Bike purchase

Facts

I’ve just received a bike I purchased online, with it now built I’ve tried it but it is too large! What are my rights to get it swapped for a smaller frame size or to get a refund? Smaller frame preferred option. 

The company don’t seem willing to help!? Are there any rules to help consumers in these situations? 

Aylesbury_Duck

Yes.  Look up rules around distance selling.  You have 14 days from receipt of the bike to return it for a refund, which will be a full refund if you have only handled it to the same extent you would have done had you tried it in store.  You say "with it now built".  Did you assemble it yourself?  You should very carefully dismantle it and get it back in exactly the condition it was in when you received it, including in its packaging.  The retailer can deduct from the refund for excessive handling or missing packaging.

neilmcl

You have rights regarding distance sales under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations Act 2013, CCRs for short.

Who is the retailer and how long have you had the bike? Also, to what extent have you "used" it?

Facts

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Yes.  Look up rules around distance selling.  You have 14 days from receipt of the bike to return it for a refund, which will be a full refund if you have only handled it to the same extent you would have done had you tried it in store.  You say "with it now built".  Did you assemble it yourself?  You should very carefully dismantle it and get it back in exactly the condition it was in when you received it, including in its packaging.  The retailer can deduct from the refund for excessive handling or missing packaging.

Thank you for the reply, the bike came packaged in a box & required basic assembly, without this I would not have been able to determine its size. 

I’ve not used it other then to sit upon and instantly knew it was to large. 

The company say on their website, they do not offer refunds for full bikes as they class them as a custom item!? Can this be right? 

Facts

neilmcl said:

You have rights regarding distance sales under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations Act 2013, CCRs for short.

Who is the retailer and how long have you had the bike? Also, to what extent have you "used" it?

I received the bike last Thursday, assembled it Friday, immediately notified the company via email and have not used the bike at all.

DiddyDavies

Which website did you buy from?

couriervanman

I would have thought you'd have a rough idea with the frame size before you bought it using you inside leg measurement and the bike size from seat/pedal to ground........as others have said as long as you can repack perfectly back in box you should be ok for returning umber the 14 day rule

Aylesbury_Duck

Facts said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Yes.  Look up rules around distance selling.  You have 14 days from receipt of the bike to return it for a refund, which will be a full refund if you have only handled it to the same extent you would have done had you tried it in store.  You say "with it now built".  Did you assemble it yourself?  You should very carefully dismantle it and get it back in exactly the condition it was in when you received it, including in its packaging.  The retailer can deduct from the refund for excessive handling or missing packaging.

Thank you for the reply, the bike came packaged in a box & required basic assembly, without this I would not have been able to determine its size. 

I’ve not used it other then to sit upon and instantly knew it was to large. 

The company say on their website, they do not offer refunds for full bikes as they class them as a custom item!? Can this be right? 

If they are a UK business their terms appear to contradict your statutory rights.  Unless they fabricated a unique bike to your specification, it's not a custom item.  Selecting things like sizes or colours from a drop-down list does not make it custom.

What's the retailer?

neilmcl

Facts said:

neilmcl said:

You have rights regarding distance sales under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations Act 2013, CCRs for short.

Who is the retailer and how long have you had the bike? Also, to what extent have you "used" it?

I received the bike last Thursday, assembled it Friday, immediately notified the company via email and have not used the bike at all.

What type of bike is it and how are you measuring it to determine the correct size, just sitting on the seat to get a "feel" of the size isn't the way to do it. That aside, the retailer is wrong in what they say about being a custom item, assuming you simply chose the bike from the available options listed and have had no personalisation added.

The name of the retailer or a link to the bike would be helpful.

Hasbeen

All bikes I have ever bought, I went with inside leg size to get correct size.

OP: have you tried lowering the seat? 

neilmcl

Hasbeen said:

All bikes I have ever bought, I went with inside leg size to get correct size.

OP: have you tried lowering the seat? 

You do as a starting point but it isn't as simple a that and will largely depend on what type of bike it is. The stand over height, ie the distance between the cross bar and your inside leg is important. For road bikes you should be looking at around a 2-4cm difference but for a mountain bike you'd want to increase this. As you imply, sizing by simply sitting on the seat isn't really relevant as nearly all seats are adjustable.