Agreed a sale with the LBS on a bike. Agreed price and Cyclescheme as payment method. Agreed size and colour, and saw it, touched it sat on it. Confirmed size, stock, colour and price by email. Cyclescheme voucher arrived today 21 daqys later and they have sold it.

Apart from being disappointed, do I have any options?

Find another bike you like.

I think it’s quite reasonable for a bike shop, who had no financial commitment from you, to sell their stock bike in that 3 weeks.

Could you have given a deposit pending the cyclescheme voucher? Are they ordering one in for you now?

Apart from being disappointed, do I have any options?

Shop elsewhere.

If you’d put a deposit down, then yes, unreasonable.
If not then I can understand it. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have said they’d take a bike only never to come in and pay for it.

do I have any options?

Other than finding another bike? No.

If you’d put a deposit down, then yes, unreasonable.
If not then I can understand it.

That really. Had you put a deposit on it?

Thanks. I’d have put a deposit down if they’d asked for one. They didn’t. I thought the email confirmation was enough. We live and learn I suppose. Thanks

This is a scary risk which cycle to work schemes all involve at the moment. I don’t think it’s reasonable that this risk exists especially with the sums of money it can now involve and the current situation with turnover/availability of stock.

But it is there, so buyers do need to be wary and deal with it somehow.

Shops should really deal with it too. But they don’t, so the risk is on the buyer. I’m not sure any of the other answers appreciate the position a buyer like this ends up in.

If a shop knows you are waiting for a voucher, you are nothing like a customer who will never come and back and pay (@simondbarnes) – you are in fact a nailed on purchaser who you have induced into signing a binding salary sacrifice agreement, which is a pain to undo, in some cases for a voucher which can’t be spent anywhere else (@oldtennishoes) and for the exact price of a particular bike package (tomhoward), and for many customers a change to another bike or another shop or even a different price might mean a 12 month wait.

The risks for the shop in the waiting period are not zero – but they are tiny and very easily managed (I can only think of: voucher refusal by employer, uncommunicated change of mind by buyer willing to cancel their application [which is a pain] but not tell you [which is easy], scheme insolvency).

If a shop can’t trust that level of certainty a (refundable) deposit against the voucher is the obvious way to bridge the gap. But that needs discussing in advance. If this shop led @hb70 to think the bike was his, they were unreasonable. Doesn’t matter that they could have asked for a deposit. As far as we know they didn’t. They might not have thought it through, but if they agreed to accept the voucher, agreed the sale but dumped all the risk on him that’s unreasonable – esp when the only real risk here is them going behind his back and selling to someone else … and they did exactly that.

OP – if they can’t order in, or can’t offer an alternative package of the same value which takes your fancy, I’d cancel the voucher (if you still can) and start from scratch (if you still can), with a shop – possibly the same one – willing to discuss how to handle the wait for the voucher – either they trust you, you gamble but knowingly, or they take a deposit which they’ll return when you bring the voucher.

https://help.cyclescheme.co.uk/article/95-how-do-i-cancel-my-request

https://help.cyclescheme.co.uk/article/105-can-i-change-the-retailer

https://help.cyclescheme.co.uk/article/568-can-i-amend-the-value-of-my-certificate

If a shop knows you are waiting for a voucher, you are nothing like a customer who will never come and back and pay (@simondbarnes) – you are in fact a nailed on purchaser who you have induced into signing a binding salary sacrifice agreement, which is a pain to undo, in some cases for a voucher which can’t be spent anywhere else (@oldtennishoes) and for the exact price of a particular bike package (tomhoward), and for many customers a change to another bike or another shop or even a different price might mean a 12 month wait.

I have had numerous people agree to take a bike and were just waiting for their voucher only for them to never be seen again.

I didn’t say it doesn’t happen @simondbarnes. I believe you that it does. I only said it’s easy for a shop to deal with that risk openly and without dumping on honest customers like @hb70. I’m sorry to hear that’s not your approach.

I have had numerous people agree to take a bike and were just waiting for their voucher only for them to never be seen again.

+1

I’m sorry to hear that’s not your approach.

It very much is. I held an emonda for 5 or 6 months for somebody last year and despite many promises that the voucher was due “next week” it never appeared. It’s people like that that spoil it for others. Deposits are now required to secure a bike on any of the cycle to work schemes.

Edit: and for avoidance of doubt, I wouldn’t have allowed the situation that the OP has experienced to happen.

Good post @doomanic
(some schemes are not as transparent. and even that one you’ll see that the cancellation page is mealy mouthed – it suggests you call them to “chat through your requirements” this is because it’s not always possible, and the amount change page states that not all employers will even cooperate with that).

@simondbarnes – that’s great, I apologise.

Thanks all for your contributions really helpful. Good and very respectful discussion especially to @savoyad for summing up how i feel i think. I think its really reasonable to put a waiting time limit on it. Or to ask for a deposit. I think it would have been really reasonable to say “I know we’ve agreed this sale, but I’ve got someone in the shop now paying cash. Will you pay £200 to secure it?” absolutely fine.

This is a bit shit though. I’ve just read the Cyclescheme cancellation notice and was surprised at how mealy mouthed it is. Interesting to see how that pans out. “I can’t spend your voucher because they sold the bike.”

Thanks all very fair discussion

This raises some interesting points.

If a customer is keen and awaiting a voucher we reserve the bike for them then keep an eye how long it sits there.
Most do come back for them but occasionally we’ll never hear from them again.

If the shop in question doesn’t have a dedicated admin person like we do to keep an eye on these things they could also of simply forgot.

They may also of just sold it for cash at full asking price instead of you, as cyclescheme take 10% from the retailer.

Normally bike to work schemes have been good for shops as they’ve driven up trade but at the moment we wince a bit when selling via these as we know it would sell it for full price regardless.
Obviously we don’t turn people away and still happily accept the vouchers though.

I emailed alpkit before I sorted my voucher as I wanted a Camino and I knew they’d sell out. I offered a deposit or even to pay upfront (£2500) but they didn’t want one. They just said put a note on the order and send voucher through when it arrives which I was surprised at considering the current situation.

Was quite surprised alpkit didn’t want a deposit off of me either, fairlight did and was eventually returned to me as there was no delivery date in sight

Alpkit iirc from my C2W will allow you to place an order and then you have 28 days to get your paperwork in order. To be fair, they only sell their own bikes and have them in kit form in their warehouse so it’s less of a risk they’ll need to sell “your” bike.

in some cases for a voucher which can’t be spent anywhere else

@savoyad but can be cancelled and another created for an alternative shop.

Take the voucher to the shop and get them to give you the cash equivalent less the 10% scheme fee. Then tell Jimmy Carr about the new clever tax avoidance scheme you have developed.

In all seriousness you have acted in good faith so the shop should have either held the bike for you or asked for a deposit at the time.

This is a scary risk which cycle to work schemes all involve at the moment.

I think the words scary and risk have been redefined in this sentence. It would make more sense as “an inconvenient possibility” or “unfortunate issue”.