I will never be ordering off of parker international again.

whydoesitalwaysrainonme

and is that caused by the person not putting the tyre on properly or is it just a rare accident?

balthazar

whydoesitalwaysrainonme wrote:

and is that caused by the person not putting the tyre on properly or is it just a rare accident?

Your rim failed because it had a material or manufacturing defect, and I'm almost totally sure the same applies to the situation in the other picture. Inner tubes have no bearing on such failures. You can twist or trap a tube as much as you like – it may cause a tyre to blow off the rim (if it is trapped under the bead) but it will not cause rim damage.

The load from tyre pressure is considerable, as you discovered with ringing ears. Rims are designed to bear this load in the sidewall and bed (the part that failed in the other picture).

Infamous

I think it's just bad luck, rather than a badly put on tyre.

chuckcork

Bad luck with the rim, poor manufacture I'd say, given the kind of stresses that a wheel will have to endure on the road it under a riders weight shouldn't fail from the pressure put on it by the tube alone.

Re the other issue, you chose to take your wheel to your LBS, contractually I'd think you haven't a leg to stand on. Sure enough Parker should have got it right, first time, and you could expect to have it collected, fixed, and sent back to you at their expense, but you have to give them the opportunity to do so and a reasonable time to do so as well. In the end your own demands took precedence over the contractual niceties and you chose to have the problem sorted yourself, as a result the costs are yours to bear. You can't ask them to compensate you for what in reality is your impatience, however urgent you may have felt the situation was. It wasn't exactly life threatening or critical, was it?

The most you could ask for is a credit to your next purchase from them, even then they would only give it to you on a goodwill basis.

dilemna

I bought some stuff from Parker-International about 2 months ago now. Placed the order at 8am on a monday. I waited the whole week nothing arrived. On the following monday I got a call saying the lube I had ordered was oos despite it being shown as in stock on their site when I placed order. I selected alternatives none of which were in stock either. The other items which I had ordered they had in stock but they hadn't sent out on account of the oos lube. So I was now desperate for them. They did then send them out first class post though which I got on the wednesday 10 days after placing my order. Unfortunately the items did not fit so I sent them back straight away the same day by recorded post 2nd class requesting alternatives or alternatively a refund in full incl postage. I was fairly relaxed with them at all times making allowances for their delays. In email correspondence the same afternoon they told me that these alternatives were also oos. So reallly pee'd off with them by now I ordered the items from CRC instead which cost me £2 more but arrived next day and crucially they DID FIT. In the end it took Parkers 3 weeks from returning the items to refund me for them. They kept telling me that they would make the refund immediately or the refund had already been made or had been made today. I was regularly checking with my card provider but nothing was showing on my account. They have not refunded my postage despite saying they would which I have in writing in an earlier email only refunding me for the items themselves. I have given them every opportunity. The last excuse about 2 weeks ago was that they are too busy to make calls in the morning. What a pathetic excuse. The person who actually refunded me the items knew that they were to include cost of return postage as well. I have it in writing but they have subsequently not done so, fobbing me off instead.

I think Parker-International's customer service is poor. I would not use them again and cannot recommend them. You now how good a place is when you have a problem with an item you have purchased. As for their website indicating stock which they do not actually have this is quite simply misleading and hopeless.

All organisations have problems from time to time. It is how they deal with issues that determines whether they are a company who takes customer service and their image seriously. Any company can take your money and send stuff out. The test is how well they resolve things when they go wrong.

In contrast I have had a couple of items from CRC that I have had to return, but in each case refund has been made including return postage within a week.

For me the best service has been from Merlin fast, efficient and very well packed. A few months ago they sent me totally the wrong bottom bracket. I guess the person selecting and packaging the items to be despatched had a moment of crisis and took their eye off the spec of BB they were sending to me. It can happen. I sent it back straight away and 2 days later I had the correct bracket in my hands and refund of my return postage plus an apology. No fobbing off or waiting 3 weeks for a partial refund.

So in your situation the wheel they supplied you seems to have a defect in it's materials or construction. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 if goods are not of sufficient quality a retailer is in breach. Parkers are in breach of your statutory rights. If you have had the wheel(s) less than 6 months the burden is on them, the retailer, to show that the wheel was of sufficient quality rather than you to show it was not. After 6 months the burden is reversed so you have to show it was not of sufficient quality.

Yes you do have to give them adequate time to inspect, repair or replace the wheel but if you have told them of your need for a fully functional wheel due to a specific committment then you could seek an alternative elsewhere such as your LBS for which Parkers the retailer in breach of your statutory rights would be liable. They are also liable for all forseeable and reasonable costs stemming from their breach to supply you a wheel of suitable quality. It might be a good idea to get an LBS to take a look at it to advise what they think the cause of the failure of the rim is.

I suggest you decide what you want - a replacement or a full refund to purchase another wheel elsewhere. You could actually purchase an identical replacement elswhere which if more expensive Parkers would be liable to meet the additional cost but only if they could not supply you with a replacement themselves in a reasonable time or within your time scales. The fact that they have supplied you with an interim wheel in the meantime might indicate that they are trying to resolve the problem for you although if this wheel is also not of suffcient quality then this might not assist them in any action you brought against them.

I would write them a letter outlining your statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 quoting s.14(2) that:

- goods must be of "satisfactory" quality - that they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory.

- that the quality includes fitness for all the purposes for which the goods are commonly supplied.

- the quality is to include amongst others finish and appearance; freedom from minor defects; safety and durability.

From your pics and description of what happened it would appear that the failure of your rim breaches the above s.14(2) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. A 2nd opinion in writing from an LBS could be beneficial for you.

Also a retailer has a common law duty of care to supply you goods that will not injure you ie which are safe. Whilst you say in this instance the exploding tube due to the rim failing did make your ears hurt and ring so fright or injury was only temporary it could have been very serious had the rim failed when you were riding on the open road possibly resulting in serious injury to you. I don't think you would realistically have a PI claim against them but I could be wrong. If you had to take the matter to the small claims court you could try claiming £25-50 for fright/shock. A judge might be sypmathetic especially if the retailer has been obstructive in resolving the matter.

Keep a copy of all correspondence and a record of all conversations. Send any documentation by recorded post. As a result of a breach of your statutory rights Parkers are liable for all reasonable costs stemming from it. You do have to mitigate your losses though.

I hope this has helped and good luck.

martinwitnam

What day do you normally go out on your bike whydoesit ?

whydoesitalwaysrainonme

MartinWitnam
I go out most days, with one rest day a week (thursday). I won't be able to go out until until next Monday at the earliest, as i am quite busy, and will not have my wheel until wednesday. Do you want to meet up sometime next week?, i can meet you at Snowdown if you want.

dilemna

whydoesitalwaysrainonme wrote:

MartinWitnam
I go out most days, with one rest day a week (thursday). I won't be able to go out until until next Monday at the earliest, as i am quite busy, and will not have my wheel until wednesday. Do you want to meet up sometime next week?, i can meet you at Snowdown if you want.

Whydoesitalwaysrainonme I took some time to write my above post to try to offer you some advice on Parkers. Has it been any help or was I totally wasting my time along with the others who have posted replies?

whydoesitalwaysrainonme

yeh,sorry mate, the post was about the replacement wheel they sent me after the original broke, i have already had the wheel sent back and built up for me again, it's just that they didn't tighten the replacement wheels spokes up tight enough.