Invoking 'section 75' sale of goods act (credit card) . The bicycle experts on here might also like to chip in. Boardman.

[Petrol Pete]

I need your learned advice , despite the fact that I feel I might be on a hiding to nothing here with this dilemma , I would like to ask my fellow members advice on this one.

I have had a quick poke around online but have yet to contact the credit card company. Just asking you guys first.

One of my offspring decided that a Boardman MTR 8.6 XL bike was the only way to go and ordered one from Halfords (yes , I know . but apparently they were exclusive to them) . It took ages to source one after the order was placed.

Anyhoo With my credit card now £1000.00 heavier 21.10/2020 they built the bike up and he collected it with an additional £140 paid for 3 year's worth of services (6 services with unlimited brake and gear adjustments...brake adjustments on a hydraulic set up ?)

Because of Covid and night shift work restriction this bike got almost no use and certainly did not get the good off road kicking it was (supposedly) designed for . I estimate it did about 30 road miles before the rear hub collapsed.

I tried to pop the 'trick' front wheel release off to get it in the car to take it up there and it world simply not move. They had to replace it. My guess is one of the Halfords 'technicians' fooked it up when they took it out of the box from Taiwan.

Halfords could not repair it (anyone surprised at that ?) and due to parts delay Covid/Trump/The man in the moon, it was off the road for a long while until they finally had to replace the whole rear wheel - which now had different graphic on it in comparison to the front one.

Fast forward a number of months of light road use the crank fell apart . They 'fixed' it . I then thought lets get it in for one of those services he paid for only for them to tell me it needed a new chai at £31 .

Now I know £31 is not a lot of money for a bike chain but £10 was for fitting it ! No way does it need a new chain.

Yesterday the crank fell apart again on a ride to Tesco's up the road.

Halfords tell me they have tightened it up , there is nothing wrong with it "It just came loose" .

I told the person on the phone that after 40 decades in engineering I can tell them that 'just coming loose' is not an option ...not twice in about 20 miles of light road use. The conversation kind of went down hill from there, basically being told that because the lad had not bought it in for servicing it was falling apart. The fact that the rear hub failed and the cranks first bid to escape the frame happened before any service work was due.

This service plan was offered as an option , not a MUST have so to me that is immaterial . We have 3 other bikes (one bought new by me in 1997) that have never had an 'official' service plan and are still going strong and none have (yet) fallen apart. I normally don't give these 'extra' service plans the time of day , just like the 2 year 'extra' guarantee they try to sell you on a £20 kettle but the lad wanted it . Now it seems Halfords are going to try to use this as an excuse .

Bottom line is they have have been given more than one opportunity to fix it and it's still not right . God only knows what state the thing would be in if he actually rode it hard off road. He has lost all confidence on riding it pretty much anywhere.

First of all PLEASE don't tell me he shouldn't of spent £1K at Halfords ...I know I tried to persuade him to go elsewhere but apparently they were the sole suppliers at the time and there was a waiting list. I did warn him if anything went wrong with it Halfords would be out of their depth.

But I am older than Christ and he is a teenager.......would he listen..? would he F !

OK long, dull post but it's all I have .

Obviously no proof of the miles it's done but it's still on original hardly worn tyres and brake pads and not much of a 'documented' timeline as to who where and when ?

Personally I am tempted to just take it back Fruck Halfrauds and sort it myself , but it's not my bike or my cost when something else falls off it .

Over to you .

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ted]

Not much help but this is how they built my grandson’s bike with stabilisers.
Then tried to justify it by saying that it helps the child balance the bike.

 

[JHS]

My BIY has his BMW 520i M serviced at Halfords as they are "certified BMW service centres".
Oh I did laugh!

 

[fabes]

Okay, trying to break this down....

• Does it come with a 12 month or longer warranty?
• Does the Warranty (12 month or extended) state that he has to have it serviced there (in writing)?
• First fault was rectified (replacement wheel) - was that within 12 months?
• Second fault (Crank Case) seemingly not as it failed again – was that initially within 12 months or at least any warranty period?

I would not consider the service package (which you don’t mention have been used anyway) as I doubt that any extended or other warranty was reliant to it being used – but check

I would escalate to Halfords Customer Complaints, in writing, or at least on the phone and follow up in writing (email is fine if you ask for an acknowledgement). They may surprise you if it has ‘only’ been the store you have been dealing with.

Credit card company or even Citizens Advice would be good avenues to explore to know your options in the meantime. Does your Household policy have Legal Expenses cover on it (see if they can assist here)

There are consumer lawyers and forums (even the media / newspaper / Which experts - research them first to be credible) who could be name dropped to evidence to Halfords what support and direction (and noise) you are going to make - they won't like that negativity developing as they continue to try to project a more pro and upmarket bike offer.

PS - at least Halfords are still around; a few local bike specialists went out of business around Southampton as they couldn't get bikes or compete with online retailers in the last few years, so its not, yet, all bad news.

 

[fabes]

My BIY has his BMW 520i M serviced at Halfords as they are "certified BMW service centres".
Oh I did laugh!

Actually......
Hertz use them to service and repair a national fleet of store delivery vans (can't say who but 'Team Orange' )
The fact that many are on the same retail park in many instances and no doubt have capacity and discounted rates are considerations, but actually, Hertz would not suffer fools on the cost model they have to work to.

