Could do with a little advice please

[davefb]

Well rightly or wrongly being the trusting type i intend to give them the benefit of the doubt. I will call in person on Friday and get an update and suggest a date for the repair which is fair and then if that passes i will ask for it to be swopped /exchanged. All within 14 days.

Basically i am just arming myself with good advice just in case they put me in an uncomfortable position. Maybe they will sort it on time and that will be that hopefully. Time will tell.


Thanks again for all the good advice received

make sure you make it clear, you have not yet "accepted the goods" ( bike)..

this seems to be the legal phrase

think i'd be after some nice freebies as well tbh!

 

[ajstephens]

Hi Billy got your pm...


Yeah so in my experience: I had a 2010 White painted Synapse Himod Carbon which i bought at the end of last year from a large well known web based bike shop in the north. By spring a crack had appeared in frame on the steerer tube. I sent photos to the shop, they basically shrugged their shoulders and forwarded all of my correspondence to Cannondale. Cannondale ascertained from the photo only (didn't request the bike) that the crack was due to paint flex and was still safe to ride and they would replace the frame under warranty however i would have to wait 6 weeks for the replacement to arrive from the US - thought they were manufactured in the far east? Anyway weeks past and by easter 2 more cracks had appeared to the rear of the fork crown. Again I forwarded more photos via the disinterested shop to Cannondale, this time Cannondale said i should stop riding the bike immediately, they then suggested the cracks were due to a 'frontal impact' and that i had crashed it and thus this wouldn't be covered by the warranty. NOT HAPPY.


With this the following email was sent:


The bike has been involved in no frontal impact whatsoever, i find CSGs claims fleeting, disturbing and unintelligible. If the bike had experienced a frontal impact, stress cracks would appear on the front of the fork crown, not the rear. I find such allegations underhand and completely unacceptable.
The frames simply aren't built stiff enough, hence the multiple 'paint stress cracks'. I weight 85 kilos and therefore am not overly stressing it. The Paint should accommodate the frames flex and clearly it doesn't.
Any further allegations of frontal impact or implication of false warranty claims or failure to cover warranty claims based on false allegations now or in the future leave me no choice but to take the matter to the courts, and take my underhand findings and poor service from both CSG and XXXXXXX to the cycling community, forums, regulatory bodies etc.
I invested nearly £2500 on a brand I thought was backed with quality design and manufacturing and as a whole i am now very disappointed.
I cover over 150 miles a week on the bike and am signed on to several charity rides and sportives over the coming weeks. I am now advised not to ride the bike and after 1 month i still do not know when i am to have the frame replaced! And now I have no bike to ride!
Please tell me what you are going to do about it?
Soon after this email a demo bike was sent out identical to mine and after another month a new 2011 black carbon (unpainted) Frame was exchanged for my old cracked one.
So all good in the end but allot of ball ache and shitty emails which i wouldn't have expected from a brand such as Cannondale.
So in short it is a lovely bike but i wouldn't buy from Cannondale again which I guess says it all.
Aj

 

[billy1561]

Thanks for taking the time to reply Aj i will certainly bear it in mind as i progress my bike repair. Much appreciated.

 

[mickle]

Cannondale at one time had a 50% failure rate according to a Cannondale mechanic I know. This was +/- ten years ago. I thought they'd sorted it out with the move of production to the fareast.

 

[sabian92]

After paying 2.5k for a bike the accusation that you had crashed and then were lying about it to get a free bike is despicable.

I've read a few horror stories about Cannondale on CycleChat - I certainly won't be buying their bikes if this is the attitude they take with their customers.

 

[teletext45]

Sale of goods act 1974 ammended 1994 under section C sale of goods, as mentioned, fit for purpose.

If you start taking sale of goods act most companies crumble, as i've discovered in the past.

andy

 

[the snail]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange

I think I'd talk to your employer asap seeing as they own the bike? I think you should allow them the 5 days to sort it, then demand a refund. It seems clear that the bike is faulty, and according to the link above I don't think you're even deemed to have accepted the goods. Your contract is with the shop, it's up to them to sort out the situation, if they have to deal with Cannondale that's nothing to do with you. Why should you wait without bike, while they faff about?

