Dahon trauma

barrychristie

so I thought getting a single geared Dahon would mean less mechanical work and costs. but since buying it less than six months ago. Ive had to rebuild both wheels (within a month! - the build quality was so poor). replace the chain and now the chainset has warped.

so try to get it fixed at Evans and now they cant get a part because the distributers changing!!!!! bike will be out of action for over a month because of it!!!! any suggestions?

I would definately not recommend one of these.

Barry

mmacavity

Subject:
Sale of Goods Act, Faulty Goods.

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consume ... 38311.html

Relevant or Related Legislation:
Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002.

Key Facts:
• Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).

• Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.

• Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.


http://whatconsumer.co.uk/the-sale-of-goods-act/

Bicycle Guy

Dear Barry,

There is a valid reason for having your new Dahon bicycle PDI'd (Pre Delivery Inspected) by a dealer. Of course, this means that all bicycles purchased through the internet which arrive assembled from the Dahon factory (with the carton untouched by the Dahon seller) must have the assembly ( be mechanically gone over) prior to first use.
Many bicycle companies do not allow any of their bicycles to be sold online, and while Dahon doesn't place any purchasing restrictions on our bicycles, in order to comply with warranty regulation and proper initial mechanical use, a PDI should be performed.
I am mentioning this to hopefully advise some future Dahon buyer/user of the pitfall that you fell in.
I would like you to clearly understand that your situation is very important to Dahon and I need your help for me to help you out.Therefore, regarding a remedy to insure your current mechanical situation so that you can enjoy years of service, please feel free to send me an e-mail to my address shown below or to contact@dahon.com.

Best regards,　
　
........................................................
Rick Fair
Technical Support l Dahon
E-mail: rickfair@dahon.com
www.dahon.com

alfablue

This (above) is a fantastic response!

Well done Dahon

rickwiggans

If Fisher Outdoors are no longer to be the UK distributers, that is a shame. I have a couple of Dahons, and have needed parts, which Fishers have provided FOC by return. Your experience with Dahon wheels is not unusual by the way. I had to re-do the wheels on one of my Dahons - and yes - it had been dealer PDI'd. Not a dealer I would ever use again, but that's life I guess.

always_tyred

alfablue wrote:

This (above) is a fantastic response!

Well done Dahon

Um, but it doesn't really address why parts simply failed and bent. Not sure that any lbs will assemble the wheels that are out of true, not sure that they machine chain rings.

Its not a good response. Its a typically American response - a veneer, but very misleading in that it tries to infer that the fault is someone else's, whereas its clearly a manufacturer issue (combined with a distribution issue).

alfablue

It is a good response in that it happened at all, and that there is an offer of help. It is also a good response in that whilst there is not an open acceptance of a manufacturing problem (and why should that be accepted on the strength of one message), there is clearly an interest in resolving the matter. It could be seen as a bad response, as you suggest, in that it could be seen as obfuscation in mentioning the PDI, but I think the service of an LBS prior to purchase, and presumably on follow up if there are problems, is no bad idea.

It is rare that a manufacturer puts their head above the parapet in such a way (there are a few notable exceptions) and I for one prefer that they do even if it isn't a complete "falling on ones sword" gesture - maybe I am alone in appreciating this - oh go on then, lets condemn, it is more fun

always_tyred

alfablue wrote:

It is a good response in that it happened at all, and that there is an offer of help. It is also a good response in that whilst there is not an open acceptance of a manufacturing problem (and why should that be accepted on the strength of one message), there is clearly an interest in resolving the matter. It could be seen as a bad response, as you suggest, in that it could be seen as obfuscation in mentioning the PDI, but I think the service of an LBS prior to purchase, and presumably on follow up if there are problems, is no bad idea.

It is rare that a manufacturer puts their head above the parapet in such a way (there are a few notable exceptions) and I for one prefer that they do even if it isn't a complete "falling on ones sword" gesture - maybe I am alone in appreciating this - oh go on then, lets condemn, it is more fun

I had a similar experience with Salsa recently. While everything was eventually sorted out, the initial response to a disintegrating set of wheels was to somehow blame the user (me). I understand that not acknowledging fault is pretty much a necessity in north america in particular, but I object when this is done my casting aspersions elsewhere.

There is also a total lack of understanding of UK consumer law. There is a lot of statutory protection here that is not present there, which makes the Dahon email unecessary.

On top of all of that, the consumer doesn't have a contract with the manufacturer, they have it with the vendor and the vendor has a contract with the distributor and so forth. The only possible help Dahon can provide is to give the distributor a shake and ask them to give the vendor a nudge. Everything inferring a direct relationship between manufacurer and customer is misleading in that respect as well.

In this instance, the only recourse is for the customer to go to Evans. Evans are mistaken if they think a distributor problem has anything to do with their obligations to the customer.

desweller

barrychristie, did you email them?

A mate of mine has had wheel problems with his Dahon, ridiculous that a broken spoke should take months to fix IMO.

alfablue

Well I almost totally agree with you Always - the manufacturer clearly has no contract with the individual, though they may have liability for their products for 6 years (complicated for a non-eu manufacturer, but I gather that if they sell into the eu this applies, though I don't think Dahon's interest is motivated by this). However, I can understand that the manufacturer would want local dealers to be involved in the sale (though I can't see here the OP actually says he bought it online, maybe its staring me in the face). If Evans sold it then they must fix it and excuses about the distributor are irrelevant (there are clearly alternative items that could be fitted). If Evans didn't sell it then I guess the OP is reliant on their interest and effort . . . The original vendor, online or not, still has duties.

Vegeeta

The people here are quite correct in saying that it is actually the responsability of Evans Cycles to deal with the warranty issues on your bike.

In this circumstance where Evans Cycles can not get a direct replacement for your original parts which have broken due to a change in distributor they should seek to find a suitable replacement from another manufacturer and then take up the issue with the relevant companies after that.

I would suggest that if they can't find a suitable replacement chainset for your bike from another manufacturer that they use one of their stock bikes either as a loan bike or give you the chainset from that bike.

It's their obligation!