chris_suffolk wrote: ... My friendly Crown Prosecution Lawyer suggested otherwise, and they reluctantly gave me a full refund. ...
Just To satisfy my idle curiosity, are you saying that you have a friend who's a solicitor who happens to work for the CPS?
If you float by them the wheeze of naming and shaming in order to get a result, they may suggest it might be considered blackmail.
One thing that's not been specifically highlighted is the short period in which a full refund may be claimed.
A retailer has sold you goods not as described. You go to to them and say please put it right. They won't so you say I'm going to publish details of this on a social media website as a warning to other potential customers. Hardly blackmail.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
pete75 wrote:.... A retailer has sold you goods not as described......
From what I've seen in this thread (maybe missed a post) we don't know how it was described. Was it labeled "2018 whyte whitechapel" or "2016" whyte whitechapel" or what if it was just labeled "whyte whitechapel" (which would be true)
thirdcrank wrote:..... If you float by them the wheeze of naming and shaming in order to get a result, they may suggest it might be considered blackmail. .....
A retailer has sold you goods not as described. You go to to them and say please put it right. They won't so you say I'm going to publish details of this on a social media website as a warning to other potential customers. Hardly blackmail.
I wonder if it becomes important how this is phrased. When complaining and not making progress I have in the past stated e.g. "I have not yet started visiting the various review sites as |I prefer to get you the opportunity to rectify the issue in a reasonable manner" or "if this is the way to handle issues then I feel others should be made aware of your policies and customer service standard".
Maybe i am also guilty of blackmail but in a less direct way? (I'm no legal expert and had always regarded my comments as "pressure to sort it out").
Obviously, everything depends on the evidence in any particular case, but to reduce it to it's simplest terms saying "do this or I will do that" can amount to blackmail. The word blackmail is rather like manslaughter in that it sounds grim. Anyway, a CPS lawyer might be slow to recommend it. I'd expect them to be better clued up on the criminal law than consumer issues. On the criminal law theme, if somebody misrepresented a 2016 bike to be the current model (how long before the start of the 2019 model year BTW?) that might be fraud. In theory, at least. ========================================================================= Put another way, it's pretty much a normal part of taking civil action that the parties negotiate and if that fails, the claimant sends a "letter before action" explaining that the next step will be court action. Explaining that the next step will be an attempt to spoil the vendor's reputation is in a different league.
pete75 wrote: It's not a car where year is oh so important. Second Hand bikes are usually priced on condition not year of manufacture.
I don't agree, particularly if OP wanted to sell on quickly for some reason, hence my comment.
This is based on my second hand purchase of a Whyte Cambridge after a month or two of monitoring second hand prices.
Look at the bikes for sale adverts on here. Very few mention the year of the bike. If it was important it would always be mentioned.
I do, of course. If this is a representative marketplace you are 100% correct, I'm sure. I have also explained why I made the comment I did, based on personal experience of eBay and Gumtree, which would be more the type of places to sell his bike, and hence more relevant IMHO.
OP will I'm sure take a view of the contradictory advice given.
cycleruk wrote:To me the fact they have offered £100 is a admission of fault ? (there must be a better word but you may get my meaning)
Not necessarily. "We're sorry that you are unhappy with your purchase but feel we acted both in accordance with our legal obligations and in good faith. Without any admission of liability on our part we would like to offer you a good will gesture of a £100 credit note in full and final settlement. (there must be a better word but you may get my meaning)
From the spec's that have been posted above I'd say the 2016 bike (external cables) is the better purchase! The 'lure' of a 'slightly higher up the league' component will soon fade if you have issues with internal routed cables. I'd have the 2016 and £100
PH wrote:Those who read all the posts will know it has - 30 days.
Absolutely. Not much consolation to anybody who didn't read all the posts. There's a case to be made for saying that the link in gaz's first post said it all. ================================================================== PS On the matter of what the bike trade more generally does, I get the impression that some of the bigger mail order outfits use the change of model year as an opportunity to discount and shift old stock. I could imagine a smaller outfit adopting a wait-and-see approach: sell it as seen and if a potential customer queries the model year, consider a discount at that point.
Last edited by thirdcrank on 26 May 2018, 12:23pm, edited 1 time in total.
thelawnet wrote:They are almost identical, the 2018 has internal cable routing, the 2018 has a 11-36 cassette, the 2016 11-34, and then the 2018 has a slightly inferior rear derailleur.
If they didn't promise a 2018 model, it's not clear that the 2016 model is inferior at all, so £100 credit seems more than fair.
There's much more than £100 difference in value between the two bikes. It's a year thing...
In terms of NEW sale, then the market expects a higher price on a 2018 bike than a 2016, but at resale it's a little different, they're both then fairly low-end, used bikes worth £300 at the absolute maximum, nobody's going to pay £100 more for a used 2018 over a used 2016.
Bonefishblues wrote:I don't agree, particularly if OP wanted to sell on quickly for some reason, hence my comment.
This is based on my second hand purchase of a Whyte Cambridge after a month or two of monitoring second hand prices.
Look at the bikes for sale adverts on here. Very few mention the year of the bike. If it was important it would always be mentioned.
I do, of course. If this is a representative marketplace you are 100% correct, I'm sure. I have also explained why I made the comment I did, based on personal experience of eBay and Gumtree, which would be more the type of places to sell his bike, and hence more relevant IMHO.
OP will I'm sure take a view of the contradictory advice given.
I've no idea what Gumtree is but most secondhand bikes for sale on Ebay don't mention the year either. Anyone with even a little knowledge of bicycles will buy secondhand based on condition rather than year of manufacture.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
pete75 wrote: Look at the bikes for sale adverts on here. Very few mention the year of the bike. If it was important it would always be mentioned.
I do, of course. If this is a representative marketplace you are 100% correct, I'm sure. I have also explained why I made the comment I did, based on personal experience of eBay and Gumtree, which would be more the type of places to sell his bike, and hence more relevant IMHO.
OP will I'm sure take a view of the contradictory advice given.
I've no idea what Gumtree is but most secondhand bikes for sale on Ebay don't mention the year either. Anyone with even a little knowledge of bicycles will buy secondhand based on condition rather than year of manufacture.
