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Stolen Specialized Stumpjumper Comp


SCAMTB's picture

By SCAMTB - Posted on 04 June 2009

My bike was stolen a month ago from the "workshop" at Pedals Plus in Mona Vale. The owner of the shop assured me they had posted a notice here but as I can't find any mention of it, thought I should do so myself.
I bought it second hand and only had it for 3 weeks before it was pinched, so I'm struggling to think of any identifiers. Best I can do is say it was a 2007 Stumpjumper Comp dual suspension Mountainbike in very dark grey (close to black). I actually thought it was a 2008 model but, as the kid at the shop took great delight in telling me, it was actually 2007 spec.
The bike was there for a full service, and although they're not Specialized dealers, I thought I'd give them a shot as I'd bought some carriers, kids BMX, new pedals and stuff and was happy with their service. I'm still waiting for the issue to be resolved though so my next post will be a full rundown on how they are handling it. So far I'm extremely disappointed but they may yet come through for a positive outcome.
Cheers,
Simon Anderson.

Damien's picture

What do you mean they may come through with a positive outcome you need to give them a bloody good kick up the bum and they need to give you your bike back or equivelant.

If they havent replaced or returned it by now why would it be likely that they are going to at any point soon.

I had a situation where my bike was destroyed by a taxi and the taxi driver and his insurance people flufed around and said it may be something they can fix but maybe not. I went and got some legal advice wrote them a letter as to what I was about to do and hey presto new bike quicker than quick.

Can they prove it was stolen from there workshop maybe you should report them to the police for steeling your bike.

Rich de Pom's picture

They stuffed up and they have to pay you for a replacement equivilent bike. They should have it covered by their insurance and yes threaten them if need be but should be nice to them at first.
Seems that Mr light fingers has got away for now but what comes around goes around to the scum.
Good luck and hopefully you have a good outcome from a bad situation.

Paul's picture

I agree with Damien their actions are not good enough!

I assuming your's wasn't the only bike stolen and I also assume they have reported the theft to the police (and they have a copy of the police report)?

So it's up to them to cough up for a replacement bike and then seek reimbursment from their insurance company.

jpack's picture

Every business is afraid to death of the department of Fair trading. Call fair trading and find out what you should do. I recently had a problme and they informed me to write the company a LETTER OF DEMAND. stating the problem, the outcome you would like/expect and the consequences of inaction. You must also give them a "reasonable" time period in which to respond and act. be careful with the wording as this is a legal document. make sure you cover your ass. Send it by fax, by also send it by registered post

(today's date)
Dear Manager of (bike store and address)
regarding: stolen/missing bike for (your name)
LETER OF DEMAND
(breif intro of situation as it stands)

I would like the bicycle to be replaced with the same or a bicycle which both parties deem equivalent by (time period, like 2 weeks or so).

I kindly request a reponse to this letter by (time period, 1 week or so (you want the reposne before the bike)).

If no action is taken by you or a representative of your company, i will lodge a formal complait with the dept of Fair trading.

regards,

(you)
(give your contact details)

NOTE: before it gets to letter of demand, call them first and see if it can be worked out amicably in a suitable time period, otherwise, fair trading is the way to go.
Good Luck, it's sucks to have to deal with this shit

Andy Bloot's picture

I assume you're dealing with Ben, the owner of the shop
I always found him pretty easy to deal with and he's been in business a long time
Don't bother speaking to anyone else but him

I'm surprised that it's not a simple 'we replace the bike or the monetary value' scenario
You left the bike with them and it was stolen whilst in their care and their insurance needs to cover it. Simple I would have thought
He seems smart enough to have full insurance to cover this
I also assume that it was taken from their new compound out the back of the shop, in which case yours would not have been the only bike stolen.
Pretty easy place to nick a whole lot of bikes now that I think about it
What an absolute pain in the ring - go in the shop and talk to Ben and if no joy go with what jpack has said

