Direct Bikes - here we go again

[Grumpy consumer]

Have just resolved an issue with Direct Bikes with a satisfactory outcome

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?440312-Direct-Bikes-more-consumer-disatisfaction-**Resolved**

 

 

however about a week later another issue with the moped occurred whilst my son was out riding it. Suffice to say I had to go out and rescue him and from the explanation of what happened and the lack of any resistance from the engine when it turned over I feared the worst.

 

So he and I stripped the engine down and found the exhaust valve had broken, dropped into the engine holed the piston and generally destroyed the top end of the engine. Knowing the problems I had previously with Direct Bikes I bought the spare parts and repaired the bike at a cost of around £70.

 

I contacted Direct bikes and said,

I enclose for you two photographs of my sons moped which stopped working whilst he was out on Saturday 15th Feb 2015 and needed to be rescued from the road side. I have now dismantled the engine to find massive internal damage.

Having sought an engineers advice it would appear that my diagnose and his agree on the cause. It would appear the exhaust valve has fail and dropped onto the piston with the consequences one might expect.

As a result, the piston, valves, barrel and cylinder head all need replacing.

The engineer is clear that this part should not have failed after five months of use.

Therefore, I now find myself in the position with yourselves which I did with the clutch previously. I am prepared to settle this matter by accepting replacement part which is by far the cheapest part of the work which needs doing and ask for no other costs.

I would ask you consider this matter with some urgency as I would wish to have the moped back on the road as soon as possible. Should you not respond within five working days I will source the parts and pursue other ways of re-dress.

 

Now due to a technical issue Direct Bikes could not open the attached photos, allegedly, so I sent a copy of the letter by signed for mail.

 

They responded by asking for the mileage of the Bike which is only 3500 KM and then they responded with the mother of all reply which I thought I needed to share with the world so here it is..........................

 

 

We will not be entertaining this matter any further. You are fully aware you have failed to service your bike as required and that you bike needs to be serviced and maintained by an approved service centre. Despite this you have continued to ignore. You have not informed us of any such engine issue prior and have taken it upon yourself to dismantled the engine, tampering with the goods, you are not an approved service centre.

Upon further investigation, we note from our prior correspondence to you we clearly stated to you 'to make payment of £89 to your card in full and final settlement of your scooter purchase.' Payment was made and accepted by you.

It was a 'full and final settlement for you scooter purchase', you had a choice at that time to accept this or not. You accepted the offer and so and in turn you cannot subsequently bring a further claim for your purchased scooter. If you are unaware of the law we suggest you contact a solicitor.

If we hear any further we will be contacting the Police. Any such claim from you we will not be settling like last time and will defend fully with a barrister and costs. Any such costs we will seek in full from you.

No further correspondence will be made with you.

Kind regards,

Direct Bikes

 

Well are they worried??? Or just part of a terrorist cell about to take me out??????

[2ltr16valve]

Wow. I would follow with a full breakdown of costs inc labour on a letter before action - then file small claim.

This is clearly a company that needs putting back Into grasp with UK consumer law.

[Grumpy consumer]

Have already started on my letter, is it worth posting for fullness for others to read??

[ashmk]

If you paid on a card contact them for a chargeback. The scooter is clearly not fit for purpose.

[Grumpy consumer]

Does it matter what type of card you have paid on? Visa Debit or Credit ??

[king12345]

To be honest, if I was in business of selling bikes and someone contacted me saying that they'd stripped the engine and all the rest, I would say exactly what direct bikes said.

After all you're not a qualified mechanic and tampering with a defective product before advising the seller is always a bad idea.

Think about it this way: Someone runs out of petrol and doesn't realise or the spark plug burns out and is defective.

An unqualified relative strips the engine and ruins it.

Can you claim for a new engine?

NO!

By the way, in my time as a diy mechanic I have seen many attempts at fixing vehicles that needed just a little tweak in the first place but were ruined by the "fix".

[Grumpy consumer]

KING123 ------ Not sure if you work for direct bikes but, when I you remove the spark plug to check compression with a tester and find half the spark plug missing you tend to get the feeling something is wrong. Then when you put a light into the spark plug hole and see a hole in the piston, if you don't get the general idea or feeling there is something severely wrong then perhaps you shouldn't be messing with engines. However, guess you need to read as many comments about this company as possible, then read their ridiculous clauses and conditions.

They have even decried the motorcycle repairer I used for a service as not recommended, but you find when you tell the recommended dealers you have a direct bike they laugh and refuse to touch it. This company is never going to give you authority to do anything and and find any excuse to blame the customer for being stupid enough to purchase one of their bike. I may not have a certificate so in that respect you have me bang to rights but I have stripped and renovated more than my fair share of bikes and cars in my time and I was only asking for parts as per their guarantee as they tell you that even in the event of a problem they are not responsible for labour costs. So I have a bike that has done 3500 Km the clutch has collapsed and the engine has blown, what do you think Honda might have offered on my original approach? They would not have a clause saying they were not paying for labour.

I know I'm a D*** for buying from this company but its too late, but your advise is to forget it, pay and shut up!!!!!!?????

 

Please read my previous post on this site about the first problem I had with the bike.

