Took my rear wheel in for new bearings to be changed. The LBS I took it to didnt have the parts they needed so the wheel was left in the store. This was 2 months ago and theres still no sign of them obtaining the bearings which are for some reason specific to this wheel. The shop is also the one I purchased the wheel from. I only had the wheel for about a year when I took it back and I certainly would not have purchased the wheelset had I known that replacement parts would be this difficult to find. What are my rights in this circumstance? Am I entitled to a replacement/courtesy wheel or anything? I do not believe the wheel is still under warranty.
What are my rights
- Thread starter User16625
- Start date
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Havent paid them any money other than for buying the wheel. Would seem pointless to demand my wheel back as its as good as worthless without new bearings. Having paid money for a decent set of wheels, I am now left without the rear wheel as a result of being unable to have perfectly foreseeable maintenance done. This renders my purchase "not fit for purpose" imo.
Did you buy the wheels from this LBS?
A consumable item has worn out and needs replaced. You could of course try the "not of merchantable quality" line, but be prepared to have to take it to court. Unless the wheels cost you a grand, is it really worth that time and hassle?
A consumable item has worn out and needs replaced. You could of course try the "not of merchantable quality" line, but be prepared to have to take it to court. Unless the wheels cost you a grand, is it really worth that time and hassle?
U
User6179
Guest
What wheels are they?
Dangermouse
MousePower
Is the wheel still in warranty, if so its up to the manufacturer to replace the bearings at their authorised suppliers which is probably the shop you have sent the wheel back to........just play it by ear but its a warranty claim so don't be fobbed off, but if the wheel is out of warranty, you may have to get the shop to order the bearing (if available) and you will be charged for fitting.........may be just cheaper and less hassle to find a new wheel in some cases
U
User6179
Guest
I don't think bearings are replaced under warranty but if the shop cant source them then the wheel cannot be fit for purpose and I would expect a refund , imagine if you bought a car but no one made tyres for it .
Dangermouse
MousePower
correct
edit.........just googled this and it is 100% correct, if the shop cannot supply spare parts then they have to replace or refund an item if it is unfit for purpose
nickyboy
Norven Mankey
- Location
- You want hills? We got hills
This is dependent on whether the wheel is still under warranty or not. If it is still under warranty then you are right. If it isn't then you are wrong.
To help understand this clearly, imagine you bought a car from a dealer. 20 years later you still have the car but the dealer is no longer able to supply spares because the manufacturer no longer supports the model. Would you be entitled to a refund on your purchase? Of course not. And that is exactly the legal position here if the wheel is out of warranty
Risex4
Dropped by the autobus
- Location
- The Green/Gray Hills Of Debunshire
Tricky one.
Sorry, but I'd argue the 'fit for purpose' advice as erroneous straight away. Its a wheel. Assuming that it wasn't also square or made of sponge, if you took action under the auspice of FFP you'd be laughed out of every courtroom in the country. You're more looking at 'merchantable quality' which is much harder to verify on a degradable part.
First of all, it may be handy to go into the shop and ask for a copy of the guarantee under which the wheel was originally sold. Even if the guarantee was only 12 months and has subsequently expired, the shop is (I'm pretty certain, but check with Citizens Advice) obligated to provide you with a written copy on request.
Now, I'm fully expecting bearings to be classified as a consumable or degradable part and therefore not covered by the guarantee, but its worth checking.
If by some fluke it is + and you're still in guarantee, thats great. Just invoke the sales of goods act under the provision for remedies not causing significant inconvenience and you're away.
If it is, but you're not in guarantee, it becomes a question of whether the rate of degradation was acceptable. This will require recovering the wheel and getting several independent appraisals as to its condition vs. usage. This is a risky approach as any fees you have to pay out for independent appraisals are only recoverable if your claim is ultimately upheld; if everyones saying it shouldn't have degraded this quickly fine, if the consensus is "thats about right" you're onto a loser. This route is only possible if the bearing was covered by guarantee in the first place.
If its not covered by guarantee then unfortunately the long and short of it is you're onto a loser because you had no protection in the first place.
In any event, a claim that you bring would have to be mitigated - either by yourself or it would be done for you by the courts (if it went that far). Simply, you cannot claim a full refund or full value exchange on the goods because you have previously had some use out of the wheel. Any court would look at the circumstances and say its a degradable part, you've had a years use out of it, the part availability is not a fault of the retailer, therefore you'd get x% back. X would be significantly below 50% I'd assume.
Personally, I'd seek out the store manager, turn on the charm and lather him up a bit. Talk bikes, you love the hobby, would love to upgrade in the future blah blah blah, oh, by the way, I've got this problem with this wheel I bought from you and the parts not being available. Its getting a bit silly how long its taking, especially as I'd hoped it would last me a bit longer than it did. Tell you what, would you be able to do any kind of deal on a new wheel set? (I assume you want a new wheel and don't want to go unicycle?) Or at least talk to him in some way. If he's a reasonable business manager he'll empathise with your plight and wish to keep your custom, look to come to some kind of satisfactory agreement. If he fobs you off, it'll tell you all you need to know about that shop.
Be reasonable, realistic, and most of all flash the £££ and promise of future £££ in his eyes (not in a gaudy "you've lost £ks pal" way, that'll just make him laugh) and you may find him to be quite pliable.
