Cycle to work scheme, has anybody set one up?

[therams]

I run a small company (5 people) and want to set up a cycle to work scheme. I could just join one of the schemes associated to a shop like, Halfords or Evans. However my LBS have been very helpful in helping me chose my bike, so I would like to buy from them. The only problem is that, the bike I want is on sale with a 10% discount, but I wont get this if I use their cycle to work scheme.

I have looked at the guidelines on the government’s web site, and it seems that I can just get the company to buy the bike, reclaim the VAT and then set-up the salary sacrifice scheme myself. That way, for future employee purchases we are not restricted to one bike shop and I also get the 10% discount.

I was just wondering if anybody has done this and if so how much paper work was involved?

Cheers in advance!

 

[domd1979]

Given the amount you save on Cyclescheme or similar, is it worth worrying about not getting the 10% discount? You're still quids in thanks to the income tax / NI / VAT savings.

I run a small company (5 people) and want to set up a cycle to work scheme. I could just join one of the schemes associated to a shop like, Halfords or Evans. However my LBS have been very helpful in helping me chose my bike, so I would like to buy from them. The only problem is that, the bike I want is on sale with a 10% discount, but I wont get this if I use their cycle to work scheme.

I have looked at the guidelines on the government’s web site, and it seems that I can just get the company to buy the bike, reclaim the VAT and then set-up the salary sacrifice scheme myself. That way, for future employee purchases we are not restricted to one bike shop and I also get the 10% discount.

I was just wondering if anybody has done this and if so how much paper work was involved?

Cheers in advance!

 

[maurice]

They're trying to pull a fast one not letting you have the 10% discount with their scheme, I would challenge them on it.

 

[domd1979]

The shop doesn't have to give a discount, and there's usually an admin charge that someone has to cover (most probably using the 10% discount you're not getting).

They're trying to pull a fast one not letting you have the 10% discount with their scheme, I would challenge them on it.

 

[therams]

I hear what you are saying, but I am having trouble justifying £900 on a bike and £810 seems to sit better . Kind of trivial I know, but it pays for some new kit.

I also like the idea of not being tied into one scheme. I did push them on the sale discount and they said they risked getting kicked out of the scheme if they gave me the sale price.

 

[therams]

Good point about the admin charge, I don't want to pay if I can do it myself.

 

[Riding in Circles]

They're trying to pull a fast one not letting you have the 10% discount with their scheme, I would challenge them on it.

They pay a commission to Cyclescheme and the terms state that any discount is not therefore enforceable, the cycle shop still has a right to make a profit despite your wants.

 

[domd1979]

But you wouldn't pay back £900 - it would be about £552 in repayments, plus say 5% of the £900 = £45 at the end of 12 months to make the bike yours.

I hear what you are saying, but I am having trouble justifying £900 on a bike and £810 seems to sit better . Kind of trivial I know, but it pays for some new kit.

I also like the idea of not being tied into one scheme. I did push them on the sale discount and they said they risked getting kicked out of the scheme if they gave me the sale price.

 

[therams]

They pay a commission to Cyclescheme and the terms state that any discount is not therefore enforceable, the cycle shop still has a right to make a profit despite your wants.

I understand, the LBS, who have been great get to sell the bike for the advertised price so making their profit. I just get to cut out the middle man, the Cyclescheme, to save money. I don't see what the Cyclescheme can do that I cant easily do myself.

I was just wondering if anybody had any experience in doing this for them self.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I understand, the LBS, who have been great get to sell the bike for the advertised price so making their profit. I just get to cut out the middle man, the Cyclescheme, to save money. I don't see what the Cyclescheme can do that I cant easily do myself.

I was just wondering if anybody had any experience in doing this for them self.

I see what you mean, from that point of view you should be able to set up your own scheme.

 

[maurice]

They pay a commission to Cyclescheme and the terms state that any discount is not therefore enforceable, the cycle shop still has a right to make a profit despite your wants.

..and they still will make a profit.

What you don't seem to see is in this situation they are charging the customer for getting a bike on cyclescheme by not letting him have the discount.

The shop could set up a scheme itself, it's not the OP's problem they've chosen to let cyclescheme do the work for them.

 

[Riding in Circles]

..and they still will make a profit.

What you don't seem to see is in this situation they are charging the customer for getting a bike on cyclescheme by not letting him have the discount.

The shop could set up a scheme itself, it's not the OP's problem they've chosen to let cyclescheme do the work for them.

Actually the OP is buying the cycle from Cyclescheme not the retailer, setting up the scheme direct from the shop would cost a lot more than the price of a couple of bikes never mind the profit, so they may never get the money back at all, you are viewing it wrongly.

 

[maurice]

One of my LBS's set their own scheme up...

 

[skwerl]

My understanding is that setting up the company side of a bikes for work scheme is quite taxing. Don't know the ins-and-outs but a friend tried to get his company (a ca 25 person partnership) to set one up and they said the paperwork, red-tape etc was substantial. I guess that's why the likes of Cyclescheme exist.

 

[HF2300]

I set up a cycle to work scheme last year - well, in theory the boss set it up, but I did all the legwork!

There is no reason at all why you can't set up your own scheme and deal direct with the bike shop. The paperwork is not difficult and is readily available on the internet.

Facilitators such as Cyclescheme will try to give the impression that there's a lot of work and red tape involved, but it isn't so. The most onerous part of the scheme from an employer's point of view is ensuring the salary sacrifice is implemented correctly and dealing with the payroll side of things, and you still have to do that even if you're working through a facilitator.

My experience is that if you deal direct, the bike shop will normally give you the 10% that Cyclescheme would otherwise get; if there's a bigger discount on a sale bike, you'll get that.

One thing to watch in your case, though, is that if as the company owner / director you are not paid PAYE you will not get the tax benefits if you buy a bike yourself, though you can recover the VAT and claim capital allowances etc.