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^^^^
That's good to know.... and thanks for putting me right about Administration versus Receivership... fair point.
Just all those who ordered get a satisfactory outcome.
To be clear about section 75, it makes the credit [card usually] issuer "jointly and severally liable" that is to say they are responsible for fulfilling the contract one way or another if the retailer doesn't.
It is not a right to get your money back from the retailer. It is not a way of getting your money back from the retailer.
As such the status of the retailer makes no difference, you're holding eg visa liable for completing the contract when the retailer fails to do so.
If it qualified for s75 in the first instance your "concern" is eg visa going bust a well as the retailer.
There are posts on the EMTB forum saying deliveries of ebikes are being cancelled.
Every cloud has a silver lining then🤩..
ebikes are being cancelled
I was going to buy several items from CRC, none of which are >£100 so not covered by section 75. If they don't turn up because crc\wiggle are properly gone pop, will a chargeback work?
I found out today that their returns system has been broken, by removing all but "Christmas Island" from the countries pull-down, so it is not possible to return anything.
I was going to buy several items from CRC, none of which are >£100 so not covered by section 75. If they don’t turn up because crc\wiggle are properly gone pop, will a chargeback work?
In theory no.
In practice the CC companies often don't differentiate between a transaction value and and item value but, and it's a big but, what they do whilst a company is trading (and they cab just deduct the value, +££££ in admin at the next settlement) and what they do when a company isn't trading and it's their money are not the same thing.
I found out today that their returns system has been broken, by removing all but “Christmas Island” from the countries pull-down, so it is not possible to return anything.
Covered a page or two back, maybe even on this one. They know and area "fixing" it, what that means of course it's anyone's guess.
Gah, have a voucher to use (only £20) was going to put it towards some shoes.
Don't want it to go to waste, but also don't want to have to return them if they don't fit and the returns system is broken
Gah, have a voucher to use (only £20) was going to put it towards some shoes.
I'd use it for something else, brake pads or what ever that will definitely come on at some point.
In any event I'd get it used pronto.
Just remember to check your address when you do.
Just remember to check your address when you do
😁
Cheers
Placed an order for a cassette
Returns portal is back and semi functional.... but no option for a UK address that I could see
Just had a Wiggle order arrive today, all seems to be up and running fine....
Yep, had a Wiggle delivery today and another due to tomorrow. If anything delivery speed is slightly better for standard delivery.
I've been on the chat with them today.
Returns in process should (per their team member) still be getting dealt with but I was quoted 5days to process on arrival. Mine is in limbo with the courier at the moment, which doesn't help.
Luckily it's only a £35 helmet that didn't fit.
One of the potentially overlooked reasons for their demise is the fact bricks and mortar bike shops have got considerably better in terms of the brands and stock they carry.
My historic gripe with most bike shops was that they didn't cater to my type of cycling. Absolutely fine if you wanted to wear Altura or Endura kit or needed mudguards for a commuter bike. I remember trying to find a ful face helmet in Glasgow 8-9 years ago and tried half a dozen shops. Every one looked at me like I was mad when I asked if they had any in stock.
Nowadays it's easy to find a shop that I can walk into and buy the clothing or parts that I need there and then without having to wait a week while they order it from a distributor. They actually stock brands like Fox, Troy Lee etc. Since that change happened I've definitely spent less at CRC
I was about to buy a brake but the price has jumped from £137 to £160, serves me right for stalling.
Had a delivery dispatched followed by a 'Can't find your address' from Evri.. checked the details and they only had street and postcode. Assume this is what everyone alluding to with address issues.
Luckily you can select 'deliver to neighbors' and select your own full address.
Very fast delivery though.
One of the potentially overlooked reasons for their demise is the fact bricks and mortar bike shops have got considerably better in terms of the brands and stock they carry.
I'm very jealous of that position, the Glasgow area is still crap. Nearest decent shop (and it is pretty good tbf) is Sprockets in Kilmarnock
the Glasgow area is still crap
Agreed on that. I think the Alpine in Tiso is slightly better these days but I'm far quicker going to Sprockets and they carry a fantastic range
Yeah Alpine has definitely stepped up their game. A more limited selection than Sprockets, but what they do have always seems to be good. With the exception of 1 person (young but with some solid old school sexism) the staff always seem really good too. . . and the cafe does good cake
Bike delivered today, 2 days late but in the right county so that's fine by me.
I just got one of these delivered today for Mat-ette, ordered last Tuesday night, delivered by Parcelforce.
Road.cc reporting they have filed for insolvency in Germany today
https://road.cc/content/news/wiggle-chain-reaction-parent-company-files-insolvency-304817
From a purely selfish point of view I finally got a despatch confirmation today for a Ragley Marley that I ordered for my boy. Not received by Parcelforce yet though, will it make it through before the bankruptcy hammer falls - sweepstake anyone?
