cycle2work is £999 the limit ?
Hobnails
Posts: 10
Once my company gets its act together I want to buy a great bike on the cycle2work scheme. is it true that £999 is the limit and you cant add money to that in order to get a more expensive bike.
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There is in theory no upper limit, but your company will need a credit licence for bikes over £1000 and this costs money. This is why most companies have a £999 limit.
The rules say that you cannot add money to the C2W voucher. Some shops will allow you to do this but it is not really allowed.0 -
be wary on this scheme though
a lot of bike shops charge rrp oe even a 10% surcharge when using the scheme
there is also a 5% further payment to make the bike yours
you are limited to certain shops \ bikes
If the bike you really want is available under the scheme fine - but once you have calculated in shop discounts, the limited choice , and the final payment - the saving isn't as much as you might think.0 -
Well I have just purchased (it hasn't arrived yet) a bike on the scheme, and I will be paying £555 for £1,000 worth of kit/bike (I have actually ordered something more costly than that) as will several of my mates.
I wasn't able to negotiate a discount on the bike as they lose 10% to the scheme, but they are almost giving me the accessories and helmet because I went way over the £1000 on the bike. My mates on the other hand have received no discount on their accessories as they spent less than the £1000 and the LBS have already lost a good percentage of their margin to the scheme. I can see the reasoning behind it all.
After twelve months I will have to make 1 extra payment (£42 net) for the bike to be mine. So basically £513 over twelve months plus a 13th payment of exactly the same (£42).
How can this possibly be a scheme to be wary of?0 -
Depends on the shop as to whether they allow you to go over the £1000 limit which most employers have (you will pay the difference up front but the bike will belong to your employers regardless until the final payment). If your employer has a consumer credit license then you are able to go over the £1000 mark with their blessing, but check if it's OK first. The final payment is at employer's discretion. 5% + VAT is a guideline, but they can charge as much or as little as they like, so check before going ahead. Unless your employer is an ar5e there is nothing to lose as you save VAT, income tax and NI on the bike, so even taking into account the final payment the normal saving on the amount your employers allow is around 30% minimum. I'm saving about 35% ON £2400 worth of bike and kit and last year saved the same on £2900 worth so it is definitely a good thing for me0
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What a surprise that my employer 'the MoD' will not subscribe to this scheme. :?0
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FOAD wrote:Well I have just purchased (it hasn't arrived yet) a bike on the scheme, and I will be paying £555 for £1,000 worth of kit/bike (I have actually ordered something more costly than that) as will several of my mates.
I wasn't able to negotiate a discount on the bike as they lose 10% to the scheme, but they are almost giving me the accessories and helmet because I went way over the £1000 on the bike. My mates on the other hand have received no discount on their accessories as they spent less than the £1000 and the LBS have already lost a good percentage of their margin to the scheme. I can see the reasoning behind it all.
After twelve months I will have to make 1 extra payment (£42 net) for the bike to be mine. So basically £513 over twelve months plus a 13th payment of exactly the same (£42).
How can this possibly be a scheme to be wary of?
Well the scenario for me was (is) - the bike I wanted was £1900 - my scheme is limited to a £1000 - they wouldn't discount - and would stick to rrp even in the sales and would charge 10% surcharge on the scheme.
my employer can't claim vat (public sector) - so I would save £340 - less the 10% (£100) - less the 5% (£50) - so I would save £190. Last year the bike I want was reduced by £400 - and I can put it on a 10 month free credit card & choose any shop I want !0 -
Anyone who's shop charges a 10% surcharge........ find a decent, non moneygrabbing shop! My shop absorbs the 10% charged by cyclescheme as it's simply business we wouldn't have had otherwise. OR...... and here's the clever part...... buy from a shop that can send it to you (like mine). Just know what size you need and be prepared to send your voucher before the bike is couriered (small delivery charge, much less than a 10% surcharge, payable)
By the way, I don't own the shop, I just work there for peanuts (or energy bars if nuts aren't available)0 -
guilliano wrote:Anyone who's shop charges a 10% surcharge........ find a decent, non moneygrabbing shop! My shop absorbs the 10% charged by cyclescheme as it's simply business we wouldn't have had otherwise. OR...... and here's the clever part...... buy from a shop that can send it to you (like mine). Just know what size you need and be prepared to send your voucher before the bike is couriered (small delivery charge, much less than a 10% surcharge, payable)
By the way, I don't own the shop, I just work there for peanuts (or energy bars if nuts aren't available)
I don't understand - if the shop sends the bike - they won't charge the surcharge ?0 -
Nope, just between £10 and £15 for a courier to deliver. Bike delivered PDI'd, just need to fit wheels and either turn or fit stem/bars depending on size of box it's put in. That's how my shop would work it anyway.
