Cycle to Work schemes 'like the wild west' as row over commissions rumbles on

The row over Cycle to Work schemes charging high commission fees continues, despite the opening of dialogue between the bodies which represent retailers and Cycle to Work schemes.

Retailers have once more called for urgent regulation of the various schemes after the news that the Cycle to Work Alliance - which represents several of the leading scheme providers - and the Association of Cycle Traders [ACT] were collaborating in order to force change and reform. 

Cycling Weekly understands that the two separate groups are in conversations in order to try and improve the situation but differences still exist. 

Thomas Witherspoon of Clapham Cycles in South London told Cycling Weekly that news of the two parties entering into dialogue was encouraging but said that there is still a great deal of work to be done.

"It’s the lack of regulation," he said. "There’s three or four main providers that run the schemes and nobody tells them what they can and can’t do. So if they decide to up their commission overnight, we just all have to swallow it.

"The problem with the cycle schemes is that it's like the wild west. They can literally do whatever they want and we don't get treated at all like a customer even though we are the ones that pay them. We are essentially their customer but they don’t treat us like a customer of anything. It almost feels like they would rather we didn’t exist."

He added: "The whole scheme is just out of control and in my opinion, it shouldn’t even be privatised, it should be run by the government, it's a government initiative to get people onto bikes and cycling to work."

In a recent press release, ACT director Jonathan Harrison said that the organisation had recently had “positive discussions” with the Cycle to Work Alliance and was committed to continuing to act on the commission issue. 

He said: "We have committed to working together to drive forward positive change and to reach certain objectives, notably to open the Cycle to Work scheme to more people and to grow the cycle market for all. 

"However, at the same time, we continue to recognise the concerns of our members and we will continue to strive for lower commissions by reaching out to individual providers."

Mark James, of Sheffield’s JE James Cycles, recently told Cycling Weekly that his shop was "selling bikes at a loss" with one of the main issues being the cut taken by Cycle to Work providers. 

James explained on Wednesday morning that the issue was, in his view, not going away any time soon. 

"We still don’t agree with the amount of commission they’re charging," he said. "It’s not sustainable for the trade. It’s putting independent cycle dealers at risk."

"There are still massive divisions between what we believe they should be doing and what they believe they should be doing and what they should be charging in commissions," he added. "We’re poles apart and that still remains the same with the ACT and them."

"Although they’ve announced they’re in talks, they’re not suddenly saying they’re in favour of Cycle to Work schemes."