Willy Gee

Even though I had concerns about some of the information I read in this forum, I decided to try to save some money and purchased a bike from bikesdirect.com. I am starting to regret that decision.

I will let this timeline speak for itself:

May 31, 2008. I ordered (and paid for) a 58cm Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro.

June 2. BD sent me an email stating that my bike would ship “mid-June.”

June 16. I visited the BD website, and read that 58cm FC Pros wouldn’t ship until late June or early July. I then emailed BD and was told that my bike should ship by the end of the month.

June 27. In response to my request for another update, BD said that my bike should ship during the second week of July.

July 15. I again asked for an update. BD says 58cms are expected “any day.”

July 24. BD still does not have a 58cm. I couldn’t wait anymore and decided to buy a bike from a LBS. I sent an email to BD cancelling my order and requesting a refund. No response from BD.

July 29. BD did not process a refund with my card company, so I sent another email, again asking about my refund. No response from BD.

This morning. I sent a third email to BD, this time demanding a refund or at least some response. Nothing.

To say the least, I am concerned. BD was responding to my requests for updates on my order until I asked for my money back. Since then, nothing.

I hope this is just a simple misunderstanding. But those of you considering a purchase from BD should be careful.

muteseh

doesnt the bikesdirect guy post here? hopefully he sees this.

texaggs

Call your credit card company and dispute the charge, they are generally very helpful.

nowheels

yeah... the BD guy post quite often. Did you try to call them vs just emali?

Willy Gee

Thanks for the replies. I'm working with my credit card company now, but I shouldn't have to.

I see that the BD website says that 58cms will be available at the end of July even though they still don't have any. Looks like they are behind on a lot of things.

I hope someone is still running the show.

Willy Gee

I don't think you can call them. I'll double check, but I think they require email communications.

aloof

thanks alot for sharing this post. i am sure quite a few people will find it helpful.

more importantly, i hope that this situation resolves itself soon for you.

enjoy your "other" new bike

Snowsurfer

So I like the idea of the credit card company. They can usually fix it. If you didn't receive the product you don't have to worry. Ride safe and lube the chain regularly. lol.

Willy Gee

Oh, I love the new bike, a Trek XO1 that I got for $1,200. My commute used to be 2 miles on a paved road and 4 on a bikepath. Now it's 1 mile on a bikepath, 1 on the road, and 4 on dirt. Much more satisfying.

filtersweep

Are you suggesting the transaction cleared months ago, and nothing has been shipped? They shouldn't charge your card until they have your bike. That is a strange business practice.

Willy Gee

Yes, I paid for the bike in May. BD processed the payment through PayPal. That's what my credit card company says. And I paid the credit card company.

epon

Not good, and as a prior BD customer, I consider this SHADY.

celerystalksme

somewhat related...

i've definitely gotten the itch to get something affordable from bikesdirect in the past. numerous times, i've had my mind all made up to get this or that from that. the reason i still do not have a BD bike? the have NEVER had the bike i wanted in the size i wanted in stock. never. it's always out of stock or awaiting shipment at a future date.

i'm an impulse buyer that requires immediate gratification...i can't want months...

jim6b

Best answer. l And you might check their website and your account. You should be apply to request charge be cancelled on ground merchant has not shipped after long delay and notice requesting cancellation. Ordinary procedure will be for CC company to give merchant a period of time [2 weeks ??] to respond with proof, which in your case is most unlikely. And do advise BD what you have done.

Good luck.

gemoose23

Since you paid via paypal, why didn't you use their refund system?

You might end up with an issue since you didn't directly pay with credit card to BD for your bike.. instead you used paypal which withdrew funds from your credit card.

Papa Bear

You've been more than fair and patient with BD and they are not able to perform despite you having given them adequate opportunity. Unless the purchase terms require a deposit, legally, your credit card should not be be charged until there is a legal transfer of title to the goods, or the services have been performed. IOW, payment should be processed at the time of shipping for a shipment made FOB factory, warehouse etc., not days or months earlier. I have not used paypal but 1-2 times, but your credit card company will back charge the vendor. We prefer to always use AMEX in transactions like this because their policy favors the consumer. They handle disputes by phone and immediately remove the charge pending the merchant response. We once bought software online with Visa and discovered that the software was not new but an illegal copy that could not be registered. Visa had us write letters to them, fill out forms, over and over, and never removed the charge. We are still out the money after a year.

