I ordered a Marin Pine Mountain from them , took it out the box , they’d sent a Small when I ordered a Medium . You wouldn’t believe the hoops I’ve had to jump through to sort this out ! They wanted a photo for proof surprise surprise they didn’t have any Medium in stock 🙄 They did offer me a £30 gift card for my inconvenience if I’d keep a bike that’s too small for me ????Smell a rat ? Just a bit . I’ve also had to contact PayPal and cancel the credit myself ? Final straw ? Requested PM collection Thursday as I have a physio appointment 9am they’ve scheduled collection between 9am and 6pm ? Complete shower ! Anybody else had trouble Of late ?

Nope, never had a single issue with them in 15 or more years of pretty continuous purchasing.

😉

Happened to a friend recently with CRC. She ordered a small, they sent a medium. She had to jump through hoops to get them to agree for her to send it back. Pictures etc. An absolute farce.

Yep, stopped using them after 3 completely wrong deliveries in a row (wrong size shorts – 38 vs 32, wrong size shoes and a incorrect rear shock). Worst and final one was the rear shock came in very used condition (scratches, mud, worn bushes) and wrong damping tune. They refused saying they had never stocked the tune they had actually sent (even though it was listed as for sale and available) and that I had swapped their shock for another one, even using the word “liar” in an email. In the end I claimed back on the credit card after they still hadn’t refunded 3 weeks after I sent the shock back.

The website is pretty rubbish for showing items they actually have in stock. Even when filter ‘in stock only’.

I’ve had no issues with service though.

I dunno. They warrantied a dropper for me without me having to send the knackered one back. They just sent a replacement out instead. I did have to send pics of the problem though.

I’m sure with the volume of sales they have they’re bound to mess up occasionally though.

Oh, I forgot about the crankset that was meant to be DUB, but they sent GPX. I needed it urgent so I just swallowed that one.

If these are the grey market bikes that Marin are refusing to warranty it’s probably a lucky escape.

Well I sent some cranks back to them 2 weeks ago, not heard anything from them. Chased today, but had to chase them every stage through the warranty process lately. Complete shadow of its former self that business. But wonderful news for LBS’s who excel on service.

Not as bad as cycle republic certainly. Popped to pick up a click & collect softshell for my wife today and turned out there wasn’t any in stock (despite being told it was ready for collection), but there was one in stock in Livingston. Transferring said stock to that store though was impossible for whatever reason… Though did pick up a very cheap exposure light that they’d ran out of stock of. The mind boggles.

Doesn’t help OP but that’s what LBS are for far less hassle.

Mark90 any more info on CRC marin bikes being grey important and no warranty as was looking at purchasing a full suspension Marin bike from CRC

Complete shadow of its former self that business.

It’s definitely getting hollowed out, I’d agree.

CS is still fairly decent in my recent experience, with benefit of doubt being given on a warranty issue which was genuine but looked a bit dodgy. And turnaround time seems OK.

But they used to be the best in the biz. And you can only do free returns via Asda now.

My two LBSs are also major internet retailers, so I don’t feel I’m robbing them by using CRC a bit still.

Coming back into biking in the last year, CRC used to be the go to place, after the last few experiences i tend to look at merlin and the likes first, the website is turning into a nightmare as well, prices flashing for items that are no longer in stock whilst the items in stock are way more expensive, it’s getting pretty desperate.

I love Merlin (as far as online retailers go) but they don’t offer free returns. My kids bought me a Troy Lee too for Father’s Day, turns out they had hidden a ‘colour’ in the drop down options that was a SRAM branded top…which frankly I would never want. Not sure who actually would pay for a top with SRAM branding. Regardless to return it’s just cost me a fiver! Another tick for LBS…trouble is none of my LBs stock Troy Lee kit. So they have to order it in themselves, at which point it becomes slower and more expensive for me! But at least I wouldn’t of had to pay the postage back

Mark90 any more info on CRC marin bikes being grey important and no warranty as was looking at purchasing a full suspension Marin bike from CRC

https://old.reddit.com/r/MTB/comments/c1341u/marin_bikes_from_chain_reaction/

Wierd, crc getting mullered over service and nice things being said about planet x. Either I’ve entered an alternative universe or Brant is working wonders.

I think when you are making small margins on mass volumes you are bound to be making mistakes. We all accept people make mistakes but it’s how you fix them that sets you apart.

Plus 1 for merlin too

Have you tried emailing the CEO?

