How to deal with an unresponsive distributor?

[scoot newb]

I'm having trouble effectively resolving damaged merchandise. My bike arrived in a box and after assembling I found a defective carburetor, cosmetic damage (caused by the metal wires holding the bike and parts to the cage), an ignition lock switch that doesn't function, defective chain tensioners, and a defective speedo.

I notified the distributor about these problems a day after taking delivery. It's been 9 days since receiving it and I'm no closer to a resolution. I had to purchase new parts out of pocket in order to get the bike started and running. The distributor only deals with these issues through a website ticketing system. Not over the phone. Out of the 2 ticket responses I received one was inaccurate advice on how to fix a problem and the other asked me what problems I was having. Which was already covered in the initial trouble ticket.

I'm thinking about disputing the charge.

[Bruces]

Your credit card will get their attention in a hurry .

[scoot newb]

How long would you let this go on before filing the dispute? Of course not longer than dispute options on the charge card. I was thinking about the end of next week.

I plan on keeping the bike.

[Bruces]

I would of started it yesterday .Your card will get in touch with him ,and he will get in touch with you to resolve the situation in short order ,just make sure you text or email him and keep all of that for evidence.If he doesn’t take care of it soon ,send it back to him and purchase from someone else .

[scoot newb]

I want to avoid any more out of pocket expenses. Shipping it back would be costly. I am fine with disputing it and not sending the bike back. :) I think there may be an option to dispute part of the charge. I'm not really sure how it works.

My end goal is to keep the bike since I put time and money into it and get the distributor to send replacement parts for the ones that were damaged/defective I haven't replaced yet and reimbursed for the parts I have replaced. Also a refund for the expedited shipping option I paid for. Since it took extra days to replace and install the damaged parts and a discount for the cosmetic damage.

[culcune]

Yes, do what Bruces said--dispute the charges due to faulty crap. Where did you buy this, again?

[Bruces]

Pretty sure shipping it back would come out of his pocket .You might not want to let them know you want the bike , they need to know the bike is getting fixed soon or it is going to be picked up by them on Friday ! Or something like that anyway .They do not want to pay to ship it back and refund your money so they should make every attempt to fix you up .They should be offering a discount for your time and aggravation as well .They have to know you are upset and willing to do something about it !
Did you purchase it from Manny ?

[sirmaxwell]

I want to avoid any more out of pocket expenses. Shipping it back would be costly. I am fine with disputing it and not sending the bike back. :) I think there may be an option to dispute part of the charge. I'm not really sure how it works.

My end goal is to keep the bike since I put time and money into it and get the distributor to send replacement parts for the ones that were damaged/defective I haven't replaced yet and reimbursed for the parts I have replaced. Also a refund for the expedited shipping option I paid for. Since it took extra days to replace and install the damaged parts and a discount for the cosmetic damage.


I agree with what the other guys are saying to either dispute the charge or to do a complete charge back---IF IT WERE ME I would probably either A) do nothing if the damages aren't too bad and I was able to easily fix it myself. B) File a dispute or C) Do a complete chargeback to recover 100% of the funds you spent.

Now to cover the above options
A--You said you already bought the new parts and fixed it yourself, which i know kinda sux but if it cost you under $100 bucks to do that then maybe you should at least consider forgetting about it since it will cost you MORE time/money to dispute this further.

B) If it is costly damage but not above a couple hundred then i would maybe do a dispute altough i feel like if you can do C it will provoke them to take care of it faster

C) I must confess I really have no idea how a total chargeback would work in this situation BUT I have seen recently where a driveway paver tried scamming a neighbor into selling them "Leftover" asphalt to pave their dirt/pebble driveway at a significant discount. My neighbor said wow what a deal, took the bait and was initailly ok with the results...First time it rained the driveway had little "streams of asphalt washed away. Second time it rained the driveway was looking barely better than before they paved it, maybe even worse since it was now bumpy with half asphat half dirt which created potholes basically. This all happened within a week or two of when the fly-by-niht asphalt company paved their driveway and they paid by credit card...so they contacted their credit card company and initiated a chargeback where you can recover 100% of the funds you spent on a product within 30 days if it meets specific criteria like fraud or if you never recieved the goods/services---then the company in question it's now on them to dispute the chargeback, or try to make the situation right, or just give up and not get the money

