Vanmoof bike vendors and/or similar bike vendors

mailforkev wrote: »

What are ye all going for, dark or light?

I went for the blue, tried out both colours and thought it suited me better.

Dark , easier to see the display

menuisier wrote: »

I'm still having trouble getting the invoice.


Vanmoof asked me for the following details and i have supplied them

Details I will need from you:
Full name
Shipping address
Phone number

Details I will need from your employer:
Company name
Company address
Company phone number and email

and then vanmoof asked me which company my business uses
"I just need to know what provider your company uses. Could you find out if your company is with biketowork or travelhub?"

and i asked my HR dept and they told me

"We don’t use any providers -we deal direct with the bike shops

Once they give us an invoice made out to out company and in euro and their BIC/IBAN we will set them up for payment and pay direct"

which i told vanmoof and they have told me

"Unfortunately we can only sell a bike through the cycle to work scheme to companies that use a provider such as biketowork or travelhub. As we are only a pop up store, we are not able to issue invoices to our customers. We apologise for this inconvenience."

So im back to square one. I work for a private company, has anyone else had an issue like this?

thanks

I received my 2 invoices today from Van moof HQ along with email detailing the payment options for my employer it clearly says your employer can transfer the funds directly to their account in Rabo bank and they provided the IBAN and all the details needed, or your employer pays via bike to work in which case they will need the voucher code.
If you still having trouble I suggest you call the customer service ( you might need to wait over 30 min holding) and explain them directly what you looking for.

Clare_Culchie wrote: »

I've emailed dublin@vanmoof.com and support@vanmoof.com with a link to this thread asking that they pass on the IBAN details as per your post.

Thanks a million Bilasy. Right across the civil service the same difficulty applies, they will not deal with the voucher companies and will deal only with the vendors directly.

Well, I got a reply from Lara, the Store Manager in the Dublin Vanmoof Pop-Up:

"Since last week our process has changed, so we now accept bank transfers from employers.

How our process works, we will create and send you 2 quotes, one for you and one for your employer. One will be for 1500euro for your employer and the other will be for you with the remaining balance. You will then receive a payment link, your employer will receive our bank details in order to complete a bank transfer, this is how we will take payment for the bike. I will just need some details from you in order to create a quote for you.

Can you please send me what it is you are looking to order, which model (X3 or S3) and in which colour (Light or Dark) also if there are any add on accessories/warranty you would like to add, you can find all of our accessories on our website at www.vanmoof.com.

Details I will need from you:
Full name
Shipping address
Phone number and email

Details I will need from your employer:
Company name
Company address
Company phone number and email "

Thankfully this is an arrangement that most employers will hopefully be able to facilitate. It took quite some time to get to this point but hopefully our efforts have been worth it.

Have any of you joined the "Vanmoofing" group on Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanmoofing/?ref=share

I'll be going for the dark S3, and maybe a rear carrier. Are ye planning to accessorise from the Vanmoof range? I'll be reusing my Kryptonite lock instead of these Abus locks that they sell.

Clare_Culchie wrote: »

I've emailed dublin@vanmoof.com and support@vanmoof.com with a link to this thread asking that they pass on the IBAN details as per your post.

Thanks a million Bilasy. Right across the civil service the same difficulty applies, they will not deal with the voucher companies and will deal only with the vendors directly.

I can pass you the IBAN from the invoice here if it’s of any help, I’m with the HSE and will submit my application tomorrow and still not sure how they will transfer the funds, I’m holding my part payment till the employer settle it’s pay 1st.
Also there’s €50 shipping fee that I was not made aware of but it’s in my invoice, So be prepared for it, I guess it’s no biggie.

VanMoof have raised a lot of capital to expand their customer service operations (and improve quality control) according to this interview:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/16/21437704/vanmoof-interview-s3-electric-bike-issues-delays-mobile-service-network

The most interesting thing is about this Bike Doctor Network, which essentially sounds like it'll end up (in Ireland anyway) being VanMoof-approved service partners (like Cowboy and their service partner network).

It would depend which part of it might break. Regular stuff like tyres, spokes, wheels, etc. you could do yourself or take to a LBS as with any bike.

But a LBS is probably not going to want to or be able to repair any of the custom-built electronics — these are less likely to break (especially with the integrated design) but they do add an imaginary tether to the manufacturer (much like it's very hard to find anyone other than Apple to service anything complex in an iPhone).

There's very little chance of them going bust though, it's a big growth market and investors are clearly very interested.

