probikekit

trtimothy

I ordered a set of Nokon gear cables on the 10th May. On the 12th May I received the item but Probikekit had sent me the wrong item and sent the shorter brake cables.

I emailed probikekit at orders@probikekit.com that day and they confirmed I had the wrong item but asked me to send a photo to confirm. I did this and didn’t receive a reply.

On the 18th May I rang Probikekit to find out why I hadn’t got a reply. Apparently I hadn’t had one as I was meant to email admin@probikekit.com but since nobody had told me this I’m not really sure how I was meant to do this!

On the 20th May I finally got a return authorised after several more phone calls, including one time when I could hear the office staff say whilst I was waiting ‘should I put him through?, No he can wait.’ I therefore posted the item back to Probikekit on the 21st May and was told I would get another set sent.

On the 1st June after chasing Probikekit up I found the reason why I had not received the new items is that apparently they were now out of stock. Nice of them to let me know! As such I asked for a refund.

I used Royal Mail first class to return the item as Probikekit insisted as otherwise they would not refund my postage. After several more emails to Probikekit and several short brusque replies back I was finally told yesterday that I would have to claim from Royal Mail as the item must have been lost in the post. This is despite them being prepared to send the correct item weeks ago?

This means a month down the line I have no gear cables, no refund and am left out of pocket for postage of both the wrong item and the Royal Mail claims form. I can’t even reclaim the full cost of the gear cables as Royal Mail will only refund up to £40. I only sent normal first class as Probikekit insisted! I feel their customer service has been despicable and they should be the ones claiming from Royal Mail, as they could also do. I don’t see why I should be left out of pocket as a result of a catalogue of their errors!

Gazzaputt

Yep agree this does sound very shoddy. Luckily all my dealing with Probike have been ok but I've never had to return an item.

rolf_f

Ask to speak to the boss and be very understanding - don't go on about the staff behaviour; the only thing that matters to you is that you want the cables you have paid for.

If you jump up and down about the response so far they'll just look at you as a lost customer; if they think you are a commited customer who is concerned over a one off lapse, they should be keener to keep you sweet.

flanners1

Yes great delivery and prices.

When it is the wrong size etc they are bloody useless. Has been awful to return items on several occasions, especailly with their 'return number' system.

Their ebay profile reflects this big time!

on-yer-bike

Flanners1 wrote:

Yes great delivery and prices.

When it is the wrong size etc they are bloody useless. Has been awful to return items on several occasions, especailly with their 'return number' system.

Their ebay profile reflects this big time!

I've got to send something back for a refund, any tips?

bobtbuilder

They were pretty cr*p when something I ordered never arrived.

They told me I had to wait 28 days before they could send a replacement (which is fair enough), but they refused to put a replacement aside in case the original never arrived, and lo and behold, after the 28 days they had sold out of the item.

Great products, good prices, sh*te customer service.

top_bhoy

Thanks for the advanced warning. I was going to order some Castelli bibs at the weekend but won't now. I'll go elsewhere. I don't mind problems arising - thats a risk buying over the internet - its how a customer is treated when things go wrong that count. I've never had an issue with Ribble, Wiggle or CRC on the very rare occassion things weren't quite right. You've been treated shabbily trtimothy. I hope someone from PBK has read your post and feels enough shame to help you resolve matters.

giant_man

Just put an order through them a couple of days ago, hope it goes ok now.

I do agree with Top_Bhoy's comments above.

flasher

Very shoddy, and as pointed out by their ebay feedback a common occurrence!

redvee

There has been no responses to the -ve feedback either, so they don't argue the case.

EDIT: As I wrote the above I had an email confirming my order with them has been dispatched.

gabriel959

I have always had decent service from them but then again have never had to return an item. I will think twice from now on before ordering from them again!

bobtbuilder

redvee wrote:

There has been no responses to the -ve feedback either, so they don't argue the case.

EDIT: As I wrote the above I had an email confirming my order with them has been dispatched.

What is their Ebay ID??

pinkbikini

In the interest of balance, I recently returned an item to PBK which didn't fit and asked for a refund. Got a return number emailed to me, popped the jersey in the post, they credited my account within a couple of hours of receiving the item.

In relation to a comment above, I don't think sellers can respond to negative feedback any more on eBay, so it's hardly fair to use that as evidence of retailer indifference.

I'm not disagreeing that the OP seems to have experienced poor customer service but it's important that things are kept in perspective here.

brin

Same as above, iv'e used PBK a few times, had to send a shirt back for a larger size, got replacement within the week. s'pose sometimes people are just unlucky, could happen with any online purchase.

trtimothy

Hey,

I completely agree this should be kept in context, however I feel this is totally unacceptable, especially when compared to the impeccable service I've had from Wiggle and other online retailers.

I have emailed them pretty much what I posted above and explained why I feel its unacceptable and the fact all I want is a refund for the product I never recieved! As soon as they get back to me I'll update you all with the response.

trtimothy

Hey,

Just had a reply from Probikekit and a personal email from their owner. They understood why I was upset and have now given me a full refund including postage. They also very kindly gave me a £20 gift voucher to make up for all the trouble. I'm therefore pretty happy this has all been resolved and I consider the matter over.

