Compensation for faulty bike

seanymac

Hi there, i dont really know what to think of this myself so thought id get second opinion.
I bought a bike from a really bad bike shop, the bike was faulty so i took it back to get fixed. After 15 trips to the shop and countless arguments i threatened legal action to which they said they would refund me as they had the bike in the shop. 
I mentioned to them that this had caused me a lot of distress and sleepless nights and wasted so much of my time and that i was now out of pocket as i had paid for bike insurance on the bike and i couldnt get a full refund on it.
Admittedly i did have a bike pump and lock that came with the bike in my house which i wasnt using but thought, well they owe me for the insurance atleast so im keeping them.
Due to it being through the cycle2work scheme, they have sent me an email threatening to go to my employer about getting the lock and bike pump back and so i wanted to get your opinion on this situation.
1. Do i have a right to claim for the loss in insurance against them?
2. Do i have a right to claim against the amount of time they wasted of mine and the emotional distress?
3. Should i just give it back and be out of pocket?

Hasbeen

seanymac said:

Hi there, i dont really know what to think of this myself so thought id get second opinion.
I bought a bike from a really bad bike shop, the bike was faulty so i took it back to get fixed. After 15 trips to the shop and countless arguments i threatened legal action to which they said they would refund me as they had the bike in the shop. 
I mentioned to them that this had caused me a lot of distress and sleepless nights and wasted so much of my time and that i was now out of pocket as i had paid for bike insurance on the bike and i couldnt get a full refund on it.
Admittedly i did have a bike pump and lock that came with the bike in my house which i wasnt using but thought, well they owe me for the insurance atleast so im keeping them.
Due to it being through the cycle2work scheme, they have sent me an email threatening to go to my employer about getting the lock and bike pump back and so i wanted to get your opinion on this situation.
1. Do i have a right to claim for the loss in insurance against them?
2. Do i have a right to claim against the amount of time they wasted of mine and the emotional distress?
3. Should i just give it back and be out of pocket?

1. No

2. No

3.Yes

seanymac

Hasbeen said:

seanymac said:

Hi there, i dont really know what to think of this myself so thought id get second opinion.
I bought a bike from a really bad bike shop, the bike was faulty so i took it back to get fixed. After 15 trips to the shop and countless arguments i threatened legal action to which they said they would refund me as they had the bike in the shop. 
I mentioned to them that this had caused me a lot of distress and sleepless nights and wasted so much of my time and that i was now out of pocket as i had paid for bike insurance on the bike and i couldnt get a full refund on it.
Admittedly i did have a bike pump and lock that came with the bike in my house which i wasnt using but thought, well they owe me for the insurance atleast so im keeping them.
Due to it being through the cycle2work scheme, they have sent me an email threatening to go to my employer about getting the lock and bike pump back and so i wanted to get your opinion on this situation.
1. Do i have a right to claim for the loss in insurance against them?
2. Do i have a right to claim against the amount of time they wasted of mine and the emotional distress?
3. Should i just give it back and be out of pocket?

1. No

2. No

3.Yes

Can you tell me your reasoning? im genuinely interested in learning. The compensation of insurance is correct, just spoke to a solicitor on the phone about it. 

Norman_Castle

What did the solicitor say about returning the lock and pump? The insurance covered you while you had the bike and continues to cover you if you get a replacement. This shop isn't preventing you getting another bike which will be covered by your insurance.

Exactly what was wrong with this bike and how much use did you get from it?

[Deleted User]

You need to be careful with this as it's cycle to work, remember YOU didn't pay for it, the company did, you pay back the company via the loan deductions from your salary so the refund goes to them or the scheme. You should definitely speak to your firm as well as they'll be deducting the money from your salary

You could ask the bike shop about the bike insurance but no solicitor is going to take on a case for £100 or so bike insurance which you could cancel for a pro-rate refund or transfer to another bike,

seanymac

Deleted_User said:

You need to be careful with this as it's cycle to work, remember YOU didn't pay for it, the company did, you pay back the company via the loan deductions from your salary so the refund goes to them or the scheme. You should definitely speak to your firm as well as they'll be deducting the money from your salary

You could ask the bike shop about the bike insurance but no solicitor is going to take on a case for £100 or so bike insurance which you could cancel for a pro-rate refund or transfer to another bike,

Im quite friendly with a solicitor and they said you can claim against it but do it directly to them.Norman_Castle said:

What did the solicitor say about returning the lock and pump? The insurance covered you while you had the bike and continues to cover you if you get a replacement. This shop isn't preventing you getting another bike which will be covered by your insurance.

Exactly what was wrong with this bike and how much use did you get from it?

The insurance is in the specific bike model name, also, its very difficult to get  a similar spec bike now a days due to the pandemic, ive been sitting on halfords website for months. I didnt get more than 3 days out of the bike, it spent around 3 months in their shop with me taking it out to test and giving them back to say it was still not fixed. 

seanymac

Deleted_User said:

You need to be careful with this as it's cycle to work, remember YOU didn't pay for it, the company did, you pay back the company via the loan deductions from your salary so the refund goes to them or the scheme. You should definitely speak to your firm as well as they'll be deducting the money from your salary

You could ask the bike shop about the bike insurance but no solicitor is going to take on a case for £100 or so bike insurance which you could cancel for a pro-rate refund or transfer to another bike,

to also note, the employer got a full refund for the bike, unless they choose to pay the seller back the contract was cancelled months ago.

Norman_Castle

What did the solicitor say about returning the lock and pump?

Exactly what was wrong with this bike?

Have you asked the insurer about changing the insured bike or a partial refund?

seanymac

i havent got a bike to move the insurance too and they wouldnt freeze the insurance. they would partially refund at £22 which isnt a loss i should have to make.
the bike had a faulty bottom bracket and the disc brakes were warped so badly that it kept rubbing against the brake pads. 
They never said anything about lock and pump.

Nebulous2

Was it this one?
 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6155699/dispute-over-faulty-bike-with-bike-store

All of that should have been fixable quite readily. I think you did well getting your money back. Hand back the pump and move on. Get something with a decent bottom bracket. Avoid BB30 if noise bothers you. 

Norman_Castle

seanymac said:

i havent got a bike to move the insurance too and they wouldnt freeze the insurance. they would partially refund at £22 which isnt a loss i should have to make.
the bike had a faulty bottom bracket and the disc brakes were warped so badly that it kept rubbing against the brake pads. 
They never said anything about lock and pump.

"Partially refund at £22" What exactly is the £22?

The solicitor would have told you to return the lock and pump if you had asked. They haven't been paid for, they're not yours.