Warranty denied as I stripped the bike down?

What does the warranty document say, exactly?

Depends on a reasonable definition of service. Are you voiding your warranty unless you pay the dealer to change your bottom bracket, replace a cable, or adjust your headset?

Sounds a bit harsh, but time to read the small print I guess

So did you service it or strip it down? Did the local dealer tell you that your stripping it down would void the warranty?

Assembled by an authorised dealer, which it was and.

The above warranty, or any implied warranty, does not cover:
Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer.

They agreed to you just bringing the frame?

Either way it's a shady cop-out.

No idea where you stand legally but morally it's a blatant contravention of rule no. 1 from the dealer.

When I emailed and said I would strip it the shop didnt respond.

If you did what the dealer agreed to, one of them owes you a frame.

If a car broke in warranty they wouldn't ask for it to be stripped down before you sent it away, why did the bike have to be stripped? (unless if you bought it as frame only)

Just get it back, reassemble it, take it to where you bought it from and start warranty process again.

Dealers dont send full bikes back for warranty just the offending component. Bit different with a car..

I did this on a Trek frame and it was replaced with no issues, although I guess it might depend where it had cracked

Are you qualified, trained or insured to dismantle a bike?

If not, you're probably out of luck.

Still a dick move on the manufacturers side.

they said there would be a labour charge to strip the bike,

That would/should be covered by the manufacturer if the bike was bought as a complete bike...

But charging to strip a warranty claim that as the bike shop they contracted to provide is very crap. I would have challenged that above all else.

Cytech qualified mechanic, so yes

I'm sure they might recognise the name. Dealer is presumably pissed off because they didn't get their stripdown fee and had to package and send it back for nothing.

I'd be pointing out that the dealer did not respond and advise you that this would void the warranty, and asking them persistently to review the case.

After that, it's name and shame time, and given the price of new frames, potentially small claims, where the 'reasonableness' of their warranty terms will have a light shone on them.

How old is the bike?

I wouldn't accept that esp if you have evidence the frame was damaged before the strip down.

I'd send a Letter Before Action to the Dealer (or whoever you bought the frame from).

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/legal-system/small-claims/Problems-with-goods---letter-before-court-action/

Cytech qualified mechanic, so yes

Tell them that then.
Then they can't deny your warranty.

Are you qualified, trained or insured to dismantle a bike?

where can I buy bike dismantling insurance from - I feel like I need some, I dismantle my bike all the time.

Im not however an authorised giant dealer which is their clause.
Giant havent even recieved the frame, the warranty was denied before it got out the shop at the B2B stage

Dealers dont send full bikes back for warranty just the offending component. Bit different with a car..

but that is not the consumers problem or issue. They purchased a bike, the bike is broken and should be subject to warranty investigation.

Im not however an authorised giant dealer which is their clause.
Giant havent even recieved the frame, the warranty was denied before it got out the shop at the B2B stage

How old is the bike? if quite new (<2 years) then you may have a case by claiming against your statutory consumer rights (ie claim the bike is not fit for purpose)rather than claiming against the terms of the giant warranty. If its older then you may well be out of luck if this is what their warranty T&C's say.

The product warranty is totally separate to your statutory rights, however you do ned to go back to the place that sold you the bike in order to exercise your statutory rights (if that is different to the place that is not playing ball on the warranty).

It sOunds to me like the shop are just not interested in helping , so you may get a different response by taking it to a different dealer - but put it back together again just in case.

How old is the bike?

If it's not too old then just set aside the bullshit they are giving you about warranty.
Just tellem the bike is broken, it's not fit für purpose and tellem to fix it.

Cleverly their warranty states also Modified from the original condition, so theoretically, change the pedals, no warranty

the bike is broken and should be subject to warranty investigation

Yes but (playing devil's advocate) shouldn't that investigation also take into account the general state of the bike, the pringled wheels, the inappropriately long travel forks, the 3 piece steel dirt jumping cranks etc. etc. (ask my 15 year old self with the headtube torn off his lightweight XC frameset how that one goes 😭 )

Theyve had photos of the bike at the exact moment the crack was discovered. Only non standard parts were bars and seat

Cleverly their warranty states also Modified from the original condition, so theoretically, change the pedals, no warranty

crosses giant off list of potential future bikes.