This thread has their email…

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/crc-bosses-email-anyone/

(Best thread of 2019)

@MrChrist 😂👍

CRC have been good with me.

Balance bike turned up with no handlebars, I rang and explained it was for my daughter’s birthday and they sent out another bike.

Warranty issues have been dealt with promptly too.

To be fair yo crc you can ask for PM pick up a you like but courier firms do not offer am or PM pick windows for third party collections.

Small companies can work on trust with the customer more than bigger firms can. Crc will get folk trying it in all the time otherwise. That does mess up it for the people that get the wrong thing though.

As it’s been said mistakes happen but it’s the willingness to put it right that the key bit. Given the issues I have with third party collections I normally refund the cost of return shipping and advise on how to book it. It cheaper and the customer has far more control of pickup. Third party collections are a problem and there is no easy fix.

Being ask to keep a bike that’s too small is a bit cheeky though.

Similar thing happend to me recently with Planet X.
Ordered an XL, received bike, seemed ok rode it for 2 weeks then only on giving it its first wash did I notice it was a Large. Got in touch to let them know, not expecting much as i’d already put about 300km on it, but they literally couldn’t do enough to sort it out. Sent out a new bike box (as my kids had destroyed the original) to return it and sent me out a new bike (which Yodel then lost – but thats another story, and again PX couldn’t have been more helpful)

I was sent the wrong sized dropper by CRC just before christmas and it was a right faff to get sorted, they kept insisting on refunding me rather than swapping the item even when I pointed out that id bought it in a sale and it was now £30 more expensive, they eventually agreed to issue me with a voucher code to make up the difference but it took literally weeks to sort out.
Seem to have had bad luck recently, received a damaged wheel from Merlin which was also a pain to sort

I definitely think they’ve lost their way a little. They used to be my go to place as the stock was plentiful and the service was excellent. Any problems and they’d be more than helpful in getting a resolution. Mistakes happen and they’d always deal with them well. Lately things have gotten weird. I recently sent a warranty item back and three weeks down the line I’d heard nothing. Called and was challenged as to whether I’d even sent it. Sent proof of posting including the name of the CRC signatory and was told there was a 14 day delay booking warranty in. Three further weeks had to do it all again as no proper notes passed to CS from warranty and couldn’t trace my item. 9 weeks in they admitted losing it. Finally refunded. A couple of CS were amazing. The rest didn’t seem to care.

That’s the issue I’m having with them indeedfox, sent my sixc cranks weeks ago, heard nothing.  Chased today and they said to check my tracking number.  I said, can’t you please check to see if you have received it.  Their response was ‘check my tracking’ my point to them is, why can’t you tell me if you have received…heard nothing back.  Which suggest there are boxes of broken stuff with them.  Annoyingly I can’t find the bloody post office receipt now.  So I’m probably buggered.

I bought a jacket at Christmas but a popper came off. I was told to return it and they’d send me a new one. It took ages to sort so I emailed them, they said they wouldn’t replace, they would refund and I should order a replacement before they all sold out.

Yes, you guessed it, I now have 2 jackets and no refund. I like the jacket and can’t be bothered to return it so I’ve a spare now 😤

never had a problem until my last order, ordered a 203mm rotor, hope 183-203 caliper adapter & piston seals for a Hope E4 caliper.

they sent the wrong seal kit and one was missing from the pack, instead of an adapter they sent the tool to remove the caliper bore caps!

looking at all the other issues posted above, I’ll be going elsewhere from now on.

Spoke to a rep today who told me they have major IT issues again, said My bike order that has been ‘processing’ for a week may not even be in stock and they will be sending me a cancellation for the order.

Just got home and a van turns up… bike I had ordered on board…..

I did notice that you can sometimes get better prices by picking different currencies. Choose US dollars but UK delivery and get a price that is better than the exchange rate. Odd stuff like that.

Full value of toolbox with cracked lid refunded in vouchers. No request for it’s return.

I’m happy enough as the crack was annoying but it’s still useable.

Never had a single issue with CRC ever in the 20 years of using them (now tempted fate)

To be honest, CRC sells a huge volume of kit; it’s unsurprising that things occasionally go wrong.

I run an ecommerce company and customers often do the most annoying things. My particular favourite is when they return an item but don’t include any details of who sent it or what the issue is/what resolution they want.

I’d be willing to bet that many of the issues with CRC are not as wholly their fault as indicated in threads like this one, or TrustPilot reviews, for example, and I wouldn’t give them too much weight when considering where to buy online.

JP