Now, are you the Simon Anderson of Energy and the 3 fin thruster fame

SCAMTB's picture

Some good points, thanks.
I haven't mentioned the situation regarding the loaner; they have said I can use a store bike (some mid-range hardtail thing, not a demo but the owner's personally purchased ride!). I'd just got off the phone when I posted the above and it took quite a bit of control to supress my growing anger! I took the loaner for an Oxford Falls ride (powerlines, road-to-nowhere) 2 weekends ago. Like all trails in Sydney ATM it was pretty wet, but still enjoyable. I made an effort to take it easy, riding like I borrowed it, and spent an hour minimum cleaning it, tightening up parts (the headset, pedals, and handlebars came loose on the ride!), and lubing it right up. I returned it the following Tuesday. When I complained today to the owner that I hadn't heard boo from anyone there about the progress of the claim, he straight out accused me of destroying.......sorry, "completely trashing" his beloved personal bike! When I queried this he said I'd "scratched the crank".......WTF? Either way, later in the conversation he let slip that bike has since been sold anyway,...so how bad could it have been?
Anyway, hearing what you guys have got to say has just made me angrier! My brother and stepfather are both practicing solicitors so if this isn't solved by tomorrow afternoon I'll be calling in a few favours!
Thanks,
Simon Anderson.

Mountainbike. Because it's there.

Toddy's picture

being nice about it, man your hard earned cash gone ! I'd be right on to them ! Got to the Police for sure, make a report then back it up with letters as suggested here, but I wouldn't let up on Pedals Plus. Let them know you've been onto websites like this letting all and sundry know whats happenned and plan to keep updating !

Shops have insurance should this shit happen, don't let em get away !

Damien's picture

This just gets worse by the minute so this bike shop owner is quite happy to sell a bike that in his own words was destroyed and completely trashed WTF indeed. You scratched a crank so has this tool ever ridden a mountain bike offroad before.

Let him have both barrels I say.

jpack's picture

The mountain biking communicty is close knit. If you mention this sort of stuff on a few other forums, it will do more damage to his business than the cost of replacing 1 bike. Like other's have mentioned, his insurance should definitely cover this.
I am loyal to no bike shop, mostly because i've yet to find a good one. but i know for sure that now i'll never go there and i'll be letting all my riding mates know that they shouldn't go there either, word spreads fast.

You should have held on to their loner bike as collateral, cos at the moment you've got stuff all.

ALSO: keep note of all the events that relate to this. Names, dates, letters, coversations. Cos if this drags on for a while, you might forget the little details, god to keep a record for yourself.

SCAMTB's picture

Excellent advice, thanks for that!
Just got off the phone with my brother and he's chomping at the bit to to get involved!
It may sound like I've given them too much leeway to sort it out but I'm concious of the fact that the beef I have is with the owner (Ben), but the experience I've had dealing with Nathan there has been overwhelmingly positive. He did me a good deal on my daughters bike and he's never too busy to look after the minor stuff (he made sure it was all adjusted on the spot to suit my 6 year-old's stature!).....
I'll definitely keep you guys posted on progress.

Cheers,
Simon A (not "the"!)

Mountainbike. Because it's there.

sensai_miagi's picture

simon, it sounds like you are way too nice mate. they lost your bike (it doesn't matter where it went...records show that it was their liability at the time it was stolen). if a rental car gets stolen while you have it rented out you don't get to walk away scot free...you pay for the car in the form of an insurance excess. harden up brother and go to town on them. you should have a new bike of equal standard or market value in cash quicker than they can say "what are the court fees!?"

PIVOT MACH 5's picture

Simon you should email the link to this forum to the owner of the shop.

hawkeye's picture

But do you have a receipt for the bike being dropped off to them for service?

Unfortunately this kind of thing can happen, and if you don;t have a receipt, the shopowner doesn't cooperate, and the insurance company plays hardball, not having that little bit of paper can make things a whole lot tougher than they need to be.

The moral is, get a receipt. DY Bike Hub does it. Can't recall if BA does. PP should, if they;re professional and if they don't they're not and I wouldn;t deal with them. From teh sounds of their security arrangements, they don't sound real flash. So thanks for the heads up, we now know not to go there.

PS: I don;t think it would be wise to advise them of the thread here just yet.
PPS: Police report needs to be lodged immediately if not done already. You need to supply serial number.

Pedals Plus's picture

Like all stories there is more than meets the eye.

Yes, we got broken into, yes several service bikes were stolen, yes Simon's was one.

The 2 bikes worth under a grand I replaced immediately with new bikes straight from my own stock - we assessed Simons at over $3k new [he paid under $2k] so I thought it prudent to wait for the insurers to settle it and give him the choice of replacement.

