Second Hand Bike Purchase – Seller Wont Refund

Hey people

This person has miss sold a bike to me and completely told lies about its condition and actual functional status.

The swingarm has a crack along the weld and its has been filed or ground out in an attempt to disguise the crack.

The main swingarm pivot axle/bolt is very slack within the frame and so there is a great deal of movement that shouldn’t be there.
He claims to have replaced the frame bearings a month ago but upon inspection ALL the bearings are seized sold and are old.

The photo’s that are shown in the advert show the bike in good condition, but once again there are not representative of its actual condition and does not mention this in the advert.

Even if I were to keep the bike I have been told by the importer that I can NOT buy a new swingarm as I am not the original owner. And thus I can NOT repair this bike at all.

The seller offered my £200 refund which would even cover the replacement swingarm, if I could buy one…

I am now in the process of commencing court proceedings (The Sale of Goods Act 1979) as he will not refund me.

Has anybody been through this?

Thanks

If it is a private sale I doubt you could do anything. eBay? Credit card?

How about a public outing of seller, resulting in kettles being switched on all over the country (Yorkshire) and a stream of calm advice and opinion will wash over the forum.

Through Pinkbike…

IIRC SOGA does not apply to private sales.

HOwever it should live up to his description.

I’d get some advice before going to court.

This is the advert and description. But as mentioned the photos do not at all represent its condition and there is no mention of a crack in a weld.

He also claims that all the bearings were replaced a month ago, but upon close inspection they have never been replaced and all were seized. Also the main swingarm axle is slack in the frame.

Advert [/url]

SOGA does apply to private sales, but not all of it.

Section 13 applies – “provides that where the buyer is sold goods by description, the goods must correspond with this description”

The description states general wear and tear, not cracks and seized bearings when stated they are brand new…

I;ve posted my letter of intent so things are rolling.

How did you pay?

You bought a bike without actually getting up close and personal?

Sorry, I really feel for you considering the amount of cash involved, but I think this may be a tough lesson learnt – I sincerely hope you do manage to get some recompense though.

I paid by bank transfer after some checking etc.

Yeh I have learnt big time here and the worst part is the Lapierre dealers and importer will not sell me a new swingarm because Im not the original owner. Thats put me of that brand for life haha

Thanks for the help, its good to hear from another side

Not withstanding the original question, (which I hope is settled correctly)

Lapierre dealers and importer will not sell me a new swingarm because Im not the original owner.

Why the flip not? Did they give a proper reason?

How about just trying (I know) to get him to purchase (& pay for!) the swing arm?

Sure not ideal, but you’ll save yourself stress and any unrecoverables costs you may incur from the legal avenue?

I’m gobsmacked about the importer’s stance.

Even if I were to keep the bike I have been told by the importer that I can NOT buy a new swingarm as I am not the original owner. And thus I can NOT repair this bike at all.

does anyone know if or why this is so? and what parts of the frame it might apply to?

jockey wheel cage snapped while I was washing the bike

how do you manage that? did he use a half brick instead of a sponge?

Section 13 applies – “provides that where the buyer is sold goods by description, the goods must correspond with this description”

I don’t see anything there that applies to second hand or to private sellers.
The law will look at both side generally in that goods should be described correctly and the buyer must also be a little beware.
A quick Google has pulled this up.

Firstly, remember that the statutory entitlement of quality and fitness for purpose only applies when buying from someone who is ‘acting in the course of a business’ i.e a second-hand car dealer. You do not have any legal recourse as regards quality where you are buying through an individual who is selling an item as a one-off private sale (although they must have legal title and it must be as described in the advert).

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Some stuff on on-line auctions too.[/url]
Go speak with a lawyer as they will have a better idea.
Good luck.

I can see why they (dealers) wouldn’t honour a warranty, but can’t for the life of me see why they wouldn’t sell you a part. I mean, even if you didn’t own the bike at all and wanted the swingarm for an art project, you should still be able to buy one, no?

Unless you’re prepared to write the sale off, only ever pay on collection.

A lead for you to follow maybe?[/url]

A lead for you to follow maybe?

Nice work!

Advert date is 19th Nov 2012, but the photos in the advert are showing as been taken on 23rd October 2011, according to the sidebar on the picture page.

This is part of the response and I have further from Hotlines.

From: We Love Mountains [mailto:info@welovemountains.com]
Sent: 23 November 2012 12:57

[This is just there policy and by selling a new part to a secondhand bike creates a new warranted part on an old
bike which becomes hard to police and there priority is to serving their customers.
]

Thats a very good lead indeed, many thanks and good find

No worries – to be honest, it came up on the first page of a Google search for Lapierre swingarm 8)

I can have a word if you want to forward on the details? We’ve had things go wrong before but the warranty guy’s a good lad. He always does what he can.

pete AT [myusername] bikes.com

Jungle only sell SC spares to original owners.

Any help would be good, many thanks in advance…

Worth mentioning that Pinkbike despite being a bit of a thieves’ paradise does take these things quite seriously, there’s a thread to report thieves in and they’ll often IP ban people. Doesn’t help you but might help the next guy.

Oh- and if you’ve not already got an off-site copy of the ad, do so- the seller can edit it.

So you bought a bike having never seen it and the photo’s are of a brand new bike, that you cant verify are genuine.

No wonder so many thieves sell bikes on ebay pinkbike etc if there are such mugs about.

Sancho – no need for that.

Jesus..

Jungle only sell SC spares to original owners

No they don’t.

However, it seems like a strange policy from Hotlines. Little short sighted IMO.

I think this one is going to be a case of chalking it up to experience. Private sale = Caveat Emptor.

For what it’s worth, chainstays come up fairly often on Ebay for Zesty’s. IIRC the Spicy chainstay is identical too.

No Jungle sell spares if you provide the frame number.

Hotlines- should we buy your products if they are basically shed junk post first owner?

One thing that I have noticed lapierres have great reviews etc but sseem to wear….

However, it seems like a strange policy from Hotlines. Little short sighted IMO.

Quoting warranty concerns is a bit disingenuous. Imagine a car manufacturer or dealer trying that one on.

Compare and contrast with the likes of Turner, Ibis who seem more than happy to keep their frames going if there’s an issue, even to the point of providing warranty support to subsequent owners.

I’m guessing this is a lapierre policy, not hotlines?

Its a terrible policy (if true). Something which I can’t believe- the OP must have spoken to the wrong person (Security or reception?) rather than a Customer-focused intelligent person?

Hotlines- should we buy your products if they are basically shed junk post first owner?

It’s worse than that. They’re actually saying they will never sell anyone a new swing-arm (for example) unless you buy it with a new bike as it creates a clash of warranty ages. Idiots.

Smacks of someone who CBA doing their job at Hotlines.

Northwind

Thanks for the ‘edit their ad’ I have PDF’d the full page and each photo.

Just to show how sneaky this guy is he has hidden his profile on Linkedin. As the users of that site will know you can leave comments like many, but as he is self employed it would be a problem for him if bad comments were left

Swing arms aren’t cheap are they? Even chainstays from Specialized is £100 for an old frame. So I imagine they wouldn’t lose money.

This detracts from the OPs issue with the seller though. OP do you have his address? Look at the packaging/box- was there a sender address (his work address?). Anyway we can find?

Anyway we can find?

Oh Heavens to Bettsy!! The scourge of Warranty departments is saddling up…..

I tried to get a replacement swingarm for a secondhand Santa Cruz Bullet – I wasn’t the original owner so wasn’t allowed. Luckily my seller offered a full refund.

Doesn’t helps the OP one bit though.