Bugaboo Pram issue

Jessredu

In October I purchased a Bugaboo Dragonfly Pram from John Lewis. The pram was chosen as I live in London so am walking on pavements and parks, and following advice from the instore team that this would be a good fit.

The pram however is not fit for purpose as the wheels clog up with any form of dirt, debris or leaves on the pavement which then have to be scrapped out to actually push the pram. This isn’t from long term use but is happening within 5 minutes of taking the pram out. I reached out to John Lewis as I thought this must be a fault and they advised this is not a fault and shared information on how to clean the wheels, which involves removing them to clean out any debris which isn’t possible or realistically to do on a walk. 

Considering the cost of the pram, I do not believe it’s fit for purpose and want to go back to John Lewis to discuss alternative options but wondered if I had any standing to do this, and the best way to reply to them. If it helps it was paid for on a credit card

Thanks!

photome

Is it the case that they get blocked up when going “off road” ?  If so I don’t see how it’s a fault as all wheels would surely get blocked up in those conditions 

Jessredu

Yess would agree if going off-road but this is purely going down residential streets and the leaf fall/ general pavement dirt is clogging the wheels each time! It’s like the pram hasn’t been designed with a wide enough clearance for anything to travel through

HopeAndDriftWood

It's a problem all compact prams have - the Bugaboo Butterfly is the same. In order to make it compact both when in use and when folded, there can't be much clearance for the wheels, and therefore things like leaves that bigger prams will roll over and push out get stuck. 

It's why we chose to have both a "proper" pram (we went for an iCandy Orange, which has very sturdy, large wheels) and a compact pram for travelling and car use, but the compact pram needs a lot more maintenance overall. I don't think I've ever had to clean the iCandy's wheels.

It'll hopefully get easier as Spring edges round.

Aylesbury_Duck

Looking at the images, I'm assuming the problem is the limited clearance between the front wheel fork and the wheel itself?  If so, I agree that it's not a fault.  It's a design flaw if the pram was described as being suitable for going off-road, but it's described as an "urban stroller" and the description mentions "urban terrains".  

If the salesperson recommended it after you'd expressed the requirement to take it off-road, i.e. off of pavements, then I think you have a case to return it as having been wrongly recommended, but it sounds like the bigger problem is the state of the pavements where you're walking.

Okell

Jessredu said:

In October I purchased a Bugaboo Dragonfly Pram from John Lewis. The pram was chosen as I live in London so am walking on pavements and parks, and following advice from the instore team that this would be a good fit.

The pram however is not fit for purpose as the wheels clog up with any form of dirt, debris or leaves on the pavement which then have to be scrapped out to actually push the pram. This isn’t from long term use but is happening within 5 minutes of taking the pram out...

You could try going back to JL and quoting s10 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to them:

"10 Goods to be fit for particular purpose

(1) Subsection (3) applies to a contract to supply goods if before the contract is made the consumer makes known to the trader (expressly or by implication) any particular purpose for which the consumer is contracting for the goods...

... (3)The contract is to be treated as including a term that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose, whether or not that is a purpose for which goods of that kind are usually supplied"

See where that gets you

Jessredu

we don’t want to take it off pavements, just to be able to walk along pavements without having to clear the wheels every 5 minutes, we knew we wouldn’t be able to go off road. 

The pram was recommended by the JL assistant as a pram suitable for London streets so I would have expected it to be able to cope - if it is a design flaw, it just really doesn’t seem fit for purpose aka walking on London streets so just frustrating that it was recommended by JL for this purpose and an expensive mistake!

Aylesbury_Duck

Jessredu said:

we don’t want to take it off pavements, just to be able to walk along pavements without having to clear the wheels every 5 minutes, we knew we wouldn’t be able to go off road. 

The pram was recommended by the JL assistant as a pram suitable for London streets so I would have expected it to be able to cope - if it is a design flaw, it just really doesn’t seem fit for purpose aka walking on London streets so just frustrating that it was recommended by JL for this purpose and an expensive mistake!

I don't see any harm in going back to JL again.  They may relent, particularly if you are prepared to buy an alternative from them, but I don't think they'd be breaching your consumer rights if they hold firm.

If you get no luck and you're reasonably handy, you could make a small modification.  Gluing some bristles to the roof of the fork might help - something like a sawn-off toothbrush head glued in each one.  If positioned properly, it will deflect leaves, debris, etc. before they get jammed between the fork and the wheel.  Probably costs something like a few quid for two toothbrushes and some superglue.

sheramber

Have you contacted Bugaboo about the problem.? You surely can’t be the only person who uses it on London pavements. 

lui124

Hi there same issue we are facing. It’s not fit for London roads that have uneaven pavement, leaves and grime. It was sold to us as a stroller that is slightly more durable than a travel one. If we wanted the limitations of a travel stroller we would have gotten a travel stroller. It’s a design flaw that severely limits the usability of the pram. 

Did you resolve it with John Lewis or Buggaboo?

born_again

lui124 said:

Hi there same issue we are facing. It’s not fit for London roads that have uneaven pavement, leaves and grime. It was sold to us as a stroller that is slightly more durable than a travel one. If we wanted the limitations of a travel stroller we would have gotten a travel stroller. It’s a design flaw that severely limits the usability of the pram. 

Did you resolve it with John Lewis or Buggaboo?

Sadly while OP has been back in March. they have not updated this thread.