Bike shop gourged my frame - advice please

kirby700

Hi all,

A local highstreet chain of car accessory / bike shops supplied and fitted a new bottom bracket as I needed one urgently as Iwas off to Dalby.

They fiited said and within 2 rides it was loose again. Varoius trips backwards and forwards (6 trips with a round trip of 22miles each time) and they have fnally fitted a new bottom bracket and refunded the cost of the parts.

However, when inspecting the bike I have noticed deep gourges in the bottom bracke area where his tool has slipped. They have offered to sand and fill and spray the frame but want the bike for 2 weeks which Im not happy about. Plus, if they justgob it up its not really fixed is it?

What should I do?

Demand new frame?

Let it lie?


thanks

*AL*

If they have offered to fill, sand and re-spray your frame then obviously they've admitted liability to the damage.

Personally, I'd demand a new frame.

turnerjohn

if its a carbon frame then it could be damaged, alloy less so....
any pictures ?
wouldn't really advise on their filling / sanding / spraying as could make it worse. Could get them to fill and give you some touch up paint for free ? thats if the damage isn't to bad tho
think a new frame is pushing it a bit, and it sounds as their pretty fair considering all the issues youve had !

pastey_boy

demand a new frame and learn the lesson that halfords are rubbish and dont deserve your money.

joshtp

^ wot he said

pastey_boy

turnerjohn wrote:

if its a carbon frame then it could be damaged, alloy less so....
any pictures ?
wouldn't really advise on their filling / sanding / spraying as could make it worse. Could get them to fill and give you some touch up paint for free ? thats if the damage isn't to bad tho
think a new frame is pushing it a bit, and it sounds as their pretty fair considering all the issues youve had !

the issues are all down to the sheer incompetence of halfords, plus the offer to sand, fill and paint shows they have difficulty distinguishing cars and bikes. the main issue is , this fella took an unscratched frame into halfords and came out with a damaged frame. this hurts any efforts to sell the frame on. the recent halford ad on tv was almost right apart from the fact they got the beginning and the end of the ad the wrong way round.

BikingBob

I agree with the last 2 comments, had a look in Halfords when I was last back in UK and asked for some hydro cable cutters and he gave me some pliers saying these are the best money can buy..... :roll: :?
I'd rather pay extra and know its a quality bike and the service matches it.

Has it damaged the frame or is it purely cosmetic, does it in your mind make the bike unsafe to ride? if so ask for a replacement, if its cosmetic the touch-up and repair should be completely free.

lesson learnt I think.

nicklouse

Pics before I say anything.

cooldad

nicklouse wrote:

Pics before I say anything.

The voice of reason.
A bit of a rant and some spittle is so much more satisfying.

stubs

Surprised they offered to sand fill and paint the frame. To do that properly and match the paint is not going to be a quick job and they wouldnt normally have the onsite equipment to do it. If its going to a proffesional frame restorer like Bob Jackson or Argo cycles I wouldnt worry it will be a good job. If they are doing it inhouse with some bondo and a can of paint off the shelf I wouldnt accept it.

If it was me and the gouges arent too bad (its a mountain bike they do get gouged) I would ask for some vouchers, load up on tyres, inner tubes or tools and never go back.

cooldad

At a bit of loss as to how you gouge a frame doing the BB as the tool isn't really near the frame, not in a way to make contact anyway.

stubs

cooldad wrote:

At a bit of loss as to how you gouge a frame doing the BB as the tool isn't really near the frame, not in a way to make contact anyway.

Perhaps the 4 pound lump hammer slipped

cooldad

Aaah my favourite tool.

nicklouse

stubs wrote:

cooldad wrote:

At a bit of loss as to how you gouge a frame doing the BB as the tool isn't really near the frame, not in a way to make contact anyway.

Perhaps the 4 pound lump hammer slipped

or maybe it has nothing to do with what the shop did.

cooldad

That's kind of what I meant.

supersonic

We really need to see pics. Plus what bottom bracket was fitted?

wordnumb

Assuming all OP information to be accurate, you aren't going to trust the people who can't fit a BB to repair a frame.

Two weeks for what is generally a ten minute job.

blablablacksheep

id like to add to this.

