The Death of Cycle to Work?

[Norm]

Would anyone care to venture what the changes are between this and the current legal requirements?

As the subtlety is obviously too much for some, I'll answer myself that the only bit which might be considered a change is the third party valuation.

Everything else in that OP's post is already part of the legislation / regulations.

The myths and BS around this scheme are just amazing. Funny to see people complain about the uncertainty of the final price when, as Greg points out, such knowledge would make the whole scheme illegal.

 

[John the Monkey]

These are just proposals. I expect when it is shown it would be stupid and unenforceable, they'll drop the idea.

Ever worked in the Civil Service, Jezston?

 

[Jezston]

I have actually (worked for the QCA and CPS in the past, and have a junior embassador in the family)

And of course they've come up with some absurd stuff before, but the entire public sector isn't quite a mad hatter's tea party with everyone pushing through only the most ridiculous regulation. I'm sure some bad ideas don't make it to the light of day!

 

[jonny jeez]

I have actually (worked for the QCA and CPS in the past, and have a junior embassador in the family)

SLAM DUNK!! ha ha...sorry had to giggle at that reply.

PS, does you're junior eambassador ever spoil you with nutella (as apposed to fully grown up Ferrero Rocher)

 

[BigSteev]

So, if you look after your bike, clean it, service it etc you could end up with it costing more than if you'd just bought it normally. And, conversely, trash the thing totally and it'll cost you less. Great plan from the money grabbing twats.

 

[Brains]

Sounds to me like the daily rentabale value of a totally trashed Halfords bike has just gone up !

I rent you a totally trashed, run over by a steam roller, Halfords Bike
Bike gets valued at minimum value of 3% or £20
You keep your £1,000 carbon road bike
You pay me £50 for the day (I'll even chuck in collection and delivery)

Simples!

Please contact me at Loopholes-Bike-Rental.com just as soon as I have a shop

 

[addictfreak]

Surely the injury rate will continue at approximately the same rate with or without the scheme.

I think his theory is that people will stop cycling over a period of time.

But he is not the brightest of guys.

 

[marinyork]

Does C2W make a big difference? Genuine question. I've seen people present stuff on travel plan stuff before and in my experience people can spin stuff a bit.

 

[Norm]

Does C2W make a big difference? Genuine question. I've seen people present stuff on travel plan stuff before and in my experience people can spin stuff a bit.

Yes. The way that it was working, you "give up" an amount of salary equivalent to the purchase price to hire the bike over a fixed contract period. The benefit is that the salary sacrificed is not subject to tax or NI. There are many possible trip-ups, though. The rules have always required you to pay a realistic valuation at the end of the hire period.

If the HMRC are going to enforce the rules as they have always been implemented, all that is required is to change the scheme rules so that you don't pay the full purchase price as rental. This will, of course, reduce the amount of tax saved but I guess sheeple would much rather pick up BS and rumours which allow them to bleat on about the nasty tax man than figure out what the regulations actually say.

 

[marinyork]

No I know all that Norm. I mean in terms of people actually taking up cycling/cycling more often through it. I obviously think the scheme should continue, my point was rather like PK99's in that I can see the bureaucrat/taxman's point of view (don't agree with it). The point I was making was that fairly generous benefits/tax benefits are offered to people in the penny pincher's vocabulary 'who don't really need it'.

The only person I've ever met who doesn't cycle and might do and encouraged to through the scheme is on an extremely generous salary. She doesn't 'need' the scheme at all in some financial senses but of course the ease and spread of payments is very tempting. Other people I've known who have taken advantage of the scheme have actually increased the number of times they cycle to work, again on pretty beefy salaries.

 

[Norm]

Ah, right. Well, after I joined the scheme, I only had a chance to cycle once on the scheme but I did it then got made redundant.

 

[Chrisc]

They are quietly killing it already. Ours never got off the ground after the Novemeber 09 changes came in making it a requirement that the scheme be open to ALL employees, even if they only work one hour a year. Now impossible to administer was our HR response. These schemes are closing hand over fist.

 

[Norm]

They are quietly killing it already. Ours never got off the ground after the Novemeber 09 changes came in making it a requirement that the scheme be open to ALL employees...

Which is yet another one which wasn't a change.

 

[Matty]

I don't actually think the scheme is that amazing. I'm on it now, but reckon I'd be best not bothering next time round (to get a road bike). Savings are not huge compared to getting 'last year model' bike from t'internet.

 

[JtB]

Looks like HMRC have cottoned on to the fact that large numbers of people have been buying extra bikes or bikes that never see a journey to work.

I know of people who openly talk about having had several and what a "good earner" it was, and others turning up on club runs on their £1000 carbon bike-scheme steed while using their old hack bike for commuting.

As so often with such things, abuse by people for whom the scheme was not intended destroys the benefit to those for whom it was.

Now I know why there's not a single decent bike in the bike shed where I work even though the C2W scheme has been running for years. TBH, that's one of the main reasons stopping me from getting a decent bike, because at least I can leave my old racer there and it doesn't stand out from the crowd.

I don't actually think the scheme is that amazing. I'm on it now, but reckon I'd be best not bothering next time round (to get a road bike). Savings are not huge compared to getting 'last year model' bike from t'internet.

Can you not buy off the internet with C2W?