Halfords Cycle 2 Work - any recent experience?

[Marin Maniac]

Some of you may find this useful. I contacted the Cycle 2 Work team to ask about London-Based bike shops that will accept the Halfords voucher.

Other than Condor, "Our Letters of Collection will be accepted in 'On Your Bike', 'Action Bikes' and 'Pearsons'."

Note that any bikes that are "ordered in" by Halfords or through their special orderline must be a current model and will be sold at RRP, irrespective if you can find it cheaper elsewhere.

You wouldn't happen to want to share cycle2work's contact details with us would you?

I would like to contact them to see what retailers in my area accept the Halfords voucher

 

[jig-sore]

my boss is setting up a halfords scheme for me and as the company only has six employers we have been past around to a smaller company who want to see last years accounts before they will give us finance. the trouble is my company is only just over a year old so they are still waiting for the first years accounts

I'm hoping that once it's all sorted i won't have any problems getting what i want. I'm after a boardman team and a quick Internet search tells me that there are four in-stock within driving distance from me. I'm hopping i can just go and collect one once my voucher arrives.

does anyone know if halfords will supply the bike "in the box" and if so will it effect the warranty etc ????

i really don't want to have to wait for them to put it together when I'm going to take it home, strip and rebuild it anyway

 

[HelenD123]

does anyone know if halfords will supply the bike "in the box" and if so will it effect the warranty etc ????

I enquired about getting a bike "in the box" last year as I wasn't confident about Halfords staff putting it together but I was told it wasn't possible. It wasn't a Halfords brand though but would have been ordered in. Maybe that made a difference.

 

[Bandini]

Sounds like it depends on the branch. I could only use Halfords, and was prepared for poor service. I was told that they don't deal with three manufacturers because of previous problems - I can't remember all of them, but one was Trek.

I ordered a Dawes Karakum on Thursday, and it was ready to ride away the following Thursday. The lads in the shop were all really helpful, and the lad that built my bike was talking to me for a while about various specs and aspects of the bike, and said that I should bring it in anytime if I had any teething problems, or wanted anything adjusting, and they would sort it. I was going to take it to a LBS for a once over, (and I will go there in future, cos I would rather support a LBS) but I really think it is fine. I felt quite happy that they had built it carefully.

 

[HelenD123]

Grendel - I missed your post originally. I've abandoned the idea of using the cycle to work scheme due to being forced to go through Halfords and them not dealing with the companies I'm interested in. Also, I need to be able to try the bike and don't feel comfortable using one of the LBSs for a test ride and advice and then not ordering from them. Fortunately I'm able to afford to forgo the tax break. For me, I think it will save a lot of headaches further down the line. Looks like you've proved me right! It does seem it was one particular individual that caused you the problems though. I had very prompt responses from Halfords cycle2work team.

 

[Norm]

my boss is setting up a halfords scheme for me and as the company only has six employers we have been past around to a smaller company who want to see last years accounts before they will give us finance. the trouble is my company is only just over a year old so they are still waiting for the first years accounts

Anorak

I set one up about 6 weeks ago (no vested interest there, oh, no. ).

I steered well clear of the pre-packaged schemes and I would recommend your boss do the same. There is no need to use them, the administration of an in-house scheme is a piece of cake and the company-schemes take their profits, so it costs you extra.

The government's rules are very relaxed, there's more admin in setting up with a company like cyclescheme than setting it up for yourself and you get the freedom to buy the bike you want from the supplier you choose.

 

[jig-sore]

Anorak

I set one up about 6 weeks ago (no vested interest there, oh, no. ).

I steered well clear of the pre-packaged schemes and I would recommend your boss do the same. There is no need to use them, the administration of an in-house scheme is a piece of cake and the company-schemes take their profits, so it costs you extra.

The government's rules are very relaxed, there's more admin in setting up with a company like cyclescheme than setting it up for yourself and you get the freedom to buy the bike you want from the supplier you choose.

thanks for the advice but there's no way my boss is gonna pay for it in cash so we need to go with finance. it's not that they can't afford to, it's just that he has just taken over the business after it had gone into receivership in 2008. as a result he's real careful with the cash flow side of things. he said he's happy to do it for me as long as there is no cost involved to the company. his partner said "just buy it cash" to help speed things up, but he's not going for it.

to be honest I'm just happy he's agreed to do it, and I'm willing to wait as the weather is naff anyway and I'm not likely to ride the new bike just yet

plus i really do want the boardman team, kinda like the looks and spec of it now so much better than the all black boardmans. I'm not really a fan of these white and red/blue/green bikes and the other bike i had my eye on has gone bright red this season

my main concern is letting halfords get their hands on it, yeah i know they are not all bad but it's gonna be just my luck that i get a Friday afternoon Jobie

 

[Norm]

I "loaned" mine over 3 months, so the cash flow was pretty much neutral in month one and the company benefited after that. The company also profits, as they save the e'ers tax and NI as well as reclaiming the VAT, so a £1k bike will cost you £600 and your company will get around £350 profit.

 

[Willo]

My company use Halfords, which ruled out the Bianchi I really wanted. However, they did source me an Specialized Allez delivered built direct to my home address. I had to have a sneaky test ride in another store to get the right size, but eased my guilt by spending some cash on some bits at a later date. In fairness, the folk on Halfords C2W helpline were very helpful. The downside was that a few models I enquired about couldn't be sourced until the spring when another shop down the road had plenty of stock.

Once I got the bike, I've had mixed experiences in dealing with my local Halfords. When I went to spend the balance of my voucher on some lights it took me almost 30 mins to get served on a Monday morning when there were only about 5 customers in the store! No sense of customer service when I asked whether there was any chance of just handing over my voucher and a bit of cash. When I went back to get the free service, I was sceptical but got a really helpful guy who took time to explain a few things and done a good job of checking everything and making a few adjustments. Suppose it all depends on the individuals serving.

Overall, the limitations of the Halfords scheme are frustrating but still delighted to get my bike so cheap

 

[Harbornite]

I had shockingly bad service from both the C2W scheme & my local Halfords - simply appalling. No apologies & six months into the repayments I have just started to pay the correct amount.

Of my eight colleagues who have used the C2W scheme this year only one has something positive to say about the way Halfords dealt with his purchase.

I think Willo sums it up really - there are limitations with the C2W & Halfords but the discount is too good to ignore.

I'm looking at the possibility of a Dolan Mythos on the C2W early next year, can't wait to see how Halfords mess that up

 

[Norm]

I had shockingly bad service from both the C2W scheme

What do you mean by the above? The Cycle to Work scheme is nothing more than a government tax break, it cannot give good or bad service.

Are you thinking of something like Cycle Scheme or do you mean your employers' implementation of the scheme?

 

[Harbornite]

What do you mean by the above? The Cycle to Work scheme is nothing more than a government tax break, it cannot give good or bad service.

Are you thinking of something like Cycle Scheme or do you mean your employers' implementation of the scheme?

My employers use 'Cycle2Work' (hence C2W) - they are the administrators of the cycle to work scheme.

 

[Norm]

My employers use 'Cycle2Work' (hence C2W) - they are the administrators of the cycle to work scheme.

Ah, didn't realise that Halfrauds would be disingenuous enough to try and take over the name which the government used. Thanks for the clarification, it makes me despise them even more.

 

[Bandini]

Ah, didn't realise that Halfrauds would be disingenuous enough to try and take over the name which the government used. Thanks for the clarification, it makes me despise them even more.

I don't think they have taken over the name. I think many shops that run it use that name.

 

[Norm]

I don't think they have taken over the name. I think many shops that run it use that name.

Which other shops operate their own scheme?