Warranty Responsibility

[jaynana]

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

my new Bianchi, bought from Evans 3 weeks or so back, 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 just now (4pm). They've looked at it and called bianchi, and were waiting for bianchi to come back. In the meanwhile they've now asked me to take the bike away.

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

i could have said 'ok yeah that's fine sounds reasonable' but i wasn't sure because i sensed as if 'so what's is evans's responsibility here?'

i tried to explain to them (on the phone) that end of the day i bought the bike from evans and my contract is with them; they may have a back to back contract with bianchi which they should, but evans has a responsibility to resolve this for me. so it shouldn't be whenever and however bianchi gets back to them.

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

so i thought i'd ask you guys, was i wrong in my understanding?

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

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

there may be absolutely no issue they may call me up tomorrow and ask me to come in to replace the hub but i thought i should find out.. best to know and be prepared in case the info becomes necessary in the conversations...

cheers

J

 

[Markymark]

It is entirely reaosnable for a reseller to pass it back to the manufacturer to resolve an issue. Howver, the reseller should give you some assurances as to how long the process should take and this shouldn't be an indeifinte period.

 

[Stonepark]

Sales of Goods Act 1979 - Contract is with the shop, not the manufacturer, ask for a bike to use in the meantime or they can replace the one you have.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Sales of Goods Act 1979 - Contract is with the shop, not the manufacturer, ask for a bike to use in the meantime or they can replace the one you have.

If the bike had broken into two pieces or disintegrated into dust, then you might have had a point. This, however, sounds like a minor niggle which does not prevent the bike from being ridden in the meantime, so I don't think it's unreasonable for Evans to send it away pending further enquiries with Bianchi.

 

[jaynana]

thanks guys, much appreciated. you guys have confirmed my understanding on responsibility.

said that, as suggested as its not a 'show stopper' in terms of riding, and they have taken steps to resolve. so i have picked up the bike and ridden it back home. i didn't make a fuss at all in the process.

i will watch the situ for a couple of days to see how it develops.

will keep you informed.

once again really appriciate your points of view.

 

[davefb]

I know it's "not that much", but if I understand it correctly, by letting time elapse you do undermine certain points..IE, theres something about 'accepting' the item, 3 weeks for something to fail, then the bike could ( i guess?) be stated as being not merchantable quality and you could get a full refund or full replacement..

but hopefully it'll be easily sortable , just thinking you don't want em sending it off so you end up without a bike ( assuming you're using it a lot).. if it was 9months old, then fair enough, but it's "brand new" ish, you'd hardly want it missing for a few weeks.

 

[Alembicbassman]

Under EU Consumer law any problem that occurs in the first 6 months is deemed to have been present from purchase, you are entitled to a replacement or refund. After this period a repair can be offered. Evans have been made aware of the problem, if they cannot solve it within a reasonable period (I'd say 2 weeks) then I would insist on a replacement wheel.

 

[Cyclist33]

I certainly wouldn't take a virtually new bike back because of a fault, then ride off on it after the shop agreed to look into it. What's to stop them arguing that you yourself exacerbated a minor issue by continuing to ride it, and then charging for the work?

At the very least, that would cause you inconvenience, and I would rather have no new bike for a few weeks in order to ensure it was 100% healthy, than have the bike during that time then find the wheel disintegrating 6 months later.

Stu

 

[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 themselves 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.

of course i knew from you lot that this means i might be giving up my right to return.. after an attempted repair. but then i thought it was fair enough..

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 from Evans saying they had replaced the bearings, the rattling noise was still there, they would need to replace the free wheeling hub, which they could do tomorrow if they leave the bike with them. this was no issue for me so i asked them to keep it and get it fixed for me )

anyways, the job's getting done and Evans is taking care of their warranty responsibility (i suspect the person who had the initial conversation with me only tried to play too smart for herself)

thx again

well, the journey is not over, lets see if it gets sorted or i go deeper into trouble!

j