Hello,

In January i asked my local bike shop if i could pay for my frame weekly as i did not want finance and frame was not going to be available until week 13 of the year.

Now after nearly getting to week 13 the shop has now told me my frames not coming in until week 20

now im kinda want the funds back (£1000) to buy another frame.

but i get the impression the shop wont honor a refund.

where do i stand???

If it was part of the agreement that you’d get your frame in week 13, I would think so.

But the shop haven’t defaulted on the agreement until the end of week 13, so you probably can’t insist on your money back now.

You have legitimate concerns, go speak to them, perhaps you’ll be surprised.

7 Weeks delay is a long time, and it’s not unreasonable to ask for your money back. Did you have any agreement in writing from them? Or did you just had them cash weekly?

thats ok.. im not faulting the shop (to be honest they been really good)
but i want a frame i got everything else just missing the main part… i need to get my riding fix 🙂

Unless you signed some kind of contract, sounds like a word of mouth agreement between you and the shop.
Up to you and them to work it out.

If you’ve not got your frame I would have thought you could get your money back.

If they try and keep your money and you don’t have a frame in return in my view that is technical theft of your money.

You have technically entered a contract to purchase the frame by weekly instalments but is there anything in writing and there are a host of questions over whether this constitutes a credit agreement which probably hasn’t been set up in accordance with the consumer credit act.

Consumer law is very much on your side I think

Cheers

Danny B

no agreement just cash each week etc…

they did say they can get another frame but a yeti or mondraker… im tempted but not 100%

i got white rims blue hubs
white forks 160mm i need a frame i can use these bits one (and look nice)

Word of mouth or not it’s still a contract.

What matters is whether the delivery at weeks 13 was a material part of that contract. I doubt you stated this, though it may have been implied.

I’d basically argue firmly and politely to get your money back – it’s about customer relations for them. If they refuse, threaten CAB, Trading Standards, Small Claims.

Its not unusual for bikes/frames to be delayed.

But, is it the LBS that can’t get the frame or that no one can get the frame?

If its the first, then I’d ask for my cash.

If its the second you’ve two choices, wait or buy a different frame. And if you are buying a different frame then I’d get it from the LBS unless they don’t stock/sell them. Then ask for the cash.

I’m at a bit of a loss as to why you’d hand over cash to a business to basically look after for you – a bank is fine as you’ve protection, but an LBS can go bust and you’d get nothing back. Farepak?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Home_Retail

I’m pretty sure UCTA (unfair contract terms act) would not view a verbal contract between business and consumer as an enforceable one…

But, as stated, it could be immaterial if they have not delivered the frame in 13 weeks as they have breached it in any event.

Cheers

Danny B

i was just told at start it was coming at week 13.. so started paying

then told week 16 said i was unhappy but carried on paying

now been told week 20 and really not happy
been on to giant and no frames are in the county

how long will they keep putting it back?
til the 2014 frames are out i bet

I’m at a bit of a loss as to why you’d hand over cash to a business to basically look after for you – a bank is fine as you’ve protection,

im really bad at saving and would spend the funds else ware this case i could just pay and forget until it arrived.. and could not do finance as shop under a year old

Same thing happened to me years ago when waiting on a 5. LBS got orange to lend me a bike for 6 weeks after I kicked off and told them I was going to buy something different. [BTW i had only paid a chunky deposit ].

hows about a pragmatic approach to the problem. See if the shop will lend you a bike for the 7 weeks , as surely that would be more beneficial than loosing a grand sale?

Ok, so not really the LBS’s fault.

What frame was it?

Giant Reign X (no one has them at all) actually sold out.

but because the frame was ordered before it was sold out so on the shops back list

Its now going to be week 20 …
Next week it might be week 35 …

No offence but why the hell, in this day and age, have you given the shop a grand, even worse without any kind of paperwork ??

That is just ridiculous – sorry but no other word for it .

If you can get it back please drop me a line and get my Nigerian cousin to email you … 😐

i was just told at start it was coming at week 13.. so started paying

then told week 16 said i was unhappy but carried on paying

now been told week 20 …

😀

sorry Bruders don’t mean to make you feel worse, but there is a pattern there!

basically there is a container of frames from Taiwan on a boat somewhere. It may come to the UK it may go somewhere else. (I was looking to get a Trance and the shop told me because Trance was doing well in the UK a shipment bound elsewhere may get diverted to the UK. So presumably the opposite can happen).

It sounds to me though like you have already accepted the move from week 13 to week 16.

Go speak to the shop in person. You say they are OK folks, bike shop owners aren’t villains. (Or more accurately villains don’t run bike shops because other forms of villainy are more profitable!)

The shop probably feel bad about messing you around too, tho likely there is nothing they can do about it.