 

So as much as I appreciate you post I think I will choose to ignore it on this occasion.

[king12345]

I have read your other post when it first came out.

Surely direct bikes are not a company anyone would like to get involved with, but stripping the engine without notifying them of the problem and ask for compensation is something that shouldn't be done Imo.

I don't think you'll have any success in convincing a judge either should you take this to court.

I too have messed about with cars and bikes all my life, but something under warranty must not be touched or you'd find yourself in a very awkward position.

The correct procedure would be to contact them as soon as the bike breaks down and reject it for a refund.

[Grumpy consumer]

So, I have detailed my claim and e-mailed it to them and true to their word they are no longer dealing with me, so fourteen days on I guess it's time for Money Claim on Line again.

[andydd]

I agree with king12345, you may have put yourself in a poor situation by 'dismantling the engine' (your own words), this is not the same as simply removing a spark plug and a defence may be that the damage was caused by you.

[Grumpy consumer]

Well, I have put the claim through to see what happens. I can see what you are saying but, a defense would then have to suggest that I removed the head, then removed the exhaust valve and sheared it in half, half way down the shaft, then replaced the broken valve stem whilst throwing the other part away, then some how spreading the piston head over the cylinder head and fusing the bits to the head. I do understand you are warning me there may be adverse consequences and one might say by changing the oil myself I have in some way contributed to the the engine failure. However, I did have the bike serviced by a reputable garage after the clutch failed(which is a non serviceable part) two weeks before the dam thing blew up. However in their e-mail to me, my reputable garage was, "not one they recommend ." The bike has only done about 3000Km, had three services; two by me and one paid for. You are right to advise of the pitfalls but I guess I'm just fed-up with this company and maybe I just need to do this as,well..... because its just not fair. And if I had stuck to everything rigidly they say, I would have to pay for a professional to do the work which is the most expensive part because they would only pay for parts not labour.

[king12345]

My guess is that they will say that the wrong oil was used at the service.

Difficult to say if the judge will lean over your side or theirs.

Hopefully the judge will be clued up about engines and know that the fault could not be anything else than manufacturing fault.

[Grumpy consumer]

Warrent served for seven days, still nothing happened. Seven more to go!

[Grumpy consumer]

Well, it appears Direct Bikes are not going to fold and have posted a defense as follows:

 

How much of the claim do you dispute?

I dispute the full amount claimed as shown on the claim form.

 

Do you dispute this claim because you have already paid it?

No, for other reasons.

 

Defence

The claimant has failed to serve his claim form to the correct

registered address of the defendant as required under the civil

procedure rules and under notices within the terms and conditions

of sale that the claimant has agreed to upon purchase.

 

The claimant has already accepted an offer by the defendant of £89

in full and final settlement of his scooter purchase. The offer

was made by the defendant on 9th February 2014 and accepted by the

claimant on 10th February 2015.

 

Furthermore, the claimant has misused his scooter. Despite

numerous notifications by the defendant, the claimant has failed

to service his scooter. The service requirements are clearly

stated by way of example in the terms and conditions of sale.

Servicing is required for the continued use and safety of the

vehicle and is to be carried out at the correct

intervals by an approved service centre.

 

True I didn't use their recommended centre but I did have the bike service at the time of the first issue with the clutch. As for full and final settlememt This was for the clutch issue which I previously sued them for. However they did send this:

 

As you are aware we are a london based company. It solely on the basis that it is not economical to travel such a distance for a claim £89 claim, that we have have decided without admission or liability to make payment of £89 to your card in full and final settlement of your scooter purchase. Allow approx 5-7 working days to appear on your card.

 

And I replied:

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I thank you for you attention in this matter and upon receipt of the payment into my account I will suspend my claim against yourselves.

 

Ok, so what do you all think??? Cut and Run, or Stand and Fight?

[king12345]

Take the money.

[think about it]

Take the money.

 

and sell the bike before something else breaks.

[Grumpy consumer]

Problem is there is no money on the table, the money was for the previous case and has been paid. My concerns now are this Full and Final Settlement which they said at the time of the previous pay out. Have I been cornered by accepting this offer as I accepted the pay out on these conditions even though I signed nothing only said I would drop the case.. Secondly I know I'm on dodgy ground with servicing. So are there any consequences to walking away??? Advise would be appreciated.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Grumpy consumer
clarification

[Grumpy consumer]

As a side issue one of the things levelled against me in the defense of their case, Direct bikes said:

 

Defence

The claimant has failed to serve his claim form to the correct

registered address of the defendant as required under the civil

procedure rules and under notices within the terms and conditions

of sale that the claimant has agreed to upon purchase

 

They give their proper address as: Address to which notices about this claim can be sent to you

Unit 5

Elstree Gate

Elstree Way

BOREHAMWOOD, Hertfordshire

WD6 1JD

 

Am I supposed to know this and if so how??????

[Grumpy consumer]

So, after much deliberation and the comments made here in, I decided that there is too much uncertainty about the outcome for me to take this one to court.

 

It is true, had this been a Honda or Yamaha they too, would not help given the lack of a service history and I failed to spot the full and final part last time.

 

I therefore decided to send a notice of discontinuance and cut my losses.