That sounds like a pretty poor warranty term to me, who the hell keeps bikes completely stock standard ?

Did you buy a bike or a frame?

but that is not the consumers problem or issue. They purchased a bike, the bike is broken and should be subject to warranty investigation.

The warranty is an addition to your legal rights. So they can set any conditions they like. In other industries not dismantling would be a common warranty condition

However in this case it’s just a total cop out. How old is the bike? Any chance of using the sale of goods act?

Where does servicing start and end. Pumping up the tyres and lubricating the chain are presumably not servicing. What about changing a tube or brake pads does that invalidate the warranty?

If it's a cracked downtube for example, there's very little chance that you've caused the problem. If for example it's cracked at the BB shell and you've removed the BB, then I could see why they might question it

Had a cracked frame, contacted the local dealer

is that the dealer you bought the bike from ?

I have had 2 Giant road bikes warrantied through the local dealer, who sold me the bikes new. They both had some changed contact points, saddles, pedals etc. never an issue in my claims.

Just under 4 years old at the time of finding the crack. I bought a Giant specifically for the lifetime warranty on the frame.

Purchased as a full bike, but not from the dealer who is processing.
Cracked under the seat tube to top tube junction, seatpost never extended past about 2" of static insert

seatpost never extended past about 2″ of static insert

Only 2" of seatpin insertion?

build it back up and take it in? Or to another giant dealer?

Seems pretty stupid on Giants behalf.

When my Norco frame failed, i stripped it and took it into Evans for a warranty claim. It was honoured, but was bloody painful... but thats a different story!

Purchased as a full bike, but not from the dealer who is processing.

it seems to me you are getting typical levels of service from a dealer that you didnt buy the bike from. They cant be arsed with it as theres nothing in it for them (regardless of what the giant T&C's say about a global warranty/dealer network etc), so they are falling back on a term in the warranty policy that is a get out of jail card for dealers who cant be arsed. Either try another dealer, or go back to the dealer you bought from.

I think you're too far out to rely on statutory rights, so its down to the goodwill of the dealer to process it fairly and the giant warranty terms .

You might just be out of luck though.

build it back up and take it in? Or to another giant dealer?

I would do this and take it back to the original retailer.

Cracked under the seat tube to top tube junction, seatpost never extended past about 2″ of static insert

Seatposts (not frames) generally have the minimum insert marks at 100 mm. I've always considered 100 mm the minimum, with the seatpost extending below the top tube junction.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Point it in the direction of the staff on here to run a story and get a comment and clarification from Giant? IMO this is hugely significant to the consumer, and grossly unfair.

As speculated above, this seems to leave it 100% ups to Giant's discretion as regards what counts as servicing, let alone the anti-competitive aspect of voiding the warranty if servicing is performed at a shop other than a Giant dealer.

If it's not the dealer you bought it from they are quite entitled to charge to strip etc, bike warranties aren't like car warranties where you can go to any Ford garage for example. As it is stripped down, they will have no way of determining where the seatpost was set, so maybe they reckon you had it too high and hence cracked the frame ?

I'd second building it back up and taking it to the dealer that you bought it from, presuming you have owned it from new ?

That failure point you've mentioned is one I've come across before on those frames. I've worked in the industry before and never came across a warranty inspection being denied based on the owner stripping down to a frame...in fact the mechanics would be glad for the time saved. They are taking the Wee. It's not even a hard job to strip a road bike, and barely needs specific skills compared to building it...I could have the bike starring at me in the hall stripped and ready for a box in probably 20mins, with one hand behind the back, dancing a merry jig on one leg- and mostly done with a single allen key. Don't stand for this sort of baloney.

As above though, the manufacturer requesting to judge the condition of the bike as it was prior to disassembly is a not uncommon, but could be sufficiently achieved with a photograph.

bike warranties aren’t like car warranties where you can go to any Ford garage for example

actually a lot are - especially the big boys, most of them have global warranties that just say take it to any of our dealers and they will sort. However the reality is far from this - in my experience if you didnt buy it from the bike shop you take it to they come up with all sorts of stuff to avoid their obligations under their dealer banner, things like saying, sure we can look at that for you, but we're busy for the next 6 months etc

So Giant could anyway say you modified the bike and installed a non standard saddle potentially incorrectly which led to the failure. It's rubbish but would appear Giant have multiple (rubbish) reasons for refusal to honour the claim.

