Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Beware of fixedgearfrenzy.com

I have recently decided to have a look into the world of fixed gear bikes. I saved up a little money and went to fixedgearfrenzy.com to purchase one. It wasn't expensive as I didn't want to buy one a find that it wasn't for me but I am still very upset and angry as I am by no means well off.

I placed an order on a bike that was described on the website as "in stock" after placing the order I recieved an email saying they had "run out" and was offerend a "similar model with drop bars" to which I said "No thankyou, could you please cancel the order and refund the money" since then they have cut all contact with me. They're ignoring my emails and I know they're ignoring me personally because my mother and my friend both emailed them and got a reply almost instantly. I have sent 4 emails with nothing back.

So I basically just wanted to warn people that these people are not worth buying anything from. They will take your money and then offer no customer service.

Has anyone else ever had a bad experience with this company?

call your bank. call them.

Better business bureau. Call them and explain, you'll have your money back in no time

Looks like a UK based distributor of cheap, no name fixed gear immitations (Not surprisingly State Bicycle Co is in their stock as well). I have never heard of fixedgear"frenzy".com but there are a lot of scammers out there. For example: a $1,500 dSLR camera will be offerred for $300 on some awesomest-camera-dealz.com, however it will not be shipping until you buy another $1,200 worth of accessories. What you got from the "frenzy" guys is the good ol' "bait and switch" except you declined the switch part. If you used a credit card, as opposed to a debit card, your bank/credit card issuer will give you your money back and deal with the scammers themselves.

I would never give any of my dollars to a place named Fixed Gear Frenzy in the first place.

I just saw an ad for them on Fixed Gear Gallery....

Seriously, call your bank or credit card and inquire about a "stop payment".

I just saw an ad for them on Fixed Gear Gallery....

Of course you did.

its always good to do research on a shop online before purchasing. good luck contact your bank right away.

I'm glad you came here to ask the masses and do research before you made your purchase from an online retailer.


Oh.

If you used a credit card, as opposed to a debit card, your bank/credit card issuer will give you your money back and deal with the scammers themselves.

+1 the only reason I'm with AMEX.... a retailer's worse charge back nightmare.

As an online retailer myself, I have two questions for the OP:

1. Did you e-mail them four times in the same day?

2: How much time has passed since you last e-mailed them?

It's amazing how pissed some people get when they e-mail my shop and don't receive a response immediately. As quick and thorough as we try to be with our customer service, sometimes we're just busy and can't respond right away. **** happens.

i would never give any of my dollars to a place named fixed gear frenzy in the first place.

qft

Hi! I got this same problem . Order bike and couple components . Bike come wrong size and pure quality,part never turns up.
Thru mail I return for refund all items , they agree in mail thats ok, then refuse take bike back and never saw money or parts.
Think to take legal action against them.
Did you sort your money with them?
Advise not to deal with this company!

Anytime you are shopping online be sure the site has an SSL Certificate badge displayed. If you do not see that right when you land on the site then it is best to move on.

I guess that makes CityGrounds, iMinusD and my shop all unreliable places to buy things.

paypal is pretty shady....

I guess that makes CityGrounds, iMinusD and my shop all unreliable places to buy things.

If you click on the Locked Badge icon near the URL you will see it has the SSL certificate.

If you click on the Locked Badge icon near the URL you will see it has the SSL certificate.

That means nothing on the merchant/ customer service end which is the primary focus of this thread; it simply means the site is encrypted to a certain extent by a third party specializing in web security to protect sensitive information from being accessed by uninvited outsiders. The last time I checked companies such as varisign worked for money.

That means nothing on the merchant/ customer service end which is the primary focus of this thread; it simply means the site is encrypted to a certain extent by a third party specializing in web security to protect sensitive information from being accessed by uninvited outsiders.

It was in response to "I guess that makes CityGrounds, iMinusD and my shop all unreliable places to buy things." not the original post.

It was in response to "I guess that makes CityGrounds, iMinusD and my shop all unreliable places to buy things." not the original post.

But still. I would not rely on a SSL certificate as a basis of legitimate site. They are easily available.

But still. I would not rely on a SSL certificate as a basis of legitimate site. They are easily available.

That's why my original post was... "Anytime you are shopping online be sure the site has an SSL Certificate badge displayed. If you do not see that right when you land on the site then it is best to move on."

If you click on the Locked Badge icon near the URL you will see it has the SSL certificate.

Not on the three sites I just mentioned.

As Leuky just said, encrypting a site has nothing to do with ****ty customer service.

Not on the three sites I just mentioned.

As Leuky just said, encrypting a site has nothing to do with ****ty customer service.

