Consumer rights and Cyclescheme - who is responsible for non-delivery of bike?

Ferrety_2 · 20 December 2022 at 6:06PM

Hi, I really hope someone can help me untangle this. Short version: I ordered a bike through Cyclescheme and it has failed to materialise. I've now had salary sacrifice payments taken since July, have no bike and cannot cancel anything!

Long version: In June I got a Cyclescheme certificate for a bike costing more than £2,000 that I ordered from Leftfield Bikes. They told me it would arrive in September, which I wasn't thrilled about but accepted. Cyclescheme payments were deducted from my salary from July. At the start of September I had an email from Cyclescheme saying the transaction was complete and to tell them if I didn't have the bike. I immediately told them I didn't have the bike. They just told me to wait longer and that nothing was amiss.

In September, no bike. Various excuses about customs/couriers from Leftfield Bikes.I gave them more time. Various deadlines missed. Eventually I said if it didn't arrive by end of November then I wanted to cancel the order.

End of November, no bike! I wrote them a letter exercising right to cancel under Consumer Rights Act 2015. The retailer just continued to ignore this, claimed it was on its way, etc, etc. Cylescheme were now involved, also telling him to cancel the certificate and refund them. To this date he is still.making zany excuses, saying he will get a train from London to Wales to deliver it et, etc (even if I was willing to accept that it won't fit on a GWR train - it's a cargo bike). He just refuses to acknowledge that I have exercised my right to cancel.

I've now reached the conclusion that I will have to go to court to try to get my money back. The problem is, I don't know how to approach it - because it's Cyclescheme I understand my employer owns the bike, I hire it and Cylescheme tell me they are the 'third party payment provider' (FCA regulated).

So what's next? A letter before action? To Cyclescheme, Leftfield Bikes or both? Or would it be better to let my complaint with Cyclescheme reach the 6 week deadline and take it to the financial Ombudsman?

I just can't work out who is responsible for refunding my money! And in the meantime the salary sacrifice continues to drain from my pay each month. I'm losing a lot of sleep over it all - please send help!

bris · 20 December 2022 at 6:46PM

FCA regulated then they are subject to S75 laws

Start a S75 claim against your loan provider, phone the loan company, tell them whats happened and you are making a S75 claim.

Ferrety_2 · 20 December 2022 at 7:10PM

bris said:

FCA regulated then they are subject to S75 laws

Start a S75 claim against your loan provider, phone the loan company, tell them whats happened and you are making a S75 claim.

Thank you. I thought it might be simpler to pursue Cyclescheme than the totally unscrupulous retailer but they have said i should pursue action against the retailer myself.

The only thing is, they provide the loan to my employer who recover it from me as a salary sacrifice. So I'm not sure I have any sort of loan agreement with them as far as I can tell, just the 'hire agreement'.

Manxman_in_exile · 20 December 2022 at 7:12PM

Should the OP be approaching his employer to initiate action?

(I'm not familiar with these schemes but the OP says his employer owns the bike and has presumably paid for it and that he hires it. I presume it's some sort of tax scheme like Cycle to Work - which has always seemed a bit risky to me if things go wrong... )

Ferrety_2 · 20 December 2022 at 7:28PM

Manxman_in_exile said:

Should the OP be approaching his employer to initiate action?

(I'm not familiar with these schemes but the OP says his employer owns the bike and has presumably paid for it and that he hires it. I presume it's some sort of tax scheme like Cycle to Work - which has always seemed a bit risky to me if things go wrong... )

Hi it is Cycle to Work. Cyclescheme is just the main operator in the UK.

I have asked HR already but I think I need to query this with them again - I'm wondering if perhaps they have to pursue Cyclescheme who in turn have to pursue the retailer as that's the order of who paid who.

I'm also now on maternity leave which makes it all the more difficult to try to sort out!