I think it goes down to experience but wish you luck in progressing it!

"Only 2″ of seatpin insertion?" no only two inches out. XL frame im 6'1

Its Giant themselves that have denied without seeing the frame, nothing to do with the shop.

The shop are also charging me an admin charge and postage of the frame, so I figured save the labour charge and strip it myself. I'd rather pay for frame postage than bike. And having worked for a giant dealer, I have never once sent a full bike back.

I have asked Giant to clarify their Dealer service clause. What work qualifies a service? I also question that this was a "service"

That’s ridiculous, especially considering that you’re a qualified mechanic. I will definitely be adding Giant to my shitlist after this, they don’t deserve customer loyalty after pulling a stunt like that.

It’s got to be worth reaching out via social media. I’m sure that the last thing that Giant needs right now is negative publicity.

Was it actually Giant who refused it, or was that just comms from the dealer?

They "cannot comment" on whether warranty would have been denied if I had returned the full bike.

Awful customer service. I wonder if their recent failure to pay invoices on time is related.

As an aside I had a Cervelo frame crack at the top of the seat tube, they fell overthemselves to help me and replaced the frame with one worth twice the amount and rebuilt the bike inside a week. None of this rubbish.

Martin>Im now talking to Giant CS direct

That's Giant joining Mondraker on my list of brands to avoid now.

My giant ebike had water ingress after 4 months. (don't buy a giant ebike, they are terrible)

I'd done what every other giant ebike owner does and covered the outside of the wiring loom in dialectric grease and had dried the bike out by the rad for a few days. Still didn't work so took it in.

Dealer told me under no circumstances to touch anything at all or add anything until the warranty is out because giant are so fussy and will try and worm out of a warranty claim.

I'll never buy a giant again.

Wow, that really is awful. I bought a Commencal ebike off their website and they've been really helpful with any issues and are happy for me to strip bits down and send them back. Genesis/Saracen and Trek have also been really good in the past.

I'm confused.

(a) 4 years ago you bought a bike from an authorised Giant dealer.

(b) You recently discovered a crack.

(c) You contacted another (local?) Giant dealer about handling your warranty work

(d) You stripped the bike down and sent them the frame only.

(e) They've had a dialogue with Giant and the warranty claim has been refused.

Did you contact Giant after (b) and did they say to take it to your local dealer?

Did you contact the local dealer before sending it in and did they specify bike or frame?

As some have said, dealing with the retailer you purchased it from might have resulted a different outcome. However, it's also possible that the original retailer is no longer a Giant dealer or even still in business.

stripping a bike down is not "servicing" it.

just claim it hasn't been serviced, unless the warranty requires that it needs to be? otherwise start sale of goods act on the supplying dealer but you won't get your full money back

Does say in their warranty terms:

'Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer'
'Modifications from the original condition'

Legally I guess they are within their right.

I used to have a Giant that I serviced myself and never would have thought to look for this. Very much a dick move. At the same time I guess they suffer many special customers attempting to over tighten everything on a carbon frame, the majority of which are not Cytech qualified.

Def crossed off my future purchase list. It's laughable to think a brand can get out of a warranty on the back of a customer changing a saddle or bars.

Basically why I ride Santa Cruz. There should be a warranty comparison table on this site but I guess a good chunk of advertiser revenue would dry up as a result.

I found the crack, contacted giant about sending them photos to see if they thought it was a crack or lacquer peel, its around a weld. They said we cant comment on photos, take it to a giant dealer who will process the warranty. I contacted the nearest shop, they said there is a labour charge to strip and rebuild the bike, admin fee and postage fee to return the frame. I said I will strip and return just the frame to save the labour cost. They didnt reply, so I did just that.

‘Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer’

If you service it yourself you aren't a non-authorised Giant dealer, are you? You're not a Giant dealer at all 🙂

Legally I guess they are within their right.

Not sure about that. You cannot put unreasonable stuff in a contract in the UK, AFAIK. If you do it is un-enforceable. I feel there should be some consumer legislation about this somewhere. They did this with cars, they stopped them invalidating the warranty if a different garage serviced it. I think now the onus is on the manufacturer to prove that incorrect servicing caused the problem.

