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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be angry with bike shop for selling me a second hand bike as new?

432 replies

YellowBellyCat · 04/07/2021 07:23

I bought an expensive bike last week from a well known National bike shop chain. Bike was reduced from £2700 to £2200 as I was told it was last year’s model. It’s a seriously well specced bike.

Turned up for a club ride yesterday and people there recognised the bike, it’s had custom bar tape put on it which makes it distinctive. Someone who works at the bike shop was there and made a comment about how the bike had won a National Grand Prix. I didn’t click at first and thought he meant that make/model. But later on other people were saying oh that’s x’s old bike. I’ve now found public posts from x on the bike shops fb page dated from 2019 with photos of her with the bike saying how she’s entered numerous races with the bike.

I tried to register it with the manufacturer yesterday on their registration scheme and can’t register it as it’s already registered.

So they’ve basically sold me a 2yo second hand bike and pretended it’s new. Don’t get me wrong…it looks in good condition, they’ve obviously cleaned it well, possibly they’ve put a new chain/cassette on 🤷‍♀️ But I wouldn’t have paid that amount of money for a second hand bike. At the end of the 2019 season another National chain were selling them new for £1900!

I’m going back to the bike shop today to attempt some serious price negotiation but not sure how far I’m going to get. If they don’t budge on price I think I will have to insist on a refund as it’s just making me angry now. A similar spec bike in this year’s models is about 4k though as the bike model has been seriously redesigned and upgraded (disc brakes from rim brakes) and I can’t afford 4k. They’re also all out of stock.

A friend was with me when I bought it and she’s as shocked as me, says she also thought it was a new bike. It was lined up with this year’s bikes.

OP posts:
EmbarrassingAdmissions · 04/07/2021 10:14

@YellowBellyCat

Chain doesn’t begin with H. Think a chain which only sells one brand of (high end) bikes and is named the same as the bike brand. I’m hoping their head office will be unimpressed if I have to take it that far. I’m furious.
I should think HO would be deeply unimpressed if they're acting as a retailer for a staff member's bike in this instance.
Scaredycat87 · 04/07/2021 10:21

It’s high end
In Lincs
And begin with S

But let’s see how the Op fares.
I would have personally only posted after going to them and seeing their response. It would be incredibly positive!

RaraRachael · 04/07/2021 10:43

Threaten them with Trading Standards. That usually works.

rwalker · 04/07/2021 10:44

Contact them by emailed so you have a paper trail . State the full history of the bike include some screen shots pictures.
State the bike is second hand passed off as new which isn't legal . Then tell them how much you want back and you will then consider the matter closed .
Or ask if they prefer you to go through trading standards .

OurChristmasMiracle · 04/07/2021 10:44

Really hope you get a solution @YellowBellyCat

Selling a second hand bike as new is not acceptable, even if the bike may be worth that amount second hand.

AdobeWanKenobi · 04/07/2021 10:52

@Scaredycat87

It’s high end In Lincs And begin with S

But let’s see how the Op fares.
I would have personally only posted after going to them and seeing their response. It would be incredibly positive!

Thought it was a ‘large’ place that began with G?
Puzzledandpissedoff · 04/07/2021 10:58

There’s a massive bike shortage

There's a shortage of a lot of things - I'm getting sick of online orders which turn out to be a lesser version of what's advertised - which is probably why they've done it

Anyway they haven't a leg to stand on since it was misrepresented and you can prove it. 50% refund or you'll take them for it, with all the bad publicity that could involve

MotionActivatedDog · 04/07/2021 10:59

OP when you tried to register it did they tell you who it was already Registered to? If not contact them again and ask for the name. Tell them you think it may have been sold to you as a stolen bike or illegally or whatever. Get as much information as you can out of them. When it was registered etc.

MotionActivatedDog · 04/07/2021 11:00

I agree with doing all of this via email. Don’t go into the shop in person.

