So, a bike shop made a mess of my Cannondale F-Si

Proper conversations with CSG have started.

Hi [name removed], 

Good to talk to you earlier. Please confirm receipt of this email - even if you haven’t read all of it. It’s comprehensive but I’ve included a summary.

My background: Cannondale customer since 2001, have owned: F700, Six13, CAAD7, CAAD9, F1000sl, CAADX, CAAD9 BB30, CAAD10. I ‘own’ the Cannondale thread on LFGSS and members come to me for advice / tech support. Supporter of brand / company and approach and want to remain so in the future. Race endurance MTB events, cyclocross, criteriums.  

TL;DR - 

• Lefty failed seventy miles in
  
• Has been in warranty repair for seven weeks, longer than in my possession
  
• TF tuned took four weeks to repair Lefty
  
• Service agent, [removed] london, has damaged frame and parts cosmetically or otherwise on reinstallation
  
• I have no faith in their work or in the bike going forward
  
• I have spent a lot of time dealing with this, when I should be working, riding or spending time with my family 
  
• It needs to be resolved, quickly - this is CSG/Cannondale’s time to shine!
  
  

As discussed, I believe the most sensible, painless way to resolve this to be resolved is for a box to turn up at my place with a bike in it that is assembled correctly and has no cosmetic defects or repairs to the frame. This will probably be a replacement bike of the same specification, or if unavailable, better. Due to the timescales involved and a lack of a like for like frame, a frame swap and parts replacement by CSG strikes me impractical. If that could be achieved with a like for like frame and assembled by CSG in days rather than weeks, I’d consider it. 

Here’s my record of events. 

•   9th September: bike purchased from thebikeshop.de. As far as I know from the research I did, the medium Carbon 2 was out of stock in the UK at that time.
•   26th September: bike collected from depot
•   27th September: 30 mile ride around Surrey Hills with the guys from Soho Bikes
•   4th September: 40 mile ride around Epping forest. Bike cleaned, adjusted inspected. Bike prepared and stored for Endura Autumn Classic race series. 
•   19th October: discover puddle of oil under front wheel, suspect fork upper seal has blown. Call [removed], ask if they are still a CSG dealer, they confirm
•   19th October: bring bike to [removed]. Explain situation, they talk to CSG, CSG confirms Lefty needs to go to TF for warranty repair. I explain condition of bike, i.e. immaculate, not a scratch on it. Ask if they have the tools and know-how to work with the OPI stem, they confirm. I offer them to work on the brakes, separate to warranty repair, so that they can make money on the transaction - they agree.
•   19th October - I follow up by email to confirm the work to be done
•   1st November: race Endura Autumn classic on my old XC race bike
•   6th november: [removed] call me to explain that TF can’t do the warranty repair until the receive the correct part, and CSG Europe has sent them the wrong part. (lower leg). 
•   16th november: I chase up TF. They seem to move quicker when I explain my customer history
•   20th november: chase up TF. They confirm work has been done, but they need to charge me postage. I ask them what work was done, they say leg swap, new seals, new damper. I ask them why they didn’t just send a new fork out. That’s not something they consider apparently. 
•   23rd november: Lefty arrives back at [removed]
•   27th november: I chase up [removed]. They say part of the Stem broke on re-assembly. Will not explain how, but suggest it’s a common failure and supported by warranty. Waiting for replacement from CSG UK. 
•   4th december: I chase up [removed]. They say the work is done, and they thought they had contacted me. They had not. 
•   5th december: I go to [removed] to find brake work not done, brake hose work not correct and potentially dangerous, bike clearly not test ridden, additional mistakes in assembly of OPI stem that they aren’t as yet aware of so please don’t share this with them, at best cosmetic mark on frame where lefty clamps have struck frame due to the bumper being pushed out of place, cosmetic marking to top of stem. I raise this with them. My immediate impression is that due care and attention was not applied to my race bike with the potential to cause harm of death, my immediate concern is the marking to the frame. [removed] dispute causing the marking and offer no apology for the wasted journey. Told owner of shop will follow up on that day, they do not, so I follow up by phone. 
•   5th december: I return to the shop. heated discussion with manager of shop, who believes that CSG will think I am ‘a twat’ for complaining about marking to frame. No agreement going forward. 
•   6th december: return to shop to find additional attempt to rectify incorrect brake work. Open thread on forum to get advice from london cycling community.
•   7th december: email owner of shop to request them to stop working on the bike and clarify that we are in dispute and all communication going forward is in writing. 
•   8th december: call CSG UK, do not name shop, but ask about resolution options. Take legal advice from contents insurer. Chase up [removed] who have not contacted me. They say they haven’t received my email. re-send email, they confirm receipt. 
•   9th december: call CSG, fully explain situation to you. 

Photos of bike before bringing the bike to the shop:

https://www.instagram.com/p/8F4YX8nIj3/
https://www.instagram.com/p/8s4zJSHIv-/

Issues with bike:

[removed]

Thanks for your help in this matter. Time is of the essence so let’s get cracking on it - I want to be out riding the bike and being positive about the brand. Keep me in touch by email please! 

Thanks, 

Howard