We informed him of the theft and requested any details of the bike and verified its age and model from Specialized based on colour and spec because Simon had very few hard details as it was an EBAY purchase.

I explained to Simon that even those his bike was a few years old and 2nd hand we would seek full replacment of the new equivalent from our insurers

I also offered the use of a my own bike if he needed one in the interim before the claim was approved.

Simon then took my near new bike out and returned it in a sorry state with no explanation, cranks all scratched up, covered in crap and full of sand [as happens on the beaches, but fair go]. I would have expected something else but let it slide given the situation.

No one has screwed anyone over, no one is running from responsibility, our insurers have not questioned any of the details we have provided to them.

The reason Simon is pissed is because he called today and I said I would not lend him 'my' bike again this weekend based on how he returned it last week - I did however say he could take another shop bike.

All you keyboard cowboys threatening lawyers and DOFT claims, would need to shown we have been negligent, dishonest or unhelpful - we have been the opposite.

I have no doubt Simon will get a shiny new bike of his choice in the immediate future but certainly won't go out of my way to jump through hoops for him if this is what you get for trying to be helpful.

If I see the dirty little prick who stole the bikes, I will strangle him on the spot - any info on this bike or a Giant Reign also stolen of the same era would be gratefully accepted.

Good bike shops generally do what they can to help their customers and as a rule we go out of our way to do so. In 5 years with several stores this is the first ever break with the loss of product I have experienced and I am doing the best I can.

Ben - Pedals Plus Mona Vale

SCAMTB's picture

Going out of your way?!?
I would have thought that might include at least one phone call to keep me informed!
It surprises me that you've been in business for as long as you have because your customer service is appalling. I was going to detail how you have treated me with absolute contempt, but you calling everyone here "keyboard cowboys" says it better than I ever could.
Regarding the bike I borrowed, I have two witnesses who will confirm the state it was in when I returned it, as they sat with me while I spent an hour cleaning it. Further, when I picked it up I went to the trouble of telling the lads at your shop that I was heading to Oxford Falls, in the heavy rain. I'll grant you there may have been some sand in the cables but the crank was most definitely already scuffed. Feel free to contact me if you'd like to see the photos of the bike on the roof of my car!
I look forward to hearing from you for once, to here about all the trouble you've gone to over the last MONTH, and sincerely hope this can be resolved! FFS I miss my bike and I'm sick of being made to feel like I'm just a PITA to you!
Two things for sure; I'll be keeping everyone here informed of how this issue is resolved, and I promise not to bother you with my custom again. And please get your staff to stop sending private messages accusing me of "venting" and telling me to edit my posts.

Simon A.

Mountainbike. Because it's there.

sensai_miagi's picture

ben, it was nice of you to lend simon a bike but, more importantly, how is the insurance claim coming along? after all, it's been four weeks apparently!

(and by the way, a court would not be interested in how helpful you were...they would want to know if the bike was under your care when it was stolen)

Pedals Plus's picture

Simon,

I should have used my better judgement and not lent you my personal bike, it has clearly exacerbated this from one to two issues and I won't repeat it in the future - my bad.

I understand you want a new bike, I will make myself a pain in the arse for my insurers on a daily basis to close this matter ASAP and I'll make sure I'll call you personally each and every weekday from now until you have a bike or a cheque.

Vent as much as you like as long as you stick to the facts, hopefully we can minimise the vents by speeding the process to resolution sooner rather than later.

I have never had a business insurance claim before so it has been a learning process for me too and the lack of any proof of purchase details, serials or even knowing the year of manufacture correctly initially has not helped to speed things up.

Regards,

Ben

mikethebike's picture

wow what a joke, a month of nothing but grief from a bloke who is PO at you for having your bike stolen from his shop. A lot of people never have to deal with insurance agencies, but common courtesy in relation to customer service and duty of care are things any shop owner/manager should be all over to maintain a good name (if they already have one). Its obviously taken this forum to get things moving for you Simon. The information given in the last few posts is something you would have appreciated hearing from someone at that shop much earlier. I look forward to seeing how this pans out. Good luck

Rob's picture

Geeze... Everyone just settle down and be reasonable, and think before you go mouthing off on a public forum.

Yes, it's an cr@ppy turn of events when a bike is stolen.