I’m very jealous of that position, the Glasgow area is still crap. Nearest decent shop (and it is pretty good tbf) is Sprockets in Kilmarnock
Eh? What about Dales or have I missed something? Alpine aren't what they were, there are decent shops but they went for the workshop angle as CRC could never compete with that.
Sprockets are bloody expensive, their workshop prices were insane last time I looked.
What about Dales or have I missed something?
For clothing and parts it’s not great, never has been. OTOH they do have room to display loads of bikes, which they do well. I find there’s a better selection of MTB stuff over the road at Alpine.
Not sure why you’re bringing workshop prices into the equation though. Hardly something to compare against online retailers.
Sprockets have a list of prices for workshop jobs on their website. Nothing on there looks insane to me. For example £35 to tubeless a pair of wheels looks reasonable considering how many folk post on here struggling to do it.
Seeing alot of people on LinkedIn saying they've been made redundant from CRC/Wiggle and Hotlines today - thoughts with them all
100ish layoffs...
EDIT:
"A spokesperson from the administrators confirmed to Cycling Weekly that, of the 105 people made redundant, 70 were from Wiggle, 28 from Chain Reaction Cycles and seven from distributor Hotlines."
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/wiggle-makes-105-redundancies-after-going-into-administration
Crap as that is they had ?600? staff? 105 isn't as bad as it could have been or indeed may yet turn out to be.
It's not good for those made redundant today but let's hope it's enough to keep the company going and the rest in post.
Crap as that is they had ?600? staff?
Have a think about the scale of the businesses involved. I'm sure they weren't particularly over-staffed.
70 were from Wiggle, 28 from Chain Reaction Cycles and seven from distributor Hotlines.
I'm a little surprised Wiggle and CRC were still separate entities in terms of employment. Had they just merged the warehousing and kept the marketing, CS and other back office functions independent?
Does this suggest that Wiggle was a weaker performer than CRC? I know I always preferred to use CRC.
Probably just indicates that more people work for “wiggle” than “CRC”.
I’m sure they weren’t particularly over-staffed.
I'm sure the administrator disagrees. I'm not privy to any information you're not but to me getting rid of 15% of the staff sounds like "we think we can make this work"
I'd expect them to get rid of most or all of the staff if they didn't think it wasn't "fat" and redeemable.
Otoh, staff are the one commodity most companies can control so it's the first and hardest squeezed. It's why wages are slow to increase whilst work load grows rapidly.
Not good for the staff, especially at this time of year. Lets hope they find something else ASAP.
I would have thought their sales would have dropped since the bad news so the loss of staff is inevitable
It's bad news for the staff affected and I hope they find acceptable alternative employment soon.
I think the job losses are a reflection of the administrators attempting to increase efficiency; if that's right, they're doing what they're supposed to by taking steps to ensure the company can continue trading and avoid being liquidated.
FYI... I ordered a dropper post yesterday, despatch note received today... so, they're still processing orders seemingly...
Wiggle are still processing returns, well they were a few days ago. I returned a pair of Sidi road shoes as I bought two pairs as I was unsure of the sizing. Returned one pair last week and the my credit card was refunded a couple of days ago.
Ordered a new front tyre, a chain and some mucoff on Friday. Arrived Monday. If anything rhey seem quicker than usual. Fingers crossed they’ll refinance and be ok.
I have a question, totally open and unbiased. I just want to understand what people outside the industry think.
lots of people are saying they hope they will survive, but outside of jobs etc and focusing on just the brand/retailer why?
are you nostalgic for the name’s history?
do you hope for continuing low prices?
do you like the own brands?
the service?
other reason?
the second question is if they increase their prices 20-40% would you still buy from them?
Neil SuperstarComponents
Sucks for the people being made redundant. Worst possible time of year for that to happen. I hope they all find something else soon.
lots of people are saying they hope they will survive, but outside of jobs etc and focusing on just the brand/retailer why?
Pricing and accessibility for me. They have (ignoring the new website for a moment) a one-stop shop for just about anything and everything you need, jackets, helmets, parts, spares, shoes, gloves, bikes, etc etc... All in one place, just click, done. Not many of the other retailers have such an easy way of shopping for just about anything.
Like most people i'm price driven, that does without saying. But there's a couple of 'favourite' retailers who i'll use even if the price is a couple of quid more. Biketart and CRC being those two. If a cassette is on a website for £90 and CRC have it for £94, i'd generally pay the £94 so i know it's coming, know it'll be in stock (if it says it is) and know it'll arrive 3 days later.