Decathlon sent me a faulty Bicycle and refuse to send a replacement.

cheapskate1983

I had a faulty Road Bike delivered to my home on the 1st of August and it came with a buckled wheel, dirty used rims, faulty components and lots of ware and tare. I obvious demanded a return but after Decathlon accepted the return they told me they cannot send a replacement and I must pay to have the faulty bike delivered back to me.

The bike had virtually no use. All I did was assemble it and spin the wheels outside to check if everything was working. There was a big rub on the brakes where the buckle was and it was non rideable.

After this I took photos of all the faulty parts and videos of the buckled wheel.

I went off in a tangent and said they can chuck their rubbish in the skip in anger. Since then I haven't had any correspondence off them.

Have I waved my consumer rights by writing that in a official complaint? I think I have but surely they are still bound by trading standards for company policy and statutory rights of the consumer?

I'm really annoyed that I let a retail chain steal £350 off me.

Alderbank

Just to clarify...

• You bought a new bike from Decathlon. What date did you receive it?
• Who was the seller? Decathlon themselves or a partner such as Duffy UK?
• When you unpacked it, it was clearly used and damaged. Nevertheless you assembled it. What date did you tell them you were returning it?
• Do Decathlon still have the bike or have they returned it to you?
• What reason did they give for wanting to return it to you?
• You can't force them to send a replacement. They might not have one, supply of bikes has been difficult. What have they actually offered to do to put things right?

You haven't waived your consumer rights and Decathlon are not bound by Trading Standards.
Your rights, which can't be taken away, are to receive what you were promised. Basically if it's not what you were promised, Decathlon must put it right or refund you.

Going off at a tangent, whatever that means, does not sound to be a good idea. I hope you stayed calm and polite. If you used abusive or offensive language to a call handler their employer is expected to restrict communication with you. That's not going to help sort anything.

BikingBud

cheapskate1983 said:

I had a faulty Road Bike delivered to my home on the 1st of August and it came with a buckled wheel, dirty used rims, faulty components and lots of ware and tare. I obvious demanded a return but after Decathlon accepted the return they told me they cannot send a replacement and I must pay to have the faulty bike delivered back to me.

The bike had virtually no use. All I did was assemble it and spin the wheels outside to check if everything was working. There was a big rub on the brakes where the buckle was and it was non rideable.

After this I took photos of all the faulty parts and videos of the buckled wheel.

I went off in a tangent and said they can chuck their rubbish in the skip in anger. Since then I haven't had any correspondence off them.

Have I waved my consumer rights by writing that in a official complaint? I think I have but surely they are still bound by trading standards for company policy and statutory rights of the consumer?

I'm really annoyed that I let a retail chain steal £350 off me.

So you did use it? How much is virtually no use?

What do you mean by spin the wheels outside? Spinning the wheels inside would indicate if the wheels were true and mounted correctly.

The video is not identifying any specific issues, the buckled wheel cannot be seen nor can "all the faulty parts"!

Trying to grasp your chain of events, you received the bike 1 Aug 23, it was dirty and damaged but you didn't return it immediately. You used it in some manner including spinning the wheels outside, did this include riding the bike?

Further to comments above, including from  @Alderbank, if it was obviously used and damaged, not visible on your video, why did you not reject it immediately?

Also if the bike was partially assembled what did the delivery details say regarding final assembly? What did you expect to do and what have you done.

Please don't take this wrong way but are you competent to assemble a bike, to install wheels and ensure they are seated correctly in the drop outs and running true? The same for adjusting and setting up the brakes to ensure they are toed in correctly, aligned with the rim, cables tensioned correctly, calipers centred and pulling equally? If you can safely complete those tasks then you will understand that a wheel rubbing and brakes not aligned are not serious issues, you'd crack on and fix them and then enjoy riding the bike. If you can't then how do you expect to order a bike mail order and assemble it for your own safe use, moreover what will you do once you get punctures or components begin to wear out?

Perhaps, in future, consider supporting your local bike shop where competent staff should be able to match a cycle with your needs, ensuring correct fit, building the bike, adjusting components to your own preference, completing a pre-delivery inspection as well as a post run-in tune up, which will often include; adjusting gears, resetting brakes and trueing up wheels that on cheap factory, machine built rims are quite likely to be running out.

If however, there is some buyer regret from buying a very cheap and likely not very good bike then that is not covered.

tightauldgit

Maybe just me but I'm totally confused.

Decathlon accepted the return but are refusing to replace the bike? What does that mean? Are they going to refund you? 

They are asking you to pay to have the bike returned to you? Why? You returned it and they accepted the return. Why would you want it back?

RefluentBeans

Yeah the story here doesn’t make any sense. From what I can tell on Decathlons site the bike you have to put together. Assuming that whilst you were assembling the bike you noticed parts seemed faulty. Did you still install the faulty parts? Same with the wheel - I’m not a bike person so I can’t say whether it’s buckled or not, but if you noticed it was buckled before did you install it? 

Why exactly did you return it? Did you use the words faulty? And were you claiming under their returns policy or as part of your statutory rights? Their returns may insist that the bike is returned in new conditions or that they will assess as a fault. There may be some confusion from their end on why this bike has been returned. If it’s being returned as ‘not wanted’ and it’s muddy/buckled I can see why a WH operative would just mark as not suitable for standard return. If it’s been marked as faulty then I don’t really see why they’re quibbling. 

