AK Cyclery
0
The shop for everything cycle!
Nearby Trail Networks
A K CYCLERY - AVOID FOR UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES. I'm going through an extremely torrid experience with A K Cyclery and its owner. I was shopping for a decent bicycle for my son. When searching online, we found a few bikes posted on Lazada by A K Cyclery. I got carried away by reading all the rosy 5-star reviews. Instead of buying through Lazada (which we should have done given Lazada's solid return policy), we decided to visit the shop and get a feel of the bike before purchasing.
On Dec 20, 2017, we visited the shop and met the lady owner. She appeared (rather acted) to be polite and patient. She had only 4 models to choose from in our price range ($100-$250). We narrowed on a model from Crolan that had Shimeng (a Chinese knock-off of Shimano) gear system. We couldn't test ride the bike as the pedals were not installed. She mentioned the price as $199 but reduced it to $189 and also promised to add a pair of lights. We made a deal and I paid $50 advance for the bike, which was to be delivered the same evening between 8-10pm.
The owner and the mechanic delivered the bike at 9:30pm at our block. We briefly inspected the bike. The mechanic explained the gear mechanism to us. They also handed us the pair of lights. The lights had no batteries, so we couldn’t test them. We paid the balance and they left.
After taking a few pictures, my son took the bike for a quick ride around the block. The moment he started pedaling he noticed screeching sounds. This was about 5 mins after they had left. The sound appeared to be coming from the rear disc brakes. We called up the owner and she said that since the bike is new, the sound should go away in a day or so. With that promise we brought the bike back to our apartment. When we tested one of the lights but it didn't work (we tried with new batteries also).
Next afternoon my son took the bike out for a ride. He found that the rear gears could switch between gears 5, 6 and 7, but would not switch below gear 5. The screeching sound also persisted. I verified the problems again and sent a message to the owner with 3 problems - 1. Faulty gear system, 2. Faulty light. 3. Screeching sound. She responded in the night saying she would get back to us.
But until next afternoon, we didn’t hear back from her. Then I called her. Her tone was completely different (quite harsh) this time. She said the bike was in good condition when they delivered, and put the blame back on us for not handling it properly. I said if the bike is not able to last for even 1 hour of ride, then the quality is really questionable. She said "if you want better quality you have to buy a more expensive bike".
She offered a Laux bike for a top-up of $50 and sent me a few pictures. We didn’t like that bike and I also didn’t want to give another $50 to this owner, who was extremely rude and discourteous by now. I told her that I do not want to fork out more money and checked if a refund is possible. Initially she refused, but then said if I want a refund, she would refund only $130 i.e. I'd forego $59 for no fault of mine. While I was negotiating with her, she hung up the phone. I tried calling back but she didn’t answer. So I sent her a message that I would like to get the bike repaired or replaced. She didn’t respond to my message at all.
I called up a few times the next day (today) but each time the mechanic answered the calls and gave some excuses for Madam's unavailability. Finally I got a message from Madam that they would repair the bike provided I pay $15 transportation. I said I’m not willing to pay any transportation since the bike was faulty from Day 1. While I was trying to explain to her that it was a "lemon" product and not my fault, she hung up the phone on me (for the second time). I felt humiliated and shocked!
I tried calling back but she didn’t answer. It was clear that she wouldn’t take my calls. So, I sent her another message and let her know of my intentions to invoke the Singapore "Lemon Law" and file a complaint with CASE (Consumers Association of Singapore). I’m yet to hear back from her.
I’ll update this story as it unfolds.
On Dec 20, 2017, we visited the shop and met the lady owner. She appeared (rather acted) to be polite and patient. She had only 4 models to choose from in our price range ($100-$250). We narrowed on a model from Crolan that had Shimeng (a Chinese knock-off of Shimano) gear system. We couldn't test ride the bike as the pedals were not installed. She mentioned the price as $199 but reduced it to $189 and also promised to add a pair of lights. We made a deal and I paid $50 advance for the bike, which was to be delivered the same evening between 8-10pm.
The owner and the mechanic delivered the bike at 9:30pm at our block. We briefly inspected the bike. The mechanic explained the gear mechanism to us. They also handed us the pair of lights. The lights had no batteries, so we couldn’t test them. We paid the balance and they left.
After taking a few pictures, my son took the bike for a quick ride around the block. The moment he started pedaling he noticed screeching sounds. This was about 5 mins after they had left. The sound appeared to be coming from the rear disc brakes. We called up the owner and she said that since the bike is new, the sound should go away in a day or so. With that promise we brought the bike back to our apartment. When we tested one of the lights but it didn't work (we tried with new batteries also).
Next afternoon my son took the bike out for a ride. He found that the rear gears could switch between gears 5, 6 and 7, but would not switch below gear 5. The screeching sound also persisted. I verified the problems again and sent a message to the owner with 3 problems - 1. Faulty gear system, 2. Faulty light. 3. Screeching sound. She responded in the night saying she would get back to us.
But until next afternoon, we didn’t hear back from her. Then I called her. Her tone was completely different (quite harsh) this time. She said the bike was in good condition when they delivered, and put the blame back on us for not handling it properly. I said if the bike is not able to last for even 1 hour of ride, then the quality is really questionable. She said "if you want better quality you have to buy a more expensive bike".
She offered a Laux bike for a top-up of $50 and sent me a few pictures. We didn’t like that bike and I also didn’t want to give another $50 to this owner, who was extremely rude and discourteous by now. I told her that I do not want to fork out more money and checked if a refund is possible. Initially she refused, but then said if I want a refund, she would refund only $130 i.e. I'd forego $59 for no fault of mine. While I was negotiating with her, she hung up the phone. I tried calling back but she didn’t answer. So I sent her a message that I would like to get the bike repaired or replaced. She didn’t respond to my message at all.
I called up a few times the next day (today) but each time the mechanic answered the calls and gave some excuses for Madam's unavailability. Finally I got a message from Madam that they would repair the bike provided I pay $15 transportation. I said I’m not willing to pay any transportation since the bike was faulty from Day 1. While I was trying to explain to her that it was a "lemon" product and not my fault, she hung up the phone on me (for the second time). I felt humiliated and shocked!
I tried calling back but she didn’t answer. It was clear that she wouldn’t take my calls. So, I sent her another message and let her know of my intentions to invoke the Singapore "Lemon Law" and file a complaint with CASE (Consumers Association of Singapore). I’m yet to hear back from her.
I’ll update this story as it unfolds.