Refused an exchange on faulty item

Niennamarie

I’m just wanting some advice on whether I am in the right or wrong in this situation.

I bought a bike and when I was putting it together the seat was really loose so I tried tightening it further, checking the seat every so often. it got to the point where the paint was chipping and it looked a bit worse for wear and the seat was still loose so I decided to take it back to store as I was obviously getting nowhere, it was clearly faulty.

The manager of the store refused to give me an exchange because it had clearly been overtightened. I told him that yes, it had been overtightened but only because it wasn’t tightening the seat so I kept going in an attempt to get it to stay in place. He said it was damaged now so there was nothing he could do.

I looked at my rights which says if returning in under 6 months the onus is on them to prove it wasn’t faulty beforehand so I took that to mean I should be allowed to return it.. the manager still says no as it is damaged now. I asked him to prove it wasn’t faulty beforehand and he said he couldn’t do that but it was clear I had overtightened it so it was still no.

Have I harmed my rights here? The only reason it is now damaged is because there was a fault to start with so i still feel like the should have to prove this wasn’t the case.

Any advice and information welcome please. I’m really upset, it’s a Christmas present for my little boy.. I can’t afford another one and I don’t think he will be happy if his sister gets a bike and he hasn’t got one so I don’t know what I will do if they refuse to give me an exchange. I’ve put in a complaint but who knows how long that will take..

Keep_pedalling

Tricky one, sounds like it came with the wrong sized seat post or it should had had a shim in place. Unfortunately you have been rather ham fisted in attempting to trighten up the seat and damaged the frame, or at least the paint work on it.

Assuming this is a steel frame this should be easy to put right, although that will need a bit of touching up on the paintwork.

Niennamarie

I just figured that if the seats not tight then keep tightening it, I stopped as soon as the paint started chipping I think a lot of people would have done the same?

So you don’t think I’ll get an exchange because of that? Seems a bit unfair when the damage occurred because of the fault, and they can’t prove it wasn’t?

I wouldn’t know where to start trying to ‘fix’ it myself, I’d make more of a mess of things I think. Thank you for your advice anyway.

Keep_pedalling

Assuming you bought this from a proper cycle shop, then take it back and ask them to fix it. I have my doubts if this was a proper cycle shop, as they tend to provide the bike fully set up so you don’t have to.

Niennamarie

No, just a child’s bike from a toy store I’m afraid. It wasn’t a particularly expensive bike but it’s christmas and I’ve only just had a baby so at the minute it’s a lot of money for me to lose. I can’t afford to pay out for another one.

Sorry, I realise you can’t help me any more than you have and I’m ranting. Just really upset.

macman

Take it to a proper bike shop and they will put a shim on it or whatever is necessary. They can also safety check it for you, as a large proportion of bikes bought at toy stores (or Halfords) are incorrectly assembled.
A bit of chipped paint isn't going to bother your child.

eddddy

I think I would try this angle...

Take the bike back to the shop and explain that it is not fit for purpose, because it's impossible to tighten the seat post.

If they disagree, ask them to tighten the seat post. If they do it satisfactorily - you have a solution to the problem. If they can't do it, it proves that the bike is not fir for purpose.

Obviously, an unreasonable shop manager might still argue, but I'd give it a try...

Niennamarie

I actually did say something along those lines to him. His argument was still that as it’s been overtightened and now damaged it wouldn’t prove anything.

I guess I will just have to see what happens with the complaint, but I’m not hopeful. I spoke to a lady in customer service just after I’d been in store and she told me not to worry, she would sort it. When she phoned me back she said she couldn’t override the managers decision and there was nothing she could do. I expect I will be told something similar in my response to the complaint.

I just hope they do it quickly because if not I’ve got to somehow fix this bike. So stressful with it being so close to Christmas!

photome

Niennamarie wrote: »

I actually did say something along those lines to him. His argument was still that as it’s been overtightened and now damaged it wouldn’t prove anything.

I guess I will just have to see what happens with the complaint, but I’m not hopeful. I spoke to a lady in customer service just after I’d been in store and she told me not to worry, she would sort it. When she phoned me back she said she couldn’t override the managers decision and there was nothing she could do. I expect I will be told something similar in my response to the complaint.

I just hope they do it quickly because if not I’ve got to somehow fix this bike. So stressful with it being so close to Christmas!

Did you read Macmans post

its the simplest solution