CRC returns, anyone had things rejected?

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CRC returns, anyone had things rejected?

29 posts & 16 voices | Started 4 months ago by weeksy | Latest reply from cynic-al

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weeksy - Member

SO i bought a pair of Sun Ringle 29er rims which arrived today. On their website they're described as
follows, Sun Ringle Wheels Factory MTB Black Flag Pro Wheelset - 29" 2011 Pair F&R - Black

However, the rims are black and the hubs are gold. Whilst they look great they're not exactly what i thought.

Anyway.. i digress. The main issue is the lack of abilty to fit my Bonty Mud X rubber to them. They're quite simply
almost impossible to get on there. SO SO tight... tighter than i'd be happy doing on the side of a trail in the
frost and snow anyway. Just as hard to get them off as you can imagine.

LAstly, the weight of the item is 200g heavier than stated, whilst this is normal i guess with weights
in this instance it puts them a lot closer to the weight of my current wheels to make them REALLY a great buy

So based upon the 3 reasons above i'm planning on returning them to CRC for a refund.. but worry about the following
"If you're not completely satisfied with an item you may return it within 12 months of purchase, and as long as the item isn't fitted
or used we're happy to receive it back for a refund."

Techincally speaking i've 'fitted' some rubber to them, but not actually put either in the bike.
They both look brand new still of course, but i'm worried they'll be percieved as 'used' if there's
a tiny mark or something i've not seen.

On top of that "NOTE: Please do not tape up or attach labels direct to the retail packaging, please wrap the item first"

Do they mean the outside of the box ? surely i need to attach a returns address to it etc.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Posted 4 months ago #
Rusty Mac - Member

By retial packaging they mean the manufacturers packaging not a CRC wheel box.

For example from CRC i just bought some endura liner shorts that were packaged in an endura box and shipped in a jiffy bag. The retail packing would be the endura box.

Posted 4 months ago #
allmountainventure - Member

Never had anything rejected but the only things Ive ever sent back had been wrongly shipped in the first place.

They mean if the item came in an individual product packet (e.g GoPro or shimano branded box) inside the main CRC cardboard box don't stick anything to it so they can still sell it.

EDIT: Im too slow.

Posted 4 months ago #
float - Member

someone else might take them off you as theyve gone up a fair chunk on crc now.

if you do send them back i wouldnt worry too much though if theyre in 'as new' condition

Posted 4 months ago #
Surrounded By Zulus - Member

The pcture on their site shows a gold hub.

Posted 4 months ago #
Taff - Member

Hi there, their picture is with the gold hub. The black ones are just a black rim with gold nipples and hub and the gold version was black nipples and hub. I think on that grounds if you weren't 100% on them you prob should've just repackaged. If they were mis-desribed then CRC will listen to them. Best bet is to give them a call. They have awesome customer services and providing everything is all clean they will take them back. AT the end of the day all you've done is offer a tyre up, you've not put a cassette on and got it all oily etc.

I've got the 26" versions and Bonty tyres and they are really tight and I thought impossible but got them on. Have you got one side on or is it both sides? Get a sponge with some soap water and appply it the the insde face of the tyre.Then just inch the tyre on a bit at a time. My panaracer went on really easily but think the bonty was justa little tight, soapy water did the trick though.

If you're not 100% though don;t bother, just put the wheels back into the plastic abgs and put it into the CRC box. There's a parcel plus sticker in there with your ivoice so you can take it to a local shop or put the postage label on and take it to the PO. Just cover up all previous postage labels and put your details on there as a sender and then get a recipt of postage.

Posted 4 months ago #
esher shore - Member

would not worry about returns to CRC - they are huge and will absorb any extra costs without fuss

my friend fell off his bike, crashed and snapped the handlebar clamp mounting on the master cylinder (brake lever) of his expensive Avid XX front brake

returned it to CRC, said in a handwritten note "it broke whilst riding along" and had a brand new replacement brake within a week, at no charge

not the first time I have heard about this kind of "return" to CRC

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

Thanks guys, i'm a little less worried now. I have sent them the core of this initial post to get their
feedback too, in advance of booking the courier etc.

I can't use the collect + service as it's 60x30x30cm max for that, so i'll have to use parcelmonkey.

Looking back, yes, i shouldn't have even tried them... but you know how it is, new shiny item, you think
"yeah i can live with that"

I actually got the Bonty on both... but jeeeeeez it was uneblievbly tight. Getting them on the standard Giant
wheels they're 'tight' but on the Sun Ringles, they're just insane.

The box side of things, the box is the Sun Ringle box with their logo and stuff on, but not a lot i can do about that

Posted 4 months ago #
gingerss - Member

The weight discrepancy alone is enough to justify full reimbursement including postage costs. Goods not as described. The fact is crc have a good reputation on this so you should be fine.

