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Beware of Bikeman.ie

  • 20-01-2022 5:55pm
    #1
    Mercian Pro
    Registered Users Posts: 2,272 ✭✭✭


    As you may have seen here, I had a recent problem with a cracked Ultegra crank. I initially ordered a replacement from an Irish site called Bikeman.ie that just happened to have a 105 cranset in stock at a good price (€130). I got a fairly prompt confirmation of my order but when I tried to contact the firm by phone, email or WhatsApp, to find out when delivery would be, there was a deafening silence. It was only then I discovered from Google reviews and Trustpilot that others had a similar experience and had to chase PayPal to get a refund. When I was placing my order PayPal was "temporarily" not working on the site and I foolishly paid by Visa Debit card.

    After a few unanswered warnings that I would have to cancel my order unless I heard from them, I did just that and looked for a full refund. More silence so I got on to Ulster Bank and asked them to initiate a chargeback process. After a few false starts they refunded the full amount to my account. The guy who runs the company seems to be a keen cyclist from some of his Facebook comments. He operates out of a private house in a Cork suburb and possibly only fills orders when he can souce stock at a cheaper price than advertised. The website looks quite impressive and clearly identifies which items are out of stock but don't make my mistake of assuming that everything else is available.

    I subsequently ordered a 105 crankset on Bike 24 for slightly less and it arrived a few days later. I also chanced contacting Madison UK who are Shimano agents and, even though the part was well outside the two year warranty period, they have agreed to replace it.

    If the owner of Bikeman.ie is on Boards I would love to hear from him here. If others have had recent good or bad service from this firm, they might also let us know here.



Comments

  • #2
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,234 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    i bought off him probably about three years ago; a couple of tyres and he threw in a couple of free inner tubes when i sent him a question before ordering. but it sounds like he was not handling the general equipment shortage well.



  • #3
    mr spuckler
    Registered Users Posts: 3,107 ✭✭✭mr spuckler


    And to compare and contrast with what should be standard, I ordered off Marrey bikes last year for the first time. While the items were marked as in stock on the website it then turned out that they didn't have them. The owner called me the following day to explain and apologise for the error and when he couldn't sort me with something else he immediately refunded my card. Being contactable is such a basic premise when operating a business like this.



  • #4
    AndrewJRenko
    Registered Users Posts: 28,324 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    Is bikeman still going? Website seems to be down.



  • #5
    Mercian Pro
    Registered Users Posts: 2,272 ✭✭✭Mercian Pro


    His most recent post on his FB page was April 2021 and, as you say, his website is down. Given the non-existent level of customer service, I wouldn't be surprised if he has shut up shop.



  • #6
    towger
    Registered Users Posts: 440 ✭✭towger


    I had a similar experience to the OP and also got my money back via AIB chargeback. I’m glad the site is now down as it was still accepting payments for deliveries that never would come. I reported it to the consumer protection agency, hopefully some good came from that.



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