Your heart-warming story leaves me feeling decidedly cold and a little annoyed!
Parent A (you) bought your son a cheapish bike but looked after it so it has served you well. Parent B (your friend) bought same bike but allowed it to be abused and neglected to the point that it no longer works. Bike manufacturer for some reason then decides to replace neglected bike FOC.
I don't understand your point. Why has the company replaced the bike? It does them no favours either in the PR stakes or in the long term financially. Now parents C, D, E, F, etc will believe they too can buy cheap bikes, neglect them and then complain to the supplier and receive a new bike. How is this good? It is however indicative of the state of mind of a large portion of society nowadays that refuses to take responsibility for their own actions or inactions and expects somebody/anybody else to sort out the resulting mess.
See, now I'm not just a little bit annoyed. Having put it down in writing I am now bloody furious that some fekwit parent has once again been rewarded for being stupid and lazy! Thanks Mr Paul!