UKC

I am considering threatening taking a motorbike dealership to small claims court using the sale of goods act if they do not replace a scooter which i bought from them less than 1 year ago (ex demo with 100 miles on clock). The bike is still under warranty.

Has anyone done anything similar and was it worth it?

The scooter has had two coolant system blow outs, a coolant leak, an ongoing miss fire problem still unresolved which is dangerous and problems starting. It has been in the workshop for a total of 7 weeks in the last 11 months (waiting for parts from Italy). In fairness, the shop has always provided a courtesy bike and done all the work under warranty, but now enough is enough (bike coolant system blew up again this morning (second time) under too much pressure and is now unrideable again)

My plan is to get a courtesy bike form them tomorrow, then hit them with a letter telling them that I would like a replacement new bike as this one is clearly unfit for use or I will take them to the small claims court under the sales of goods act if they do not replace or refund. I am hoping that because I have a courtesy bike, they will not so easily fob me off.

am I dreaming or do I have a case?

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:


I think I would ask for my money back. If the new parts are breaking, chances are your new bike will be crap as well. No need to start threatening court action right now. Ask them in person, then by letter and then use court action as a last resort. These folks have clearly treated you well by offering a courtesy bike and fixing problems along the way so there is no need to blow any good will out of the water straight away.

In reply to ByEek: Refund will be fine, I would even accept a "fair price" considering I have put 5k miles on it. I just want shot of it. Re the letter. I will not be rude. Just factual and firm. At some point there has to be no more Mr Nice Guy.

I will go down the citizens advice bureau route but was wondering if anyone had any sage advice having done anything similar?

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

Any mention of court makes most people very cagey and defensive, in your position I would work out what I wanted (i.e. refund/replacement) and just ask for it, explaining why I thought it was reasonable. Only if they started to try to fob me off or tell me I'm not entitled to what I've asked for would I cite the Consumer Rights Act or similar and if that still didn't get anywhere I would then produce a formal letter (pre-prepared, just in case) stating my case and giving them 14 days to cough up, I wouldn't even threaten court yet. If that didn't do the trick, and if I was sure they were acting contrary to my statutory rights, then and only then I would start a claim. If you want to go in all guns blazing though, that's your choice.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus: I had a problem with the brakes on a £3,000 mountain bike. I went back to the shop 3 times, and got fobbed off. I threatened small-claims and they didn't listen. I filed an online application for small-claims against them. They folded immediately and gave me a full refund, including the cost of the small-claims application. I'd had the bike for 6 month, taken it to the Alps for some downhill action, it wasn't in the best condition. Good result.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus: Oh, always warn them in writing about what you intend to do, it will work in your favour if it does end up in court.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS: Right.

So listening to the advice. I will formally write a letter/email explaining my grievances and my ideas of a reasonable solution. Then see how they respond before taking it to the nxt level.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

Seems like a pretty good plan.

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:

Give them a reasonable but not excessive deadline to resolve your problem before moving on to a second deadline with the SCC if not resolved. 14 days would usually be sufficient.

The more clear and ressonable you can demonstrate you have been, the better your chance of a clear result at the SCC.