Defective bike and Consumer Rights Act

[scotthunter]

I've got a problem with chain jumping around on my cassette on my new bike. Bike is new (done 200 miles) and this is the second time I have had this problem. The first time I sent it back to the shop to get fixed, which solved the problem for a week or so, and now I'm having the same issue again. The bike has the latest full R8000 Ultegra groupset. This has caused me a lot of inconvenience as I use the bike for getting to and from work. It's also 2 hour round trip to the shop so don't want to get drawn into a fault-return-repair-fault-return-repair saga.

Can I reject the bike under the Consumer Rights Act? The store has already had one failed attempt at fixing the faulty bike (i.e. their attempted remedy failed). The bike is only 3 weeks old and has been off the road twice for the same fault. I am now concerned that the bike has not been assembled correctly or could have defective components. I am gutted as it's otherwise a nice bike but I feel like I have lost trust in the bike and I don't want to have future re-occurrences of these same issues after the 30 day period after I have lost my consumer rights.

 

[KneesUp]

I only run 8 speed, but I'd imagine that the tolerance when running 11 speed is pretty minimal, so any sort of bedding in of the cables is going to cause issues - I guess this is why electronic shifting was introduced. I can't even be bothered keeping 8 speed indexed.

When you say it's "jumping around", how many gears is it jumping, or is it just trying to jump one and failing to do so, but being noisy about it?

It sounds like it just needs adjusting, which is a general running maintenance type of task you would expect to do - especially with new cables etc, rather than a fault.

 

[scotthunter]

But the shop has already attempted to fix the problem once and they failed. I’m refusing to ride the bike at the moment as I can only use one gear without the drivechain making a lot of noise and the chain hops from one sprocket to another in quick succession.

I feel like rejecting it and buying a bike with Di2. They seem to be more maintenance free as there are no cables involved. I need a reliable bike.

The bike is not ‘fit for purpose’ as the gearing has rendered the bike useless until it is fixed (again)...

What are my consumer rights?

 

[Cycleops]

Sounds like it may be cable tension loosing off, common on a new bike. Should be a simple adjustment.

You can try to reject the bike and see what they say. Its now the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If they refuse you can complain.

Found this on the Which site for return of faulty sale goods but same rules apply:

Sales
Letter to complain if a retailer won't take back faulty sale goods
If something you buy in a sale develops a fault, you could have a claim under the Consumer Rights Act. Use our letter to help you claim.
Download Letter
[Your address and contact number]

[Retailer’s address]

[Date]



Dear Sir/Madam,

[Reference: details of purchase]

I purchased [item] from you on [date]. When I bought it, the sales assistant explained that the [item] was reduced because it had [details of any faults brought to your attention].

I subsequently discovered that the [item] has the following additional faults: [details].

When I returned the [item] to you, you refused to accept it stating that under the terms of your sales returns policy, no refunds will be given.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes it clear that any contract term that attempts to exclude or restrict my statutory rights will be unenforceable.

The term you refer to has the effect of taking away my right to reject goods that are defective and therefore is unfair and unenforceable.

I would invite you to reconsider your decision but should warn you that should you not be prepared to provide the refund I am entitled to, I will be forced to take court action to recover this sum.

Furthermore, I will report your contract terms to Trading Standards.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

 

[bianchi1]

Could be a bent rear hanger. You will never get the changing right even if it is slightly off. Can easily happen when the bike is is transit to the shop.

 

[the snail]

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act
gives you a summary of your rights. This sounds like a basic adjustment issue though, indexing or maybe gear hanger alignment, really should be straightforward to sort out

 

[Drago]

Don't mess about with letters threatening to grass them to an overworked and under resourced trading standards. That's like threatening to attack someone with a feather.

Give them, in writing, a reasonable period to make a quality repair. If the repair isn't forthcoming, or is ineffective, then write to them again. This time, explain that the product is unfit for purpose, and offer then 7 working days to refund you. Enclose a copy of the small claims court forms, already filled out, and tell them that if they do not respond positively by the dead line you will lodge the form with the small claims track of the county court. Make sure the form details the cost of the bicycle, and a reasonable cost for the time you have spent trying to resolve the matter (I always charged £40 an hour, which was my rest-day working rate). This has never failed to elicit the response I desired.

 

[scotthunter]

It could be a straightforward maintenance issue but I wouldn't expect the same fault to develop within 3 weeks on a brand new bike, especially since it's the latest (full) Ultegra on the bike. Having a noisy drivechain is one thing but when it starts to change gear on its own, and for the chain to hop around the cassette violently, doesn't seem normal to me.

I called the bike store and to their credit they were very understanding and apologetic and seem curious to know what is causing the issue.

 

[cyberknight]

I only run 8 speed, but I'd imagine that the tolerance when running 11 speed is pretty minimal, so any sort of bedding in of the cables is going to cause issues - I guess this is why electronic shifting was introduced. I can't even be bothered keeping 8 speed indexed.

When you say it's "jumping around", how many gears is it jumping, or is it just trying to jump one and failing to do so, but being noisy about it?

It sounds like it just needs adjusting, which is a general running maintenance type of task you would expect to do - especially with new cables etc, rather than a fault.

+1
Sounds like cable bedding in from the description but obviously hard to diagnose over the interweb.
When i install new cables on my bikes be it 8 or 10 speed you adjust then adjust a bit more later as it "stetches ".I would call 200 miles still in thebedding in phase .
If your not happy or dont know how to adjust it then take it back till your happy .

 

[Kajjal]

On new bikes this happens as the cables stretch and is completely normal. After a couple of adjustments that should be it. Less common is a faulty chain, cassette or rear / front mech.

 

[User65906]

Sounds like a mixture of things, bedding in time for one, as the cables stretch,
and a bent back derailleur, which would keep creeping over the cogs, until
tension of the cable stops it at a position that would then change when you
change the shifter position to allow more cable to be free for the bent / out of true
derailleur to take advantage of.

 

[KneesUp]

But the shop has already attempted to fix the problem once and they failed. I’m refusing to ride the bike at the moment as I can only use one gear without the drivechain making a lot of noise and the chain hops from one sprocket to another in quick succession.

I feel like rejecting it and buying a bike with Di2. They seem to be more maintenance free as there are no cables involved. I need a reliable bike.

The bike is not ‘fit for purpose’ as the gearing has rendered the bike useless until it is fixed (again)...

What are my consumer rights?

Why did you buy a bike designed for racing if you want a bike for commuting? It's like saying a Ferrari isn't fit for purpose because you can't fit your kids in the back. That's not the purpose it was designed for ...

 

[User10119]

a bike designed for racing

Genuine question - what is it in the description (unless there was a make/model specified that I'm just not seeing - it has been a loooong day!) that makes you think that this is a bike designed for racing?

 

[KneesUp]

"The bike has the latest full R8000 Ultegra groupset" plus an educated guess.

 

[Cycleops]

We could argue all night about at which point does a sports bike become a race bike but going Di2 might not be the best solution.