Given it’s only been delivered recently (1/Aug you said) you should be able to claim under the CRA as it’s faulty, and get a refund. Just be sure to tell them this is what you’re claiming under - it avoids confusion in what rules apply and expedites the process. 

Okell

BikingBud said:

... The video is not identifying any specific issues, the buckled wheel cannot be seen nor can "all the faulty parts"!...
...Further to comments above, including from  @Alderbank, if it was obviously used and damaged, not visible on your video, why did you not reject it immediately?...

Did the OP post up the video and then delete it?  I can't see a video(?).

@cheapskate1983 -  as others have asked, when you returned the bike what exactly did you say?

Did you tell them that it was faulty and that you were exercising your short-term right under consumer protection legislation to return it for a full refund?

Or did you tell them you were cancelling it as a distance contract?

Or didn't you say?

Exactly what explanation have they given to you for not refunding or replacing?

sheramber

Sounds like Decathlon rejected the return of the bike after inspecting it and want to return it.

Aylesbury_Duck

It looks as if OP has deleted the post with the video and further information.

cheapskate1983

BikingBud said:

So you did use it? How much is virtually no use?

. Like 2 mins of use on the Road in a quiet rural village.

What do you mean by spin the wheels outside? Spinning the wheels inside would indicate if the wheels were true and mounted correctly.

. Mounting the Bike on the Road and trying to ride it. The brakes where catching the rear wheel half way on every pedal. So no the wheels where not true. There was about 6mm out give on each side. The brakes where also set up in a deceiving way where one of the blocks was positioned at a different height than the block on the adjacent side to down play the buckle. When I changed it after the wheel was just jammed and stuck.

The video is not identifying any specific issues, the buckled wheel cannot be seen nor can "all the faulty parts"!

. You should watch the video at a slower speed. It catches the rear brake regular. Note the brakes are Rim's not Discs. Plus its hard to hold the phone with the left hand while holding the bike with the right hand. I had it all bubble wrapped ready to return so I couldn't stand it on its handlebars as they where taken off on the side so it would fit in the box.

Trying to grasp your chain of events, you received the bike 1 Aug 23, it was dirty and damaged but you didn't return it immediately. You used it in some manner including spinning the wheels outside, did this include riding the bike?

. Would you count riding the bike to be 60ft? I wasn't on it long. I spent most time being annoyed and checking where the buckle was.

Further to comments above, including from  @Alderbank, if it was obviously used and damaged, not visible on your video, why did you not reject it immediately?

. The reason why the Bike wasn't returned immediately is because I live 65 miles away from a Decathlon store and I cannot drive a car. I also struggled to find ways to contact Decathlon directly to complain. I contacted a staff member from one of their stores who took my details and said I would be contacted in 24 hours. I didn't get any reply to my phone number. I then found a way where I could contact Decathlon about return & warranty information and that was done via Whats App. I did that on Thursday the 3rd of August. That also didn't yield any results. I then looked on the Decathlon customer panel and found I could email them directly about Return & Warranty. This on the 7th of August. I have all the conversations in my email.

Also if the bike was partially assembled what did the delivery details say regarding final assembly? What did you expect to do and what have you done.

Please don't take this wrong way but are you competent to assemble a bike, to install wheels and ensure they are seated correctly in the drop outs and running true? The same for adjusting and setting up the brakes to ensure they are toed in correctly, aligned with the rim, cables tensioned correctly, calipers centred and pulling equally? If you can safely complete those tasks then you will understand that a wheel rubbing and brakes not aligned are not serious issues, you'd crack on and fix them and then enjoy riding the bike. If you can't then how do you expect to order a bike mail order and assemble it for your own safe use, moreover what will you do once you get punctures or components begin to wear out?

. The Bike was assembled at Decathlon store. I build my own bikes and true my own wheels. Have everything apart from a 3rd hand. Should really buy one. I know I should of just took the wheel off and just bought a new wheel for a few quid but I was just annoyed because I wanted a cheap road bike to ride while my I was turning my Reynolds 725 frame into a more capable Touring bike.

Perhaps, in future, consider supporting your local bike shop where competent staff should be able to match a cycle with your needs, ensuring correct fit, building the bike, adjusting components to your own preference, completing a pre-delivery inspection as well as a post run-in tune up, which will often include; adjusting gears, resetting brakes and trueing up wheels that on cheap factory, machine built rims are quite likely to be running out.

If however, there is some buyer regret from buying a very cheap and likely not very good bike then that is not covered.

. I completely agree with you here. I was warned but I thought a chain store had finally made something decent. Well the Bike was alright, I guess the staff just lacked honesty. This is at a time when RIbble where having a massive sale too. I feel like the worlds biggest fool. Serves me right.

cheapskate1983

Aylesbury_Duck said:

It looks as if OP has deleted the post with the video and further information.

Sorry but the forum Admins have removed my youtube video. It goes against the terms and conditions of the forum.

cheapskate1983

sheramber said:

Sounds like Decathlon rejected the return of the bike after inspecting it and want to return it.

Thats pretty much it. By normal biking standards a true wheel is 4mm on either side. The buckle on the decathlon bike is 6mm. I checked with ruler held against the brake blocks.