bought a boardman bike back last year, when i went to get the bike insured last week, one of the first questions was whats the frame number,so checked the paper work from halfords no sign of the number so checked the frame instead, i cant read the frame number ive got most of the numbers but theres at least one or two numbers i cant read due to the numbers not being stamped properly, and now the insurance company are thinking twice about insuring my bike, has anyone had similar problems befor, rang halfords only to be told they dont keep any records of frame numbers, atm im waiting to hear from insurers and senior manager in halfords, has anyone got any idea where i stand on this problem,cheers steve

have the unreadable numbers stamped with letters. no chance of accidentally duplicating another frame and your bike is identifiable if it goes walkies.

Not uncommon tbh, whether from faint stamping or thick paint, lots of frames have illegible frame numbers. You’d hear more about it, except most people never look. The one on my 224 is buried under the powdercoat.

I’d say this is fairly common, the frames are mass produced and I don’t suppose too much time goes I to a quality control check on how well the frame number has been stamped, slop on a coat of paint and it’s even worse. Likewise the record of frame numbers. I suspect their records go as far as how many of each size hit the country.

As said already add your own or even just give the frame number as far as is legible.

Fairly sure it is just the paint is a bit thick. Hardly a balls up.

Perhaps there is scope for some procedural changes but they would probably increase admin costs and result in STWers feeling ripped off, or thinner paint which would lead to STWers moaning about quality.

Who knows.

Not very helpful but this is STW after all!!

have you tried the old kids favourite, remember doing brass rubbings as a kid. I had a frame that i could not read the numbers on but a guick going over a piece of paper with a pencil and job was a good one.

well looks like i will be buying a datatag then, although you would think because its halfords cock up as in they should supply a buyer with a service form because they built the bike and on that form should be the frame number, you would of thought to show good will halfords would just give me a datatag which btw they now sell, but i wont hold my breath, as i just recieved an email from halfords we dont keep frame number records so not our problem, also they said it was not a security issue the frame number is only for the factory and customer reference, try telling the insurance companies that, you gotta love halfords customer service lol

Hang on, loads of people have pointed out that this is a fairly common problem with a lot of manufacturers, and you are still banging on as though Halfords have fitted your forks the wrong way round or something.

Calm down, and go and try the brass rubbing trick suggested above – it may be enough to help you.

and btw if i add my own numbers , whats to stop me thieving a bike putting my numbers on it then insuring it and saying i couldnt read the frame nuber so i put my own numbers on it, if thats the caes whats the point of isurance companies asking you for the frame number in the first place, this is the only bike ive bought where the frame number wasnt recorded on either the reciept or other paper work, after all it ties that bike with you especially in a warranty claim, so according to halfords i could take any ones similar bike in a make a warranty claim, any one got a broken boardman bike? and yes you would think because its only one number you cant read, the other nine numbers would be enough to tie the bike to me for insurance purposes, we shall see the insurance company havnt got back to me yet

I’ve had it on a fairly high end frame, the number was stamped unevenly so one side was fairly deep and the other end illegible. In my case it was also on a sticker on the frame, but I’ve had good results using a camera and experimenting with the flash/macro modes to get part numbers off corroded brake calipers etc on my van. Seem to show up much better when photographed.

well if you stamp numbers over existing numbers then it would be unclear which set was intended to identify the bike. if you filed the originals off then that would show, clearly. you were saying that the numbers were stamped too shallow to show, so putting your own in place shouldn’t cause either of those issues.

sorry. I was trying to offer a potential solution. should have known better!

im not worried about the frame number as such, i couldnt care less, its the fact the insurance company wont insure it, im quite capable of buying a datatag, but i dont see why i should pay £24 to fit that just because i cant read the frame number, the problem will arrise if my bike gets pinched, then i make a claim, and some one from the insurance company says hang on you didnt give us the right frame number, and yes halfords are at fault they have already admited to the fact that they should of filled out a safety and service form because they built the bike up and on that form should of been the frame number, so in my book halfords should at least pay something towards having the bike datataged, wont hold out much hope though, and because this is the first bike i will have insured i will deffinately make sure about the frame numbers next time, btw doesnt make much difference to a thief any way the frame numbers are easily removed and so are numbers that i would put on the bike with a grinder, if it wasnt due to the insurance company thinking about not insuring the bike i wouldnt even be bothered about the frame number

Etch your postcode on another part of the bike and photograph it.
I would also make another unique ‘squiggle’ and photo that too.
Maybe hide them under stickers so that they wont easily be seen by a casual scrote.