But Simon - think what would be going on now if this had been taken from your car, or house, or wherever. Now, I know you're going to say that would never happen 'cos it's like Fort Knox, etc, etc, but let's pretend for a sec. You would be down a bike, and having a terrible time with any insurance claim. You'd have no loaner and a long wait for an insurance payout and new bike delivery.

Instead of that, poor old Ben at PP has to do all the paperwork. And not only that, he has to put up with this abuse at the same time after trying (whether rightly or wrongly) to be nice and lend you a bike.

Should PP give you a replacement bike now? Maybe they should but then they'd be down the $$$ while waiting for the claim (which is by no means a certainty by the sound of it).

It sounds like a little patience here would go a long way. Sure PP could give you a bike now (and take a risk there may be a problem with the insurance claim) but I'll bet if they weren't pushed into doing so before the claim is honoured you'd get a far better outcome (when insurance has paid up the exact budget is known so all can be spent, and you would hope to get some nice discounting thrown in for being a bit understanding - mind you - that should probably be the case anyhow).

Patience? Yeah, easy for me to say (having not ridden for 4 weeks through illness), but dude, sh1t happens, just deal with it and chill out. The weather sucks and the trails are waterlogged anyhow so just relax instead.

Toddy's picture

easy for you to say, shoe on the other foot and that !

What about the comments on CBD that have appeared on here and Hugh being more than reasonable to address! PP have a moral obligation to do whatever it takes to settle this. Simon is the guy out of pocket here! And what about the person down 1 Reign ? How are they feeling ?

Ben needs to sort this out, even if he does end up out of pocket. Security at PP sounds sub standard and needs to be addressed. Forums like this and many others alert the PAYING public of such poor customer service and should be applauded when done so. It's very poor performance for the owner/manager of a business such as this to insult the forum given that people on this forum have kids and will need bike upgrades in the future.

Businesses are measured on how they solve problems. Problems are oppurtunities for improvement.

Pedals Plus's picture

People need think of this as a time line.

Simon is hot under the collar and has distorted his timeline in his favour.

I contacted Simon on May 15 to inform him of the break in. That is 3 weeks ago TODAY - it is not 4 weeks, a month or over a month.

I needed to supply paper work for all bikes stolen and he had none because it was a 2nd hand bike. 1 of the 4 bikes stolen had any paperwork and as such the insurance info was lodged a week later with as good information as we could supply - that will officially be 2 weeks today since I sent the paperwork off. Incorrect paperwork or no information would mean NO payment so was not an option.

I paid out of my own pocket on the spot for the low value bikes, the 2 higher value bikes are likely to have owners who are particular about their rides and both [as in most insurance cases I see as a retailer] immediately started to look for opportunities to upgrade to better bikes than what they had.

There is no point me forcing an owner onto a bike that I deem of value to their or even a brand that they may not like and there is more to be lost than gained in fast tracking the issue outside of the normal path of events. The insurance will pay, the customer can have the freedom of choice, no one is left out of pocket and the only inconvenience is the period of time between claim and settlement.

I thought offering a replacement bike in this period was the right thing to do even though legally I am not required to do it but this backfired a little.

Too many of you are so willing to jump the gun and accuse me of stuff that has not happened, most bike shop owners become cynical pricks and this thread shows how easy it is to follow that path.

I'll knock it on the head here, the remainder is between Simon and I.

Toddy's picture

not forget Simon is the customer here and feels he's been hard done by and given that his bike is expensive makes it even more important to him to have action taken to make good.

Remember, the customer is ALWAYS right, even if we don't like to admit it.

OzMoT's picture

This does prove once again that there are to sides to every story, but more importantly...how many of you guys have got the serial numbers of your bikes written down some place?

I know a guy whose sworks was stolen, all blinged up as well, he lost $10K because he did not have a photo, or a serial No.

ALSO NB, i had a bike stolen in SA, and the insurer said it was not covered because i had bought a new bike, and they had assumed it was a replacement...i.e i never checked my updated policy to see that the so called old bike had been taken off....

I'm also sure you guys are aware that bikes covered under house contents, are not covered if taken away from the hut.
Bikes stolen from a bike carrier will not be covered more often than not, and will need to be proved that there was forced entry if they are. Neither will the goods like garmins, polar etc be covered, they would need to be specified as out and about type items...like jewellery, unless specified there would be a max cover for all together, and it would be very little.

Lastly...check air travel cover...mostoy they limit their liability, or pay per kg....nice...sworks 10kg = less money.

