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After a long time dithering, finally ordered my analogue cargo bike last Friday via Cycle to Work.
Within an hour had email from vendor saying, all in stock would have by Tuesday - paid the carriage, using my credit card.
Since then repeated unanswered emails asking for updates/ tracking information, then yesterday had a delivery - of a radiator. Yes, you read that right, my details and vendors correct on label, box contained a radiator. Since then, still near impossible to contact, no reply to emails.
So there is £1880 of my stuff somewhere in the country and a vendor who seems unable to communicate. He tells me he used Paisley to ship, as he has for 12 years with little issue.
Am I being too impatient? I think if he would just bloody communicate I would be much less irate. Am thinking of starting to charge storage for said radiator. So, chill out and wait, or start getting pissy Monday? Vendor is a proper shop, over 6hrs away by car so can't just pop in with sausages/ jars of wee unfortunately.
Vendor is a proper shop, over 6hrs away
Presumably you've tried phoning then?
Definitely a legit bike shop? Sounds a bit scammy to me... I can imagine seller sends some old rubbish they don't want, tracking shows as delivered and they claim you did receive it, not sure how that would work as a scam but it seems off to me.
I would be pretty annoyed but bear in mind that being really pissy doesn't always speed things along, being persistent and reasonably polite may be better for now.
Yep, I agree, it sounds fishy.
A radiator could be the same kind of size and shape as a bike box I guess, could shop just say they have proof of delivery...and accuse you of trying to scam them?
Have you looked at trust pilot or Google reviews of the shop?
Definitely a shop, multiple reviews over many years - to be fair reviews were a bit mixed but none too bad recently. Courier has picture of box on doorstep, definitely not bike sized, but I assumed as the accessories - rack, lock etc.
Have been quite polite so far, but getting fed up of it now.
Will be interesting to see how this unravels, but I would suggest getting in contact with the C2W provider sooner rather than later to tell them the issue. It might help things along if they withhold payment to the bike shop until you are happy.
Plan giving them until Monday then going to contact cycle to work and credit card.
Is only towel rail/ radiator so nowhere near bike size so he can't say that really.
Fair point @maccruiskeen , if it was only today he has been shit, but its been 7 days of lack of comms/ tracking information.
He's in Richmond, London not North Yorkshire
Some people have no idea how to run a business, some others are ****s and some are brilliant with super customer service and highly efficient ordering and delivery systems. Unfortunately it’s quite hard to tell sometimes before it’s too late.
This sounds very fishy to me if the box had the vendors name on it. I mean it’s impossible to ship a radiator by mistake instead of a bike.
Presumably though shop has to be registered with cycle to work in order to cash in the vouchers Shirley. Can C2W stop the payment? I’d be onto them sharpish …
Shouldn't this thread be titled NRD??
Fair point @maccruiskeen , if it was only today he has been shit, but its been 7 days of lack of comms/ tracking information.
He’s in Richmond, London not North Yorkshire
Ah fair enough - I wasn't excusing the other lack of comms just the particular instance of him actually contacting you and being cut off.
This sounds very fishy to me if the box had the vendors name on it
The box? or the label? In some instances the courier rather than the vendor prints the labels and applies them on pickup. So if its only the label identify the vendor rather than the box it could be thats the issue.
I'm in Richmond next week, drop me a PM if you like and i'll go and see whats happening with the shop?
Not saying i'd do anything to help your situation out, certainly wouldn't run in pitch forks blazing..
But very happy to pop by and see if its still up and running.
You're not being unreasonable.
This has a whiff of scam either by the shop or theft by/from the carrier. If it's not a scam then it's incompetence/ customer service fail and they deserve some grief.
20 unanswered calls and a radiator delivered in place of a cargo bike I'd have reported to the card company, my employer/cycle to work provider before now and for £2000 I'd probably have driven there by now especially if they're open Saturday.
Is there an invoice / other documents with the radiator that says bike?
I’m in Richmond next week, drop me a PM if you like and i’ll go and see whats happening with the shop?
Make sure you take a pack of frozen sausages and a hammer, just in case. Extra points if they are Richmond brand!
Radiator from them? I'd be on to credit card company now. There is nothing accidental about that
I suspect it was courier applied label, he claimed he has photos of bike box with my name/ address written on prior to shipping, but not provided yet.
I am hoping he's just shit at admin, just getting rather frustrated at lack of comms.
As far as I'm concerned, courier losing the bike etc is a him problem, not a me problem that he needs resolve and send me a bike and accessories.
Anyone want buy a radiator? Local collection only
No paperwork, as said, i thought box might have been repurposed to ship rack etc, had warned me might arrive separately from bike.
Want until opening seen it was an actual radiator.
If it is a case of bad labelling I'd have been all over Comms with you as the shop.
Even if the only thing I could provide was reassurance that I was on the case with trying to figure out what went wrong.
I seem to remember that there was a thread on one of the forums (not sure if it was on here TBH) about 3 or 4 years ago about a bogus mail order bike shop in the Richmond area. At the time, ooking up the address on street view showed an industrial unit rather than a retail place and no name matching the company that had been ordered from. Similar lack of goods turning up and no communication. Gonna do a bit of Googling and see what I can turn up.
I'm sort of local (South West London) so was curious. A bit of Google for cargo bikes in Richmond led to a shop which gets very patchy reviews, in particular with regards C2W. They are not a shop I had heard of before which automatically makes me curious and I've often heard the names of the good places through word of mouth. Reviews just sounds like they are rubbish at communication. That's not an excuse, I'd be mad. Suspect you just have to keep trying and if not escalate it to C2W etc.
