I bought a bike from Halfords’ Edinburgh Hermiston Gait store four years ago and no longer have proof of purchase. But from day one the bike was never right and I believe it was never assembled properly – the handlebars kept coming loose, for example. About a year after buying it I took it back into to Halfords, but even after that it still wasn’t right and I now realise I should have asked for my money back. I only paid £200, which these days isn’t a lot for a bike, but the least I would expect is that it would be put together properly.
I took it into an independent bike shop and after assessing the state of the bike the guy in the shop said I don’t have a bike, just a frame. Almost all the other parts are having to be replaced, the frame is the only part that doesn’t have anything wrong with it. The cost of getting this done has turned out to be more than what I paid for it, but I know that they will do a good, professional job and that I’ll more or less be getting a brand new bike.
I thought I’d get in touch as Halfords should not be getting away with such poor service. There’s also a safety issue at stake here, because if something failed when I was going at speed I could have got a serious injury. The total cost of fixing the bike was £223 and the bike only cost £200. Please help. MMcK, Edinburgh
Sorry, but if you really thought your bike was dangerous then you should have taken it back to the shop and asked for your money back. Under the old Sale of Goods Act, which applied to goods and services bought on or before 30 September 2015 and has since been replaced by the Consumer Rights Act, all goods sold must be fit for purpose and of reasonable quality, and it sounds as though your bike did not match these. To get a refund on a faulty item bought on or before 30 September 2015 you need to return it within a reasonable time after purchase. What a “reasonable time” is will depend on the specific circumstances, but four years would be rather stretching it in our view.
Halfords has been in touch with you to offer you a free service – checking your bicycle over to make sure it is safe – which we think you should take up. A spokesperson said: “Halfords has been building and selling bikes for well over 100 years and our colleagues follow a clear process to ensure these are built safely and correctly. If MMcK had brought the bike in four years ago we would have happily dealt with his issues and resolved them to his satisfaction. It is difficult to do this four years after the event. However, we are happy to offer a free bike service as a gesture of good
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