Awful customer service. I wonder if their recent failure to pay invoices on time is related.
As an aside I had a Cervelo frame crack at the top of the seat tube, they fell overthemselves to help me and replaced the frame with one worth twice the amount and rebuilt the bike inside a week. None of this rubbish.
Martin>Im now talking to Giant CS direct
That's Giant joining Mondraker on my list of brands to avoid now.
My giant ebike had water ingress after 4 months. (don't buy a giant ebike, they are terrible)
I'd done what every other giant ebike owner does and covered the outside of the wiring loom in dialectric grease and had dried the bike out by the rad for a few days. Still didn't work so took it in.
Dealer told me under no circumstances to touch anything at all or add anything until the warranty is out because giant are so fussy and will try and worm out of a warranty claim.
I'll never buy a giant again.
Wow, that really is awful. I bought a Commencal ebike off their website and they've been really helpful with any issues and are happy for me to strip bits down and send them back. Genesis/Saracen and Trek have also been really good in the past.
I'm confused.
(a) 4 years ago you bought a bike from an authorised Giant dealer.
(b) You recently discovered a crack.
(c) You contacted another (local?) Giant dealer about handling your warranty work
(d) You stripped the bike down and sent them the frame only.
(e) They've had a dialogue with Giant and the warranty claim has been refused.
Did you contact Giant after (b) and did they say to take it to your local dealer?
Did you contact the local dealer before sending it in and did they specify bike or frame?
As some have said, dealing with the retailer you purchased it from might have resulted a different outcome. However, it's also possible that the original retailer is no longer a Giant dealer or even still in business.
stripping a bike down is not "servicing" it.
just claim it hasn't been serviced, unless the warranty requires that it needs to be? otherwise start sale of goods act on the supplying dealer but you won't get your full money back
Does say in their warranty terms:
'Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer'
'Modifications from the original condition'
Legally I guess they are within their right.
I used to have a Giant that I serviced myself and never would have thought to look for this. Very much a dick move. At the same time I guess they suffer many special customers attempting to over tighten everything on a carbon frame, the majority of which are not Cytech qualified.
Def crossed off my future purchase list. It's laughable to think a brand can get out of a warranty on the back of a customer changing a saddle or bars.
Basically why I ride Santa Cruz. There should be a warranty comparison table on this site but I guess a good chunk of advertiser revenue would dry up as a result.
I found the crack, contacted giant about sending them photos to see if they thought it was a crack or lacquer peel, its around a weld. They said we cant comment on photos, take it to a giant dealer who will process the warranty. I contacted the nearest shop, they said there is a labour charge to strip and rebuild the bike, admin fee and postage fee to return the frame. I said I will strip and return just the frame to save the labour cost. They didnt reply, so I did just that.
‘Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer’
If you service it yourself you aren't a non-authorised Giant dealer, are you? You're not a Giant dealer at all 🙂
Legally I guess they are within their right.
Not sure about that. You cannot put unreasonable stuff in a contract in the UK, AFAIK. If you do it is un-enforceable. I feel there should be some consumer legislation about this somewhere. They did this with cars, they stopped them invalidating the warranty if a different garage serviced it. I think now the onus is on the manufacturer to prove that incorrect servicing caused the problem.
How large/tall do you have to be to qualify as a 'Giant' dealer...? 🙃
I bought a Giant specifically for the lifetime warranty on the frame.
Warranty is on the frame, over 4 years many parts could've got worn out and replaced - their policy is this is only to be performed by a Giant retailer?! They are a Giant con then.
I had a Rocky Mountain with a problem with the linkages, I stripped it becuase I had to post it back. When it turned up the shop (Tredz) found a (maybe) crack by the BB and got me a new frame from RM.
Giant are a big enough company to sort this. Don't give up until you get a new frame.
Giant are a big enough company to sort this.
A big company who also seem to be struggling to pay their suppliers.
Perhaps word has come down from on high to reject any and all claims they can possibly wriggle out of.
I contacted the nearest shop, they said there is a labour charge to strip and rebuild the bike, admin fee and postage fee to return the frame. I said I will strip and return just the frame to save the labour cost. They didnt reply, so I did just that.
Did they mention how they'd refund that if a warranty claim was upheld?
Nope.
"We will need proof of purchase, there would be labour charges to pay and and admin/postage costs"
After this I popped into the shop as I was passing to as via email I asked when I could bring it in and they didnt reply. I happened to be passing and went in, again I said the above and I said I would strip it to save the labour, at no point did they say it invalidates the warranty.
'Modifications from the original condition.'
You'll be aware that most bikes come without pedals, or cheap crappy plastic ones.
The fork steerer tube is often cut down by the dealer or new owner.
So, when you add your own pedals, or have the steerer tube cut, are you voiding the warranty?
Further to above I also had a conversation regarding what they would do as the Trance is now fully 29" would they replace the frame and say whistle, replace frame, forks, wheels? He said they might have a NOS 650b frame in, and wouldnt know what they would do. Again no mention of not stripping it down.