Best is to get specific bike insurance...which i also need to do...can anybody recommend a good company?

Dirty

Andy Bloot's picture

I can feel for both the victims here
I can fully understand SA's frustrations at the situation of having his bike stolen when out of his hands
When I lived in MV I used PP and always found Ben and all the staff great to deal with
He would go out of his way to personally work on my bike if I needed it quick
Knowing that I buy most of my gear online and was only ever good for the smaller stuff

I have another shop that I would not go near and used to give the finger to every time I drove past
I was surprised when a nobmobber told me (unsolicited) of the great experience he had had at the same shop
And that I should go there (I was looking for a new shop)

My point is that when in a retail/ customer environment, it's impossible to get it 100% right all the time
Farkin/ Rotorburn have a policy of not naming shops in a negative way for this reason
I think it's a good policy

SCAMTB's picture

Ben,
It may indeed only be three weeks, and for that mistake I am truly sorry.
But even after all this, you still fail to understand the reason I'm upset! It's all well and good to go into detail here about the trouble you've gone to, but the fact remains that until I mentioned the situation on a public forum, ALL I ever got from you when I chased YOU was "haven't heard anything from the insurance company yet". Your tone was dismissive, and you left me with zero confidence this would ever be resolved. I also don't appreciate being accused of not looking after your bike because I can assure you the opposite was true.
I would never have posted here anything about this if;
1. You had bothered to call me to inform me of progress,
2. You hadn't foamed down the phoneline that I "completely trashed" your bike,
3. Hadn't lied about posting details of the theft on forums like this.

I feel I've been more than patient with you, but after yesterday my patience was at an end.

To be continued...

Mountainbike. Because it's there.

leximack's picture

you 2 guys should go on Judge Judy
Would be a great episode Smiling

MDOldFart's picture

they would need someone to play the skanky hoe.

Ben, thanks for posting your side of the storey, no doubt the truth of what has taken place lies somewhere between the two. It's so easy for people to form opinions and jump to conclusions when they are only told one side of an argument. No doubt this will all be resolved as soon as the insurance company is satisfied with the validity of the claim before them.

What it does show is the need to get that piece of paper that says I dropped my brand x model y bike off to shop w for a service and to make sure all the relevant details, with photos and invoices for any upgrades, are safely stored somewhere at home.

Thanks for letting us all know Simon, if only for that reason. Look at it positively, think of the damage that PP is saving you from doing your bike riding it in these shitty conditions anyway. Good luck

The Old fart

craigs's picture

Gosh it must be all this wet weather. Got to agree with Rob's comments.

Have any of you stopped to think about the guy who's had his business and livelyhood broken into and the obvious stress related to the subsequent insurance claim? Not to mention the irate customers? The guy has a business to get back up and running, to be able to feed the familty and then work on rebuilding reputation and trust. No small task my friends and I would suggest that the impact to the store and owner will be far far greater than one dude loosing his bike, as unfortunate as it is. Seems to me he's being very reasonable and caring.

My bike got stolen at an event (while taking a leak) but I didnt sue the organisers for lack of security or duty of care. I accepted that it was a freak occurence, got drunk and moved on.

Get insurance, have photos (required for insurance, but you should have them anyway) make sure your policy covers events, and away from home. Write down the serial and so on. My home insurance covers the bike anywhere (but not an event apparently) and there is Velosure which you can read about in other threads on nobmob. Darren (pivot mach 5) cant speak highly enough of velosure.

Shitty things sometimes happen, often through no fault of anyone.
Thanks for bringing PP to my attention, seems like a good bloke and I wish him well in rebuilding the business.

Damien's picture

But a retail business like a bike shop is built on its customer service full stop whether he is a good bloke has kids and a family to feed is beside the point running a business is hard (I Know) and as a business owner you either now how to resolve this type of problem quickly and in a positive manner or you don’t obviously PP hasn’t quite figured it out yet.

Best approach would of been to replace the bike on the spot and sort it out with the insurance company afterwards we may not have heard how awesome there service was on the forum but we certainly wouldn’t have heard how bad it has been either.

Customers don’t give a rats arse about the problems of running a business and certainly don’t want to know about the problems and crap that business owners deal with on a regular basis they just want good honest straight forward service and no hassles or they will generally go elsewhere.