Two key phrases here, if you've managed to build a bit of rapport and said manager/supervisor seems agreeable;
a) "how close to £x can you get?" if you've seen the replacement you want and want to haggle on price. It gives you movement on price but still gives them power in the negotiation. "Can you do these for £x?" removes the power and provides a simple yes/no answer, the answer itself by odds being the latter.
Or b) "what can you do for me"; similar psycology, you are still giving them the 'control' but ultimately you are moving somewhere. More to the point, when you demand something specific, its very easy for them to say no. When you ask what different options are open, its slightly harder for them to say "absolutely nothing". A retailer never wants to be the first party to be unreasonable in a negotiation. And once you're moving its a case of "we've established we're in a negotiation, now we're just haggling on price".
Not a cast iron guarantee to work, but worth a go for sure, and much more pleasant than 'forcing' your rights - extant or otherwise.
Or, if you're not that bothered with the LBS in question, they aren't open to resolving you're issue and the wheels aren't worth a mortgage, bin and start fresh somewhere else.
Sorry, but I'd argue the 'fit for purpose' advice as erroneous straight away. Its a wheel. Assuming that it wasn't also square or made of sponge, if you took action under the auspice of FFP you'd be laughed out of every courtroom in the country. You're more looking at 'merchantable quality' which is much harder to verify on a degradable part.
First of all, it may be handy to go into the shop and ask for a copy of the guarantee under which the wheel was originally sold. Even if the guarantee was only 12 months and has subsequently expired, the shop is (I'm pretty certain, but check with Citizens Advice) obligated to provide you with a written copy on request.
Now, I'm fully expecting bearings to be classified as a consumable or degradable part and therefore not covered by the guarantee, but its worth checking.
If by some fluke it is + and you're still in guarantee, thats great. Just invoke the sales of goods act under the provision for remedies not causing significant inconvenience and you're away.
If it is, but you're not in guarantee, it becomes a question of whether the rate of degradation was acceptable. This will require recovering the wheel and getting several independent appraisals as to its condition vs. usage. This is a risky approach as any fees you have to pay out for independent appraisals are only recoverable if your claim is ultimately upheld; if everyones saying it shouldn't have degraded this quickly fine, if the consensus is "thats about right" you're onto a loser. This route is only possible if the bearing was covered by guarantee in the first place.
If its not covered by guarantee then unfortunately the long and short of it is you're onto a loser because you had no protection in the first place.
In any event, a claim that you bring would have to be mitigated - either by yourself or it would be done for you by the courts (if it went that far). Simply, you cannot claim a full refund or full value exchange on the goods because you have previously had some use out of the wheel. Any court would look at the circumstances and say its a degradable part, you've had a years use out of it, the part availability is not a fault of the retailer, therefore you'd get x% back. X would be significantly below 50% I'd assume.
Personally, I'd seek out the store manager, turn on the charm and lather him up a bit. Talk bikes, you love the hobby, would love to upgrade in the future blah blah blah, oh, by the way, I've got this problem with this wheel I bought from you and the parts not being available. Its getting a bit silly how long its taking, especially as I'd hoped it would last me a bit longer than it did. Tell you what, would you be able to do any kind of deal on a new wheel set? (I assume you want a new wheel and don't want to go unicycle?) Or at least talk to him in some way. If he's a reasonable business manager he'll empathise with your plight and wish to keep your custom, look to come to some kind of satisfactory agreement. If he fobs you off, it'll tell you all you need to know about that shop.
Be reasonable, realistic, and most of all flash the £££ and promise of future £££ in his eyes (not in a gaudy "you've lost £ks pal" way, that'll just make him laugh) and you may find him to be quite pliable.
Two key phrases here, if you've managed to build a bit of rapport and said manager/supervisor seems agreeable;
a) "how close to £x can you get?" if you've seen the replacement you want and want to haggle on price. It gives you movement on price but still gives them power in the negotiation. "Can you do these for £x?" removes the power and provides a simple yes/no answer, the answer itself by odds being the latter.
Or b) "what can you do for me"; similar psycology, you are still giving them the 'control' but ultimately you are moving somewhere. More to the point, when you demand something specific, its very easy for them to say no. When you ask what different options are open, its slightly harder for them to say "absolutely nothing". A retailer never wants to be the first party to be unreasonable in a negotiation. And once you're moving its a case of "we've established we're in a negotiation, now we're just haggling on price".
Not a cast iron guarantee to work, but worth a go for sure, and much more pleasant than 'forcing' your rights - extant or otherwise.
Or, if you're not that bothered with the LBS in question, they aren't open to resolving you're issue and the wheels aren't worth a mortgage, bin and start fresh somewhere else.
Last edited:
Cyclist33
Guest
- Location
- Warrington
cant you just buy the bearings online and swop them out yourself?
Aint got a clue. Apparently they needed to replace the freehub body as the particular bearings arent sold seperately or some garbage like that. They did give me a part number: ACC004 but I couldnt find anything useful online. Will try again tho.
PhilDawson8270
Veteran
What type of bearing is required? Can you get the dimensions from the old bearing, or the bearing number? If so, I can get hold of a massive array of bearings all styles and sizes.