How large/tall do you have to be to qualify as a 'Giant' dealer...? 🙃

I bought a Giant specifically for the lifetime warranty on the frame.

Warranty is on the frame, over 4 years many parts could've got worn out and replaced - their policy is this is only to be performed by a Giant retailer?! They are a Giant con then.
I had a Rocky Mountain with a problem with the linkages, I stripped it becuase I had to post it back. When it turned up the shop (Tredz) found a (maybe) crack by the BB and got me a new frame from RM.
Giant are a big enough company to sort this. Don't give up until you get a new frame.

Giant are a big enough company to sort this.

A big company who also seem to be struggling to pay their suppliers.

Perhaps word has come down from on high to reject any and all claims they can possibly wriggle out of.

I contacted the nearest shop, they said there is a labour charge to strip and rebuild the bike, admin fee and postage fee to return the frame. I said I will strip and return just the frame to save the labour cost. They didnt reply, so I did just that.

Did they mention how they'd refund that if a warranty claim was upheld?

Nope.
"We will need proof of purchase, there would be labour charges to pay and and admin/postage costs"

After this I popped into the shop as I was passing to as via email I asked when I could bring it in and they didnt reply. I happened to be passing and went in, again I said the above and I said I would strip it to save the labour, at no point did they say it invalidates the warranty.

'Modifications from the original condition.'

You'll be aware that most bikes come without pedals, or cheap crappy plastic ones.
The fork steerer tube is often cut down by the dealer or new owner.

So, when you add your own pedals, or have the steerer tube cut, are you voiding the warranty?

Further to above I also had a conversation regarding what they would do as the Trance is now fully 29" would they replace the frame and say whistle, replace frame, forks, wheels? He said they might have a NOS 650b frame in, and wouldnt know what they would do. Again no mention of not stripping it down.

Did they mention how they’d refund that if a warranty claim was upheld?

Labour is chargeable for warranty work

Nothing to add other than to agree with several others that they're most definitely on the list of bikes I will not be purchasing.

I stripes and orange segment frame to sell and found a crack when cleaning it.

Orange sorted it out for me and were great to deal with

Good luck getting sorted

I bought a carbon Anthem frame from a small Giant dealer (!) a good few years back, some years later the bottom bracket junction came away from the rest of the frame.

Dealer said yup, that's crap, strip it and we will send it back (lifetime warranty don't you know). After some time Giant sent a ridiculous letter back making much of irrelevant details (ooh, a bike with signs of use - whatever next).

Accused me of hucking it off something big, which I don't recall doing, as the v lightweight wheels, carbon bars, world cup SIDs etc would have given up the ghost too.

Needless to say won't buy another Giant. More recently Whyte were fabulous regards a broken rim despite the original dealer being bloody useless on every front, so good manufacturers are out there. I love the idea of a "shit or shiny reputation?" list for manufacturers, importers, dealers, but agree the advertising revenue would dry up!

I sent my Orange P7 back to Orange through Winstanleys for a warranty respray.

Stripped it myself and dropped it off at Winstanleys and they dealt with the warranty with no problems.

‘Modifications from the original condition.’

You’ll be aware that most bikes come without pedals, or cheap crappy plastic ones.
The fork steerer tube is often cut down by the dealer or new owner.

So, when you add your own pedals, or have the steerer tube cut, are you voiding the warranty?

its a reasonable clause to have, as long as its applied appropriately. If someone whacks a set of boxxers on a giant anthem, which then has its headtube ripped off, its fair to refuse a claim. If someone puts different pedals on, obviously not.

not to hijack this thread my giant ebike has been faulty most of the last year of its warranty dealer kept handing me it back saying should be fixed now till the warranty ran out giant now want nothing to do with it so have started proceedings
good luck getting it sorted

Section 75 claim?

Did you document i.e. photograph the damage before dismantling the bike? Surely the issue is that there was a fault with the frame prior to dismantling.

Maybe just cause a stink on social media till you get your warranty inspection.

Cheeky of the dealer not to tell you that disassembly would void the warranty, even cheekier to bill for a warranty disassembly/inspection, should get billed back to the manufacturer (assuming fault is found with the frame).

Its too old to have a decent chance under consumer legislation imo

Warranty you are at the mercy of the manufacturer

I’d have assumed Giant would be decent as a big brand, part of why you pay for a big name.