PP has an opportunity to build a bridge here and create some positive free PR with this customer and public forum so will they sort this out and go above and beyond or will they just do the minimum to make this go away I wonder.

Having your bike stolen while under your own care is one thing to leave it with a shop and have it stolen is something else and in no way shape or form should be his problem or have caused him such a hassel as this has obviously turned into.

Toddy's picture

with you Damien 100%.

PP deal with the issue firstly, then take it up with their insurance, I'm sure PP would've made a statement with Police after they were called out to inspect the break in.

Customers' are had to come by and even harder to keep, this is what should be remembered here.

craigs's picture

But there are processes, reports, and so on that ensure that the possible course of action you suggest can take place without the risk of further damage. So the bike shop gives you a bike, then for whatever reason cant claim it, would that be fair?
These things take time as annoying as it is with all the emotion involved but sometimes you have to hang out for best outcome.
Another story for you... I had a car stolen but the insurance company didnt give me a new one that very day (why not I now wonder?). Some months later after several interviews, claim forms etc, I got a cheque. So not sure how this is any different?

Seems to me like a fair bit of effort has been made and for a bunch of people to join a forum specifically to throw up a one sided rant is a little over the top. Sorry but put things in perspective and give people a chance to do their jobs (insurance company etc...) before going bananas on a public forum.

Toddy's picture

but everyone is different. What I'd expect could be completely different to others. Like I tell my suppliers, I'm only interested in my problem, not someone elses. I'm empathetic to PP but that doesn't get Simons' bike back any sooner.

I think the real issue here is solving Simons' problem, as quickly as possible (with or without insurance companies) and seeing as it's now been 3 weeks, I'd suggest that isn't happening, that, INMHO, isn't good enough.

mikethebike's picture

Poor communication from PP has brought this on. Of course these things take time, but being left in the dark as a third party is very irritating.

Damien's picture

Would that be fair absolutely and as the customers experience would be a very positive one it would be good for the bike shop regardless of the outcome of the claim.

Having your own bike / car stolen while in your own care and having to deal with the insurance claim and go through the process of dealing with an insurance company as opposed to having your bike stolen while in the care of a bike shop (business) are two very different situations painting them with the same brush is a very simplistic approach.

Dealing with the insurance company is the bike shops job not the customers.

The customer should get great customer service no matter what in this situation and that doesn’t involve the crap of dealing with an insurance company.

He has obviously had enough of the treatment he has gotten to date and decided to do something about it so he joins up here and posts on the forum good for him that we are here to rant on his behalf I say it seems to have prodded the shop into a bit of action so hey it has worked that’s got to be a little bit positive in one way or another.

So perspective hmm well either a business has great customer service or it doesn’t have as much business as it could.

SCAMTB's picture

Got a call from Ben last Friday; said the insurer would get back to him today (Tuesday) about...........not sure! More info? A new bike? A cheque? No one seems to know! Tuesday is a *very* important day in this saga, it's just nobody actually knows why.
Well, it's tuesday and........nothing.
I'm hardly surprised.
Although this thread is starting to resemble an episode of Judge Judy sans skanky ho, a couple of points in reply to Bens last comment;
The first phone call i got from him to inform me of the theft (15/5), he actually said, unprompted, that i should look upon this as a bit of GOOD luck as i will be getting a *new* bike of equal or better spec. Id just like to make clear that right from the start all i have ever said i wanted is the equivalent to my old bike, and i have never demanded a new one.
Secondly, he said that he didn't agree with "the way i'd gone about things", re posting stuff here. My original purpose for posting here was to simply put the word out that a bike was pinched / here are the details, etc. When i pointed this out to him he accused me of going back and editing my original post, which he suggested originally took the form of some sort of witch-hunt against Pedals Plus. I have *never* edited any of my posts (until he mentioned it i never realised it was even possible).
He refused to believe that and before he could level any more accusations at me i hung up. This may be why he didn't call me today.
Anyway, i did say i would keep NoBMoB informed of what was happening, but if the majority here feel i should now just shut up about it I'll do so. Otherwise, i'll just keep posting info as it comes to hand (at this rate, i don't expect i'll need to post more often than once a week, probably for several more weeks!) ;-/

Simon A.

Mountainbike. Because it's there.

muvro's picture

Man, that's some bad news regarding the bike being stolen. If my bike was stolen I'd be gutted!!!