Did they mention how they’d refund that if a warranty claim was upheld?
Labour is chargeable for warranty work
Nothing to add other than to agree with several others that they're most definitely on the list of bikes I will not be purchasing.
I stripes and orange segment frame to sell and found a crack when cleaning it.
Orange sorted it out for me and were great to deal with
Good luck getting sorted
I bought a carbon Anthem frame from a small Giant dealer (!) a good few years back, some years later the bottom bracket junction came away from the rest of the frame.
Dealer said yup, that's crap, strip it and we will send it back (lifetime warranty don't you know). After some time Giant sent a ridiculous letter back making much of irrelevant details (ooh, a bike with signs of use - whatever next).
Accused me of hucking it off something big, which I don't recall doing, as the v lightweight wheels, carbon bars, world cup SIDs etc would have given up the ghost too.
Needless to say won't buy another Giant. More recently Whyte were fabulous regards a broken rim despite the original dealer being bloody useless on every front, so good manufacturers are out there. I love the idea of a "shit or shiny reputation?" list for manufacturers, importers, dealers, but agree the advertising revenue would dry up!
I sent my Orange P7 back to Orange through Winstanleys for a warranty respray.
Stripped it myself and dropped it off at Winstanleys and they dealt with the warranty with no problems.
‘Modifications from the original condition.’
You’ll be aware that most bikes come without pedals, or cheap crappy plastic ones.
The fork steerer tube is often cut down by the dealer or new owner.So, when you add your own pedals, or have the steerer tube cut, are you voiding the warranty?
its a reasonable clause to have, as long as its applied appropriately. If someone whacks a set of boxxers on a giant anthem, which then has its headtube ripped off, its fair to refuse a claim. If someone puts different pedals on, obviously not.
not to hijack this thread my giant ebike has been faulty most of the last year of its warranty dealer kept handing me it back saying should be fixed now till the warranty ran out giant now want nothing to do with it so have started proceedings
good luck getting it sorted
Section 75 claim?
Did you document i.e. photograph the damage before dismantling the bike? Surely the issue is that there was a fault with the frame prior to dismantling.
Maybe just cause a stink on social media till you get your warranty inspection.
Cheeky of the dealer not to tell you that disassembly would void the warranty, even cheekier to bill for a warranty disassembly/inspection, should get billed back to the manufacturer (assuming fault is found with the frame).
Its too old to have a decent chance under consumer legislation imo
Warranty you are at the mercy of the manufacturer
I’d have assumed Giant would be decent as a big brand, part of why you pay for a big name.
Or don’t in future, as with others in this thread. How off putting.
I second the suggestion above to ask someone from the mag to try get a comment out Giant…
If Giant want a dealer to check out THE BIKE rather than just the frame, that seems fair. They have no idea what condition it was is in, if unsuitable replacement parts had been used, etc.
Oh, one last point… an email sent doesn’t mean that an email was read but not replied to. If the dealer has said, “yeah strip it down yourself and we’ll send it on to Giant”, and then gone back in that, I can see the issue. But just sending someone an email telling them what you intended to do, and then cracking on with that course of action without confirmation that was okay with them… I’m afraid that’s on you. Lack of response to an email (could be lost, could be blocked by spam filters, could have been missed) can not be taken as confirmation and agreement to the contents of the email.
Yip Giant of my list since they denied a warranty on a cracked linkage. Original Giant dealer didn't really fight for me and my local Giant dealer couldn't be arsed to deal with it.
"Assembled by an authorised dealer, which it was and.The above warranty, or any implied warranty, does not cover:
Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer."
That breaks consumer law in the UK (Well, until this Gov strips all those things away to protect Big Business and their mates from nasty EU-derived directives).
Remember about 10 years ago when finally car manufacturers were forced to accept that servicing doesn't have to be done my the main dealer to keep a car in warranty. This is exactly the same thing.
Now... where did it crack ? And do you have evidence (photos) that it was cracked before you took it apart ? Hope you do.
Did it crack at a part of the frame where dis-assembly could reasonably have caused the crack (eg head tube if you'd battered the headset cup out with a lump hammer, or BB if its a creak fit and youd not supported the frame shell in the right place when pressing out, etc).
If you've got the evidence and a case to show your 'workmanship' didn't cause it, I'd (a) tell them you're off to Trading Standards, (b) lots of negative shiite their way of faceache, instabollox, etc st every opportunity to shame them (make the bad press cost more to them than the repair), (c) tell them you're off to the small claims court with it, and (d) use the small claims court. That's on the bike shop as they sold the bike with a warranty- don't let them slope their shoulders in saying its the manufacturer who aren't honouring the claim - its the shop's problem.
LBS whinge that they are having a hard time. But they don't help themselves when they don't back up their customer and side with the manufacturer.
Leisure Lakes ****ed me over in conjunction with Specialized for a £90 cracked rear chain stay years ago (which was a fatigue crack in an unmarked area, defo a manufacturer fault) - and as a result, NEVER AGAIN - they have lost thousands (maybe 10k) of sales since. I refuse to give them a penny again.
