dotbike... now here's a laugh

[dotbike mike]

Dotbike is an internet based cycle and accessory store based in Faringdon in England, actually Oxfordshire. I know dotbike is part of my user name but this is not intended as an advertisement for dotbike as I bought a U lock from them and when it arrived the keys supplied did not fit the lock! And when I phoned them up my announcement of this fact was greeted with peels of laughter! Sorry but I did not see the funny side. I now have to take time off work to mail the blessed thing back to them at my own expense, (though he did say they would refund the postage) and wait another 5 working days or so for a new one to arrive. All the time praying that my new bike will not get stolen in the mean time. How long would it have taken them just to try the keys in the lock before mailing it to me? A damn sight shorter than what it is going to take me to mail the useless lock back to them. I hope the refund they give me will not only repay the cost of postage but contribute to my lost time and effort.

 

[dotbike mike]

Well I posted it back to dotbike.com and they sent it back really promptly. It reeked of oil and smelt and felt of oil but the keys did work. Dotbike.com failed to send back the lifetime warranty or any of the label/packaging which I had returned to them in accordance with their returns policy. I phoned up dotbike.com and asked their director Neil Warner what about my postage money. He said it only took him five minutes to get it working. Well you can buy a padlock from B&Q here in the UK for about £2 and it will work straight away within 2 or 3 seconds, not five minutes. I suspect that it took Neil Warner a lot longer than 5 minutes to soak the lock in oil and get it working. I suspect that these are not the same keys, that the first keys were the wrong keys, and that they then found the right keys and the oil was just belt and braces or an attempt to cover up the fact that the wrong keys were originally supplied. Naturally when Warner refused to refund my £3 postage I got pretty hot under the collar and I actually shouted '******** !!!' down the telephone line. This is now their email reply excuse for not dealing with me.

"Dear Mr PottingerI am afraid that due to the extremely abusive manner that you used when speaking to my fellow director earlier today we are no longer prepared to deal with you. As you are still unhappy with your purchase you can return it for a refund as is your right under the Distance Selling Regulations."

First they sent me something that didn't work, then they laughed at me (on the phone), then they insulted me by saying that the lock was 'incredibly cheap and cheerful' (on the phone) with the unmistakable implication that only an idiot would lock up his bike with it.

Dotbike.com now refuses to send me the lifetime warranty and the labelling/packaging which specifies the security standards, Swedish I believe, that the lock complies with. This all goes to show the tremendous risk you take in dealing with anyone over the internet. The cost of returning a faulty item can outweigh the benefit of getting your money back.

Dotbike.com are a thorough bunch of *******s and I believe everyone would be well advised to give them a wide berth.

 

[gemship]

Wow what a story, I don't blame you one bit for hating. Just a tip.... the internet has it's merits when it comes to shopping but not many, in fact quite the opposite. I find the mark up at my local bike shop to be very little if not nonexistent over internet,mail order catalogs. Prefer to do all my shopping at the lbs actually. The best thing about the internet or even ebay is just window shopping and getting ideas of what you may like and what it costs. Stories like these reinforce the existance of local bike shops. Yeah little stuff like locks and fenders, tires, tubes your better off to buy locally.

Cheers

 

[dotbike mike]

Wow what a story, I don't blame you one bit for hating. Just a tip.... the internet has it's merits when it comes to shopping but not many, in fact quite the opposite. I find the mark up at my local bike shop to be very little if not nonexistent over internet,mail order catalogs. Prefer to do all my shopping at the lbs actually. The best thing about the internet or even ebay is just window shopping and getting ideas of what you may like and what it costs. Stories like these reinforce the existance of local bike shops. Yeah little stuff like locks and fenders, tires, tubes your better off to buy locally.

Cheers

Yeah thanks Gemship I'll take your advice. Internet is good like you say to find out what's on offer and how much it costs but you're much better off going somewhere where you can easily go back with any problerms.

 

[dbackmtg]

Yeah thanks Gemship I'll take your advice. Internet is good like you say to find out what's on offer and how much it costs but you're much better off going somewhere where you can easily go back with any problerms.

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