total RRP £925, total cost to me £620. Saving 32.9%. Go figure. Plus I own the bike.

Stu