Bike Rental rip-off?Broken gear shift lever- £250 damage?
I have rented a bike from a seemingly reputable bike shop in Italy that all the local hotels use. I put my own pedals on it and went out for a ride. During my first few kms I noticed a bit of noise from the gears but assumed they were just badly adjusted like many bikes. After some time I noticed that the pedal and chain wheel was moving laterally ie side to side rather than in the plane that they should be moving. It seemesd something was not tightened up. I took it back to the bike shop having ridden about 40 miles on it. They provided me with a replacement bike straight away. Now 4 days later they have rung my hotel and claim that I have done something too hard ( there is little detail as the message has gone via the Italian receptionist) and they now are claiming I have to pay them 280 euros! So my question is what could I have reasonably done that might have caused the pedal and chain wheel to be able to move laterally:could putting on the pedals have done it, or something else, or is it a bit of a scam?
Thanks for any thoughts!
Jim
Update:- thanks to all of you for your advice- it really helped me feel more prepared for the meeting between me and the bike rental shop that had already been set up.
It turns out the message was garbled in translation- they still wanted 280 euros but it was for the gear shift lever that had broke during the same ride. They claimed that these things never break unless it was hit by another bike or similar, yet it broke when I was just changing gears. The high cost was because they had to change the whole brake- gear control assembly on the handlebars. I actually had paid them for insurance for damage caused by an accident ie crash - but they claimed that this didn't cover it - which is fair enough as I hadn't crashed - just changed onto the front big ring. I'm not sure what they thought I had done but they wanted me to pay! They didn't seem to understand about wear and fatigue and that sometimes things break under normal use. They refused to answer how old the bike was and didn't accept that given they had provided a bike with a loose chainwheel that maybe their bikes maintenance wasn't always 100%. As we knew that we hadn't used the gear shift lever wrongly we refused to pay.
I like holidaying in that resort and as they are the only bike supplier - I guess I might have to bring my own bike in future years!
Anyway thanks for all the great advice- I feel I have escaped them trying to charge me for things that should really be their costs.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Jim
Update:- thanks to all of you for your advice- it really helped me feel more prepared for the meeting between me and the bike rental shop that had already been set up.
It turns out the message was garbled in translation- they still wanted 280 euros but it was for the gear shift lever that had broke during the same ride. They claimed that these things never break unless it was hit by another bike or similar, yet it broke when I was just changing gears. The high cost was because they had to change the whole brake- gear control assembly on the handlebars. I actually had paid them for insurance for damage caused by an accident ie crash - but they claimed that this didn't cover it - which is fair enough as I hadn't crashed - just changed onto the front big ring. I'm not sure what they thought I had done but they wanted me to pay! They didn't seem to understand about wear and fatigue and that sometimes things break under normal use. They refused to answer how old the bike was and didn't accept that given they had provided a bike with a loose chainwheel that maybe their bikes maintenance wasn't always 100%. As we knew that we hadn't used the gear shift lever wrongly we refused to pay.
I like holidaying in that resort and as they are the only bike supplier - I guess I might have to bring my own bike in future years!
Anyway thanks for all the great advice- I feel I have escaped them trying to charge me for things that should really be their costs.
0
Comments
-
Putting pedals on would not loosen the chainset, the only damage you could do would be if you cross threaded the pedals in to the frame.
My guess is that they are trying to diddle you. Ask them details on what the exact damage to the bike is as I or others on the forum can advise you.
If you do end up paying, tell them you want the damaged parts and an itermised bid so at least you can claim on your insurance and know that they will at least change the parts they claim to be damaged0 -
since you changed the pedals yourself, you're in a lot of trouble my friend. should have let them do it. it is a scam i suspect but did you sign any paperwork regarding liability? if they haven't got credit card details etc, i'd just leave it alone. worked for me when i wrote a jet ski off in tenerife earlier this year.
a few years ago a mate of mine was test driving a car and a van reversed into him. he got stuck for 1k excess which he had signed agreeing to in the insurance paperwork before the drive. needless to say he didn't buy anything from the brand, and i suspect never will.The only disability in life is a poor attitude.0 -
The shop should be insured, if you did fit the pedals they may have a point but what damage can you do short of knackering the threads?
Sounds like they are trying it on. Did you have any photos of the bike?0 -
Do they have any means of taking the deposit? Has it already come off your card? If not, can you cancel the card?0
-
ooermissus wrote:Do they have any means of taking the deposit? Has it already come off your card? If not, can you cancel the card?
+1 & quick!0 -
I have updated the original post to include what happened today and how things have been successfully resolved thanks in part to all your useful advice.
Thanks
Jim0 -
Good news!0
