Evans Cycles month long repair wait

McCube

My Cube Stereo 160 ebike (>£4K) has been with Evans Cycles for warranty repairs. The Bosch motor has failed and a fortnight ago I was told a new motor would be fitted under warranty.

It’s now over four weeks that I’ve been without my bike and I’m not sure where I stand.

Just how long am I obliged to wait - if the bike is with them for another month it will be near to being out of manufacturer’s 12 month warranty...

Aylesbury_Duck

McCube wrote: »

My Cube Stereo 160 ebike (>£4K) has been with Evans Cycles for warranty repairs. The Bosch motor has failed and a fortnight ago I was told a new motor would be fitted under warranty.

It’s now over four weeks that I’ve been without my bike and I’m not sure where I stand.

Just how long am I obliged to wait - if the bike is with them for another month it will be near to being out of manufacturer’s 12 month warranty...

Presumably in the same place?

What have they given as the reason for the delay? Awaiting delivery of the motor, perhaps? You've got to give them a reasonable time to complete the repair. I'd be asking Evans for a discount on a future service or something to compensate you for being without the bike for so long. Won't they lend you a bike whilst yours is in for repair?

McCube

Haha. Yeh standing completely still!

I thought a couple of weeks would be reasonable and still no word on a date after four

When my p.o.s. car (worth less than half this bike) was stuck at the garage for over a week I ended up with a free car til it was sorted

What can I actually do if it goes another 2, 4, 8 weeks... ? :mad:

Aylesbury_Duck

It’s a tricky one. Given that they are in possession of your expensive bike and are really the only people who can fix it, I think you need to keep them onside but on their toes. If you demanded the bike back you’d probably be stuck finding an alternative repairer.

Perhaps put the ball in their court. Email them asking for the latest estimate of repair time and if it’s not acceptable to you, ask what they’re doing to expedite it and what your options are.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

You mention warranty so it wouldn't really be a consumer rights issue, they (whoever offer the warranty) are only bound by the terms of the warranty.

If they are outside those terms you could probably hire a bike a claim the cost from them.

Had this been a consumer rights issue then this may apply:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/23/enacted

(2)If the consumer requires the trader to repair or replace the goods, the trader must—
(a)do so within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer,

as you could probably argue the timeframe is excessive and causing significant inconvenience should you use the bike for commuting for example.

[STRIKE]When did you buy it and when did you inform them the motor had failed?[/STRIKE]

Scratch that I see it's been over six months.

McCube

Thanks the_lunatic_is_in_my_head - that’s helpful

Where do consumer rights stop and warranty work begin?

With a nine month old bike that cost me a significant chunk of a year’s salary I must admit I was surprised that beyond six months now there is less onus on the retailer and more on me. I only recently learned that the old regime of “fit for purpose” or refund, repair or replace has been replaced by newer legislation.

Do I have other options which are truly in the realm of “consumer rights”? If I had a Dacia car of similar price value which had a dead motor I don’t think it would be considered reasonable to be without the item for 4-5 weeks.

Cheers for all the pointers :beer:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Within 6 months a fault is deemed to have been present at the point of purchase (except where exercising your 30 day right to reject outright).

After 6 months the retailer can place the burden of proof upon you.

Is the warranty with Evans or the manufacture? Do you have the terms of the warranty and do they detail anything about time-frames for repair?

Warranty vs consumer rights seems to be a bit of a grey area, if you had specifically advised them you wanted to claim under your rights then that's what would apply (although they could if they wish send you away until you have proof of a fault, usually an independent report, the cost of which they would be liable for if the report demonstrated a fault).

If you took the bike back and just said there's a fault and they said they'd fix it under warranty in my view it's possible they've mislead you by omitting to advise on your full options but that would be a difficult path to go down.

Evans is part of Sports Direct who aren't really known for fantastic service, unless they are in breach of the warranty terms just keep bugging them, if it's done in store they'd soon get sick of daily visits and have an incentive to crack on with fixing the bike.