Unable to return faulty bicycle, need help

cidfenmaria

I recently purchased a bicycle online and found it faulty and I contacted the online shop to return it. I chased up a number of time by email/call/online chat there have been no response after many days.

Their online return policy stresses that its 14 days no quibble return. But then emphasises that any return needs to be approved/confirmed by customer service (otherwise it will be refused) and does not specify return address. I contacted them on the 8th days of receipt, its now well over 14 days. I now feel that effectively if they keep avoiding me no return would happen.

please can anyone suggest what I can do? Can I contact my bank to initiate credit card charge back based on my situation?

Keep_pedalling

What is the fault? A duff component or just something that needs adjustment?

[Deleted User]

It would be best to give them a chance to respond to you, given the last 4 days have likely been non-working days for them.

You always have chargeback as a fall back situation.

cidfenmaria

the fault is that the disk always scratches the brake pad, perhaps either the disk/wheel is not straight, after hours of adjustment I brought it to halford, a day later when I collected it they then said they can not fix it and suggest its not in good quality (And refunded me!). I contacted the online shop at that point which was about 10 days ago. I don't mind to wait for a few days, but what happen if they do not get back to me. (Let alone the online shop should be responsible for the return postage)

user1977

Who/where are the online retailer? (i.e. do UK consumer laws even apply?)

turnitround

I may be wrong but I would have thought you had no chance now of returning it after letting Halfords mess with it.  The retailer should have been the ones to sort a repair or replacement. 

cidfenmaria

Of course its uk online shop. About what the above msg mentioned "letting halfords mess with", good question I also know that yes in commen sense it's the retailer's responsibility to repair/replace but it was after a number of days waiting for enquiry reply and approaching 14 days, it is important for me to confirm whether or not it's quality issue.

first of all the bike came as a flatpack so I need to assemble it first (OR someone who received it needs to "mess" with it first, even halford itself has a service to build/assemble bike for a fee). Building a bike is easy for me so I did it in the first place.

also is halford bike workshop (not someone I came across on the street) not an ideal professional 3rd party to suggest whether a bike is faulty/have quality issue at all? If halford cannot assemble/adjust a brand new bike who else can?

Even before I brought the bike to halford I msg the retailer customer service as no one replied. Finally I need a bike ASAP and it's very reasonable for me to do all I could before returning it considering a bike is bulky and difficul/expensive to post

cymruchris

Does your retailer have a phone help line? You could call them to ensure they have received your message? 

MalMonroe

If the bike is faulty, the retailer is responsible for the return postage, not the customer, as per the info in the following link -

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange/#goods

BUT you took it to a third party for it to be fixed and they couldn't do it, so unfortunately you are back not only to square one but in a worse position than you were in when the bike was first delivered.

You say -

"Even before I brought the bike to halford I msg the retailer customer service as no one replied. Finally I need a bike ASAP and it's very reasonable for me to do all I could before returning it considering a bike is bulky and difficul/expensive to post" -

But even though you need a bike ASAP, you are still unable to use the one you bought. 

You could always try to phone the retailer tomorrow, when most people will be back from the Easter break, and see what they will do for you. Not an ideal situation, I know but there's not much else that can reasonably be done. 

cidfenmaria

they received my email and replied they will resolve within 48 hours, which was 9 days ago, the response sounds quite apologetic. few days later I managed to speak to a telephone operator once after a number calls, they mentioned will pass to a certain team.

I start to feel it's not quite likely they would resovle this therefore I take the chance to ask.

born_again

cidfenmaria said:

the fault is that the disk always scratches the brake pad, perhaps either the disk/wheel is not straight, after hours of adjustment I brought it to halford, a day later when I collected it they then said they can not fix it and suggest its not in good quality (And refunded me!). I contacted the online shop at that point which was about 10 days ago. I don't mind to wait for a few days, but what happen if they do not get back to me. (Let alone the online shop should be responsible for the return postage)

So is the disk clean, has it got lots of sharp bits on the surface?

How do you know it's scratching the pad surface without taking them off, as the clearance required to work is so small that you can not see the surface of the pads.

TBH the whole point of brakes is they rub against each other cause friction which slows you down.
So in normal life both pads & disks get scratched.
If you have a car take a look at the disk brakes on them...