Buying a bike from Evans?

[Rhysito]

Evans used to be a great company but since being taken over the customer service has gone downhill. I am meant to be getting a wheel replaced under warranty but their branch in Kings Cross refuses to contact me (I have phoned them over 30 times, visited their store just to be told that the relevant person will email me and emailed 5 times). I got in touch with Evans HQ and they told me there was nothing they could do and I just had to get in touch with the store.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Ashley & Green. The twin unacceptable faces of capitalism. And I say that as a unabashed free market capitalist.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Have bought two bikes from there in the past (the Castleford branch, at 'XScape')

2007 Trek MTB - they agreed to no cost exchanges of bars/stem, as it was all too 'high-rise' for me, & I like a position like riding on 'the hoods'
That may have been because I knew one of the managers, as I used to see him at MTB/CX races in the early 90s
(sold, in 2010)

2009(?) PInnacle CX bike, as I'd returned to the sport, using the Trek, but it was too awkward/heavy
(I did want one of the Paul Milnes bikes, but when wife offers to buy you it, what can you say.......)
Still got it, hanging in the garage, covered in mud, from its last CX, in (I think?) 2016

 

[bikingdad90]

I’ve got nothing but praise for Evans and Mike Ashley. They’re about the only retailer that will send me stuff down here, to be fair they did this even before he took over. I don’t have to pay VAT and if it’s a decent order it’s cheaper than shopping in the U.K., even with the freight costs by DHL. I usually get it in five days To my door.

That benefit will disappear on 21 December when the new rules kick in due to Brexit. Anything travelling outside England will now have 20% VAT.

 

[Cycleops]

@bikingdad90 I think you'll find that may only applies to the EU. VAT has always been exempt from goods exported to outside the EU so I don't see why that should suddenly change. Even if it were true I wouldn't begrudge paying extra to help the UK after the loss in revenue caused by the pandemic if the rules were changed.

Also looks like goods bound for the EU won't have to pay VAT, at least initially:

"When the UK leaves the EU VAT area, it will become a third country. This means that the way businesses manage VAT on goods and services exported and imported to/from the EU will change. Sellers will not charge VAT, but buyers will have to pay VAT to HMRC at the point of import (alongside any applicable customs duties)." Nov 16, 2020.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

 

[bikingdad90]

@bikingdad90 I think you'll find that may only applies to the EU. VAT has always been exempt from goods exported to outside the EU so I don't see why that should suddenly change. Even if it were true I wouldn't begrudge paying extra to help the UK after the loss in revenue caused by the pandemic if the rules were changed.

Also looks like goods bound for the EU won't have to pay VAT, at least initially:

"When the UK leaves the EU VAT area, it will become a third country. This means that the way businesses manage VAT on goods and services exported and imported to/from the EU will change. Sellers will not charge VAT, but buyers will have to pay VAT to HMRC at the point of import (alongside any applicable customs duties)." Nov 16, 2020.
View attachment 561373
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk

I assumed you were situated in one of the islands or somewhere like France/Spain.

 

[Drago]

He lives in a grass hut in the Congo. Or somewhere.

 

[Brandane]

That benefit will disappear on 21 December when the new rules kick in due to Brexit. Anything travelling outside England will now have 20% VAT.

Thank goodness I live in Scotland!

 

[chris-suffolk]

Hope other Evans stores don't follow the lead set by our local one near Ipswich. It's been closed down by the landlord for non payment of rent. Apparently they (Mike Ashley / Sports direct) offered to pay 50%, and when that was refused, the declined to pay anything. Trouble is people I know have bikes in there for service / repair, and can't get them back. May be time to steer well clear in case it's the start of a trend.

 

[vickster]

They opened the new branch in my local town just after lockdown 1, probably the only branch to be fully stocked at that time!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Hope other Evans stores don't follow the lead set by our local one near Ipswich. It's been closed down by the landlord for non payment of rent. Apparently they (Mike Ashley / Sports direct) offered to pay 50%, and when that was refused, the declined to pay anything. Trouble is people I know have bikes in there for service / repair, and can't get them back. May be time to steer well clear in case it's the start of a trend.

I would avoid them like the plague.

They screwed up an order of mine earlier this year, cancelled it without telling me and then lied repeatedly for months about having refunded me. They hung onto my money for over five months before I eventually got it back.

The web and social media are awash with similar stories.

 

[GoodLifeSpud]

Has anyone else noticed they appear to have removed all reviews from their website? I used to rely on them for recommendations, sizing guidance etc. Without them, I'm far less likely to buy components and clothing. Especially with their less than generous return policy.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

They’ve abandoned their Twitter accounts, which may or may not be because they have a lot of unhappy customers.