[Closed] Cycle Scheme - Fed up of waiting.

Only read last sentence but yes.

Tell em to bollox (not literally) and get the bike yourself...

Life's too short to be messed about like that.

Mines through the flexible benefits scheme at work, if there was anything else worth having I'd get that insteadt as they're so slow to issue the certificate it's glacial...
Mine was approved over three weeks ago and only issued yesterday, it might actually turn up in the next millennium just in time for hoverbike 48ers to be out...

My wife's took 10 weeks. Not cycleschemes fault. Delay down to her works hr and finance depts.

Mine took 6 days!
Applied on the Friday, had my LOC the following Thursday!

I work for a large multi national company who have been doing the scheme for the last 5 years though.

Mrs Pondo had her bike about two weeks after applying for the certificate - both of mine took literally months. that's our HR/Finance dept for you, just gotta wait it out.

(Our lot will now only let you apply for one In November, which is the stupidest thing ever. Mind you, it meant the road bike turned up in April, which is not a bad time to get a new bike).

The managing director told me his took 2/3 weeks from applying to the bike arriving. Mines already been over 2 weeks.

We're part of a company worth $2.2 billion and part of the NY stock exchange and his words to me when I asked about how long the payment will take was "It's a lot of money so we don't know what's happening yet"

So basically, after 30 days cycle scheme won't cancel my request or anything along those lines? And what about the bike I've ordered, from Ribble, will they just wait too?

We break up for a week shutdown tomorrow so looks like it's gonna be a while still.

I've dealt with employers that took longer than 30 days (some took up to 3 months). Cyclescheme were never a problem. can't talk for Ribble though - is it a rare/hard to come by bike? If not, they could surely just sell it and order another for you?

You're saving a load of money and getting interest free instalments. Wait patiently.

Yikes sounds like a long time. Perhaps just teething problems?

Mine came through pretty quick. Application last Thursday and got the certificate yesterday. Some sweet foldy bike action will be occurring next week.

I can wait, that's not that big of an issue.

I was just wondering if work can turn around and not pay for the bike although I've been approved of it and the scheme is set up?

Planet X charged me the 'admin fee' of 10% for my cyclescheme purchase. No problem with retailers passing this on to the customers but £100 upfront makes the scheme becomes less attractive than advertised. I also fail to see how many lbs who absorb this cost make any money out of it at all-hence the 'back of the pile' attitude that may exist

Edit: copied from post on another thread[quote=eat_more_cheese ]So cyclescheme charge the retailers 10% of the cost if the bike? That takes the pish.
That gives the retailers a really tough choice, eh? Given that profit margins are pretty tight, imagine giving 10% away for nothing. Now imagine a customer coming in and asking for a discount on top of that, or looking to buy a discounted (maybe last years) bike. The shop has to get a bike in (often buying up front), build and PDI it, and probably offer a free 6-week check-up/service, then handle any customer issues such as the initial query (lots of new cyclists - which is good - but many don't have a clue about what they want to buy), warranty etc. You can hardly blame folk like PX/OO for trying to recoup that on what is probably already a very slim margin.

The good news is that it does appear to have encourage a lot of folk to cycle and that will have increased the overall market, which should mean more folk looking for accessories, servicing and "upgrades" in the future.

I don't think anyone who comes into either of the LBSs I've worked in with a CycleScheme voucher would think they were "back of the pile" though 🙂

The last jobs I've been involved in all favour the customers who provide the largest return. So while the customer may not think they're 'back of the pile' I think the reality is that [i]some[/i] lbs [i]may[/i] take this attitude

My issues isn't with Ribble but I was wanting to mainly know about what happens after a certain period of time without the certificate been paid for and, although I've applied and been accepted for it, do they HAVE to pay for it?

Can they turn around and so no to it?

When I got my CX bike on the scheme the bike shop couldn't have been more helpful, they even discounted the bike to bring it inline with the scheme price. Then with my 10% deposit and the saving on tax, NI and pension it made the scheme very worth while.

What have you paid for if it hasn't gone through?

Not paid for anything yet, I need to pay a £65 admin fee for the bike which is understandable.

It's not a case of losing out on anything just the fact that the weekly payments and the saving is a big help, Trying to save for a mortgage so will take a long time to save up enough cash to buy a bike outright and finance isn't an option so this way makes it a lot easier to handle.

[quote=dandax1990 ]Not paid for anything yet, I need to pay a £65 admin fee for the bike which is understandableIs this something Ribble are asking for?

There isn't an issue with me paying the admin fee, It's on their website and I understand a fair few retailers charge an admin fee on cycle scheme bikes.

I'm not up on the cyclescheme, as I'm not in the position to take advantage, but I presume as it's dealt with through tax, you save 20%????

Also, isn't it usually up to a grand?

So, paying a £65 admin fee, equates to 6.5% - doesn't that make the discount a bit lame?

