Having a nightmare with JE James

[Chrisjones6699]

I bought my Focus Jam2 from JE James in May and since then, they have had it back with them for 40(give or take) days.

Without going into a load of detail, the bike hadn’t been assembled properly (dropper post wouldn’t work, seals hanging out, severe creaking and wrong size chain put on) but when the rear hub started to catch and engage the motor, I decided to send it back. They kind of resolved the issues but informed me that I shouldn’t use a pressure washer on my bike as water got in the hub and seized it all up. I told them that I don’t own a pressure washer and sent them a picture of my garden hose (I washed the bike about 3 times with it) and they kindly informed me that the pressure of my hose was probably too high.

That was that until the speedo started showing erratic numbers and forcing the motor to kick in and out rapidly. I did some research, saw the likely issue to be a speed sensor or magnet, filmed the issue, contacted them and suggested they send me the parts so I could rectify the problem. Nope, they wanted the bike and charged me £35 for delivery. They had it a week before seeing the problem and then decided it was an issue with the battery. 18 days later and a few emails from me asking for an update (they didn’t contact me once) Bosch conveniently delivered a battery on the day when I expressed my unhappiness about the whole situation. A couple of test rides and a few days later, problem solved they said. Got the bike back and within 20 miles, same problem occurred. I videoed the problem and sent it to them only to receive an email saying that they couldn’t see an issue and could I elaborate. I did and haven’t heard back yet.

To say I’m annoyed is an understatement The incompetence and condescending nature of this company is incredible. I’ve contacted Focus and Bosch but other than that, I’m not entirely sure on what to do?

 

[steve_sordy]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I can only assume that your problem is with the staff at wherever your bike ended up when you posted it back to them. I have bought two bikes from JE James in Sheffield and they were brilliant (apart from not knowing how to set up an EP8 motor, but their "guy" was off). No problems with warranty claims either, they sorted a dodgy Focus battery and Shimano charger, a trapped control cable from when the new battery was installed. I suspect that the difference is that when you post it back you are anonymous, whereas when I take mine back I'm standing right in front of them and can get in their face if required.
I hope you can get this sorted.

 

[Chrisjones6699]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I can only assume that your problem is with the staff at wherever your bike ended up when you posted it back to them. I have bought two bikes from JE James in Sheffield and they were brilliant (apart from not knowing how to set up an EP8 motor, but their "guy" was off). No problems with warranty claims either, they sorted a dodgy Focus battery and Shimano charger, a trapped control cable from when the new battery was installed. I suspect that the difference is that when you post it back you are anonymous, whereas when I take mine back I'm standing right in front of them and can get in their face if required.
I hope you can get this sorted.

Unfortunately, I live about 300 miles away from them and I think this has worked against me. There’s nothing I’d like more than be able to walk my bike into the shop and have a face to face but 100% of this has been done over email. I’ve been nothing but polite and patient throughout this, even when they were being condescending with the cleaning of my bike. “Feel free to email us if you want tips on how to clean your bike”.

It’s at the stage where I feel like I’m being a pain to them which is mental considering the money I paid for that bike and the amount of time they’ve had it for.

Considering the condition my bike turned up and and how long it took them to wrongly diagnose a problem and return it, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable?

 

[steve_sordy]

Not at all, and I wasn't implying that you were (nor am I now implying that you thought I was implying.....)..... this could go on......

 

[Chrisjones6699]

Not at all, and I wasn't implying that you were (nor am I now implying that you thought I was implying.....)..... this could go on......

I wasn’t implying that you were implying ?

 

[Hobo Mikey]

Ask for your money back as not fit for purpose.

 

[Doomanic]

If you paid on a credit card get the card provider involved.

Section 75 refunds

Section 75 protects your purchases over £100 if you use a credit card. This MoneySavingExpert guide tells you how to reclaim if something goes wrong.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

 

[Bomble]

Ask for your money back as not fit for purpose.

This. I had to do it with a Levo.
As with the Sale of Goods Act, under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.

