Would you expect some compensation?

[MrsAvocet]

To cut a long story short, I've just bought a bike online. It arrived damaged. After alot of difficulty getting through to anyone, the company I bought it from have basically said "Get it fixed locally and send us the bill". That's it. No offer of any recompense, either for my inconvenience or for the fact that I will now have a damaged and repaired bike, not the new, perfect one that I paid for. Its the first time I've been in a situation like this and I am not sure what is reasonable to expect. I feel I should be able to expect a new, perfect replacement, or some kind of discount, not just to be reimbursed for what I spend getting it fixed. I have emailed back saying I don't accept their current offer so will see what they come back with, but would be interested to hear from anyone who has had similar experiences or who can advise on the best way to proceed if I don't get a better offer. It is a huge company by the way, not an ebay seller or anything, and I don't want my money back unless its an absolute last resort - I really want the bike. Any advice would be gratefully received.

They should pay for it to be fixed or replace it, but I wouldn't expect additional compensation on top of that.

I’d be insisting they delivered a new bike and collected the damaged one at the same time. You bought a new bike not a repaired bike.

And to answer your question, if you are going ahead with local repair then yes, I would expect them to offer you a discount on the original cost of the bike.

Insist on a replacement and that they take away the old one. If they refuse, just invoke distance selling rights and cancel for a full refund with them liable for collecting it as it's damaged. You have no obligation at all to accept it and get it repaired.

You get 14 days to cancel online orders.

how is the bike damaged ?

14 days since delivery or 14 days since payment Love51? Its more than 14 days since I paid but not that long since delivery. Though reimbursment would be my last resort anyway as I will struggle to get the same or an equivalent bike anywhere else at the moment unfortunately. I suspect the vendors know that and are being less accommodating as a result.

As above, legally they need to take it back.

As you’re saying you’ll struggle to get the same/equivalent, it’s your decision if you want to play ball and get it fixed at their expense. I wouldn’t be expecting a further discount.

Legally they have to take it back. I'd say to them either take it back or X% discount plus compensation for the repair. They might counter-offer something like a free helmet or discount off a future order.

But as you say, bikes are in short supply so they can call the tune (for now, not a good long term strategy).

At expect a decent discount plus repair costs for the inconvenience at least.
Is it badly damaged?

Thanks all. I've just had a call from the company. My persistence has paid off.
They've agreed to pay for the repairs and are sending me a substantial amount of vouchers as compensation. And I've got the name and number of an actual person to call to discuss alternatives if for any reason I can't get a local repair done, so I won't be stuck going through the standard [email protected] system again. So I'd call that a result.
I'm normally not good at this kind of thing at all. I'm always the person who says "lovely thank you" when food is terrible in a restaurant and puts up with bad service etc, so I'm feeling quite proud that I stuck up for myself and won this time.

Well done OP!

This is 100% their problem - they failed to deliver goods to you in an undamaged state & it's ultimately up to them to sort it out - Did you pay by credit card?

Saw you got it sorted - good result!