 

[billy1561]

UPDATE: Problem solved!
Ok let me update all the kind cycle chatters who helped me on this thread. I went back to my LBS this morning for a proper update (as i have been working since it went in) and i spoke to the owner who seemed puzzled. He called over the mechanic who explained the issue and the owner then tore a strip off the mechanic for not informing him. He asked me if i needed the bike now and although i explained i didn't but was annoyed that after just one ride i was without it he agreed it was not my issue but C/dales. To his credit he immediately asked if there were any more Synapses in stock in the correct size (there are) and told the mechanic to prep one up for collection lunchtime tomorrow straight swop. The only condition he said was he would swop the wheels as they had been out on the road and that was not an issue for me as they are as good as new.
It turns out that when i received a call from the shop last Tuesday it was the Mechanic who called me. When he said that C/dale wanted the bike back for inspection he said it was the crank but today in front of his boss he said C/dale wanted to see the frame in particular relating to the crank and the bike was in a box still waiting to be shipped. Good job i called in or i would still be waiting.

So, once again thanks very much for all the advice of you knowledgable people and although i didn't have to get too shirty with the shop it was good to be forearmed with the information i needed just in case.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

UPDATE: Problem solved!
Ok let me update all the kind cycle chatters who helped me on this thread. I went back to my LBS this morning for a proper update (as i have been working since it went in) and i spoke to the owner who seemed puzzled. He called over the mechanic who explained the issue and the owner then tore a strip off the mechanic for not informing him. He asked me if i needed the bike now and although i explained i didn't but was annoyed that after just one ride i was without it he agreed it was not my issue but C/dales. To his credit he immediately asked if there were any more Synapses in stock in the correct size (there are) and told the mechanic to prep one up for collection lunchtime tomorrow straight swop. The only condition he said was he would swop the wheels as they had been out on the road and that was not an issue for me as they are as good as new.
It turns out that when i received a call from the shop last Tuesday it was the Mechanic who called me. When he said that C/dale wanted the bike back for inspection he said it was the crank but today in front of his boss he said C/dale wanted to see the frame in particular relating to the crank and the bike was in a box still waiting to be shipped. Good job i called in or i would still be waiting.

So, once again thanks very much for all the advice of you knowledgable people and although i didn't have to get too shirty with the shop it was good to be forearmed with the information i needed just in case.

That is great news my friend.

 

[mickle]

Tidy.

 

[E11a]

I'm glad everything's sorted now and thank you for posting. I was looking at Canondales and will bear all this in mind.

I really don't understand why bike shops don't realise how important customer service is, regardless of whether you speak to the owner or mechanic. I'm lucky to have found a fantastic one.

 

[dellzeqq]

It's total bullshit - no one ever sends a bike back to a warranty dept for them to inspect a bottom bracket. Cheapest shipping I know is £16 - one way. Not to mention the time it takes to box it up. A new BB is how much?

A decent distributor (like Ridgeback) would send the rep round if there was any kind of doubt, but, to be honest, your first reply, Mickle, is the key to the whole thing - the LBS should have simply replace the BB on the spot and take it up with Cannondale. In this case it seems that one member of staff let the side down.

 

[Flyer5]

Gawd, I hope they're not arsey. I popped into my LBS in Stockton (Skinnergate Cycles btw) for a pair of bar ends and the lad in there was great, attentive and helpful, happy to discuss the pros and cons of the various designs even over a small purchase such as bar ends. I've popped in there a couple of times and they do seem pretty customer friendly.

Hope you manage to get this sorted. I don't think a loan bike while yours gets sorted out is an unreasonable request.

Not wanting to hijack the thread here - we just got new bikes from Skinnergate and so far they have been great - Stan knows his stuff!

great store!

And - having worked in retail for the last 30 years or so, if i was you, demand your money back, its your right, then decide what you want to do. Do you really want to deal with a shop that doesnt instantly offer you a replacement or refund after 1 day? I wouldn't.