Quibble with Ribble

[bonj2]

imho, bad idea ordering a whole bike on mail order.
It relies on them scheduling a slot to build it up. That's a big rely.
Only time i've done it is with my previous mtb, and the several weeks wait was a nightmare. The company was in germany and has since turned out to be poor at customer service, so I was very relieved when it came.

All other times I've ordered just frame or frame + forks online, or reserved but then physically gone to the shop and only paid once the bike's in my hand.

No doubt people will not bother to take my advice and carry on doing it though, because they've seen the perfect deal and just must have it, and then come on here whinging again when it fails to materialize.
(sorry magnatom, not intending to have a go at you - if I were you, I'd set a deadline, make formal written communication by recorded delivery that you expect either the bike or your money back by a certain date, probably 14 days from now, warning that if you don't get it you're going to take legal action. And then do. Small claims court is easy to do. Also try http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/gateway/consumer.jsp )

 

[Coco]

Disappointing to hear as that bike was on my short list for my commuter replacement. Fortunately I fell in love with an Italian and will put off the commuter replacement until later.

I suppose we could organise a rota to check on your old address for any Bike shaped parcels. It was an old Ridgeback hybrid you ordered?

 

[longers]

Yes, nice one. Then his wife goes into labour and he takes home a Yorkshireman as well as a new bike. Bargain!

Has Preston moved since I was there last?

If it's not nailed down . . .

 

[Tollers]

As TT mentioned Alan emailed me a delivery date which came and past....about a week later i got an automated despatch email and soon after the bike arrived.

Being fair it finally arrived about 2 days after the 5 weeks originally promised, however i agree their order tracking and communications could be better. On the other hand, the prices are so good that i really can't complain.

Tollers

 

[badkitty]

Quality thread title BTW

Was just thinking the very same.Nice one Magnatom.

I wanna quibble with ribble.

 

[magnatom]

Still no sign of a bike. The parts were meant to have been delivered earlier this week, so I wonder what has happened now.

I'm going to follow this order through. I need the bike, and it is supposed to be good quality. However, I will repay them afterwards with a nice and detailed blog entry describing their service in detail. By carefully titling the blog entry I believe it can rank pretty high on google.....

 

[Bollo]

Boo hiss in a panto style to Ribble. Their behaviour would be typical of a company in trouble, but they seem to have been doing it for years - google 'Ribble complaint' and see what I mean.

You want to get this fella to sort it out.....

 

[magnatom]

...and so it continues.... I now can't log in to Ribble. My account doesn't exist, apparently. Is it something I've said?

 

[ttcycle]

Ah Mags sounds like a real nightmare- what the hell is going on? I know they do good bikes but seriously is it worth it for all this crap?

 

[magnatom]

Boo hiss in a panto style to Ribble. Their behaviour would be typical of a company in trouble, but they seem to have been doing it for years - google 'Ribble complaint' and see what I mean.

You want to get this fella to sort it out.....

I get the feeling they aren't 'rolling in cash'. When I complained about the fact that their online stock system wasn't the best they pointed out that they had spent £65,000 correcting previous website faults, and that linking up the databases correctly (i.e so the bikebuilder stock was accurate) would costs further 'tens of thousands of pounds more'.

The e-mail was written in bold type, so I think he was serious!

 

[magnatom]

Ah Mags sounds like a real nightmare- what the hell is going on? I know they do good bikes but seriously is it worth it for all this crap?

The problem is I need the bike ASAP, and it is 'possible' that this bike could arrive any day. It is also very good value for the bike I am getting.

I can't go on the bike at the moment anyway due to loosing my lights during the house move , so not having the bike isn't the end of the world.

I will certainly be blogging this when it is finished and maybe a wee letter to Ribble's MD (does anyone have contact details) might be in order...

 

[buddha]

They've changed their site. Apparently you'll have to create a NEW account - that's what I was told. I didn't bother.

I recently cancelled my 2nd (ever) order from ribble - pair of handbuilt wheels. Waited 5 weeks from ordering. Emailed them, and was told they couldn't source the rims - despite them showing as 'in stock' when ordering. The same rims still show as in stock/available to buy.

Previous/first order I had to wait 7 weeks for some pedals - again, they had to wait for stock, despite being shown as in stock when ordering.

Can you see a theme here?

 

[magnatom]

They've changed their site. Apparently you'll have to create a NEW account - that's what I was told. I didn't bother.

I recently cancelled my 2nd (ever) order from ribble - pair of handbuilt wheels. Waited 5 weeks from ordering. Emailed them, and was told they couldn't source the rims - despite them showing as 'in stock' when ordering. The same rims still show as in stock/available to buy.

Previous/first order I had to wait 7 weeks for some pedals - again, they had to wait for stock, despite being shown as in stock when ordering.

Can you see a theme here?

Wait a minute! I need to create a new account? So how will I view the (never changing) status of my order from my new account? I await my latest e-mail from Alan Gray with baited breath!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I recommended a collegue to Ribble and he had the devil's own job to extract a bike from them - got it in the end, after a fight. A few months down the line and some therapy and he's fairly relaxed about it all. Look on the bright side you could have gone to Dave Hinde...

 

[accountantpete]

Look on the bright side you could have gone to Dave Hinde...

I do like the Google suggestions when you pump in Dave Hinde - "Dave Hinde Complaints" and Dave Hinde Trading Standards" are both pretty near the top!

Personally I had good service from the shop -albeit 8 -10 years ago.