Some shops charge you the 10% that the scheme charges them, my shop doesn't. We'd just ask you to pay carriage if we sent it, or you could collect and save the carriage as well0 -
There are 2 different options with C2W this depends on if your work admins the system themselves or not.
If they do then the limit is £1000, if you want a bike & kit over that amount then you pay the difference directly to the bike supplier. Get the supplier to provide a quote for 999.99, any bike supplier worth anything will do this if they don't walk away. I approached 4 suppliers and all of them were happy to provide a quote for £999.99 and I pay them the excess on collection. Your works then pays the supplier direct by either cheque or more common BACS transfer. After the loan period, say 18 months you can but the bike off your works at 5% of the purchase price. If you pay over 12 months then the percentage of the value is higher, you will have to check as I am not sure myself.
If your works doesn't then you can buy a voucher, I understand a 10% admin fee is taken buy the company running the vouchers. The maximum you can spend on a bike via C2W is going to be £900, but your repayment is based upon £1000. If you want anything over £900, then just get the supplier to write a quote for that amount and pay the difference. A friend had to do this, but as my works admin there self I get the full benefit.0 -
I just got a Chris Boardman team carbon bike through the cycle2work scheme. I got it from the dreaded Halfords, however I found them to be really helpful and knowledgable. The guy I dealt with is an ex-professional road racer from Poland, which was a real bonus considering the problems people have with halfords.
Anyway, when I got the bike, I also got 10% of the bikes value, in free accessories. I thought this was a standard part of the cycle2work scheme, not an optional extra. I have bought three bikes in the last three years, and have recieved the 10% free accessories each time.0 -
DoubleTop wrote:There are 2 different options with C2W this depends on if your work admins the system themselves or not.
If they do then the limit is £1000, if you want a bike & kit over that amount then you pay the difference directly to the bike supplier. Get the supplier to provide a quote for 999.99, any bike supplier worth anything will do this if they don't walk away. I approached 4 suppliers and all of them were happy to provide a quote for £999.99 and I pay them the excess on collection. Your works then pays the supplier direct by either cheque or more common BACS transfer. After the loan period, say 18 months you can but the bike off your works at 5% of the purchase price. If you pay over 12 months then the percentage of the value is higher, you will have to check as I am not sure myself.
If your works doesn't then you can buy a voucher, I understand a 10% admin fee is taken buy the company running the vouchers. The maximum you can spend on a bike via C2W is going to be £900, but your repayment is based upon £1000. If you want anything over £900, then just get the supplier to write a quote for that amount and pay the difference. A friend had to do this, but as my works admin there self I get the full benefit.
Assuming I read you right, any shop that will restrict you to a £900 bike because they lose ten percent is taking the piss. If they want the sale then they will absorb the 10%, if they don't then let your feet do the walking. No where on this earth would anyone willingly give a shop a £1000 voucher to walk away with £900's worth of kit surely?0 -
Some people will when they are handing over a £1000 voucher, taking £900 of kit and then paying £600 interest free for 12 months0
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So people actually give the shop £100 for nothing?0
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I guess so, although the shop are then passing that £100 on to the scheme administrators so aren't actually making it themselves, just making sure they don't lose money off the RRP. Personally I think only a truly cynical shop owner or one where there is no competition anywhere near would do this..... we certainly don't and I haven't heard of any shop that does0
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It would be my last visit to any shop that did this.0