I'm sure that BD intended to ultimately fill the order, but they failed in their fulfillment obligation and obviously handled the situation poorly.

I came razor close to ordering a bike from BD just last week, but because of the long response time to questions and the lack of a phone number with a live person to contact, I bought my bike at Performance last weekend. Turned out they had a great sale, got a bike I wanted, had better components, good service, and lifetime adjustments. Plus, I got to support their local store which is an important resource to area bikers. Enjoy your new bike!

ronbridal

Mike at BD does post often in other threads and I am interested to see what he has to say about this one. I have done business with BD in the past (Le Champion SL) and was very satisfied. I hope to hear things work out well for you.

RB

BengeBoy 

There are federal laws that cover this situation. This website from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) describes what the merchant's obligations are on delayed shipments; it's a federal law. The website gives a step-by-step guide on how to dispute charges with your credit card company and how, ultimately, to file a complaint with the FTC.

https://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...dit/cre28.shtm


Here is the relevant section from the FTC website:

The Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule

This rule covers merchandise you order by mail, telephone, computer and fax. It requires merchants to have a reasonable basis for claiming they can ship an order within a certain time.
Ship Dates

• By law, a merchant should ship your order within the time stated in its ads or over the phone. If the merchant doesn't promise a time, you can expect it to ship your order within 30 days.
• The shipment "clock" begins when the merchant receives a "properly completed order." That includes your name, address and payment (check, money order or authorization to charge an existing credit account - whether the account is debited at that time or not).
• If the merchant doesn't promise a shipping time and you are applying for credit to pay for your purchase, the merchant has an additional 20 days (50 days total) to establish the account and ship the merchandise.

Delays

If the merchant is unable to ship within the promised time, it must notify you by mail, telephone, or email, give a revised shipping date and give you the chance to cancel for a full refund or accept the new shipping date. The merchant also must give you some way to exercise the cancellation option for free, for example, by supplying a prepaid reply card or staffing a toll-free telephone number.

• If you ignore the option notice, and the delay is 30 days or less, it's assumed that you accept the delay and are willing to wait for the merchandise.
• If you do not respond - and the delay is more than 30 days - the order must be canceled by the 30th day of the delay period and a full refund issued promptly.

If the merchant can't meet the revised shipping date, it must notify you again by mail, email or telephone and give you a new shipping date or cancel your order and give you a refund.

• The order will be canceled and a refund issued promptly unless you indicate by the revised shipping date that you are willing to wait.
• If you do not respond at all to the second notice, it's assumed that you are not willing to wait, and a full refund must be issued promptly.

crushkilldstroy

I'd definitely like to see what's happening here. I'm sticking around for a response of some sort before I throw 800 bucks their way.

jgmacg

I'm shocked - shocked! - to discover that the BD customer service model requires a dissatisfied buyer to post on a Bike Forums message board and hope that the owner of the company eventually wanders by.

Willy Gee

Thanks for all the replies. My wife is working with our credit card company. (She has the summer off from work.)

ronbridal

I'm SHOCKED that another BF member would post an irrelevant, sarcastic post! I'm shocked! Not to mention the fact that Mike (apparent owner of BD) is a frequent poster on this message board. I can't explain it, I'm just ShOcKeD!!!!!

iPirate

You would think it is in their best interest to stop the CC company from pulling that money back. I don't know how well paypal takes things like that, could freeze their account.

jgmacg

Hardly irrelevant given the fact that the second post on the thread suggests that maybe Mike will stop by and correct the problem.

Sarcastic? Sure, especially given the circumstance. Rather than camp out on BF, hoping that BD's owner drops in for a visit, how about an 800-number that people with customer service issues can actually, you know, call for help?

Sawtooth

Most folks I know who do business with BD have been happy. But If I were Mike I would be interested in making this right. I have considered his frequent posting on BD a pretty savy marketing move and I doubt he would want to screw that up over something like this.