I really hope that it is resolved as quickly as possible. I'm sure Ben (PP) would be hoping the same thing to lay this subject to rest.

But as for the comments regarding the fact that PP should replace the bike now and deal with the insurance company for compensation. I think that's pretty harsh!!!

My father and I own a Classic car restoration business. We have literally millions of dollars worth of cars at any given time inside out premises. If someone really wanted to, they could access the workshop and they could steal a whole lot of in a few cases, priceless cars.

Now would it be my obligation to provide a replacement immediately and then chase the insurance company for compensation. I don't think so!!!

I can barely afford to put together a decent AM bike, let alone replace a 1/2 million dollar car.

The dollar values might be different, but the circumstances are the same.

Of course, we do have a premises that is quite literally like fort knox, and accessing the building and getting past the alarms and other security measures would be quite a mean feat in itself. But the fact remains, anything's possible and the question still stands.

Again, best of lucj with getting a resolve. Smiling

SCAMTB's picture

....still waiting.

Simon A.

Toddy's picture

that really sucks, PP should've sorted this out for you rather than waiting on the insurance company. Your only mistake was to give PP your patronage.

Might be time to get some advice, legally. That advice will ruffle a few feathers on here but to bad, you deserve to have your bike replaced !

I for one would not be as patient as you've been !

Letter to The Manly Daily perhaps ?

Noel's picture

Feel the love.

SCAMTB's picture

...still waiting, no end in sight!
It's become a game now; no more calls, same answer over and over.
Yesterday, when again I called for an update, it was suggested by Ben that due to my "communication skills" I should call the assessor myself. Seeing as insurance is my area I agreed, but I'm still waiting for details, like who the insurer is!
It is my firm belief that Ben is acting on the promise he made in this forum that due to my being so ungrateful to Ben for his Herculean efforts to get this matter resolved asap, he's no longer interested. How does someone with such a mammoth ego manage to run a retail business?
Anyway, I've been incredibly lucky to have had a bike leant to me by another bike shop! Seems word has gotten around and about a fortnight ago I received a call from Adrian from Belrose Cycles, offering me a bike for the weekend! I went and visited his shop (I had no idea there was such a thing as a trials pushy!!!), and he arranged for me to pick up the loaner from his father at their other shop, Northern Beaches Cycles at the very bottom of Powderworks road. I've actually had my old Specialized (Enduro) ser iced there before......why the hell didn't I just stick with them?!?!
Anyway, the bike that this virtual stranger was prepared to lend me, free, was a spanking Cannondale Rush SL! I had the best ride that weekend around the Oxford Falls / Red Hill area on what I'd have to say is the best bike I've ever ridden! A huge thanks to Chris and Adrian for their kindness! And if any of you out there have kids you want to get into cycling they have a great range of Apollo bikes there in kids sizes. I ended up buying one for my 8yo daughter and although she's been riding before she could walk (...well, sort of!), the immediate difference was huge. The bike is light, all the components have a real 'engineered' feel to them, spokes and cables are SS (all my kid's bikes have to be kept outside), and it's got this uber-cool matte paintjob. It pretty hard to find a girls bike that isn't just an enlarged dolly toy! Highly recomended. ;-D

until next week,

Simon A.

garfield's picture

just wondering if there are any updates on this? seems pedals plus are being a little slack

SCAMTB's picture

I spoke to the assessor on Monday; he submitted his report to the insurer nearly two weeks ago. So then I spoke to the broker who placed the insurance policy and he's promised now to keep badgering the insurance company.
At this point it is no longer in the hands of Pedals Plus, although an offer was made to settle which was less than the original purchase price (let alone the money I spent there on new parts).
7 weeks now.....

OzMoT's picture

Excuse my igonorance but what is and who made an offer to settle?

mikethebike's picture

has this been sorted yet?
keen to know......

iguanabartola's picture

Wow, Simon, hope you get your problem sorted soon buddy. This issue is costing Pedal Plus more money in loss of reputation than a $3K bike specially when there is insurance to claim against.....I also find it unbelievable that you have to deal with the insurance company directly. Good luck mate!

SCAMTB's picture

As of today it is out of my hands and I've been advised by DOFT that I should not discuss the finer details publically until this matter is resolved. Suffice to say that it has not been resolved and today marks 9 weeks.
Nine bloody weeks!.......