Apologies if all of the above is nonsense...

More or less correct (savings can be greater and there's also an end-of-agreement payment). It remains a way of buying a bike when you don't have the up-front cash, but I'd still recommend folk go into their local shop and see what sort of deal they can get over the counter....

I also save 12% NIC because I'm a basic tax payer, In total my savings are £319.45 on the overall cost of the bike and equipment which is £998.27

If I was a higher tax payer I would save 40% Tax and 2% NIC.

Fair enough OP.

I'd probably just go and buy the bike I wanted at a discounted price somewhere.

And not get huffed off about a 2 week wait - I normally spend months picking the bike I want anyway.

From what I've read, cycle schemer retailers don't offer discounts when purchased thru the scheme.

Couple that with the admin fees, end of term costs and being held to ransom by your employer at the beginning and end makes the c2w seem like more hassle than it's worth IMO.

For the sake of a grand, you'd be better off either getting a loan and haggling as a cash-buyer can or getting one of the current long term 0% credit cards to buy it with.

Credit card/finance wasn't an option due to bad credit which I'm trying to work on.

Even with the fact the cycle scheme isn't as big of a saving as it used to be, I'll still be saving a fair amount to make it a viable option which is why I and hundreds of other thousands have done it.

I've still got about a £250 saving after the admin fee and the end of term costs isn't that much to worry about.

'The sake of a grand' is a lot of money for a 24 year old who isn't in an amazingly well paid job, is learning to drive and is saving towards a £15,000 mortgage.

I picked my new bike up today from halfords (boardman team fs 650b) was £999 but this weekend they have 10% off all bikes.
My LOC was for £1k so I ended up getting the bike for £899 and having £101 to spend on accessories. (New helmet and jacket).

So for £1k I pay back £737, which seems good to me

Always thought that Cycle Scheme is a ludicrous idea. No idea why the OP needs a 1k bike anyway to ride to and from work. He should be thankful that the company offers it (it is a benefit after all) and secondly that he earns enough for the full thousand quid to be worth it.

Always feel particularly sorry for those in the cycle industry, working in bike shops for 3 pence an hour when loads of Cycle Scheme knobbos turn up, desperate to make up every last penny of the 1000 quid.

RANT OVER.

From what I've read, cycle schemer retailers don't offer discounts when purchased thru the scheme.

Yeah they do, well least I did.

No idea why the OP needs a 1k bike anyway to ride to and from work.

Maybe he rides a lot of miles each day and wants something that is light enough and strong enough to last.

There's no obligation to use the bike to ride to work, although the bumpf says it would be nice if you did. With the two bikes I got, the first shop would get in touch from time to time, make sure I still wanted it as it was taking up space, the second didn't make the bike up until I told them the certificate was on the way , so were happy to wait IIRC.

Talking about this last night. Scheme my mate runs takes 3 or 4 days because that's all it needs. He wants it to be quick so it is.
The companies that take ages are treating the invoice like a normal purchase and paying under their normal “terms”, ie as long as they can get away with.
If your employer cares about you, it'll be quick!

Life's too short to be messed about like that.

try ordering a Cotic 😉

As has been said the margins are so slim due to the scheme's profit that most shops wont apply the voucher to a discounted bike.

The scheme also used to be VAT-free so the savings were huge, but a european court ruling kiboshed that (an unintended consequence of challenging AstraZeneca who gave store vouchers in lieu of gross salary).

You may well save more buying an old-stock bike from the likes of Pauls Cycles, but it still has the advantage of paying in instalments.

Always feel particularly sorry for those in the cycle industry, working in bike shops for 3 pence an hour when loads of Cycle Scheme knobbos turn up, desperate to make up every last penny of the 1000 quid.

I had 1k, shop gave me 10% off, so I've got £100 left over.
I can't reduce the 1k so of course I'm going to spend the extra £100 to make it up to £1k!

There's 6000 people where I work and about 20 bikes in sheds at any one time, so no, not a lot of people use the bike for work. (Approx 20% of employees have used the scheme at some stage)

Always thought that Cycle Scheme is a ludicrous idea. No idea why the OP needs a 1k bike anyway to ride to and from work. He should be thankful that the company offers it (it is a benefit after all) and secondly that he earns enough for the full thousand quid to be worth it.

Always feel particularly sorry for those in the cycle industry, working in bike shops for 3 pence an hour when loads of Cycle Scheme knobbos turn up, desperate to make up every last penny of the 1000 quid.

RANT OVER.

How the chuff do you know about my needs exactly?

Why should I be thankful? The MD only set it up so he could benefit from it, the fact we also can is a bonus.

And you're talking about earning enough, I get paid £8.11 an hour to do a dangerous and physically hard job. I reckon I work hard enough for my money.

Also, the bike itself was only £885.95, add to that the cost of accessories the full cost is still less than £1000. So, you can stop talking out of your rear end now if you'd like.