Don’t accept a substitute unless you want the substitute.

thats ok Mattjq.

The shop has kept me informed from day one been really helpful.. they are willing to order another frame but due to competition they can only get certain frames
i dont mind taking a substitution but would rather get the original frame (but at what cost week 52?)

dannybgoode – Member

I’m pretty sure UCTA (unfair contract terms act) would not view a verbal contract between business and consumer as an enforceable one…

But, as stated, it could be immaterial if they have not delivered the frame in 13 weeks as they have breached it in any event.

Cheers

Danny B

Eh? How can they breach a non-existing contract? How many consumer contracts are in writing?

Well,

The SoG Act does apply to verbal agreements. Ie, if a shop assistant tells you something about a product that, on purchase, turns out not to be true, they’re in breach of contract. The difficulty there, of course, is proving it.

Not saying that this is the same situation, just that verbal agreements can be contractual.

Verbal contracts are enforceable but UCTA is very weighted in favour of the consumer so a number of the provisions apply only to the business and not to the consumer.

Cheers

Danny B

Just be honest with them, they may make you an offer you can’t refuse. If they don’t then get your money back.
If the shop refuses to hand you back YOUR money, then they don’t obviously don’t hold you in the same high regard which you hold them.
You can refuse to take delivery of the bike at week 20, in which case they’d have to refund you anyway.

Yeti FTW! 😀

Hi Joe.

Is that what you have?

Lasty has a good point. Businesses fold all the time sadly. Youd be in a long queue too.

IME once delivery dates start drifting like this you can be left waiting a looooooong time, or forever.

I’d ask for my money back. Once you’ve got it in your own hands you’ll think differently about accepting a second-best substitute frame. You’ll probably find something else you want just as much as the Giant.

A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

In any case you have two agreements with the shop, not one.

One is to buy a specific frame, which is now running late. The other is to pay them money and they will keep it for you. If there is a material slippage in delivery dates for the frame you have exactly the same rights as anybody who ordered it on any other basis.

IME once delivery dates start drifting like this you can be left waiting a looooooong time, or forever.

I’d ask for my money back. Once you’ve got it in your own hands you’ll think differently about accepting a second-best substitute frame. You’ll probably find something else you want just as much as the Giant.

Utterly bonkers giving the shop £1000 in advance, I’m crap at managing my finances but even I can use a bank account for that sort of thing.
Just ask them for the cash back if they can’t supply a suitable alternative, shouldn’t cost them anything (although they wouldn’t have made much interest either). If they don’t agree to hand it back then that’s the time to kick-off.

your right it was bonkers giving money over like that but at the time it was easier for me to do it..

the substitute not too bad i can get a yeti but will cost extra.

am trying to see if a can get a covert through the shop also.

i have emailed giant directly saying whats actually happing (do they actually have frames or are they putting it off until the new 2014 frame come out)

i got a reply saying its looking like a shipping issue but they are going to look into it with more detail

If you’re emailing Giant send them a link to this thread. It might move things on if they see you’re in a bit of a pickle and it could give them a bit of positive publicity.

just to put abit of a scarer on you.

Many small businesses suffer from cash flow problems. Any money coming in helps pay the rent/rates and pay the staff. I doubt they’ll have that in a bank account- it’d be hand to mouth existance. If they had a problem with a bad weeks sales – who’s to say that it could close them? Only the owners knows what the balance sheet shows.

Get your money back now OR an alternative frame. You mention Yeti? **** yeah! I’d have one of those.

Giant are normally pretty helpful, so see what they have to say, you never know.
Go and have a chat with the owner at your LBS tell him you are a bit jittery about being a grand down.

bruders338 – Member

Hi Joe.

Is that what you have?

No, I don’t have a Yeti. 🙁 But if I was in the market for a new full suspension bike, it would definitely be one of the brands on my shortlist.

I just got an On-One Fatty in December 😀 , so another new bike is not in the cards for a long time.

I went to the shop got another update.. Frame been put back til week 21.

Shop boss said to me did I want a refund. But we had a chat and managed to get a deal on a transition covert in yellow..

Anyone had any dealings with one?

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm Covert looks like a quality piece of kit.

Speak to the bike shop , I would be prepared to wait another 7 weeks to get the bike I really wanted but tell them that’s as far as it goes no bike after 20 weeks and you want a refund . As has been said you could see if they will lend you a bike in the interim period . These things happen in the bike business and delivery dates move back sometimes .
Learn from this and don’t make the same mistake again . Put a deposit down of as little as they will accept if you are ever in the same situation again , people tend to chase things a lot more when they are waiting for payment , if the money is in there bank account they tend to be in less of a hurry .

Covert looks really nice. That yellow is REALLY YELLOW!!! 😯