Powered by Outside

Shite Commencal Warranty Experience

PB Forum :: Commencal
Shite Commencal Warranty Experience

 Post Message | Latest Comment
Author Message
flag skimtb1
FL
Posted: Feb 8, 2023 at 18:52 Quote
Wanted to put this out there as a word of caution - Commencal is sheisty when it comes to honouring their warranty policy. Don't beleive it until you see it!

Here's the story: I'm trying to navigate my second warranty claim this year with Commencal. The first one wasn't an issue. In fact, I'd say that they did a very good job. This second time, not so much...

The bike is a 2022 Supreme DH 29/27. In July, I noticed cracks developing around the bottom bracket shell. I went through the online warranty submission process and had a new frame in-hand 8 days later. Pretty darn good. Continued riding until mid November. When doing my pre-season bike maintenance last month, I checked the BB shell area where the previous cracks developed. Lo-and-behold the identical cracks had developed again in just a few months of riding. "OK, no big deal, let's just do warranty again" I say to myself.

This time, there's a problem though. Commencal has recently released the new v5 model and they do not have any available v4 frames in my size... I thought that it was pretty strange that they have no spares for a bike that they are still selling and still would theoretically come attached with a 2 year warranty? (Watch out folks considering buying a new v4... It might not come with warranty!)

Anyways, they offer me an "upgrade crash replacement" of $1,453 to move up to the new v5. Given that I'm still under full warranty, I don't really like the option to give them more money just to have a safe, functioning bike. We go back an forth some more, and I end up giving them 3 options to make me happy:
1) a v5 frameset free of charge
2) a v4 frameset free of charge, or
3) a refund for full retail price on a v4 frame

They get back to me and say that Option #1 is not possible, but that an appropriate frameset could be sourced from Commencal USA. They also tell me that they could give me a refund for full retail price on the frame. Given that I'd broken two of these frames in one season, I figured I'd cut my losses and take the refund option. Why replace with the same thing only to have it break again? Anyways we come to an agreement for Commencal to refund me $2,800. I give them my banking info and they tell me to expect a refund with 14 business days.

Meanwhile, knowing that refund is coming I go about looking for a new frame. I find a Trek Session in my size at my LBS and most of the old build kits transfers over. PERFECT. I buy the frame.

14 business days go by with no refund. So I follow-up. Apparently my refund went to the wrong department, so it hadn't been processed yet. "OK no big deal, I 'll just wait a couple more days. A couple days goes by and get a strange email from Commencal... Apparently my refund needs special approval from top management in Andorra.... "OK, getting a bit nervous"... Then the next day the email comes - Flat out saying that while they recognize that they offered a refund, that they no longer can honour that agreement. My only options are a replacement v4 frame or to pay for a v5 upgrade.

Now on paper might not sound so bad, but doesn't take into account that I was promised a refund and was planning on using that money towards the Session. Now I'm left holding the bag for $2800 on the frame... If a refund wasn't in the cards, I definitely would not have bought the Trek. Moral of the story, be super super leary of warranty dealings with Commencal. They'll ignore some rules, make up others, and back out of agreements... Good bikes, the staff were OK to deal with through this process, but overall just a shitty company to deal with. In hindsight, I jumped the gun buying the Trek without my refund dollars in hand, but it's a total bummer that Commencal re-negged on our agreement and left me standing out in the cold...

Anyways, I guess this just a really long way to say:

"Hey! Does anyone want to buy a brand new Supreme XL 29/27 frameset?"
flag HeatedRotor
FL
Posted: Feb 8, 2023 at 19:11 Quote
skimtb1 wrote:
Wanted to put this out there as a word of caution - Commencal is sheisty when it comes to honouring their warranty policy. Don't beleive it until you see it!

Here's the story: I'm trying to navigate my second warranty claim this year with Commencal. The first one wasn't an issue. In fact, I'd say that they did a very good job. This second time, not so much...

The bike is a 2022 Supreme DH 29/27. In July, I noticed cracks developing around the bottom bracket shell. I went through the online warranty submission process and had a new frame in-hand 8 days later. Pretty darn good. Continued riding until mid November. When doing my pre-season bike maintenance last month, I checked the BB shell area where the previous cracks developed. Lo-and-behold the identical cracks had developed again in just a few months of riding. "OK, no big deal, let's just do warranty again" I say to myself.

This time, there's a problem though. Commencal has recently released the new v5 model and they do not have any available v4 frames in my size... I thought that it was pretty strange that they have no spares for a bike that they are still selling and still would theoretically come attached with a 2 year warranty? (Watch out folks considering buying a new v4... It might not come with warranty!)

