I bought two ebikes in Dec 2012 for my wife and I to take with us on our motorhome. The concept is great being able to get to places without being exhausted and then enjoying the destination.We are experienced cyclists but when the electric motor overheated on my wife's bike we were shocked, without discussion, to be told that it was because she had 'not ridden it properly'. We were then referred to the Kudos Terms and Conditions of Warranty which are almost non existent.No Warranty and no remedy by the company on five existing faults.So please read the Terms and Conditions before committing to buying. Ignore Q and A pages they are deceptive.
Pedelecs - Read Terms and Conditions of Warranty
- Thread starter BrianC
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As an ex-CAB volunteer I'd suggest that a company cannot limit your legal rights by cooking up a 'warranty' in their own failure. I'd suggest a recorded delivery letter to the company giving them two weeks to resolve the matter and stating that if this is not done you will take action in the Court of Small Claims - batteries are not cheap! Your local CAB will guide you through this. Good luck, and keep us posted. This sort of thing is bad for the image of pedelecs.
Tom
Tom
Thanks for the advice. I've pursued them with a 'sign for letter' but he states he will contest any Court action and I would be required to tender an expensive 'electric bike expert' report. CAB said they could not help me. MBNA 'Chargeback' also need a qualified expert report.It seems like wasting good money after bad so BUYERS BEWARE.
D
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It would be nice to know every detail of your complaints.
All electric bikes will overheat if you don't use them properly. The user is expected to use common sense to recognise when the motor is struggling, and either pedal harder or get off and push. All legal bikes are pedal assisted bicycles with very limited power, which isn't enough to drag you up a hill without effort. If you're lucky enough to get an instruction book, then this is normally made pretty clear. As far as I know, there's very few sub-£1500 electric bikes with a thermal cut-out in the motor, so there's a real risk of damage you go too lowly up a hill. If the manufacturers cut the power to a lower level so that the motor couldn't overheat, the power would be so low that you wouldn't want it.
Can we have some more details of how yours over-heated, so that we can judge whether it's reasonable, and advise on the best course of action.
All electric bikes will overheat if you don't use them properly. The user is expected to use common sense to recognise when the motor is struggling, and either pedal harder or get off and push. All legal bikes are pedal assisted bicycles with very limited power, which isn't enough to drag you up a hill without effort. If you're lucky enough to get an instruction book, then this is normally made pretty clear. As far as I know, there's very few sub-£1500 electric bikes with a thermal cut-out in the motor, so there's a real risk of damage you go too lowly up a hill. If the manufacturers cut the power to a lower level so that the motor couldn't overheat, the power would be so low that you wouldn't want it.
Can we have some more details of how yours over-heated, so that we can judge whether it's reasonable, and advise on the best course of action.
I would suggest putting this in the electric bike section. People often miss this section including traders. Personally we always try and be fair with warranty claims. Could not see a problem unless something on the bike was changed to put more pressure on the motor.
Sorry to hear about your problem.
David
Sorry to hear about your problem.
David
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We have been riding mountain bikes for over 15 years without any problems. If you read the Terms and Conditions of the kudoscycles.com warranty about the motor you will see it automatically assumes the cycle has been ridden incorrectly and therefore the warranty is void.Up until May 2013 there was no reference to Terms and Conditions in the Q and A page about the Warranty.My original blog was to make people aware of reading the T and Cs.I think most people would be put off buying!
D
Deleted member 4366
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Why don't you give any details of the problems you had?
I've just read all of Kudos Terms and Conditions, and they look very reasonable to me.
I've just read all of Kudos Terms and Conditions, and they look very reasonable to me.
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If you decide to take court action, the other side cannot require you to do anything.
How you prepare your case is entirely up to you.
No costs are awarded in the small claims court so you have little to lose, other than the initial fees.
If I read your post correctly, you are being bullied which would make me all the more determined to pursue it.
Starting a claim may well be worthwhile, it's surprising how amenable some companies become after a notice of action lands on the doormat.
can you be more precise on this, when you say the motor overheated, did it stop working or just sounded abnormal? If the motor stopped, then I think you have a strong case. Things like paint and quality of components are not so arguable.
I was talking about what is reasonable. Not read there terms and conditions as they are not one of our brands. Most major brands of electric bike are normally pretty good when it comes to warranty claims (in our experience). Hope you get things sorted.
DAVID
D
Deleted member 4366
Guest
Brian, I'd like to be sympathetic to your cause, but you don't make it easy.
There's nothing wrong with Kudos T/C, so you're fighting the wrong battle. What would be wrong is the way that they were interpreted; however, you haven't given details of your problems, how they were caused, and what was/wasn't done to sort it out. So instead, you're just presenting yourself as an angry customer who wants to slag off a supplier.
If you want any sympathy from anybody, please give the details of your case. The fact that you haven't given any details so far, even after it was requested, implies that you did something totally wrong, you went shouting off at the supplier, and then when that didn't work, you thought you'd do a bit of trolling here out of spite. So to b so blunt.
To clear your name and add some perspective to your case, I ask one more time: Please give details.