Maybe I'm being too generous/ optimistic, but I can't imagine c2w would allow them redeem voucher, amd my payroll are aware its been redeemed, unless it was legitimate shop?
I had seen mixed reviews, but fact are included in official visit Richmond site made me think must have some sort of shop/ presence.
Only bit I've actually paid is shipping, with my CC for insurance/ reassure have some comeback. I'm sure c2w will be interested/ pursue if no show.
It's not this lot again is it? https://singletrackmag.com/2021/08/is-the-bicycle-company-uk-britains-biggest-cycling-scam/
@angrycat no, not them thankfully. Its one of the very few Yuba sellers in the country.
Other one I looked at added surcharge as work use halfords scheme.
If I get nowhere in next couple days will happily name and shame, but keeping it sufficiently vague for now, though with info I've given you'll easily find them.
I had less hassle getting a bike off CRC when it was goi g bankrupt!
Glad to hear it's not the one I thought it was - hope it all works out for you.
Sounds like the place I found. From what I can see they are legit, just a bit useless in particularly around comms
What colour is the radiator?
Oh and make sure the valves line up with the logos
What colour is the radiator?
Just be careful how you fix it to the plasterboard wall
What vendor / what shop?
Is no one going to comment on the unsightly marks on the carpet?
Is Rad! Bikes the new Sick! Bikes?
Early design...
😉
Very weird tale to date!
In defence of the 'cock up not conspiracy' theory Paisley are pretty ****, they have probably given your bike to someone who was expecting a radiator. Doesn't excuse the lack of Comms though, although thiers are dire so the vendor is probably still trying to get hold of them to work out what's going on
I suspect it was courier applied label
My experience of APC via Paisley Freight has been really good, but the driver takes the box away unlabelled (I always write the address on the box) and presumably sticks it on in the van. Seems quite possible the driver ended up with two boxes without addresses and two labels to apply. 50% chance of getting it right, 95% chance of getting it wrong.
No excuse for poor customer service from the shop though.
I call courier has messed up.
I’ve had two new bikes delivered from Germany and on both occasions the UK courier has **** up and delivered someone else’s bike.
To be fair the Radiator could have been mistaken for an Orange Five.
We seem to be veering towards incompetence than malicious, just need a bike and few accessories to turn up. Minor issue then ?
My wife bought a pair of Doc Martens from Vinted just before Christmas. What the courier delivered was a kid's scooter. When we looked at the packaging it had two different courier printed stickers on it. Vinted just issued refunds, didn't even try to track down the error. I still feel a bit sorry for the poor kid who was expecting a scooter from Santa and woke up to find a pair of steely Docs.
Sounds to me like it might be a similar sort of error. Hopefully you'll get it all sorted.
Did you get to keep the radiator?
So far - courier didn't want it
its too late to edit but I think most forum users on an expensive bike forum would got to lengths not to post their address so it might be worth asking the mods to edit the post
Cheers @maccruiskeen, didn't notice was visible - will report myself and see if they can remove.
Edit - That was quick Mods - thanks. Bike arrived, just 2 accessories awaited, which despite being told being in stock are apparently on back order - why would I want an uncomplicated purchase when I can have all this fun.
I reckon i know which shop this is.
Presusmably the forum has had a bit of a reset recently, as i cant see any of my historic posts, but i have been left waiting for months and months for Yuba parts that were in stock then not instock. the "Guy" was taking the mick with his managment of expectations.
My order of June '21 turned up in the end, in October.
That's the fells @Olly - now 'just' waiting for 2 accessories, though nothing stop me using it for now. Wouldn't use this place again.
Currently sat bored in a Teams meeting, so thought would update.
Still waiting for some of the parts ordered - have escalated to the scheme administrators as ?? Fraudulent redemption of voucher?? as has put in writing had redeemed it and all in stock for dispatch. I was told 17th and 25th January had it all in stock and would be out soon/ next day. Been chasing every couple of weeks, with varied level of response. Latest update was would be out last week - then silence.
He blames importer, saying no supplies. They are saying can't really do much as C2W purchase, but they have said he should have the stock. Truly hacked off.
So, if ever considering using leftfield bikes of Richmond - I would give them a huge swerve. He ignores communication, tells outright lies about stock availability and seems at best totally useless.
If I ever get the remainder of my order, I will update.
To be fair the Radiator could have been mistaken for an Orange Five.
Actually, it looks more like the tubes my Inbred 567 is made from!
Hopefully, I’ll be riding it again early next month, once TFTuned have serviced the forks. Probably weighs about the same as that radiator! 🤣
Excitement is mounting, apparently my email of 26th May has just arrived today, as his inbox has been playing up (nothing to do with me emailing for a 3rd time today, honest).
What a coincidence, 2 of the remaining 3 ordered bits are being sent today. Allegedly.
We'll see.
The saga is over! The final part of my order has arrived!
In short, avoid this retailer if you hope to have clear or honest communications, or your order in any sort of reasonable timescale.
You're more patient than me, I'd have been demanding a refund before January was out.
9 months is quite impressive to get a bike delivered to you.
Was through work bike scheme, they weren't interested in helping despite him having his money since January, claiming at order to have all in stock - I was a bit hamstrung.
Have the bike a while, it was a frame lock was waiting for.