The rules also include digital content in this definition. So all products - whether physical or digital - must meet the following standards:

• Fit for purpose The goods should be fit for the purpose they are supplied for, as well as any specific purpose you made known to the retailer before you agreed to buy the goods.
• As described The goods supplied must match any description given to you, or any models or samples shown to you at the time of purchase.
• Satisfactory quality Goods shouldn't be faulty or damaged when you receive them. You should ask what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question. For example, bargain-bucket products won’t be held to as high standards as luxury goods.

One aspect of a product being of satisfactory quality is durability, in other words how long it lasts.

Durability takes into account many different factors like product type, brand reputation, price point and how it is advertised. For example you're unlikely to be able to claim a cheap kettle that's stopped working after four years isn't durable. Whereas a more premium and expensive kettle that's been well looked after and has stopped working after 14 months could be considered to not be durable, and therefore not of satisfactory quality.

 

[Bomble]

Alternatively couldn't you take it to a local Focus dealer, or even just a Bosch dealer?
They may charge you a bit of labour but could save a load of stress.

 

[Chrisjones6699]

Alternatively couldn't you take it to a local Focus dealer, or even just a Bosch dealer?
They may charge you a bit of labour but could save a load of stress.

I’ve emailed both Focus and Bosch so come Tuesday, I should have a response from them and the shop. I’ll see who comes back with the best reply and take it from there. All I want is for the shop to send me a sensor and magnet.

 

[Rahr85]

I feel sorry for you with all this hassle. I'm lucky in that i live close to je james.

My experience is a bit jekyll and hyde. If i go into the store they are super helpful and happy to chat away.

However if you need to get hold of them on the phone or via e-mail the process is excruciating. I had no end of hassle just trying to chase up a warranty claim on my broken dropper post.

 

[Coolcmsc]

This. I had to do it with a Levo.
As with the Sale of Goods Act, under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.

Correct. Further, I have had a full purchase price refund on this exact basis from JE James and know that two other people (as of March 2021) had as well. My story doesn’t matter (electrical), but the full refund was after 14 months and I say that to make a point about “Fit for purpose at the point of purchase” — it doesn’t matter if it takes a while and a few different problems over time if they accumulate starting from a time it would be reasonable to expect the bike to work; you have 6 years and this is entirely a separate matter to your rights under a guarentee.

Being fit for purpose refers to the purpose of the bike at the point of purchase, which is to function as a bike.

This means that if there are, say, 4 different problems happening one after the other that each mean the bike doesn’t work correctly and each one happens only once, you must NOT make the mistake of thinking this counts as 4 different problems. The shop will and, having fixed each, not give you a refund.

They would be completely incorrect. Think of a washing machine that completely breaks down 4 times. It’s simply irrelevant why that happened. You get a full refund or a new identical replacement in the U.K.

My point is, each breakdown means that your bike or your washing machine wasn’t fit for purpose on four different occasions.

The Ombudsman, the Association of Cycle Traders and Judges in the County Court (small claims) see that as good reason for a immediate replacement with a new identical model or a full refund. JE James won’t have an identical model, so it would be a full refund.

I made a big effort to chat to the store manager having discussed the matter in principle with another dealer and the importer. I explained what I would do — the full sequence. Then I wrote a formal letter and rang the day before the 14 days notice I’d given was up for initiating mediation prior to court action and notifying the Ombudsman and the ACT.

Which? Magazine will help you write the letter for free and it only takes a few minutes. It also gives free advice on the detail of what @Bomble has said Letter to get a refund if your item is faulty

I got my money 2 days later.

I hope you get your bike completely fixed quickly and that it works within specification thereafter. Of course bikes and their componentry wear out, but that’s entirely different.

JE James have always done right by me — in the end.

But don’t accept anything by putting that in writing to them and don’t pay for anything to do with the ‘fix(s)’, for example to get an upgrade. And don’t take a financial payment to offset the difficulties you experience (I was offered £250 and accepting might well have completely voided my rights - just don’t go there….