I submitted my quote last Monday but am still waiting for my employer to approve it, which is a bit frustrating.

On the upside, with all the new investment that Vanmoof have in place, perhaps the later I order the better the chances are that I get a bike without any QC issues.

I wonder if Dublin will make the cut for the new Bike Doctor Network.
Vanmoof blog article

Thargor wrote: »

Are there not way better ebikes available for that money? Id rather spend a grand or 2 on a really good hybrid you'll have for years and stick a conversion kit on it, way better speed/range, swap the batteries out when they start to go, easier/cheaper maintenance.

1. There aren't really. You won't get any decent ebike for sub-€2k. Take a look at these: https://eurocycles.com/bikes/electric-bikes/?sort=priceasc
I've got a Sparta ebike, it's around four years old. It weighs an absolute tonne. Other than that it's grand. I'll be flogging it off for around €400-500 hopefully.
But it doesn't have the Boost button. Or the built-in security-alarm. Or the GPS tracker. Or the beautiful looks.
2. Conversion kits can be expensive: https://www.goeco.ie/conversion-kits.html and aren't covered by the Cycle to Work Scheme.
3. With my own ebike, I take the battery pack out to charge overnight. When I push it back in I've to be careful not to break the contact pins. It's known to happen. With a battery built-in, there's one less potential point of failure. True, not everybody can bring an entire bike to a wall-socket to charge overnight, but this bike, like most things, isn't going to suit everybody. For those of us who can, it does.
4. Maintenance costs aren't going to be wildly different on a Vanmoof. Tires cost the same. brake-pads will cost around the same. There's only so much mark-up they can put on the consumables. The electronics & other non-consumable parts are covered by warranty.

As I said, it's not for everybody. Maybe a conversion kit is what works best for you. I've test-ridden the Vanmoof and I like it very much. I've followed the FB group ("Vanmoofing") and I'm aware of issues with the supply-chain, but I hope and expect those may be resolved by the time I get delivery.

I had very hard time trying to get the Vanmoof through the cycle to work scheme in public service, loads of email exchanged between work and Vanmoof staff , end result work says can’t process the invoice without Irish tax no. Vanmoof reply it’s complicated process and we don’t know when we can do it.

ED E wrote: »

Whats a week or two when Reddit is reporting 4-5 months lead time at the minute.

Well it's a bit more frustrating here than with the usual C2W process because normally a LBS will order for you before the employer processes the whole thing.

With VanMoof your order doesn't seem to be fully submitted, and therefore in-motion, until after your employer has sent payment.

Which is a bit annoying because VanMoof do have an upfront deposit, pay later system. They're just not using it here.

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

The whole process is just too messy so I gave up on it, I was kind of only buying it as a toy anyway

So what happened with your application? Also must have Irish tax number? Just wondering

bilasy wrote: »

So what happened with your application? Also must have Irish tax number? Just wondering

I got the invoice from VanMoof, and then went to people point to try and fill in the application but the details just don't fit, country, postcode, all that jazz.
Also I'm not sure if the invoice needs to be made out to peoplepoint or your employer. With the lead time on getting a bike I can't really be bothered now, but I'm sure I'll regret it when battling gales and rain over the next few months.

i thought i would give an update. I work in the private sector and my bike to work scheme payment went through today and I just have to pay the remaining via the vanmoof website

Got all the way as far as my employer sending Vanmoof a New Supplier Form to complete - which Vanmoof won't do. I see their rationale there. If they do it for one customer they'll be filling out these pesky forms for all the customers. They can sell their bikes for cash with far less hassle elsewhere.

On our "New Supplier Set Up Form" there's a heading of "Supplier Tax Information" which looks for:
"VAT No, Tax Reference No or PPSN", and
"Tax Access Number (for eTax Verification)".

The VAT No. for Vanmoof is NL814517729B01.
Their EORI No. is NL814517729.

Our Finance Dept suggested the EORI No. would suffice in lieu of the "Tax Access Number".

I'm surprised at the amount and type of barriers making this purchase so difficult. It makes a joke of the notion of "free movement of trade and services" within the EU.

Wouldn't you think that across all the government departments there's be a central archive of registered suppliers rather than each Finance Dept managing their own "new suppliers" register? Is that not something OGCIO or DPER should be doing?

For the record, Vanmoof have said that they already submitted VAT details, etc. to register with OGCIO to be on the Cycle To Work Suppliers List and in their eyes that should be enough. I tend to agree.