Through all we know, you may be a competitor trying to spoil the good reputation of Kudos with fictional reports, as we have had that before, where another retailer was masquerading as a punter. If I don't hear any details, I'll assume that that is the case, and advise others to do the same.
There's nothing wrong with Kudos T/C, so you're fighting the wrong battle. What would be wrong is the way that they were interpreted; however, you haven't given details of your problems, how they were caused, and what was/wasn't done to sort it out. So instead, you're just presenting yourself as an angry customer who wants to slag off a supplier.
If you want any sympathy from anybody, please give the details of your case. The fact that you haven't given any details so far, even after it was requested, implies that you did something totally wrong, you went shouting off at the supplier, and then when that didn't work, you thought you'd do a bit of trolling here out of spite. So to b so blunt.
To clear your name and add some perspective to your case, I ask one more time: Please give details.
Through all we know, you may be a competitor trying to spoil the good reputation of Kudos with fictional reports, as we have had that before, where another retailer was masquerading as a punter. If I don't hear any details, I'll assume that that is the case, and advise others to do the same.
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Because in general experience few people read them and we prefer to provide warranty information with the welcome pack so people have the information they need. Our only excslusions for warranty are missuse or accident. When people buy bikes (or items) remotely there is a 7 day cooling off period anyway.
Terms and conditions always remind me of insurance companies who will do anything to avoid paying out. If there is a warranty issue we want to keep things simple. We have yet to have a warranty claim denied and if possible I want to keep it that way.
I am updating the site over the coming weeks so will be adding more information then but I do not want to include reams of small print. My aim is to keep it as short as possible. If you have had bad experiences please feed this back because we try to learn from others.
Hope this helps,
David
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D
Deleted member 4366
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Just to play devils advocate: Suppose a customer bought a Freego Eagle, and he came back after a couple of weeks and said," I was going up a very steep hill. The bike got slower and slower until it stopped. No matter how wide I opened the throttle, it still wouldn't go. Then smoke started coming out from the motor, when suddenly there was a pop noise, and smoke came out from under the battery. Now it won't go at all". Would you cover that under warranty?
I would say yes, think that is very harsh to say missuse unless clearly mentioned in FreeGo manual or by us (which we have not stated).
Missuse often comes down to how it is defined, often it is not clear and unless you describe every possible situation it is always difficult and in which case the t and c's would make people even less likely to read. However if people were riding very steep hills often I would recommend a crank drive or another suitable bike
We always ask how the bike is be used and in what conditions.
Missuse often comes down to how it is defined, often it is not clear and unless you describe every possible situation it is always difficult and in which case the t and c's would make people even less likely to read. However if people were riding very steep hills often I would recommend a crank drive or another suitable bike
We always ask how the bike is be used and in what conditions.
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My original point was to make purchases aware of Terms and Conditions which amount to the almost non existence of a warranty.
My wife is 56 and fit and healthy. She has been riding a 18 gear mountain bike for over 15 years. The Kudos Sports ebike has 21 gears. She is capable of negotiating most hills without assistance.We bought the two bikes as a long term venture to assist us as we get older,I am 65.The bike motor overheated and was oozing oil after a 10 mile ride in Dorset.It was our 16th ride. When I reported it, Davie Elderfield of Kudos, automatically told me that she had not ridden it properly and that according to the T and Cs we were not covered by the warranty.The head stock of my bike has changed colour from black to bronze and Dave told me it was it had been out in the sun. He offered no remedy. The rear light does not work due to faulty connections.The motor sensors have collapsed on both bikes but these were replaced with upgraded ones.The worn bottom bracket bearing of my bike was referred to by a Kudos agent as one normally fitted to a children's cycle. Paint has rubbed of both frames.Kudos bikes are advertised as Top Quality but in an email Dave refers to ours as " This design is cheap,your bike was cheap". He has offered to sell me new parts provided I pay for the carriage, examination,repair and return - good of him. I am not a dealer although I suspect you are?
My wife is 56 and fit and healthy. She has been riding a 18 gear mountain bike for over 15 years. The Kudos Sports ebike has 21 gears. She is capable of negotiating most hills without assistance.We bought the two bikes as a long term venture to assist us as we get older,I am 65.The bike motor overheated and was oozing oil after a 10 mile ride in Dorset.It was our 16th ride. When I reported it, Davie Elderfield of Kudos, automatically told me that she had not ridden it properly and that according to the T and Cs we were not covered by the warranty.The head stock of my bike has changed colour from black to bronze and Dave told me it was it had been out in the sun. He offered no remedy. The rear light does not work due to faulty connections.The motor sensors have collapsed on both bikes but these were replaced with upgraded ones.The worn bottom bracket bearing of my bike was referred to by a Kudos agent as one normally fitted to a children's cycle. Paint has rubbed of both frames.Kudos bikes are advertised as Top Quality but in an email Dave refers to ours as " This design is cheap,your bike was cheap". He has offered to sell me new parts provided I pay for the carriage, examination,repair and return - good of him. I am not a dealer although I suspect you are?
... splutters out Horlicks ....
Heaven forbid bikes shouldn't be expected to be taken out in the sun
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