Or don’t in future, as with others in this thread. How off putting.

I second the suggestion above to ask someone from the mag to try get a comment out Giant…

If Giant want a dealer to check out THE BIKE rather than just the frame, that seems fair. They have no idea what condition it was is in, if unsuitable replacement parts had been used, etc.

Oh, one last point… an email sent doesn’t mean that an email was read but not replied to. If the dealer has said, “yeah strip it down yourself and we’ll send it on to Giant”, and then gone back in that, I can see the issue. But just sending someone an email telling them what you intended to do, and then cracking on with that course of action without confirmation that was okay with them… I’m afraid that’s on you. Lack of response to an email (could be lost, could be blocked by spam filters, could have been missed) can not be taken as confirmation and agreement to the contents of the email.

Yip Giant of my list since they denied a warranty on a cracked linkage. Original Giant dealer didn't really fight for me and my local Giant dealer couldn't be arsed to deal with it.

"Assembled by an authorised dealer, which it was and.The above warranty, or any implied warranty, does not cover:
Bicycles serviced by a non Authorised Giant Dealer."

That breaks consumer law in the UK (Well, until this Gov strips all those things away to protect Big Business and their mates from nasty EU-derived directives).

Remember about 10 years ago when finally car manufacturers were  forced to accept that servicing doesn't have to be done my the main dealer to keep a car in warranty.  This is exactly the same thing.

Now... where did it crack ?  And do you have evidence (photos) that it was cracked before you took it apart ? Hope you do.

Did it crack at a part of the frame where dis-assembly could reasonably have caused the crack (eg head tube if you'd battered the headset cup out with a lump hammer, or BB if its a creak fit and youd not supported the frame shell in the right place when pressing out, etc).

If you've got the evidence and a case to show your 'workmanship' didn't cause it, I'd (a) tell them you're off to Trading Standards, (b) lots of negative shiite their way of faceache, instabollox, etc st every opportunity to shame them (make the bad press cost more to them than the repair), (c) tell them you're off to the small claims court with it, and (d) use the small claims court. That's on the bike shop as they sold  the bike with a warranty- don't let them slope their shoulders in saying its the manufacturer who aren't honouring the claim - its the shop's problem.

LBS whinge that they are having a hard time. But they don't help themselves when they don't back up their customer and side with the manufacturer.

Leisure Lakes ****ed me over in conjunction with Specialized  for a £90 cracked rear chain stay years ago (which was a fatigue crack in an unmarked area, defo a manufacturer fault) - and as a result, NEVER AGAIN - they have lost thousands (maybe 10k) of sales since. I refuse to give them a penny again.

LBS whinge that they are having a hard time. But they don’t help themselves when they don’t back up their customer and side with the manufacturer.

In this case the shop involved isn't the one that sold him the bike. I've no idea what agreement/contract is currently in place between Giant and their dealers. It's quite possible that the only payment the dealer receives is for the strip-down (and possible rebuild).

It seems that the OP has hit this problem because he, for quite honest reasons, stripped the bike down. However, it's already been mentioned that a dealer/manufacturer would like to see more context than just a bare frame. Indeed, that might be part of the manufacturer/dealer agreement.

It’s quite possible that the only payment the dealer receives is for the strip-down (and possible rebuild).

Most provide nothing at all

To balance thing's out a little ,I had to process a warranty claim on a 2018 trance .
I contacted my local giant dealer which since moving area wasn't the supplying shop.
I arranged to take the bike in and the shop looked at it and verified that's a crack we will contact giant for you .
They and I took several photographs .
3 working days later they said giant want to see the frame ,I asked them do you want me to strip it ,they replied if you could that would be brilliant.
I stripped it dropped it off and 2 weeks later was delivered a brand new 2022 trance x frame .
Now knowing bike shops can't survive on biscuits alone I did then purchase several items from them to transfer the build .
My experience was exceptional so its a pity your not having as much look .
But having read through the bumf we look to be still missing a few details ,who said that the warranty was void the dealer or giant .this is important as if it was giant was this communicated directly through the dealer .
I say this as I had an issue with a specialized and leisure lakes said its not warranty and point blank refused to process it sating a rock strike had caused the crack ,I contacted specialized directly and wassent a new frame and would never trust leisure lakes Bury again .