SCAMTB's picture

Finally settlement has been reached. I ended up about $300 ahead (purchase price and about 250 I spent on bits in the 3 weeks I had it).
My final thoughts?
ALWAYS take note of serial numbers, and ALWAYS get a deposit slip when you drop your bike off for a service.
As for Pedals Plus; it's still staffed with good people (I.e. Nathan and Michael) who are knowledgeable and helpful, and they do carry some good stuff. But I'll never be going back there for obvious reasons!
I'm absolutely over the moon now though as I've gone and bought the Cannondale Rush SL 6 that was lent to me by Northern Beaches Cycles. Turns out the carbon handlebars and fandango rear shock are quite a step up from standard, and he's refitted the standard length stem so it fits me perfectly.
BTW he's got some awesome riding lights on special at the mo; I forget the brand, $220 each and they're a great bit of kit!
Thanks for your support and advice guys and I'll see you out there!

Simon A.

OzMoT's picture

sorry to hear you had to downgrade from a Spesh to a cannon Smiling

Good to hear everydody is happy, bad that there seem to be lot of bikes getting stolen lately, it's making me homesick.

mOt

pedaltothemedal's picture

Hi Simon,

firstly, I am new here and don't know Simon or anyone from PP but would like to give my opinion of this drama from reading this thread.

It was bad that 4 bikes were stolen from the shop. If they were left unatended then it's obviously someones fault, but the shop was broken into, correct? This could happen anywhere to any bussiness, correct?

The shop owner lent you a bike as a temp' for reasons only he can know. You TOLD the blokes at the shop your going to ride it on those tracks, you didn't ask, or did you? You took it out in SH!T conditions. The shop OWNER lent you the bike, NOT the blokes on the tools.

Riding the tracks when they are in that condition is only detremental for all of us wouldn't you say?

So with the little amount of info you had and provided, and relevant info from the other 3 owners, PP lodged the claim to his insurer, 1 week after the theft, correct? It's now in the insurers hands, not PP. These things have to be investigated and therefore take some time to accumilate all the required info to process the claim. Insurance companies don't rush to pay people out, do they? So you ask PP again (and probably again), where is my bike or settlement. So 3 weeks in total go by and no bike or settlement. What did you expect, special treatment because of who you are or something? Then you get on here bad mouth PP because of the way you were treated, WAKEUP!

PP has done nothing wrong from where I sit. And for all the others here that jumped up and down with Simon, calling for DOFT to act on this, you need to hear both sides of the story and get the FACTS before going off. It makes you look a bit silly doesn't it.

again, I don't know either of the parties here and I mean no harm to anyone.
Get your bike details, serial # written down and get some photos to prove you are the bike owner. Get yourself/bike some insurance and always get a job card filled out when you put it in the shop.
Happy to hear your riding again Simon, jus don't ride when the tracks are soaked. It does more harm than good to the tracks and your ride.
Good riding

Andy

delicious's picture

I reckon I've read this thread pretty carefully and I notice that no one points out the true person at fault here.
That's the bike thief. If someone has and I missed it, I apologise.
I'll repeat my point.
The only person at fault in this incident is the individual who broke into Pedals Plus and stole property. This is illegal and immoral etc.
PP has done no wrong whatsoever.
Due to it being not possible to identify the culprit, Simon feels it necessary to point the finger elsewhere, so he turns on PP. I find that incredible.
PP is the customer of the insurer. As previously mentioned, there is due process involved which is time consuming. Simon makes out that he is the only victim here which is naiive and selfish. Banging on about lack of communication is pointless. PP reports the incident to the police and the insurer and when they settle with him, he settles with Simon (and other customers). Does Simon really believe that the insurer has no other cases to handle? Or that the police are really going gangbusters to apprehend bike thieves. I'd say that in the scheme of police work it would attract a low priority. So, it's out of PP's hands.
As we all now see, Simon has his payment yet PP does not deserve to be labelled a bad bike shop. I've grown tired of the constant whinging that I here of a person refusing to frequent a certain shop over the odd bad experience. Some things are beyond the control of the staff/owner and furthermore, bike shop staff are not infallible.
Is everyone out there perfect in their job every single day?
I recommend Simon and PP mend that particular bridge. Don't lose sight of the fact of who really is to blame. Being unable to affix an identity is no reason to go looking for an alternate patsy.

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