Anyways, they offer me an "upgrade crash replacement" of $1,453 to move up to the new v5. Given that I'm still under full warranty, I don't really like the option to give them more money just to have a safe, functioning bike. We go back an forth some more, and I end up giving them 3 options to make me happy:
1) a v5 frameset free of charge
2) a v4 frameset free of charge, or
3) a refund for full retail price on a v4 frame

They get back to me and say that Option #1 is not possible, but that an appropriate frameset could be sourced from Commencal USA. They also tell me that they could give me a refund for full retail price on the frame. Given that I'd broken two of these frames in one season, I figured I'd cut my losses and take the refund option. Why replace with the same thing only to have it break again? Anyways we come to an agreement for Commencal to refund me $2,800. I give them my banking info and they tell me to expect a refund with 14 business days.

Meanwhile, knowing that refund is coming I go about looking for a new frame. I find a Trek Session in my size at my LBS and most of the old build kits transfers over. PERFECT. I buy the frame.

14 business days go by with no refund. So I follow-up. Apparently my refund went to the wrong department, so it hadn't been processed yet. "OK no big deal, I 'll just wait a couple more days. A couple days goes by and get a strange email from Commencal... Apparently my refund needs special approval from top management in Andorra.... "OK, getting a bit nervous"... Then the next day the email comes - Flat out saying that while they recognize that they offered a refund, that they no longer can honour that agreement. My only options are a replacement v4 frame or to pay for a v5 upgrade.

Now on paper might not sound so bad, but doesn't take into account that I was promised a refund and was planning on using that money towards the Trek. Now I'm left holding the bag for $2800 on the Trek... If a refund wasn't in the cards, I definitely would not have bought the Trek. Moral of the story, be super super weary of warranty dealings with Commencal. They'll ignore some rules, make up others, and back out of agreements... Good bikes, the staff were OK to deal with through this process, but overall just a shitty company to deal with. In hindsight, I jumped the gun buying the Trek without my refund dollars in hand, but it's a total bummer that Commencal re-negged on our agreement and left me standing out in the cold... With $2,800 dollars on my line of credit until I receive and sell the replacement frame.

Anyways, I guess this just a really long way to say:

"Hey! Does anyone want to buy a brand new Supreme XL 29/27 frameset?"

People give Canyon grief for issues but man commencal take the top spot for shitty alloy bikes.
this is the first ive heard of a brand saying for XXXX we can upgrade you to latest spec, rubbish that is not how it works commencal... during a warrany process you replace the frame with the same or better like EVERY other brand.

side note, Many people on the FB group have gotten the new model frame on lots of commencal warrantys, from the TR to supreme.
flag rhowells517
Posted: Jul 21, 2023 at 8:21 Quote
Great breakdown of the situation. I'm having the exact same issue right now. In addition, I feel they are a company full of non-riders. Knowing your off your bike due to manufacturers defect they seem to move very slow. I'm going to have to pay for the V5 frame since they have me over a barrel. In addition, the cost for swapping everything to the new frame is not taken into account. I'm going to start gathering as much information as I can about others having the same issue and see what a can find to see if there any viable next steps. I have already secured the CEOs e-mail address. Perhaps he will care.
flag CSdirt
Posted: Jul 21, 2023 at 9:43 Quote
weird, I've personally seen Commencal bend over backwards to help my friends with warranty issues. Several of them realistically should have been denied warranty, but Commencal stood up for the product and took care of it. Maybe its the location you're going through.
flag lvshore103
O+
Posted: Nov 20, 2023 at 19:38 Quote
Thanks for the posts! I have a similar bad experience, posting here so people should keep that in mind. Exactly a month ago I was just starting a ride, still on the flat basically, when I felt something weird in the back. It turned out that my left chainstay had sheared at the weld that's closest to the hub.

My Meta TR 29 is 2.5 years old, so I quickly found out: no more warranty on the rear triangle, even though such a nice shear at the weld is clearly a welding defect. It took almost a week for Commencal to tell me that they don't have any such chainstays in NA, and none in Europe either. They also offered me a v5 frame for $1400 (doesn't it look weird that they offered you skimtb1, who were under warranty, that same frame for $50 more!?!). And of course that doesn't take into account the need for new BB, moving all the components, and the fact that I had wrapped my frame...

I insisted on getting the cahinstay and they passed me to a guy in Andora, who two weeks ago said they'll get the parts from Taiwan within "1-2 weeks". At the end of that 2 weeks period he said "they're shipping from Taiwan at the end of the week, and will be in Europe in ... 14 days" (!?!?) shipping on camel's back most likely. Then there will be the shipping to Canada, for which apparently I'll be on the hook. And they're pretty chill about it, as rhowells517 noted, not rushing it!

Needless to say, the next bike I buy (and I'm already looking - such great deals out there Smile will be with lifetime warranty!

rhowells517, did you get anywhere with the CEO's email?
flag slime123
Posted: Nov 20, 2023 at 19:47 Quote
You'd hopefully have a case with consumer affairs. Especially if you have any of that correspondence in writing.
  • Previous Page
  • Next Page

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2026. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.010187
Mobile Version of Website