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Warranty question
Hi all,
A friend of mine bought a full sus Schwinn MTB 2 years back. The frame has cracked severely. IMHO a warranty replacement frame, he only rides it on the road & trails. The shop says his one year guarantee from them has expired (charming). They also say: - the Schwinn importer at the time has gone under. - the new importer doesnt want to honour his claim. Anyone know if one of the parties is committed to honour his claim? Looks like my friend isnt finding any good will. thanks .. Phil |
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#2
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Warranty question
On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:47:15 +0000, Phil Clarke
wrote: A friend of mine bought a full sus Schwinn MTB 2 years back. The frame has cracked severely. IMHO a warranty replacement frame, he only rides it on the road & trails. The shop says his one year guarantee from them has expired (charming). They also say: - the Schwinn importer at the time has gone under. - the new importer doesnt want to honour his claim. Anyone know if one of the parties is committed to honour his claim? Looks like my friend isnt finding any good will. Local Trading Standards office or his credit card company (if he used one to facilitate the purchase). A bicycle that snaps after a couple of years modest use isn't, imo, fit for purpose. Bikes should not fold in half within that kind of timescale. On that basis your friend should have a claim against the retailer who sold him these goods, I don't believe they can wriggle out of that with the 12 months is up guff. Any credit card provider involved is also jointly liable with the retailer for the goods supplied, they may well be able to threaten a chargeback against the retailers merchant account, which should wake him up to his responsibilities. "Bob" -- Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage. |
#3
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Warranty question
Phil Clarke wrote:
Hi all, A friend of mine bought a full sus Schwinn MTB 2 years back. The frame has cracked severely. IMHO a warranty replacement frame, he only rides it on the road & trails. The shop says his one year guarantee from them has expired (charming). They also say: - the Schwinn importer at the time has gone under. - the new importer doesnt want to honour his claim. Anyone know if one of the parties is committed to honour his claim? Looks like my friend isnt finding any good will. thanks .. Phil It is definitely the shop's responsibility irrespective of the manufacturer going under. Whether a 2 year frame life is judged adequate or not is I guess a matter of (legal) opinion - I think a frame should last longer than that, but that's just my opinion. James -- James Annan see web pages for email http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/ http://julesandjames.blogspot.com/ |
#4
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Warranty question
In article , James Annan
wrote: It is definitely the shop's responsibility irrespective of the manufacturer going under. Agreed Whether a 2 year frame life is judged adequate or not is I guess a matter of (legal) opinion - I think a frame should last longer than that, but that's just my opinion. TTBOMK current legal guarantee is 12 months from the date of sale - manufacturers often offer a longer guarantee. hth -- A T (Sandy) Morton on the Bicycle Island In the Global Village http://www.millport.net |
#5
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Warranty question
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, take all this advice at face
value. Also, I work at a bike shop and have had enough people arguing with me about warranties to be a little jaded about the subject :-) Phil Clarke wrote: Hi all, A friend of mine bought a full sus Schwinn MTB 2 years back. The frame has cracked severely. IMHO a warranty replacement frame, he only rides it on the road & trails. Unfortunately "warranty replacement" doesn't mean what you'd like it to mean. If something gets sold with a one year, three year, five year, whatever guarantee, and a breakage occurs after that, your legal position is that it sucks to be you. Doesn't matter if you really think the frame shouldn't have broken, doesn't matter if it's never been ridden, doesn't even matter if it *is* a manufacturing defect, they don't have to honour the guarantee. Having said that, the Schwinn website seems to think a FS Schwinn should have a five year frame warranty. Check your warranty documents, they *do* have to honour it if it's still within the warranty period. Some of the Schwinn extreme-use frames do only have a one year warranty. If your friend has one of those he won't get a replacement on warranty grounds. The exception to the above is if the bike is actually unfit for purpose. Fitness for purpose is usually applied to things which are wrong at point of sale - road bike being sold as offroad-capable, that sort of thing. If you bought a bike with a one year warranty I don't think you could claim it was sold to you as lasting for more than two years... if it has a five year warranty they have to cough up, distributor or no. Finally, the reality of the situation. If the shop is insistent that they're not paying up and you can't persuade them otherwise, the only way you'll get a warranty replacement is to start suing. The Citizen's Advice Bureau may be able to help you through the small-claims process. The shop says his one year guarantee from them has expired (charming) They also say: - the Schwinn importer at the time has gone under. - the new importer doesnt want to honour his claim. Anyone know if one of the parties is committed to honour his claim? Looks like my friend isnt finding any good will. Doesn't surprise me, good will does not generally stretch as far as a new frame. |
#6
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Warranty question
Call me Bob wrote:
On Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:47:15 +0000, Phil Clarke wrote: A friend of mine bought a full sus Schwinn MTB 2 years back. The frame has cracked severely. IMHO a warranty replacement frame, he only rides it on the road & trails. The shop says his one year guarantee from them has expired (charming). They also say: - the Schwinn importer at the time has gone under. - the new importer doesnt want to honour his claim. Anyone know if one of the parties is committed to honour his claim? Looks like my friend isnt finding any good will. Local Trading Standards office or his credit card company (if he used one to facilitate the purchase). A bicycle that snaps after a couple of years modest use isn't, imo, fit for purpose. Bikes should not fold in half within that kind of timescale. Depending perhaps on the selling price. A court might find that a £60 discount special mountain bike has only a short expected life, indicated by its selling price, whereas a £1500 brand name might be expected to last longer. I've no idea where the Schwinn in question lives in that scale. I agree with the comments about a discussion with trading standards and also any credit card provider, before approaching the retailer again for a reconsideration of the position. He might also want to consider contacting Schwinn's parent company. They might lean on the new importer. Or they might not. - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ |
#7
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Warranty question
Obligatory disclaimer when discussing legal stuff online, I am not a
lawyer, take all this advice at face value. I don't want to be a test case :-) Sandy Morton wrote: In article , James Annan wrote: It is definitely the shop's responsibility irrespective of the manufacturer going under. Agreed Whether a 2 year frame life is judged adequate or not is I guess a matter of (legal) opinion - I think a frame should last longer than that, but that's just my opinion. There's two things going on here. There's the statutory right of "fitness for purpose" and I'm fairly sure a two year frame life is legally fit for purpose, if a bit disappointing. The other contractual gubbins is that a lot of things come with a "lifetime" warranty. This doesn't, unless specifically stated, mean "lifetime of the original purchaser", it means "expected lifetime of the item in question". This is the sort of definition that makes lawyers very rich, because borderline cases have to be decided in court. IIRC the legal "lifetime" of a bike is around 8 years depending on use. If the OP had a "lifetime" warranty you could be fairly safe in assuming 2 years was too short for anything other than dirt jumping. As it is I think he's either got a 1 or 5 year warranty, which means he's either in or out. TTBOMK current legal guarantee is 12 months from the date of sale - manufacturers often offer a longer guarantee. The OFT suggests fitness for purpose doesn't generally apply after 6 months. Fatigue cracks on a bicycle might be an exception to that rule, but I still wouldn't expect more than a year from statutory rights. |
#8
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Warranty question
Marvin wrote:
Obligatory disclaimer when discussing legal stuff online, I am not a lawyer, take all this advice at face value. I don't want to be a test case :-) Sandy Morton wrote: In article , James Annan wrote: It is definitely the shop's responsibility irrespective of the manufacturer going under. Agreed Although perhaps I should rephrase that to say that the shop certainly has _some_ responsibility irrespective of the manufacturer etc going under. The shop is not liable for the lifetime guarantee of the manufacturer. Whether a 2 year frame life is judged adequate or not is I guess a matter of (legal) opinion - I think a frame should last longer than that, but that's just my opinion. There's two things going on here. There's the statutory right of "fitness for purpose" and I'm fairly sure a two year frame life is legally fit for purpose, if a bit disappointing. The other contractual gubbins is that a lot of things come with a "lifetime" warranty. This doesn't, unless specifically stated, mean "lifetime of the original purchaser", it means "expected lifetime of the item in question". This is the sort of definition that makes lawyers very rich, because borderline cases have to be decided in court. IIRC the legal "lifetime" of a bike is around 8 years depending on use. If the OP had a "lifetime" warranty you could be fairly safe in assuming 2 years was too short for anything other than dirt jumping. As it is I think he's either got a 1 or 5 year warranty, which means he's either in or out. Yes, that seems clear enough if the accepted "fit for purpose" lifetime is 2y. In which case, failing goodwill from the shop, it might be worth trying Schwinn directly. James -- James Annan see web pages for email http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/ http://julesandjames.blogspot.com/ |
#9
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Warranty question
Marvin wrote:
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, take all this advice at face value. Also, I work at a bike shop and have had enough people arguing with me about warranties to be a little jaded about the subject :-) Phil Clarke wrote: Hi all, A friend of mine bought a full sus Schwinn MTB 2 years back. The frame has cracked severely. IMHO a warranty replacement frame, he only rides it on the road & trails. Unfortunately "warranty replacement" doesn't mean what you'd like it to mean. If something gets sold with a one year, three year, five year, whatever guarantee, and a breakage occurs after that, your legal position is that it sucks to be you. Doesn't matter if you really think the frame shouldn't have broken, doesn't matter if it's never been ridden, doesn't even matter if it *is* a manufacturing defect, they don't have to honour the guarantee. Having said that, the Schwinn website seems to think a FS Schwinn should have a five year frame warranty. Check your warranty documents, they *do* have to honour it if it's still within the warranty period. Some of the Schwinn extreme-use frames do only have a one year warranty. If your friend has one of those he won't get a replacement on warranty grounds. The exception to the above is if the bike is actually unfit for purpose. Fitness for purpose is usually applied to things which are wrong at point of sale - road bike being sold as offroad-capable, that sort of thing. If you bought a bike with a one year warranty I don't think you could claim it was sold to you as lasting for more than two years... if it has a five year warranty they have to cough up, distributor or no. Finally, the reality of the situation. If the shop is insistent that they're not paying up and you can't persuade them otherwise, the only way you'll get a warranty replacement is to start suing. The Citizen's Advice Bureau may be able to help you through the small-claims process. The shop says his one year guarantee from them has expired (charming) They also say: - the Schwinn importer at the time has gone under. - the new importer doesnt want to honour his claim. Anyone know if one of the parties is committed to honour his claim? Looks like my friend isnt finding any good will. Doesn't surprise me, good will does not generally stretch as far as a new frame. This sort of discussion has come up often on other NGs, usually in reference to TV's etc. The 1 year warranty isn't legally binding. eg. If you spent say £2000 on a TV you would expect it to last considerably longer than 1 year. A Fridge is expected to last several years as are other "white goods" irrespective of the warranty. I don't see why this shouldn't apply to cycle frames as well-Trading Standards should take your case. .....unless of course its a supermarket special :-) Try asking on one of the legal NGs Jan |
#10
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Warranty question
Try asking on one of the legal NGs If only to laugh at the insanely inaccurate responses from non-legally qualified contributors :-) Been there done that, had a belly laugh. Free advice is worth what you paid for it ;-) |
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