Take care with letter stamps and load bearing areas of your bike, coz they can cause fracture points.

(Waits for someone to put up the picture of the dot punch on the seat post and where it snapped)

sorry guys its not me thats unduely worried about the numbers its the fussy insurance company, i supose the way they look at it i could quite easily of nicked the bike if i tell them ive put my own numbers on it, specially when you consider theres no way that halfords can connect me with the bike because they didnt record the frame number on the paper work or reciept, so really that reciept isnt worth the paper is written on, it just proves at some time i bought a boardman bike, best way forward i can see is to buy a datatag and then tell the insurance company the code on the tag, thus connecting the bike to me

Waa waa. I’m too upset to punctuate. Why didn’t you just give them the legible part of the number?

Stolen vehicle squad guys use special chemicals that can raise ground out vin’s from metal work (seen it in practice and its incredible)…not sure where you can get it or if it would damage the frame though.

just had another reply from halfords, they recomend i write the frame number as much as i can read on the original recipt, they say this should be good enough to prove to the insurance company that the bike is tied to me, how many of you guys havnt got the frame number on your reciepts, could be a get out clause for insurance companies if you ask me lol, ive never had so much trouble trying to give a company my money, i was also told to photograph the frame number and bike with me in the photo, bloody hell guys never had this much trouble insuring any of my cars that are worth a damn site more than this bike

steviecapt – Member

how many of you guys havnt got the frame number on your reciepts, could be a get out clause for insurance companies if you ask me

I’ve got all my frame numbers noted down but my insurance have never asked for any of them.

In all the bikes i’ve bought, i don’t think one shop has written down the frame number. I’ve also insured all of them and never been asked for the numbers.

Can you scratch the paint out?

i did give them the legible part of the number, instead of jumping on my back, try telling that to the insurance company, there the ones causing all this bs, after all this bs is is worth insuring my bike in the first place, probably because if i didnt it would probably go walk about next week, i think its all caused because they cant see the bike or frame number if i could of shown them the bike in their office it would of probably been sorted in seconds, thats the price you pay for trying to insure something on line, still hopefully all sorted now we shall see tomoz

well, i had a bike insured and subsequently stolen, didnt have frame number for it and i received full claim back, then again it was only £2000 so not a high end bike by any means. that was with direct line though whose max limit is 2k/bike.

Treks come with a barcode frame number on them plus the frame is stamp.LBS scrans the barcode with a reader straight on the computer and prints it all out on paper easy.

I’ve got seven bikes insured with M&S (three named as they are over £1K) and they haven’t asked for frame numbers, just make and model.

Try another insurer.

well maybe i was unlucky in the insurance company i used it was cycleguard btw, if it wasnt due to them being so fussy about the frame numbers i wouldnt of even bothered posting about it lol, to be honest if your insurance company havnt asked you for the frame numbers how do they know they havnt benn nicked and then insured, how many cars have you insured with out giving you reg number, i cant understand a company that insures something with out the serial number, but then if cycleguard didnt want the frame number i wouldnt have had this problem

My wives wedding ring is insured and I can’t find a serial number on it.

I just keep receipts, I also have frame numbers and photos as a back up.