From Wikipedia.com on chargebcacks:

" The rules provide for arbitration of issues by the card association. This may occur where the card issuer generates a second (or "arbitration") chargeback against the merchant, after receiving the merchant's response to the initial chargeback. Normally this would require the cardholder to rebut elements of the merchant's response. The second chargeback results in a second crediting of the cardholder's account for the disputed funds, after having been credited back to the merchant with its response to the initial chargeback. The merchant's only recourse after the second chargeback is to initiate arbitration of the dispute by the card association. The fee for this is on the order of $250, and the arbitration loser is then obligated to pay the costs of the arbitration."

I know it isn't too clear...but it basically says if the transaction didn't go well and you paid by card then you can call your card company and ask them if they can do a chargeback and what are the rules and possible charges associated with a total chargeback for your specific credit/debit card. It is to protect consumers against fraud but you need to make sure to provide documentation and if you don't have evidence but the merchant does have evidence then you shouldn't do a chargeback because the merchant will most likely recover their money as per the chargeback rules and the loser has to pay any associated fees.

I would only consider a total chargeback if I was outright scammed/ripped off or never got anything when I paid or recieved something totally other tha what I paid for AND if I also have evidence of the same occurring. As a rule of thumb chargebacks in regard to this website where we are buying complete vehicles often I would say do a chargeback if your vehicle arrives in "totaled"/ completely wrecked condition and the merchant isn't fixing it in a timely manner or if you never recieve what you ordered and don't have a legit tracking number from UPS/ another BIG package delivery company--REMEMBER chargebacks usually have to be initiated within 30 days after the card is charged or else you might not be able to recover money without doing a lawsuit at this point. I would only ever do a chargeback if I have eveidence but if the evidence is weak or questionable at all then I might only consider doing a chargeback if the amount involved is greater than about $300-$500 just because of the risk associated with if I lose the dispute I could easily have to pay upwards of $200 depending on what card I use.

[dpl096]

My end goal is to keep the bike since I put time and money into it ......

Therein lies the curse and love of Chinese bikes.... Turning wrenches and tweaking these bikes usually develops into a hell of a bond for the bike....at least for me... I had to sell my RX3 and it damn near brought tears to my eyes....I loved that bike and knew every nut bolt fitting ect on it.....I still miss it.

[scoot newb]

I agree with what the other guys are saying....

I called the credit card company and explained what happened. Whoever I spoke with created a dispute for the entire amount. After a week or so they found in my favor but the rules are...

They can reverse the decision if the merchant provides something something.. blah blah

So unbenounced to me they put the charge back on. They never notified me and when I saw the charge I called back and they made another dispute, again for the full amount. A day or so later, the credit card company notified me asking how much I was disputing. I said $500.

The time required to replace all the damaged and defective parts, the damaged foot peg assembly, those are $160 for the originals. The plastic etc etc. Ugh and that ignition lock switch. That is a lot of time and to have a shop do all that would cost more than the amount of the bike.

Here is more of what is going on if you're interested.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?p=304833#post304833

[goat67]

I called the credit card company and explained what happened. Whoever I spoke with created a dispute for the entire amount. After a week or so they found in my favor but the rules are...

They can reverse the decision if the merchant provides something something.. blah blah

So unbenounced to me they put the charge back on. They never notified me and when I saw the charge I called back and they made another dispute, again for the full amount. A day or so later, the credit card company notified me asking how much I was disputing. I said $500.

The time required to replace all the damaged and defective parts, the damaged foot peg assembly, those are $160 for the originals. The plastic etc etc. Ugh and that ignition lock switch. That is a lot of time and to have a shop do all that would cost more than the amount of the bike.

Here is more of what is going on if you're interested.

http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?p=304833#post304833

As long as you can sleep with yourself

[scoot newb]

As long as you can sleep with yourself

If you saw this ad what would you think is a fair price?

2019 Hellcat doesn't run. Project bike needs work.

Certainly not $1100