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It looks to me like their business model is based on the bikes not coming back.
She didnt get the bike until end of april so she got charged the same for 4 months.
It would have been bttter value if she used it more but I reckon 250 miles, I dont recall the chips so they must have been tiny.
Im as confused as Njee, she cant afford to buy a bike but she can afford to "rent" a bike, by effectively buying the bike paying fully up front for it on the basis they will buy it back at a guaranteed price subject to conditions?
Agree with others that scratched STIs would affect resale significantly, they are horrendously expensive parts, and for stuff like bottle cage bolts theyll be including a nominal labour charge. My LBS charges a couple of quid to take a wheel off a bike 😯
I assume she wasnt given a breakdown of potential costs prior to the deal?
It would have been bttter value if she used it more but I reckon 250 miles
She had the bike 4 months. The fact she only chose to ride it 250 miles (as training? Really?) is down to her.
[quote=scotroutes ] I guess they must sell the old ones one, in which case it would be interesting to see what they go for.
http://www.triuk.com/products/giant/giant-ex-hire-2013-defy-4-2013#.Ui3S98Z958E
£450
no, no fixed price menu as such for faults found so leaves them open to do what they like
Scott, it seems their returned suitable condition is as new as when it was delivered which is unrealistic in my view.
he didnt get the bike until end of april so she got charged the same for 4 months.
!relevant
so it only costs them £25 to rent the bike for the 7 months and thats assuming they pay list price for the bike in the first place.
It's worth checking with Tri UK that they're looking at the right bike too, when I dealt with them, they were quite disorganised, they might have got them mixed up.
I would be asking what the charges are for
They have already told you, in an itemised list ?
and then if the repairs are going to be made.
Nothing to do with you really, its their bike not yours 🙂
Its the same bike as she knows it didnt go back with the bottle cage bolts and the tape was torn before she got it.
Have emailed them to ask to comprimise on the chips and the tape as that is wear and tear as far as im concerned.
Scott, it seems their returned suitable condition is as new as when it was delivered which is unrealistic in my view
depends on how you use and look after stuff. My 9 month old road bike has [i]substantially[/i] more than 250 miles on it and it is unmarked- if I cleaned the bar tape and rim brake tracks I could pass it off as brand new.
the tape was torn before she got it.
isnt documenting existing damage when hiring something standard practice? Couple of smart phone pics when she received the bike and saved or emailed to company? Not smart-arsed hindsight, more common sense?
Really? tyres dont look worn, chain not stretched.
Seems like a good deal to me.
It's all about the terms and conditions. You cannot create a business based around the worse case costs for everyone so you need to be clear about labour rates and part rates for fixing stuff as well as examples of normal wear and tear.
My experience is though that even if you do all this there is a culture in the UK of not taking responsibility for paying for broken stuff. I have no idea where this culture comes from, but it's like thinking it was the bikes fault that it got scratched.
Other than the paint chips it doesn't seem unreasonable to me, the prices are more than I'd get charged at my LBS but that's a different situation. If the shifters are scratched then that does kinda imply its not been that well looked after and they aren't cheap bits of kit to replace.
Wear and tear on a road bike hired through the summer is tyre wear, brake blocks and chain/cassette at a push imo. And 250 miles in 4 months? I've done not far off that in 3 weeks and I'm not getting out that much at the moment.
Really? tyres dont look worn, chain not stretched.
yes the tyres have obviously been used, no the chain isnt stretched, nor do the sprockets/rings look used when theyre cleaned up. And my shifters go no where near a wall or anything that could scratch them - if I lean it against a wall its by rear tyre and inside pedal at 3/9 o'clock.
Still not explained how your friend can pay for a bike up front but not buy it? And are you accepting she's damaged the shifters (which I'd charge replacement cost for which would be the 90 quid in one hit)? And she really only used it for 250 miles in 4 months after paying so much for it to train for triathlons?
I think the charges are reasonable, your friend has been naive, and she hasn't looked after something she's hired. Harsh, but playing devils advocate to the pitchforks and bombers response on the first page.
It does read a little that your eagerness to avoid that your friend isn't being screwed metaphorically by them is so that she can literally by you.
Seems a bit 50/50 if looked at from both sides. I would err on the side of Tri-Uk though.
From the point of view of the customer:
I'm not sure how they quantify the cost of the damage. Did she receive a list of repair costs prior to hire? if not I think they should have made it clear that it would cost 15 nicker per chip.
I would have thought "damage charges" should explicitly defined as should "fair wear and tear". These terms are very clear in the rental of a house/ flat for example as lots of people have already mentioned. It is also odd the front and rear wheel have two different charges as one is a "buckle" and the other an "excessive buckle" 😕
From TriUk's point of view:
Other than the paint chips it doesn't seem unreasonable to me, the prices are more than I'd get charged at my LBS but that's a different situation. If the shifters are scratched then that does kinda imply its not been that well looked after and they aren't cheap bits of kit to replace.
Kind of along the lines of the above. If the damage quoted for is actually real then it does not sound well looked after for the mileage and your friend has had a pretty good deal out of it. For 250 miles on a road bike I would expect it to be absolutely spotless.
mrhoppy wins the thread for saying what we're all thinking 😉
If I was buying a second hand road bike from a shop, I'd expect it to come with new bar tape, not old tape with potentially six months and 5000 miles of someone else's sweat soaked in to it.
Shouldn't any shop budget for new tape in the hire price ?
I think the OP is at the point of haggling over the price being charged for the wheel buckles and bar tape rip really. The paint chips and shifter damage, if present, sounds cheap.
the bar tape was torn upon receipt although she never reported it.
Why not? I bet she regrets her slapdash attitude now.
I suspect she does, she didnt think it was a big deal and that she would be charged for the tape at a later date. Still live and learn I guess.
Ive suggested asking to dropp the charge for the paintwork as it looks minimal now ive seen photos and the tape as a comprimise.
Regarding affording a bike in the first place,I stopped trying to see logic in girls financial decsions a long time ago.
Thanks for all your posts!
Oh - I've just been putting my road bike away after yesterday ride. I had a good, honest look at it and can promise there are no chips in the paintwork - and that's after several [i]thousand[/i] miles.
All smells a bit fishy to me now i read the other posts. Barely used but managed to sustain 2 buckled wheels, chips in the frame and scratched brakes. Like i Said before, had one of my bikes for 10 years and after thousands of miles I don't have that damage.
frepster are you by any chance trying to get your groove on with this friend? 😉
I reckon she's been very daft hiring a bike when she COULD have bought one and sold it herself at the end of the race season, plus not checking the bike's condition upon delivery, plus allowing you to be her dogsbody (ah hang on, that's a smart thing to do!) chasing all of this stuff up.
If you were training, it would be 250 miles a week...
Doing 15 miles a week for four months !
That's not training, that's going to get some milk 🙂
Would have been cheaper to do that sort of mileage in a taxi I reckon.
In fuel terms, she's getting about 8 Mpg 😀
Would rentacar do that?Ive suggested asking to dropp the charge for the paintwork
[quote=nealglover ]Doing 15 miles a week for four months !
Don't forget to subtract the "event" mileage from that.
Probably about 6 mpg then.
Can you share the photos you've received of the damage? Then we can all stop speculating and get the pitchforks ready.