Evans cycles in hendon fitted my bottom bracket and the work so far seems to have been done well, quote from the mechanic" dude your bottom bracket was seized hardddddd!!" :roll:


But one thing i wasnt happy with is the quality of customer service, maybe this could be due to it being a "high street" bike shop who knows.

like i hear your thoughts on this...

When i booked the bike into workshop i was asked what needed doing by the shop dude (phoned up 4 times before to confirm the details)

Once he understood what the bike was booked in for he asked me to sign a receipt to confirm the work and also which i need to collect the bike.......i signed ofc

I asked him when the bike be ready he said i quote" dunno we pretty bussy it could be 4 or 5 pm"....i then gave him mobile number and asked what time the shop will open the next day as i was bussy that day.....

Later when i got back home, at around 2.15pm i get a call...from evans letting me know the bike is ready to be collected :roll:

Given that it takes me 40 odd mins to get there i told them i am bussy and il pick it up next day and rechecked what time they open...

The response was as follows.

"we are bussy today and if you cannot collect bike you will have to pay a £30 "holding charge" if you decide not to collect today"

As you imagine i was pretty pissed off, given that i make it very clear i was bussy today and would likely collect next day,

when i spoke to that shop assistant he didnt warn me of this "holding charge" even when i signed the receipt...

"you did sign the contract on the receipt so it confirms that you understood "

I find this very bad service given the clear signs i gave to shop assistant about being bussy and asking at least twice about when work would likely be done, yet given a very poor estimate.

Evan a mobile number given so that they could call me with a revived time of when work be fisnhed..

Receipt said apox time of work finished 5pm...3 hours off, i findt his a poor attempt at estimating.

I really do find this type of service shocking, yes work so far looks good but customer service was a joke.....had to rush to collect bike too to avoid that service charge..

thats my story anyhow..i hope yours gets sorted out

supersonic

Always read the small print ;-)

Is bad practice to be honest, but they did finish it well before they said. Most people would like that ;-).

blablablacksheep

yes but i dont exspect these sneaky charges from a bike shop, maybe a bank.

Given that i made clear that i was bussy and the mobile number so that they could call me if the bike going to be a easyer job than expected, i quite shocked tbh.

A simple, just so you know if you cannot collect bike today there will be a ect ect.

Had plenty of times to attempt to talk to me about it....

i am bussy today so i might not be able to collect...

What time do you open tommorow

How long will the work take to be done..

Heres my mobile number, call me ....

At least 4 ..........bad practice yes but given that it during holidays i wonder if this done deliberately given that i have never had this before.

Will complain either way as i dont wish another person to have this grief, hopefully

supersonic

I don't know of any bike shop that works to a rigid schedule where they can get the estimated time down to an hour. This is why they usually give an overestimate to give themselves some leeway, as jobs can take a hell of a lot longer than you think, and backlogs happen. Then phone you when completed.

However, I don't agree with the charges, and they should have made it clear. Small print is not always legally binding if obscure.

kirby700

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52940918@N08/5676607723/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52940918@N08/5676607423/

Not sure the image link works very well - need to get training I think.

The bottom bracket is the race face ISIS bottom bracket

The thing that really annoyed me was they had covered the full threads and bottom bracket area in coppa slip to cover the gourges. They go approx 3/4 round the full bottom bracket surface. The deepest groove in 1.2mm deep and 12mm long

ITs defo not stone damage though

CraigXXL

Are you talking of actual damage of just the bit of paint that has chipped away at the contact edge?

kirby700

You cant really see it too well, the alloy is deeply scratched not just paint

97th choice

Is that it, really?

stubs

Dropping the chain or chain suck will do much worse damage. Ignore them scratches and ride the bike.

supersonic

All I can think of is that the last BB splines were damaged and they had to use mole grips on the cup. If this was the case they should have said before hand.

However the damage is slight, and will be of no consequence.

kirby700

Cool, the only reason I brought it up was because the manager turned a funny colour of white when he saw it.

I've also learnt my lesson. Never again!

97th choice

I'm which case, instead of taking up their fill/paint offer ask for vouchers/stuff/cold hard cash.

sheepsteeth

doesnt look particularly bad to be honest.

MountainMonster

Looks like the bottom of my first bike after a few months use. I scrapped the shit outta that one.

What's bike shop offering then?