+1 for M&S only had to use them once (Touch wood) and they have been excellent.

sounds from what you guys are saying that i picked a fussy insurance company, never mind we all live n learn, probably due to me, its the first bike ive bothered to insure, thanx for all the replys guys cheers steve

ok guys update, went to halfords where i bought the bike from they filled out the safety and pre delivery inspection form and put the frame number on it as much as we could read, stamped it, so now the bike is insured, also halfords gave me a voucher for the inconvenience, so its all sorted, although just got another email from halfords customer service saying theres nothing they can do,its a shame about the level of staff competance in halfords as its the only thing that lets them down, but you cant blame the actual staff, its halfords not spending enough money on training their staff, the staff can only work to the guidelines set out by thier innept managers and senior staff

so to summarise;

1) Halfords/Boardman deliver frames in the same way that most manufacturers do with paint filling a previously stamped frame number

2) One insurance company says they need full frame number.

3) Halfords validate a partial frame number and give a voucher.

4) insurance company decide they don’t need a full frame number.

5) Halfords are crap.

?

seems to me it’s not Halfords who’ve made life difficult.

Have you thought of taking them to trading standards under SOG act?

Or finding out why your shift and full stop buttons are not working?

wwaswas, what made the difference with the insurance company was that the frame number was written on the service form supplied by halfords thus registering the frame to me, if halfords had done this in the first place there wouldnt have been a problem, which is why halfords admitted there fault and gave me a voucher, conan257 who gives a shit about punctuation get a life mate, full stop

It makes your posts hard to read, so people are less inclined to help. It matters in life. Elitist cocks like me also judge you.

Being a bike specific insurer you’ve probably paid over the odds – been far better to put your bike on your house insurance. You’d not have had any of this rigmarole then either. Although I agree with most that it’s not Halfords fault in the least!

1) Halfords/Boardman deliver frames in the same way that most manufacturers do with paint filling a previously stamped frame number

2) One insurance company says they need full frame number.

3) Halfords validate a partial frame number and give a voucher.

4) insurance company decide they don’t need a full frame number.

5) Halfords are crap.

?

6) Profit!

I have worked in Halfords in the past and it was never policy to record frame numbers, I have also worked in LBS and again we never kept frame numbers.

You wouldn’t expect Currys to keep serial numbers for all the TV’S they sell would you? Why should a bike retailer be any different

Every bike/frame I’ve bought from my lbs has had the frame number taken & noted down on the receipt. Just good stock control I guess.

I recently bought a bike in Decathlon and they wouldn’t let me leave the store without recording the frame number and my email address. I imagine it is for warranty purposes but it makes sense for all concerned.
This was in Italy so I am not sure if Decathlon have the same procedure in the UK.

My last bikes to have the frame number noted, and only on the receipt were my old steel ones from the 70/80s.
None since.
Poor old Halfords they always get it.
Anyway does aluminium stamp that well?

Anyway anyway always remember ‘pay peanuts, you’ll get monkies’

Anyway anyway anyway, bought last year, insuring it now and getting all self righteous about it. Do the shop floor staff there have access to old records?

it amazes me that certain people on here are so quick to say that it wasnt halfords at fault , when they have already admited it was, and so did the customer services team, although it did take some quick talking from me ,to get them to own up lol, also how would halfords manage if i made a warranty claim when they didnt record the frame number, i could take a friends bike in so long as it was same make and size, and they wouldnt have a clue it wasnt mine,not only would the frame number on the paper work connect the bike to me for the insurance company but it would also cover halfords backside, btw ive checked the last 4 bikes ive bought for me and my family from skenes in cardiff, every bike had the frame number on the booklet and the dealer stamp, deffinately sounds like good business practice to me, if it were my business i would deffinately record all frame numbers, to stop people possibly making a claim with a similar framed bike, when you have a business you do every thing you can to cover yourself against dodgy claims by certain customers, cheers steve fullstop lol. ps when you buy a bike from halfords they are supossed to fill out a service check pre delivery form, and in the top corner is supossed to be the frame number, this is to stop customers making a claim against halfords for the bike not being properly built and checked, didnt work in my case any way, because when i got the bike home, i spent at least an hour putting the bike right, so in my book halfords mechanics and their staff deserve all the bad press they get, like i said earlier you cant blame the staff, they havnt been properly trained, you pay crap money on staff training ,you and up with crap staff, simples FULLSTOP

You buy cheap bike, you get crap service.

FULLSTOP

Finally.