Should we be pushing for greater fairness in C2W?

[TrevA]

I have actually bought 3 bikes on the C2W scheme, when I was at work. They were all the best part of £1000. I saved around £250 on each one. The repayments on £1000 spread over 12 months is £83.33 per month. Taking the tax into account, the actual amount paid out was around £55 per month which adds up to £660 for the year. You then have to pay £70 to purchase the bike outright (after “loaning” it for a further 3 years). So the total paid out is £730.

I challenge anyone to go into a shop and get £270 off the RRP of a bike. You might be able to get such a discount in the sales, but these are often on the less popular sizes. If you want a 54, 56, or 58 cm frame, there won’t be any left. You also have the advantage with C2W that you don’t have to shell out the whole purchase price upfront. Not everyone has £1000 to spare to actually buy a bike outright.

Whilst I get that it’s to encourage commuting by bike, is that the only type of cycling that needs to be encouraged? I use my bike for shopping trips and other leisure trips that would otherwise be done in a car. Shouldn’t these trips be encouraged too?

Just because I don’t work, I’m excluded from the scheme. I still pay tax.

[basingstoke123]

Imho I think it really only benefits the highest tax rate employees. However salary sacrifice can also affect pension I believe. Whether that makes it less of a benefit I don't know enough to say.

It may also affect redundancy payments. Probably only of interest if you have been with an employer for over 12 years, and they offer a more generous 'compromise agreement' than the legal minimum. And you think redundancy is likely/just a matter of time.

[Tangled Metal]

How about a bike with full RRP of £1200 selling for £860 at a bike shop near me this summer? Retailer offered interest free loan for 36 months on that which works out at £23.89 per month.

Iirc lower tax band results in 22% savings meaning I buy the same bike for £960 or so at £75 per month for 12 months with final payment too. That's based on most schemes / retailers don't allow discount or sales prices to be used under c2w schemes.

Sorry, big failure of a scheme from my POV. I could probably give more such examples from just that one retailer.

Btw that bike in my example sold out very quickly, not surprisingly.