Longestfewdaysupcoming · 04/07/2021 11:01

@MotionActivatedDog

OP when you tried to register it did they tell you who it was already Registered to? If not contact them again and ask for the name. Tell them you think it may have been sold to you as a stolen bike or illegally or whatever. Get as much information as you can out of them. When it was registered etc.
They won’t be able to tell the op this. It would be a data protection breach.
MotionActivatedDog · 04/07/2021 11:03

Well they shouldnt tell her. But like in the case with the bike companies sometimes don’t follow the law. So I certainly would ask and hope she can find out something. It’s not illegal for OP to ask.

luvvaduck · 04/07/2021 11:14

I'd suggest that the fact that you can't register the bike to obtain a warrantee because it's already been registered is the clincher. You might want to approach the company that issues the warrantees again, say you think you've been a victim of fraud, and ask them how to obtain the identity of the previous owner and the date it was registered. That will give you plenty of ammunition.

littlefireseverywhere · 04/07/2021 11:21

Bikes are in short supply but as a guide I bought a used second hand year old bike from eBay. Last years model, should’ve been £1200 new I got it for £800 & they’d changed the registry to my details too. You need recompense from the bike shop!

Cakeismyhero · 04/07/2021 11:22

How flipping frustrating for you, and embarrassing at the bike club with others recognising your 'new' bike! I hope you manage to get it resolved at the store with the outcome you want

BlueRabbitWasNaughty · 04/07/2021 11:24

I have the same bike (although probably a different model) and did the same... bought the previous years model at a discounted price. I would have been mightily cheesed off to find out it was second hand.

Will be interested in their response. Obviously it's trickier as you want to keep the bike but I would expect a part refund and as a pp suggested, a warranty from the shop (if not from G).

wewereliars · 04/07/2021 11:38

This is mirepresentation OP and contrary to the Sale of Goods Act.

You are entitled to a full refund as it is a fundamental breach of contract. Also report to trading standards, and / offer to buy for the second hand price. Appalling behaviour by the shop.

Ariela · 04/07/2021 11:42

@MotionActivatedDog

OP when you tried to register it did they tell you who it was already Registered to? If not contact them again and ask for the name. Tell them you think it may have been sold to you as a stolen bike or illegally or whatever. Get as much information as you can out of them. When it was registered etc.
The only info they can give is date of registration. So I think OP has a right to ask and be given just the date of registration. No need for a name, that's irrelevant.
Puzzledandpissedoff · 04/07/2021 11:46

I doubt finding the date it was registered would help - they'll just claim they did it on behalf of a buyer who then cancelled the purchase

It doesn't matter anyway since OP already has proof, but I agree about emailing them rather than visiting. At least that way it'll be in writing, and if they fail to respond that's all grist to the mill

MotionActivatedDog · 04/07/2021 11:50

It doesn’t matter what they might claim. The more info OP has ahead of speaking to them, the better she is able to counter any excuses/lies. Eg if they have claimed it was last years model and she has the date of registration as 2019 then she has immediately proven them to be lying about that.

bunburyscucumbersandwich · 04/07/2021 11:52

You should report them to trading standards too.

CastawayQueen · 04/07/2021 11:54

Social media 100% the way to go if the polite negotiation option fails

Ellmau · 04/07/2021 12:01

I wonder given the update about the test ride, maybe it wasn’t really for sale?

BikeRunSki · 04/07/2021 12:14

@Scaredycat87

It’s high end In Lincs And begin with S

But let’s see how the Op fares.
I would have personally only posted after going to them and seeing their response. It would be incredibly positive!

It’s the “large” manufacturer/shop brand which begins with G.
Jaxhog · 04/07/2021 12:18

A key point is that you can't register it. That alone would warrant a partial refund.

BlueMongoose · 04/07/2021 12:30

@jasjas1973

Quick bit of research shows the Langma pro 1 had a rrp of 2999 in 2019.

So, the price isn't a million miles out if they put on new consumables, bicycle manufacturer warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on, it'll be the shop that sorts out any issues, so get them to warranty it - in writing.
Frames don't wear out, so as long as the bike has all new consumables, you've got a 2 yr old "new" bike, bare in mind, it would have been raced in 2020.

The deception is another matter, totally unacceptable!
i'd be asking for an explanation & spare set of wheels c/w disks and tires plus a free service inc parts in 6 months time.

Frames do wear out. Slowly if steel, faster if some alloys, if they are carbon, very much so. And if they have had a knock, they can be seriously weakened- carbon especially. I bought a spare frame from my local bike shop that I knew was 2nd hand, as the shop owner rode it, I bought it as an identical spare for mine because it's a size and style no longer made but which fits me (few do). He sold it to me for, basically, peanuts, as it was used, despite being a pretty high-end frame. I think that the OP was not told this bike was second-hand, she was royally screwed, and it's a disgrace. I know the history of my frame, and that the chap who sold it to me would never have sold a frame that had been in a crash, but the OP knows nothing of the frame's history. Anything could have happened to it, especially if it was raced.