Any experiences with Wheelies?

The company that is. I recently had a bike stolen from my garage and was put
in touch with Wheelies Direct by my insurance company to provide a
replacement. I decided that this would be a good time to upgrade so decided
to pay the difference and opt for better spec'd and pricier bike than my
original.

I wanted a Specialized Sirrus Sport/Expert but was persuaded due to lack of
availability of '03 models to go for a Dawes Discovery 601 which,
supposedly, they (or Dawes) had in stock and could deliver immediately. That
was two weeks ago and I've just been told that I will have to wait a further
two weeks if not longer. The only reason I went for the Dawes in the first
place was that I could get it straight away but now it looks like when I do
eventually receive it, the 2004 range of bikes from Specialized and possibly
Dawes themselves will be out and I could have got the bike I originally
hoped for not to mention the fact I will have paid full price for a 2003
model.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with this company?

--
Neil M

"text.news.ntlworld.com" wrote in message
...

I wanted a Specialized Sirrus Sport/Expert but was persuaded due to lack
of
availability of '03 models to go for a Dawes Discovery 601 which,
supposedly, they (or Dawes) had in stock and could deliver immediately.
That
was two weeks ago and I've just been told that I will have to wait a
further
two weeks if not longer. The only reason I went for the Dawes in the first
place was that I could get it straight away but now it looks like when I
do
eventually receive it, the 2004 range of bikes from Specialized and
possibly
Dawes themselves will be out and I could have got the bike I originally
hoped for not to mention the fact I will have paid full price for a 2003
model.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with this company?


No experience but have you tried talking to them about cancelling your order
because of misleading sales information?

Always worth a try before complaining to everyone else.

Rich

text.news.ntlworld.com wrote:
Has anyone else had similar experiences with this company?

Someone just down the road from me had an insurance replacement bicycle
from a company which could have been this one. There were two problems -
the first was the bicycle was delivered with a fault, which was probably
caused during shipping. The fault was a bent derailleur hanger, probably
caused by a knock of some kind, which had also left a mark on the rear
derailleur. The new owner sent it back (a second time, IIRC) after the
derailleur crashed into the rear wheel, causing mucho damage. Having
looked at it before she sent it back (the first time), I advised her to
also tell them that the likely cause of the problem was the derailleur
hanger, and that it should be replaced. Well, what they actually did was
rebuild her rear wheel using a new rim and spokes, but neither rim nor
spokes matched the front wheel. The bike now has a front wheel with
black spokes and silver rim and rear wheel with silver spokes and black
rim. She didn't notice that, and didn't care when I pointed it out, so
that was sort of OK. What they didn't do, however, was replace the bent
derailleur hanger. Having lost all confidence in the companies ability
to listen to her, she asked me to get a replacement derailleur hanger
and she is going to send the old one back to the insurance company with
a letter explaining what happened. I was very unimpressed with the
service from this company, but I am not sure if it was this one. It did
have "wheelie" in the name, I think, and it was a company which her
insurance company wanted her to use. Anyway, it then only took a few
months to get the derailleur hanger through a veritable hail of excuses,
delays, and being given incorrect advice and hangers. Tomorrow, she's
getting her bike back!

I would think that if your bike arrives in one piece, it will be fine,
but if its not perfect, you may suffer the same fate. Good luck in
getting it sized right, if its not a bike you are already familiar with.
If I were you, I would get to a dealer and try out whatever it is you
are getting if it isn't the exact same model and year of the bike you
are replaceing, but you probably already did that.

--
Jim Price

http://www.jimprice.dsl.pipex.com

Conscientious objection is hard work in an economic war.

"text.news.ntlworld.com" wrote in
:

The company that is. I recently had a bike stolen from my garage and
was put in touch with Wheelies Direct by my insurance company to
provide a replacement. I decided that this would be a good time to
upgrade so decided to pay the difference and opt for better spec'd and
pricier bike than my original.
[snip]

My insurance company put me in touch with Wheelies and I opted, like you,
for a higher spec replacement (where I would pay the difference). They
couldn't supply it immediately, so I shopped around for someone who could
(I was going for a Dawes Super Galaxy). Not only that, the other shop was
offering last years model at a substantial discount.

Phoned the insurance company and said that I wanted to use the other
company. They said that was fine, but I wouldn't get the full replacement
value of my old bike, only about 80% of it. More to-ing and fro-ing and
Wheelies agreed to get me this years model of the SG at the same price as
the discounted last years model. They said this would take a month, and
it did. I had a bike to ride in the meantime, so I was relatively happy
with the deal.

My advice: get the insurance company involved and argue a bit.

Tob
--
Remove spamtrap to reply by mail

Toby Barrett wrote:

My insurance company put me in touch with Wheelies and I opted, like
you, for a higher spec replacement (where I would pay the difference).
They couldn't supply it immediately, so I shopped around for someone
who could (I was going for a Dawes Super Galaxy). Not only that, the
other shop was offering last years model at a substantial discount.

Direct Line sent me to Wheelies, but I decided I wanted a second-hand
bike that would be less attractive to thieves, and would hopefully be
a better quality than I could have bought new for the same price. DL
weren't very happy about this, but did in the end cough up and send me
a cheque.

--
Stevie D
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