Posted 4 months ago #
Northwind - Member

Aye, go with the weight discrepancy as your reason, it'll keep things simple (glad to hear about it incidentally as I was horribly tempted to buy a set and build a 29er! So your misfortune is my gain)

Posted 4 months ago #
esher shore - Member

@ gingerss

^^ you are correct about reputation

I work for a cycle retailer that turns over £100 million+ a year

"reputation" (i.e. goodwill) is often a valid justification for "writing off" the cost of new parts or even replacement complete bikes that have been damaged by misuse or impromper consumer installation, than bothering to argue and having complaints appear on consumer review websites

Posted 4 months ago #
Rusty Mac - Member

Go out and buy a cheap roll of cling film, asda smart price or what ever and wrap the sun ringle box in that then stick the retuns label on to the cling film.

Heaps of stuff is shipped like this on a daily basis so shipping companies won't think twice about it.

Posted 4 months ago #
Bimbler - Member

As long as you haven't borked them trying to get the tyres on then distance selling regulations are your friend.

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

In my defence, Sun Ringle do an all black in this model

http://www.sun-ringle.com/mtb/wheelsets/black-flag-pro/

Posted 4 months ago #
whatnobeer - Member

I bought a set of Easton wheels a few years back for my road bike. Getting ProRace3's on them was a nightmare, but i only got my 1st puncture after about 9 months of use so it wasn't a real problem. Cue about 30 or 40 minutes during that puncture of trying to get the tyre back onto the rim. I asked CRC if they had any knowledge of issues relating to over sized rims or tight tyres and they suggested I had bad technique!

The same email was sent directly to Easton who said there was a problem with slightly over sized rims and they would replace them FOC. A week later and I had new rims which were a whole lot easier to get tyres on to.

So CRC not great but Easton were very helpful.

As for returning them, did the box you got the wheels in not have delivery stickers already on it? Stick you're stickers over the top of them? Or the cling film method would do too. Reckon you should be fine returning them.

Posted 4 months ago #
Taff - Member

I'm sure I saw completely black ones somewhere on CRC too but they might have been the cheaper wheelsets.

I did find that there's no weight saving between these wheels and my old ones. Bike still weighs a ton!

Posted 4 months ago #
muddyfunster - Member

gingerss

The weight discrepancy alone is enough to justify full reimbursement including postage costs.

CRC will more than likely just be quoting the manufacturers stated weight. They could individually weight the 90,000 odd products I suppose.

Posted 4 months ago #
Northwind - Member

What difference do you think that makes?

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

Not strictly true on the weights.

CRC had the 29er wheelset at 1560gr.

Looking now, Sun Ringle have it at just over 1750gr.

It's actually closer to 1900 according to my scales.. which could be incorrect i admit.. but it's deffo not that far out.

Posted 4 months ago #
gingerss - Member

They have 3 options:

1) weigh every product
2) take the manufacturers or distributors word and accept the risk
3) fob off customers and breach the distance selling regulations

I imagine they take option 2.

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

Price adjustment

Unfortunately the area you've specified for collection/delivery is recognised as a remote area. Therefore we must re-quote you:

Old price: 5.85

New price: 35.04

Sodding hell. LOL. Parcel Force is £20 inc VAT...

Not sure CRC will refund me the postage... need to speak to them Monday i think.

Posted 4 months ago #
Northwind - Member

CRC have always used a common sense approach for return postage with me- if it's my fault, I pay, if it's theirs they pay.

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

Had some email convos with CRC today and i'm returning the wheels on Monday.. as to who ends up covering the £20 postage.. still not sure... LOL. Lets get the £250 back first and then we'll worry about the last £20.

Good comms and service from CRC as usual.

Posted 4 months ago #
andrewh - Member

IME CRC are a real pain for returns, so much so that I will never buy anything from them again. And my (long and convoluted) experiance was with something which didn't work. Good luck returning something that does!
Check distance selling regs...

Posted 4 months ago #
project - Member

Another online bike retailer, i got a pair of sunglasses off, i broke them, so rang them up to order a new pair, just happened to mention to the chap that they where good ones for the price,and that i had sat on them, he said thats a warranty problem and sent me a new pair free,he didnt even want the old ones back, in two pieces.

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

All good. CRC processed the item and gave me a full refund. As usual (for me) excellent service from CRC.

Posted 4 months ago #
mrjmt - Member

Just noticed this...

Were the rims stans no tubes compatible? if they were then they are tight to get tyres on, the stans site explains the trick to it, you need to have the tyre in the central void to be able to get it on all the way round. I swapped my Racing Ralphs from my fulcrum red metals, which they were very very tight on over onto my sun ringle chargers, I dont think I would have got them on without sitting the bead in the central void.

Bit late now though!

Posted 4 months ago #
weeksy - Member

Yes to all the above mate.

THere may well have been a trick... but even the Maxxis Aspens (whihc i got on and off the Giant wheels without any tools this morning) were a nightmare to get on and off the Suns.

Posted 4 months ago #
cynic-al - Member

esher shore - Member
@ gingerss

^^ you are correct about reputation

I work for a cycle retailer that turns over £100 million+ a year

"reputation" (i.e. goodwill) is often a valid justification for "writing off" the cost of new parts or even replacement complete bikes that have been damaged by misuse or impromper consumer installation, than bothering to argue and having complaints appear on consumer review websites

Not Dave Hinde then

Posted 4 months ago #

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