LBS whinge that they are having a hard time. But they don’t help themselves when they don’t back up their customer and side with the manufacturer.
In this case the shop involved isn't the one that sold him the bike. I've no idea what agreement/contract is currently in place between Giant and their dealers. It's quite possible that the only payment the dealer receives is for the strip-down (and possible rebuild).
It seems that the OP has hit this problem because he, for quite honest reasons, stripped the bike down. However, it's already been mentioned that a dealer/manufacturer would like to see more context than just a bare frame. Indeed, that might be part of the manufacturer/dealer agreement.
It’s quite possible that the only payment the dealer receives is for the strip-down (and possible rebuild).
Most provide nothing at all
To balance thing's out a little ,I had to process a warranty claim on a 2018 trance .
I contacted my local giant dealer which since moving area wasn't the supplying shop.
I arranged to take the bike in and the shop looked at it and verified that's a crack we will contact giant for you .
They and I took several photographs .
3 working days later they said giant want to see the frame ,I asked them do you want me to strip it ,they replied if you could that would be brilliant.
I stripped it dropped it off and 2 weeks later was delivered a brand new 2022 trance x frame .
Now knowing bike shops can't survive on biscuits alone I did then purchase several items from them to transfer the build .
My experience was exceptional so its a pity your not having as much look .
But having read through the bumf we look to be still missing a few details ,who said that the warranty was void the dealer or giant .this is important as if it was giant was this communicated directly through the dealer .
I say this as I had an issue with a specialized and leisure lakes said its not warranty and point blank refused to process it sating a rock strike had caused the crack ,I contacted specialized directly and wassent a new frame and would never trust leisure lakes Bury again .
So I have photos of the crack, the serial number and the fully built bike at the exact moment I found it.
https://imgur.com/a/x2ml7pm I sent them that and the serial photo, crack and the receipt.
Cracked seat to top tube weld. No way me taking it apart did anything
It’s basically stock
@markhamhill
If the fault was declared before the warranty ran out, it's still a valid claim if they didn't manage to fix it by the time the warranty run out
Absolutely ridiculous
Giant bikes are good value but their after sale service isn’t a patch on others. I snapped a stay on a 2 year old bike and there was no crash replacement scheme or anything. It was my own fault it snapped as I crashed but even still not great for the consumer
Contrast that with specialized. I had a 6 year old sworks frame I bought second hand that developed loads of little fractures in the seat stays. Spesh offered to replace it free of charge if I could provide the original purchase receipt (I couldn’t but that’s not the point)
Guess what brand I bought to replace the giant..
Also..I have previously bought a giant frame and built it up myself. Am I not covered by a warranty?
I cracked the seat tube on. Ridgeback commuter I had.
Not only was it accepted as a warranty claim without question but when they couldn't source a replacement frame they just gave me a new bike. The new version of the one that broke.
I can't belive we have reached page 3 on this thread before asking...
is it a crack.....or a sticker......
I had excellent service from Wiggle over a cracked weld.
I emailed photos but they didn't have a similar bike in stock because of its age. They gave me a full refund once I'd photographed an hour of extreme prejudice with my hacksaw (frame, wheels, 'bars, the lot). No messing about with boxes and returns
No inspection, no concerns about the parts that I'd DIY'd (chain, tyres, etc)
Needless to say I'd no concerns about putting the refund into another Vitus
My 2014 mondraker foxy broke on the NDS chainstay. It was a known fault so they replaced it (in warranty) the replacement chainstay snapped again (out of warranty) and they gave me a new frameset (a 2014 front triangle and 2017 rear triangle, a different colour though) .
OP, that seems crap service from giant.
I made a post on this forum asking how i might repair something on a 4 year old Ibis frame id just purchased second hand.
Somebody from Ibis saw that post and DM'd me before offering a no fault replacement for the damaged part. Outstanding.
Hope you get a result op.. it doesn't sound like you have been treated fairly imo.
I'd certainly have thought that invalidating a frame warranty because a Cytech qualified mechanic has swapped out an ancillary part such as a saddle, bars, pedals, etc. would be hard to justify, bordering on unfair contract terms. Something directly on the frame like a BB, headset, there might be a discussion but even then, surely Cytech should mean competent.
Dealers dont send full bikes back for warranty just the offending component. Bit different with a car..
dealers don’t send cars back either. They take the broken bit off, fit a new one and then talk to the manuf about the claim - often sending them back the faulty part. If the claim is not granted you pay for the whole job. Annecdotally claims submitted by main dealers may be more likely to succeed than local places - but that may be as much about knowing the right paperwork/words/story/system.
in the lease commercial vehicle servicing world the mechanics are incentivised to find and claim everything possible; it could be the opposite in the domestic world - if the punter will pay more per hour for the work (+ margin in the part) than manuf.
I would have assumed that the disassembly charge was only payable (or not refundable) if the warranty claim was refused. My expectation would be that giant pay the dealer for removing and refitting all the components if it’s a valid claim. Of course that gives giant more incentive to refuse a claim.