No it does not, but the first thing I do when I shop on any site is check that. I did not see that right when I landed on their site.

Not on the three sites I just mentioned.
They are all encrypted when you check out, i.e. when you are putting your credit card number in Nigerian cyber-ninjas can't get you.

Ridebikes4life, sorry about your situation. It sucks balls to save up your money for something you want only to have some asshat company rip you off.

Others have suggested that you contact your bank and request that the stop payment/charge back. Do that and do it ASAP. As time passes so do your rights.

Are there any law enforcement agencies, i.e., your local prosecutors, with a "consumer protection" unit? Where I live the local District Attorne's Office prosecutes cases of consumer fraud. I am certain that in the UK they have something similar.

Contacting the Better Business Bureau is, usually, a waste of time. They do not have enforcement powers, so the bad retailers can thumb their noses at the BBB all day long.

Doing pre-purchase research is a good idea. In many cases, however, there is not sufficient info out there to make an informed decision. In other cases these asshat sellers set up shop, rip off a bunch of people and then, when the bad reviews begin to mount, they close shop, change their name and rip off a brand new set of consumers. I have seen that happen over and over.

It is a jungle out there, especially with the Internet.

Wish you the best of luck. Please keep us informed.

Cheers.

They are all encrypted when you check out, i.e. when you are putting your credit card number in Nigerian cyber-ninjas can't get you.

Exactly.

They are all encrypted when you check out, i.e. when you are putting your credit card number in Nigerian cyber-ninjas can't get you.

Very true, I am just saying it is best practice for any eCommerce site to properly display their SSL Cert. If they do not then I am not sure how things are being run at the company.

I just checked and QBP - who is the biggest vendor of bike parts to dealers and shops in North America - doesn't have an encrypted site.

I guess I won't be doing business with those hacks anymore!

I just checked and QBP - who is the biggest vendor of bike parts to dealers and shops in North America - doesn't have an encrypted site.

I guess I won't be doing business with those hacks anymore!

Are you talking about http://www.qbp.com ? Do they sell online? I don't see anywhere to buy on it?

Are you talking about http://www.qbp.com ? Do they sell online? I don't see anywhere to buy on it?
Because you aren't a bike dealer or a shop.

Because you aren't a bike dealer or a shop.

So there is no need for an SSL Cert on that page at all.

So there is no need for an SSL Cert on that page at all.

There is one on the dealer login. It is simply masked until you submit details. Submit a blank login and you'll find it n the following page.

Wow. I'm having potato leek soup for dinner.

There is one on the dealer login. Just submit a blank login and you'll find it.

As I would expect there to be.

As I would expect there to be.

Have you ever heard of phishing sites? They have them too.

You can make a fake one as well.


Wow. I'm having potato leek soup for dinner.

Sounds good. I'm think I'm going to make tomato bisque today.

All I said was I won't trust sites that do not have an SSL badge, especially not from a company I don't know at all. I don't care who does or does not have it.

Very true, I am just saying it is best practice for any eCommerce site to properly display their SSL Cert. If they do not then I am not sure how things are being run at the company.
Amazon doesn't do this. Ebay doesn't do this. Who is following your best practice?

There is one on the dealer login. It is simply masked until you submit details. Submit a blank login and you'll find it n the following page.

I've been logged in all day. No certificate. I don't count though, because apparently dealers don't buy stuff from them. What?

I need to get off the internet. I feel so unsafe!

You are getting way of base with your examples. eBay and Amazon have those without even thinking, but when it comes to a small company you have never heard of or have little experience with. It is best to see they have some sort of protection.

So a company that processes tens of thousands of transactions a day doesn't need encryption but small sites do?

Good logic, right there.

I think I'll go to the bakery and get some fresh bread to go with the soup.

Don't pay with a credit card unless you see their certificate!

Don't pay with a credit card unless you see their certificate!

You should buy form here and see what happens...
http://bedi-sports.com/

So a company that processes tens of thousands of transactions a day doesn't need encryption but small sites do?

Good logic, right there.

Those sites are encrypted...

Your site is encrypted!

Your site is encrypted!

Well played sir.

I think I'm just going to nuke some leftovers for dinner. Don't feel like cooking. Speaking of fish, some backed salmon with a lemon herb sauce does sound good, but that would require going to the store to buy some salmon, that that's just too much work. Plus, I'd either need to go to the cash machine first or use my credit card.

Plus, I'd either need to go to the cash machine first or use my credit card.

http://guycodeblog.mtv.com//wp-content/uploads/clutch/2012/03/2118iuh.gif

I would not rely on a SSL certificate as a basis of legitimate site. They are easily available.

Perhaps something like this would be useful:

http://perspectives-project.org/