 

[oldguy57]

There have been previous reported cases of Halfords quality work on bikes. Do a Google search - there was one in the North West when an elderly rider picking his new bike up and riding off when the front wheel fell off, turfing him onto the ground splitting his head open. I've been in Halfords when customers have been ranting about the build of their new bikes. Shops are good, their mechanical ability limited though.

 

[Fununcle]

Had my 7 year old bike built by Halford, first ride brakes failed and the pedals fell off.

 

[MrGreedy]

The Boardman bikes are excellent value for money and have good kit. I wouldn't initially suspect the bike.

I 100% would suspect the wrench monkey who assembled it. I do all my own work on my 4 bikes and I'm happy to strip everything and replace everything and bikes are getting relatively technical in their assembly. I have increased my torque wrench collection to make sure I assemble correctly (after losing a crank on a ride due to me doing it by feel).

If you want to go down the route of pursuing something (replacement parts?) from Halfords, you could try providing evidence of the following as an indication of lack of use:

Brake disc thickness front and back vs spec.

Brake pad thickness front and back vs. spec (you might need to buy new pads to check this).

Paint condition.

Tyre condition.

Chairing and sprocket condition, but you would need to fully clean and decrease, I'd suggest off the bike.

Providing photo evidence in e.g. a PDF document might nudge customer services along.


If they don't play ball, discuss with Credit Card company.

My personal view would be maintain and do the work myself due to the hassle factor of anything else. But then I enjoy the spannering.
Good luck OP.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Halfords tell me they have tightened it up , there is nothing wrong with it "It just came loose" .

Let's see that one stand up in court when your car wheel comes off at 70mph on the M25

 

[W1ghty]

A service by someone that knows bikes would sort most of it ?

 

[JHS]

Actually......
Hertz use them to service and repair a national fleet of store delivery vans (can't say who but 'Team Orange' )
The fact that many are on the same retail park in many instances and no doubt have capacity and discounted rates are considerations, but actually, Hertz would not suffer fools on the cost model they have to work to.

I wager that Hertz senior management do not use Halfords to service their cars!

 

[BigJase88]

I got a Trek 800 Sport in the year 2000 for £199

It has never been in for a service or had any issues at all and it must of done moon miles by now

 

[whitenemesis]

Marin Bear Valley SE, 30yrs old, had the ***** knocked out of it, never a problem.
Bit like Trigger's broom TBH, but still going strong..

 

[ChrisEdu]

Halfords bike 'technicians' are a bit like buying cars, sometimes you find a gem, sometimes you get a lemon.

Personally, I either do work myself or use LBS.

Cranks really shouldn't be falling off. Why did they say the chain needed replacing? You can buy a cheap tool to check it for stretch.

Boardman are generally well regarded VFM machines, I believe possibly also available from one of the outdoor activities companies.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

A service by someone that knows bikes would sort most of it ?

To be honest this is what I’d do. Find a decent Indy and pay an hours labour for them to go over it if you‘re not happy to do it yourself. Probably less painful! Boardman bikes are generally quite good as a rule and it does sound like the initial build was suspect. Cranks especially can have quite particular installation requirements.
The rear hub should not fail in that time though, though they are non branded cheapies so I wouldnt expect more than a seasons abuse out of the bearings anyway. Often manufacturers spec lower quality components that are less “visible”, like hubs. Wych Bearings are great for replacements and you can easily upgrade to better bearings when needed.

I would heartily recommend your son having a go at the maintenance aspect himself though. With a few good tools and some you tube videos it’s all relatively straightforward and also rewarding. I’ve just learnt as I’ve gone along over the years and now even service my own suspension (front only, I still send the rears off), build all my bikes from scratch etc. There are very few bike shops I trust - i even resorted to learning how to build and true a wheel after an ex Tour de France mechanic made a hash of it!

 

[Darrell]

Nothing wrong with Boardman bikes.
We’ve got a few in our house including my road bike that cost me £4200 in 2019. It came from Cycle Republic by the Euston Tower.

It gets ridden extremely hard and I’ve probably done 18000 miles on it in all weathers. It gets used for commuting and it’s never been serviced.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

We’ve had a couple of Boardman which have done big, hard miles. “75 miles on a Saturday morning just to start off the weekend?” No problem.

As mentioned earlier, the issue is the kids who are setting them up.

The answer is to find a local recommended bike shop. One that a friend has used and recommends. Preferably not a “chain.”

As for getting money back, or recompense? Not a chance.

 

[Darrell]

Just to add,
Tredz Bikes sell Boardmans as well as other makes including Bianchi and BMC. Tredz are owned by Halfords.

When I bought my bike it was delivered partially built in a big box so I had to put it together myself and the only time I’ve bought anything from Halfords was last year when I bought done Boardman cycling shoes.
The guy fitted the cleats for me but didn’t tighten them properly so when I tried to put my foot down at a junction the cleats just spun rather than un-click!! Luckily there was an available piece of street furniture to save my embarrassment.

I won’t Halfords to do anything again for me.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Not much help but this is how they built my grandson’s bike with stabilisers.
Then tried to justify it by saying that it helps the child balance the bike.

To be fair to them that is how they are supposed to be....they are not supposed to both be in contact with the road at the same time or the child wont learn how to balance it....and you slowly lift them higher still as they get better. My sons first two wheeled bike started with them about that height.

 

[Ted]

I take it back then, but it still doesn’t feel right

Edit: just to add, when his mum was about the same age, I pushed the stabilisers together to the back wheel was just touching the ground. She couldn’t understand why she was pedalling hard but getting nowhere