Lastly, make a date NOW by which you’ll not take any more mucking about and then stick to it…. I’d have got my refund at least 4 months earlier if I’d followed that advice ?

 

[Chrisjones6699]

I feel sorry for you with all this hassle. I'm lucky in that i live close to je james.

My experience is a bit jekyll and hyde. If i go into the store they are super helpful and happy to chat away.

However if you need to get hold of them on the phone or via e-mail the process is excruciating. I had no end of hassle just trying to chase up a warranty claim on my broken dropper post.

I’m glad that it’s not just me then. In fairness though, they haven’t been too bad with email replies up until yesterday.

 

[Coolcmsc]

I’m glad that it’s not just me then. In fairness though, they haven’t been too bad with email replies up until yesterday.

It’s time for more action and fewer emails…

 

[Chrisjones6699]

This

Correct. Further, I have had a full purchase price refund on this exact basis from JE James and know that two other people (as of March 2021) had as well. My story doesn’t matter (electrical), but the full refund was after 14 months and I say that to make a point about “Fit for purpose at the point of purchase” — it doesn’t matter if it takes a while and a few different problems over time if they accumulate starting from a time it would be reasonable to expect the bike to work; you have 6 years and this is entirely a separate matter to your rights under a guarentee.

Being fit for purpose refers to the purpose of the bike at the point of purchase, which is to function as a bike.

This means that if there are, say, 4 different problems happening one after the other that each mean the bike doesn’t work correctly and each one happens only once, you must NOT make the mistake of thinking this counts as 4 different problems. The shop will and, having fixed each, not give you a refund.

They would be completely incorrect. Think of a washing machine that completely breaks down 4 times. It’s simply irrelevant why that happened. You get a full refund or a new identical replacement in the U.K.

My point is, each breakdown means that your bike or your washing machine wasn’t fit for purpose on four different occasions.

The Ombudsman, the Association of Cycle Traders and Judges in the County Court (small claims) see that as good reason for a immediate replacement with a working model or a full refund. JE James won’t have an identical model, so it would be a full refund.

I made a big effort to chat to the store manager having discussed the matter in principle with another dealer and the importer. I explained what I would do — the full sequence. Then I wrote a formal letter and rang the day before the 14 days notice I’d given was up for initiating mediation prior to court action and notifying the Ombudsman and the ACT.

Which? Magazine will help you write the letter for free and it only takes a few minutes. It also gives free advice on the detail of what @Bomble has said Letter to get a refund if your item is faulty

I got my money 2 days later.

I hope you get your bike completely fixed quickly. JE James have always done right by me — in the end. But don’t accept anything by putting it writing to them and don’t pay for anything to do with the ‘fix(s)’. And don’t take a discount to offset the difficulties you experience.

Lastly, make a date NOW by which you’ll not take any more mucking about and then stick to it…. I’d have got my refund at least 4 months earlier if I’d followed that advice ?

I’m lucky in the sense that every single issue I’ve had has been well documented in emails so I have the entire history at my disposal.

Thank you for all the advice. It’s a huge help and it’s given me hope that this will be resolved one way or another quickly. Like ive said though, I just want them to send me a £26 sensor and an £8 magnet so I can fix it myself ??‍

 

[Coolcmsc]

This

I’m lucky in the sense that every single issue I’ve had has been well documented in emails so I have the entire history at my disposal.

Thank you for all the advice. It’s a huge help and it’s given me hope that this will be resolved one way or another quickly. Like ive said though, I just want them to send me a £26 sensor and an £8 magnet so I can fix it myself ??‍

Make sure one of those emails says, “JE James authorises you to undertake work under guarantee on our behalf”.
Simple for them to do that.
Suspicious if they won’t.
At issue is that you risk opening a door to the outrageous allegation at a later date (from the importer or manufacturer, not JE James) that you were part of the problem if this all spills into more issues with the bike.
Very best of luck — nobody deserves this sort of anxiety about something so precious (and expensive — I mentioned washing machines before: how many of those could you buy for the price of your bike) ?