Bike Through Work Scheme

[RobMac]

I work for the Local Council (Fife)
I went on the Bike Through Work Scheme and took the maximum £1000.
I finished paying it in October '2010' £1000.09
Yesterday I got a letter titled "Opt to retain the equipment (bike)" they now want £250 + VAT = £300 for me to be allowed to keep the bike.

Am I right to be angry?????? :x

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[kaiser]

That is steep. My work puts a 5% value on bikes under £1000 and IIRC 15% for bikes over. The final payment thing has always been there though, google it as there has been a few more changes which makes it less appealing.

 

[Barneyballbags]

Just be thankful your employers operate the scheme

I work for one of the NHS trusts in Cardiff and they don't do it, and have no intention of doing it either... Odd for an organisation that is health-based and promotes walking/cycling to work wherever possible :? :?

Regarding the scheme itself though - I did it through my previous employer and took £1000, just like you did. Once I'd got to the end of the loan term I had to pay £60 to keep the bike. I ended up paying about £720 in total out of my take-home pay. Not too shabby

 

[cchris2lou]

yep , they changed the rules , or at least they now apply them .

tell them to keep the bike .

 

[Easy_Rider]

They had to tighten the rules since so many were taking the micky out of the scheme, getting bike for their girlfriends etc etc Another case of the few spoiling it for the many.

It's basically a lease hire scheme, but with a tax saving insentive through your salary. you don't own the bike unless you buy it at the end of the term. Employers are supposed to sell it at market value, my employer said they would charge £1 at the end of the year, I didn't go for the scheme. How come you ended paying so much though? You should only be paying around 700-800, the 200 odd is tax savings on your salary.

 

[brocklanders023]

I've heard ours isn't as good anymore. Savings now more like 25/40% compared to the 50% spoken about before.

 

[RobMac]

yep , they changed the rules , or at least they now apply them .

tell them to keep the bike .

They want £30 + VAT = £36 to take it back :x

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[Easy_Rider]

That's harsh!
Re-read your original signed agreement and check they haven't changed anything or trying it on.

 

[RobMac]

Yeah I will do, the bike was bought in 2009 and final payment in October 2010 and I know since then they have changed the goal post. I wouldn't use the scheme now given the term/conditions.

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[Xesh]

Some of the rule changes were due to new laws passed in Europe relating to VAT and how it's paid.

Basically at the end of the 12 month period you now have the option of paying the final valuation fee and 'hiring' the bike for another 3 years (but no extra payments are taken) or returning the bike. If you choose the former option the bike is yours after the 3 year period and it doesn't matter if you become unemployed during that time. You can still have another bike on the scheme after 12 months though.

@RobMac: Are you sure that your employer isn't running their own version of the cycle scheme? There are different schemes running and they're not all the same.

My employer has their own scheme which is separate from the official cycle scheme.