Hire Agreements regulated by Consumer Credit Act 1974

proplusplus

Hiya,

Think this in the right section as it relates to Cutting Tax...

Was wandering if anyone can give me some advice in relation to a Hire Agreement tkane out through work via the cycle2work scheme.

the offer was listed as offering Tax, VAT and NI relief.

I have since found out that there is a finance charge of 5% levied in order to cover the Hire Agreement (not a Hire Purchase agreement)

No mention of this charge was offered in any way. Can anyone advise what the legal requirements surrounding such an offer are? A quick browse of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 suggests that the APR or finance charge should be detailed in full in order to be enforceable without a court order.

I also want to pay up-front the cost of the charges in order to avoid the finance charge, but i've been advised that as it is a hire agreement (and not hire purchase) that i have no legal entitlement to the device either during or after the hire agreement (even though their is a 'disposal' charge of 3-5% at the end of the Hire Term).

My main grievance is that the finance charge was not communicated, not even in the T&Cs of the Hire Agreement and as such the communication that the saving on the price of the bicycle being VAT+TAX+NI was not only misleading but inherently incorrect.

Any advice on the legal position would be greatly appreciated + possibilities of avoiding the 'finance' charge.

thanks,

proplusplus

pS) i'm not denying the offer is a good one, i just feel mis-led and cheated in what is inherently a 'supposedly' regulated financial transaction.