Just thought I'd let everyone know how this turned out.

Tom

Percy Vera

ahhhh... the power of the internet!

bristolpete

I ordered Cervelo team bibs that never arrived, took ages to be refunded. Never did arrive. Will give them another go though as other stuff has, but the expensive kit seems to not make it. I have spoken to others who have had the same issues.

Andy140

Have ordered quite a few things from PBK and found the service to be great - recently returned item for refund, posted on Friday - refund paid on Monday......cannot conplain about that and will continue to use them without worry.

london-red

Really bad. Spend the £20, not a penny more and never go back. Too little too late as far as I can tell.

top_bhoy

trtimothy wrote:

Hey,

Just had a reply from Probikekit and a personal email from their owner. They understood why I was upset and have now given me a full refund including postage. They also very kindly gave me a £20 gift voucher to make up for all the trouble. I'm therefore pretty happy this has all been resolved and I consider the matter over.

Just thought I'd let everyone know how this turned out.

Tom

Congratulations, you have secured a deal which satisfies you and doesn't leave you out of pocket. Pity it took a well articulated internet thread to secure it..

parasjethwa

I bought a Castelli base layer in Sept 2012. After only about ten wears it started to fall apart.

PBK have refused to replace it and told me that they have a six month returns policy. This is not on their website and is actually illegal.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 makes it an implied term of the contract that goods be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.

I will never buy from this company again and would strongly urge you to think carefully with a company who do not know or adhere to basic UK law.

See you in court PBK. Quite looking forward to this!!

PS - I bought some shoes from Merlin cycles - went wrong after 18 months - same rubbish about one year warranty - RUBBISH. I pointed out the law to them and voila - a full refund. KNOW THE LAW GUYS.

sloppyschleckonds

parasjethwa wrote:

I bought a Castelli base layer in Sept 2013. After only about ten wears it started to fall apart.

Great foresight

mfin

parasjethwa wrote:

See you in court PBK. Quite looking forward to this!!

Really? You're going to take them to court over a defective base layer?

Seeing as court involves evidence, maybe you can provide evidence that you have taken them to court (when it happens).

(not saying you're opinion of them is wrong, just that the court bit is claptrap... and if you do do it, and its not claptrap then I'd guess you're a bit mental... but don't worry, it's claptrap)

mfin

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

parasjethwa wrote:

I bought a Castelli base layer in Sept 2013. After only about ten wears it started to fall apart.

Great foresight

I think the bloke is going to have to forgive you for thinking all clairvoyants are fakes.

parasjethwa

Sorry - 2012 - tiredness from my riding kicking in.

For me it is all a matter of principle. When you buy something it should be value for money and not defective. That is a basic right of law. You enter into a contract when you buy something and, in my opinion, that contract has been nullified.

It is nothing to do with the money - it could cost £10 or £10 000. A decent company e.g. John Lewis would not hesitate to refund or rectify issues.

Trading Standards have advised me to issue them with a letter stating the facts and then take it from there.

I would be delighted to furnish you with evidence - not sure why you would like to see it though.

Bit mental - you're probably right - but in my line of work I don't compromise on anything (I am a Consultant Surgeon). Don't see that I should have to tolerate this.

Claptrap? Please expand your thoughts in this area.

mfin

I just meant you'd be screaming mental if you value your own time so little that you'd take someone to court over a base layer defect. That's what you first said, not that you'd write them a letter.

parasjethwa

You're probably quite right - but I'm a bit like a dog with a bone about these things.

I suppose the issue is that if PBK (or any retailer) hide behind their guarantee mumbo jumbo the vast majority will be disinclined from taking things any further.

Whilst this is only a £40 base layer - what would happen if it was a £2K frame and one day out of the "warranty" period. Whilst there is a very significant price difference the point and, thus the principle remain the same.

I was trying to gauge opinion on this forum with my comment -and most importantly let a few people out there know their basic right.

However, thanks for giving me a bit more perspective - ultimately I agree that my time is worth more than £40 but it's actually a little fun dealing with companies and pointing out retail law.

kangarouge

What a terrible experience, though I'm glad it finally got sorted for you. However, they are now definitely off my list of suppliers.

I am always disgusted at how retailers , including banks, think a recompense of cash or vouchers seems to equate to the awful bad service and manners their organisation has shown. They need to learn - money doesn't buy everything, including loyalty!

sloppyschleckonds

parasjethwa wrote:

ultimately I agree that my time is worth more than £40 but it's actually a little fun dealing with companies and pointing out retail law.

10 minutes work as a Consultant Surgeon?

Brakeless

I haven't used PBK since I had to return something about a year ago. The whole returns procedure felt like is set up with no thought for how to make things easy for the customer, just whats best for PBK. There's plenty of other decent customer focused bike shops out there and my money now goes to them!