Nightmare experience buying a road-bike from Scott India

Just a month after the purchase & clocking a little less than 100 km on my Scott Speedster 40 bicycle, I was shocked to see what happened to the front wheel.

BHPian jai_asnani98 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey, everybody. They say, "Better late than never". So, let me share my nightmare with the Scott India team and one of their dealers from whom I purchased my first road bike.

Just a month after the purchase and clocking a little less than 100kms on my Scott Speedster 40, I was shocked to see that multiple spokes on my bike's front wheel are loose and the spoke nipples have fallen into the tyre. This was immediately reported to the dealer who had a very casual approach and said it's a common occurrence and not a big deal. He re-tensioned the same spokes and gave the go-ahead to ride the bike.

Somehow it didn't feel right for a brand new bike from a reputed brand and hence I reached out to the Customer Support of Scott India.

The customer service associate said in his very first statement that "This shouldn't have happened at all and it's the first time he's heard about it". Furthermore, he said, "The spokes need to be checked only during quarterly or annual maintenance". He mentioned that he too owns a Scott bike and never faced any such issue and would be highly disappointed if he would have to. (I have the recorded telephonic conversation).

He asked me to ride the bike to see if the problem still persists but my request to Scott India and the dealer was to take the bike for inspection to see for any manufacturing defects. This request was not paid heed to but rather a wave of false allegations was thrown at me including threats to take legal action against me. I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams that this is how the brand would try to solve the issue.

Very hesitantly, I rode the bike, at the customer support agent's request and guess what? MID RIDE, the spoke came off entirely from the wheel which I saw as a threat to my personal safety and abruptly stopped my ride then and there. This spoke came off the very same wheel whose spokes were 'apparently' re-tensioned. This incident after countless requests for inspection intensified the gravity of the matter.

Scott India stated that the onus was on the dealer to ensure proper assembly of the bike and that he and his mechanic are responsible for this blunder. Rather than pulling up the dealer for deficiency in service, what's more shocking is that they offered me a free helmet for the traumatizing experience I have had.

After my safety was endangered once again at the hands of Scott India and the dealer, finally they asked me to drop the bike with the dealer for inspection and committed that they would get back to me within 24 hours. Interesting, right?

Post 72 hours of zero feedback on the bike from Scott as well as the dealer, I am informed out of the blue that without my permission the dealer has authorized himself to file for a warranty on my behalf. So I am in a total identity crisis that do I own the bike or not? Is it my money or not since everybody is taking decisions as per their whims and fancies? I am further informed that the Global Quality Team has advised replacing the front wheel.

After my safety being put at risk on more than one occasion, in spite of countless requests to concerned authorities and providing them with the proof of my claims (images, audio recordings) and dealing with 4 different people every time, I have lost faith in the brand and hence requested a refund. Till date, I was told by the Scott team that regardless of where I bought the bike from, I am a Scott customer. Now when I have demanded a refund due to service lapses and the product being defective, I am told that I have to sort it out with the dealer and they have refused to take the ownership of this deficiency in service.

My fellow consumers, you can understand my plight that where does a genuine customer stand when a defective piece is given to him? This can happen to anybody. All my pleas have gone on deaf ears and my hard-earned money, down the drain.

If the root cause is coming from elsewhere in the bike as it was already fixed once but the same problem recurred, I want to know that since they are compelling me to accept a defective piece with the replaced wheel, tomorrow, God forbid, if again my safety is at risk, who's willing to take the responsibility? I am in a typical Catch 22 situation.

PS- I have posted on Twitter, Instagram and received enormous support from family and friends, but the brand continues to turn a blind eye to the matter. Hilariously, the Social Media team liked my post only to realize their 'Oops Moment' after a while.

I am still adamant about a refund and am after the brand and dealer but they continue to ignore my request and my bike is still with them.

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

Definitely seems like awful customer service from an expensive brand. They clearly need to work on their communication skills & dispute resolution mechanisms. That being said, as long as they process the warranty claim perfectly and replace the wheel, you should be satisfied. I don't think a full refund would be in order here.

Work with the brand, get your bike fixed and enjoy your rides.

Here's what BHPian ninjatalli had to say about the matter:

No, this is not common at all. The customer service associate was perfectly right in his opinion.

This is extremely pathetic customer service. I'd suggest first reporting your own post/thread name and asking the mods to put the dealer name. Scott isn't the main party at fault, but the dealer is. Let others get the benefit of knowing whom not to approach for future purchases. Also once done, share this thread with the Scott customer service team. They seem to be at least responding / listening to your complaints, even if there's a delay in their communication.

I get your anger, but this is the correct step. The bike is not faulty, just the wheel is faulty. And good to hear the Scott QA (/Global Quality Team) is taking the right decision on your behalf (replace instead of repair). I'd suggest checking with them and pushing them to get the other wheel replaced too as a precautionary safety measure. Given that they have taken action without just pushing the dealer to do the necessary steps, I'd say this seems plausible.

I would suggest you to continue with the bike and keep an open conversation with the Scott customer support team. So far your bike (frame, components) is working fine, and from a 3rd person's view, it seems a case of a faulty wheel and horrible customer service from a dealer. Scott makes great bikes and you should focus on that going ahead. At this point, if I were in your shoes, I'd consider the main product (cycle) not faulty but rather a component of it that has been rightly replaced instead of being pushed to repair.

Keep that channel of communication with the global service/support team open and make sure they understand the reasons for enabling that. I'd suggest moving ahead and focusing on happy cycling days ahead!

Here's what BHPian Axe77 had to say about the matter:

This is a really unfortunate experience and they could have certainly managed their communication better. Can you please mention the dealer as well so other readers are fully aware?

If they are replacing the entire wheel under warranty then that seems on the face of it an appropriate solution. To expect a full refund or a full bike replacement would be overkill IMO. It's not like any part of the frame has a manufacturing defect.

I would say get the wheel replaced, put the experience behind you and enjoy this lovely machine. The good thing with bicycles (unlike cars / motorbikes) is that right off the bat, you can service and maintain them with a mechanic of your choosing. You can dissociate yourself from the dealer with immediate effect if you didn’t like your experience with him.

Lots of competent bike maintenance shops around - if you share your location in Mumbai I would be happy to make a few recommendations.

Cheers.

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