Sale of goods - warranty responsibility

[jaynana]

guys a non-car question with apologies, cos i've found you lot knowledgeable and helpful 

I have a prob with my new cycle, and could do with some advise.

my new Bianchi, bought brand new from Evans 3 weeks or so back, now with 350 miles on the clock, developed a rattle in the rear hub. i noticed it last fri.

coincidently today was my first free service.

took it to evans last fri ev on my way back home. they agreed there was a problem. since i had already booked a service today, agreed it wasn't critical and to look at it today.

i gave them the bike today am (9am); called them towards end of day (4pm). They had looked at it and had called bianchi, and were waiting for bianchi to come back. In the meanwhile cos they didn't know by when they'd hear back, they asked me to take the bike away.

i asked by when this would get resolved. answer: 'when bianchi gets back'

i could have said 'oh ok yeah that sounds like a plan' but i felt like 'so what is Evans's responsibility here, to fix my issue, what if bianchi don't respond?'

i tried to explain to them (lady on the phone) that end of the day i bought the bike from evans and my contract was with them; they may have a back to back contract with bianchi which they should have, but end of the day evans had the responsibility to resolve my issue. so it shouldn't be whenever and however bianchi got back to them, i appreciated them reaching out to bianchi which is prob the right thing to do, but are you taking responsibility to fix this issue for me?'

although the lady at the other end of the phone 'seemed' to agree, didn't commit either. It somehow seemed a hard logic for her  to swollow.

later on i went and picked up the bike. the service desk also said the same story - but not in the same tone that previously annoyed me, more like 'we expect to hear back from Bianchi soonest and will let you know to bring the bike back'. i had also decided this wasn't the time to make another fuss, so i didn't, just picked up the bike and cycled back home.

here's what i want to understand well.

is the obligation to resolve this with the seller ie evans or with the manufactorer directly ie Bianchi?  :hmmm:

in case its the latter what is the seller ie evans's responsibility here?

there may be absolutely no issue they may call me up tomorrow and ask me to come in to replace the hub or something, but i thought i should find out where i stand with regard to who's responsible for what... in case the info becomes necessary in the conversations... in case i'm given a 'oh we can't do anything bianchi hasn't come back to us' in the coming days....  :nono:

cheers

j

[AW8]

You are correct in your assumption.

S.O.G.A. clearly states contract is between trade seller & you the purchaser.

Any defect/fault found within 1st 6 months is down to the seller to make good/resolve unless seller can prove that any fault was not present when sold............e.g. If you rode it in extreme and unreasonable condtions, admitted to this causing the fault.

Any warranty arrangement between any of the 3 parties here is a seperate matter. Hypothetically in the event of a court case the shop could seek to mitigate stating they were in process of sorting this out by virtue of a warranty to cover unacceptable &/or premature damage, faults etc.

I think it would quite possibly be deemed reasonable by small claims court for a retailer to 1st attempt positive customer resolution by asking the wholesaler/manufactuer to respond, however, a warranty arrangement in no way removes the retailers reponsibility under S.O.G.A.


Loads on this on the internet if you wish to google.

[Riggie]

The goods must be as described, of reasonable quality and fit for purpose.

Reasonable quality is not defined and the higher the purchase price, the longer it would reasonably be expected to last.

I don't know how much you paid for it, but even if it was a cheapie, 350 miles would not in my view seem reasonable.

You have certain rights and your contract is with the seller, not the manufacturer. By selling an item that doesn't satisfy the above, the seller is in breach and you can demand a replacement, refund or repair.

The issue about contacting the manufacturer is absolute bull and if I were you, I would tell the seller that you do not consider that the machine is of reasonable quality nor fit for purpose and request either a replacement or refund as you see fit.

If they continue to bulls..t you, set out in writing that you don't consider the quality satisfactory and reject it,request replacement / refund within 14 days. Be careful about accepting a repair, as that can affect your right to refund or replacement in certain circumstances.

Threats of adverse publicity usually work wonders as well!

The ball is in your court and the legislaton, as a consumer, is on your side.

[jaynana]

thanks both, much appreciated.

let me see how this develops in the next few days. occurs to me that its great that a repair has not been attempted cos that might have limited my options! right now even a return is an option.

i will keep you posted.

if all goes well they should call me, ask me to come for a replacement in full or part (the hub). lets see if things go well

it costed £1k brand new so not cheap and 350 miles is insignificant; paid with a cyclescheme voucher which possibly complicates any return but should not make it impossible.

thx again

j

[jaynana]

update on this

24 hrs passed, nothing happened. so i called and checked. they said bianchi had not got back to them. with all the knowledge in my back pocket i didn't blow up, kept my cool and said 'look i obviously want to get my bike fixed soonest, so pls call me back today'.

later on they called and said bianchi needed the rear wheel sent back to them to check and replace the faulty part, which could take up to 3 weeks!! and said they'd just replace the bearing and get it sorted for me.

so either due to my fussing around on the first call or genuinely by themselves Evans understood their responsibility to sort it out.

bike's with them today to get it sorted.

there's a comic detail though:
i told them i suspected it wasn't the bearing and it was the free wheeling hub on the phone. today when handing over the bike i told the guy who signed it in (diff guy) that they suspected the bearing but i felt it should be the free wheeling hub and the reason i thought so, but of course that they were the experts so do what felt was right'.

just now i got a call saying they had replaced the bearings, the rattling noise was still there, they would need to replace the free wheeling hub, which would take another day  )

anyways, the job's getting done.

thx again

j

[X5Sport]

Sounds just like a BMW Workshop.... :spiteful:  :blink: )

Frustrating!!

[AW8]

Glad you are geting this sorted........am sure you will protest if things move at snails pace. I would explain it's required for regular use similar to a car & maybe if needs be ask for a loaner in meantime if delayed.

[pvr]

Second one of those I heard about breaking down within days of ownership. Not quite what you expect from such an expensive make

[jaynana]

bianchi is the alfa romeo of the cycling world i think  )

[Cannondale]

The freehub will likley be Shimano or Sram same as millions of other bikes.

I guess you have just been unluckey.

You could always buy some nice bling wheels for it, go faster and look better in one go.


Rich...

[jaynana]

bianchi uses a lot of Reparto Corse components..

actually its quiet bling as it is..


ok maybe the wheels could do with some le mans pink maybe lol 

[Riggie]

Where's the engine?