Bike company ignoring cancellation requests

paulhemmo

Hi, hopefully someone could help me. I'm wanting to cancel an order of a bike that I bought online on 13th May, the reason being is that the company has admitted on their blog and Instagram feed that there's a 5-6 week backlog on building the bikes so I no longer want mine. I've tried calling 5 days in a row with no-one answering the phones sent four emails and left a polite messages on both their Instagram feeds & Facebook but still now response. The annoying thing about the social media feeds in that they're 'liking' and replying to positive threads but ignoring all of those asking how to cancel their orders and receive a refund! Is there any legal way to get my money back from a product that they've not even started building yet (there's an order tracking system that let's you know the progress but not estimated times), I used my Mastercard for the purchase. Thanks in advance.

Aylesbury_Duck

Yes, you're entitled to cancel for a refund if it's a genuine distance sale, at any point up to 14 days after delivery if it's unused (or reasonably handled to check suitability ). Just to confirm, you did buy entirely online didn't you?  For instance, if you went into a store and tried out or were measured for a bike you then ordered from them online, it wouldn't be a distance sale. 

Assuming it is a distance sale, in the worst case scenario, simply refuse delivery when it is scheduled. I expect they'll be in touch before then anyway.  It's a bit early to be invoking credit card support just yet but good to have that option. 

DoaM

paulhemmo said:

I used my Mastercard for the purchase.

Is that a credit card? (It usually is, but it could also mean a debit card).

Browntoa

Is it a custom build ? 

If so it's excluded from the 14 day refund rules ? 

DoaM

Browntoa said:

Is it a custom build ? 

If so it's excluded from the 14 day refund rules ? 

Depends on what is meant by "custom". If the OP has advised for it to be built from specific parts that the OP has specified then you are correct. If the seller is building the bike from parts which they have made available for the consumer to select from (e.g. drop-down list boxes) then you are incorrect - this is not custom/bespoke/personalised; it is merely Made To Order. It's no different to buying a laptop and selecting which CPU, RAM size, disk size etc. that you want ... the seller makes the options available and you simply select what you want. Made to order goods are not exempt from the cancellation rights per the CC (ICAC) regs 2013.

paulhemmo

DoaM said:

paulhemmo said:

I used my Mastercard for the purchase.

Is that a credit card? (It usually is, but it could also mean a debit card).

yeah credit card

paulhemmo

DoaM said:

Browntoa said:

Is it a custom build ? 

If so it's excluded from the 14 day refund rules ? 

Depends on what is meant by "custom". If the OP has advised for it to be built from specific parts that the OP has specified then you are correct. If the seller is building the bike from parts which they have made available for the consumer to select from (e.g. drop-down list boxes) then you are incorrect - this is not custom/bespoke/personalised; it is merely Made To Order. It's no different to buying a laptop and selecting which CPU, RAM size, disk size etc. that you want ... the seller makes the options available and you simply select what you want. Made to order goods are not exempt from the cancellation rights per the CC (ICAC) regs 2013.

hi, it's made to order rather than custom as it's from a online only bike manufacturer, they build all of their bikes from scratch with parts that they have in stock (it's basically just different colours mix and match), they haven't started building it yet as it's just been added to a (very) long queue.

many thanks for your reply.

paulhemmo

Browntoa said:

Is it a custom build ? 

If so it's excluded from the 14 day refund rules ? 

It's made to order, they haven't even started building it yet as their backlog (by their own admission on their blog) is so long, with orders from the beginning of April now taking 6-8 weeks, if they'd have made it clear on their website in May when I ordered mine that the wait time was so long I wouldn't have bought it, or if I had at least I would have known I was expected to wait months.

paulhemmo

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Yes, you're entitled to cancel for a refund if it's a genuine distance sale, at any point up to 14 days after delivery if it's unused (or reasonably handled to check suitability ). Just to confirm, you did buy entirely online didn't you?  For instance, if you went into a store and tried out or were measured for a bike you then ordered from them online, it wouldn't be a distance sale. 

Assuming it is a distance sale, in the worst case scenario, simply refuse delivery when it is scheduled. I expect they'll be in touch before then anyway.  It's a bit early to be invoking credit card support just yet but good to have that option. 

Hi, yes it was from an online only bike shop. thanks for your help.

[Deleted User]

paulhemmo said: The annoying thing about the social media feeds in that they're 'liking' and replying to positive threads but ignoring all of those asking how to cancel their orders and receive a refund! 

You do realise that the social media feeds of businesses are generally designed for promotion/advertising rather than as an extension of their customer service?

 So if you have an issue, the most effective means is to send them a private message via their pages on Facebook, Instagram etc.

Do realise that the delay is entirely due to the Pandemic and other such retailers will be hit in a similar fashion...

DoaM

Has the amount been debited from your CC, or has it only been "reserved"? Either way, you can contact your CC provider to explain the situation and request that they either refund (Section 75 claim) or release the reservation, as per your cancellation request.