Returning a bike to Halfords

marks87

Hi,

I bought a bike from Halfords just over a week ago. This morning when cycling to work, I changed the front gear which caused the caused the plastic cover in front of the cogs to snap in such a way that it jammed in the teeth, bringing me to an abrupt stop, and is now hanging loose, leaving the bike (IMO) unfit to cycle.

I don't drive, so I phoned Halfords to find out if they would collect it. They said no, because they've got no way of doing so, with which I countered by saying I've got no way of doing so either. Now I could ask a family member or friend to drive me there, but that would mean them spending money on petrol. The guy I spoke to was apparently the assistant manager, and he said the "full" manager is not in until tomorrow, so I'll phone back then to see if I get any further, but I'd like to be armed with some additional information in case it's needed.

Basically, so long as I make the bike available, are Halfords obligated to collect it, or are they obligated to refund any costs incurred returning the bike (i.e. petrol)?

I'm also concerned that the bike, having been assembled at Halfords, was signed off as being safe and roadworthy, yet I'm only a little over a week into using it and a simple change of gear caused something to break, which then got caught in the teeth.

So as a second question, where do I stand regarding the bike being signed off as safe, when it wasn't? And on a more general note, should I trust them to get it right on any replacement, or would you recommend I go straight for a refund and go elsewhere?

Thanks in advance.

gnaril

Hey mate sorry for the problems you have had.

I did have similar with halfords( thats what i get for buying a sub £200 bike i think).

Had it for 1 week, problems with the gears which is common on a new bike which i could accept. However the handlebars decided to dislodge themselves and nearly throw me in front of a car as i was crossing the road.

I rejected the bike took it back to the store and got my money refunded. You just have to be aware of your rights and insist politely thats what you want.

They were fairly quick to refund me.

As for them covering the costs for you to take it back, i dont think you have a hope for this IMO. You bought the bike from store i assume and took it away. IU guess they are right in what they say that they would have no way to collect it....

Your probably easier taking it there anyways and dealing with it face 2 face with the manager there.

All the best.

Mankysteve

If you didn't mail order then no they have obligation to collect it from you sorry. You can claim expenses back though i believe.

PZH

marks87 wrote: »

...and is now hanging loose, leaving the bike (IMO) unfit to cycle.

Can you not remove it ? Or break it off completely ?

marks87 wrote: »

Basically, so long as I make the bike available, are Halfords obligated to collect it, or are they obligated to refund any costs incurred returning the bike (i.e. petrol)?

No and No

marks87 wrote: »

So as a second question, where do I stand regarding the bike being signed off as safe, when it wasn't? And on a more general note, should I trust them to get it right on any replacement, or would you recommend I go straight for a refund and go elsewhere?

Parts do sometimes fail, even after an inspection. I don't think that Halfords can be held reponsible for this.

Halfords will have the option to replace, refund or repair. You could ask for refund and go elsewhere but that would rely on their goodwill to refund.

PZH

Mankysteve wrote: »

You can claim expenses back though i believe.

The OP could probably send an invoice to them - but I don't think Halfords would be under any obligation to pay them.

bris

They don't have to collect the bike but as it's faulty they do have to cover the reasonable cost of getting it back to them. That can be your friends petrol money.
They are entitled to repair the bike before a replacement or refund is offered. The plastic cover breaking may very well be a one off with nothing to indicate that it would happen again, so it would have been safe at the time of assembly, but you should google the make and model to see if it is a common fault that would help in your case to reject the bike outright.
You would have to prove that their assembly team were incompetent at assembling bikes before you could argue that it was unsafe to sell it to you. Unless there are lots of complaint in this regard I would assume it will just be put down to a one off fault that the store are obliged to remedy in the same way as any faulty goods.

marks87

Thanks for the replies.

The disc broke when I changed gears and from what I can gather, it was the derailleur that caused it to break, which is a bigger issue than something simply snapping (i.e. it would imply there's a problem with the gears).

When I made my original post, I was still quite annoyed at what had happened. But now I've thought about it a bit more, I've taken on board the advice to just snap the whole disc off (which I've now realised is little more than a mudguard for the front teeth), which means I can now ride the bike again. I'll take it up this afternoon, along with an apology for being slightly curt on the phone

PZH

marks87 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

The disc broke when I changed gears and from what I can gather, it was the derailleur that caused it to break, which is a bigger issue than something simply snapping (i.e. it would imply there's a problem with the gears).

When I made my original post, I was still quite annoyed at what had happened. But now I've thought about it a bit more, I've taken on board the advice to just snap the whole disc off (which I've now realised is little more than a mudguard for the front teeth), which means I can now ride the bike again. I'll take it up this afternoon, along with an apology for being slightly curt on the phone

When you return the bike to the store - just show them the faulty part and any damage to the bike. Do not offer any information that you snapped the part off to make it fit to ride (unless they specifically ask)

marks87

Sorry for the delay in replying - been busy at work!

A friend gave me a lift up and the part was replaced and the gears checked. They seemed to think the gears were OK, but I'm now having problems when changing the front one. I'm finding that to go from 1 or 3 to 2, I need to turn the handle all the way, then back again, e.g. go from 3 to 1 to 3 to 2. Simply going back to 3 does nothing: I need to turn it right round, then back again, which is clearly not right.

I'll take it back up again at the weekend, but if things don't improve I might need to get them independently checked.

PZH

marks87 wrote: »

Sorry for the delay in replying - been busy at work!

A friend gave me a lift up and the part was replaced and the gears checked. They seemed to think the gears were OK, but I'm now having problems when changing the front one. I'm finding that to go from 1 or 3 to 2, I need to turn the handle all the way, then back again, e.g. go from 3 to 1 to 3 to 2. Simply going back to 3 does nothing: I need to turn it right round, then back again, which is clearly not right.

I'll take it back up again at the weekend, but if things don't improve I might need to get them independently checked.

Good to hear the part was replaced.

As for the front gears - it might just need some adjustment / lubrication (?) - but still annoying that you have to go back yet again.

Hope you have better luck this time.

bosseyed

Hey OP, if the plastic bit that you've now removed is the bit I think it is, then its basically just a guard for the largest cog at the front and can be removed without any issues. My bike doesn't have one. I suspect its there originally to stop you knackering the teeth on something or taking chunks out of your calf - neither of which I've ever done in 20 years of cycling with no guard.

As for the gears - its a common issue with new bikes, the cables stretch and slacken with use which means you can't move the deraillleurs correctly and thus the gears don't change correctly.

If it was the derailleur that snagged on the guard and broke it and now you're having issues shifting then it sounds to me like the gears were really badly set up in the first place - if you're able to get it back to Halfords then more than likely they'll reset them up for free.