"Sudden cancelation, no explanation or apology."

24 hours before Havebike were due to pick up my disabled commuter bike I got a cheery email to say they had re-scheduled the pickup for the following week. No explanation, no discussion, no thought the re-booking might possibly not suit me, the actual paying customer. So I cancelled and booked elsewhere. Later Havebike sent me an email about staff shortages; still no apology, but there was a vague offer to see what they could do for another date. It was all too late, and the cancellation was massively inconvenient for me. I've given a 2 star rating because I have used them before without problem, (and they refunded promptly) however there is clearly an attitude/service problem in the firm.

"Excellent service"

Excellent service; online additional repairs form is a handy addition - no more phone calls.

"Lots wrong, little right"

Edit:
Following posting this original review, I was re-contacted by Havebike. They offered to take my bike back in and replace the front crank at no cost to me. They said this should solve the problem as it would mean that effectively the whole of the chain run assembly had been replaced.
Once they had the bike again, they rang me to say they’d decided not to do that as they didnt think it would help after all! They have arranged to re deliver my bike (again). They offered me a £20 partial refund which i view as derisory in the context of the time they’ve had my bike, the amount I’ve actually paid them and the fact they actually made my bike worse. They also offered a voucher for a free service in the future, however I have no intention of ever using them again. I have no confidence the outcome would be any more positive than this one. I suggest to anyone reading this review that you find a local bike shop that knows what they are doing and don’t waste your time with Havebike. It’s expensive, inefficient and in my view incompetent.

In summary:
Slow
Expensive
Made bike worse
Poor comms

I booked my bike in and it was collected from my house on 18 Feb 22.
I got it back for good yesterday 06 April 22.

It was only in for a service, which is to say it was working fine when it went in. Now, despite a number of replaced parts and a service it has a problem that they say I'll need to just live with.

The biggest issue I have is that having paid for a new rear cassette and chain (as the service identified wear), I can no longer use the gear configuration of smaller front cog, smallest rear cog. This was not an issue before I put the bike in Havebike's hands.

They've suggested I just avoid using that gear. They also suggested that they could maybe file down parts of the chain, reducing its durability, in the hope that this would help - but they don't recommend it!

I was told that little front cog little rear cog is a setting that cyclists should just avoid. They are unable to explain why a manufacturer would make such a setting that wasn't appropriate, nor how a manufacturer can construct a bike where that works fine for 5 years but can't work once Havebike fit a direct replacement part.

It took too long to end up in an unresolved situation. Havebike's communications were poor, conflicting and slow to arrive. I had to chase them for updates and when trying to contact them, whether by webchat or phone, (no-one answers their phone) you are immediately told it'll be 48 hours before they get back to you.
For what I had done, service, cassette, brake blocks, tyres it seemed very expensive, but ultimately they made the bike worse than when it went in.

I've had a perfunctory apology and no mention of a refund.


Full timeline:
18/2 collected from me for service: £99

21/2 Received request to review additional expenditure (with errors in the email that made it unclear what was being asked)

21/2 Reached them by phone after the support email said they may take 48 hours to revert. Agreed £262 of additional costs, including 2 new tyres instead of the 1 required (same kind as previously on the bike).

01/03 requested update by email (tyres out of stock)

02/03 received response that new tyres not arrived.

04/03 Received an update that cassette still on order.

12/03 Requested an update.

14/03 Told cassette in but tyres still awaited, so instructed them to use (more expensive) tyres they actually had.

17/03 Bicycle returned. On using it, discovered issue with gears. Immediately raised the issue on their (automated) webchat.

18/03 Emailed Havebike re the same issue

20/03 Emailed them again

22/03 Bicycle re-collected to investigate issue

24/03 Bicycle returned, checked it before they left, still not fixed, so returned it again and emailed them

31/03 Got an email apologising for the delay and told that it would be worked upon 01/04 by a senior mechanic. Also got an email same day saying bike being returned 01/04. Got further email saying it would be returned on 04/04

04/04 Got phone call saying they couldn't fix it (as above)

05/05 bike returned with issue unresolved

"Excellent service"

Excellent service. Professional & punctual. Highly recommend.

"Premium prices and poor service"

Really disappointed. With two young children at home and the fact I am currently on shared parental leave, I was happy to pay a small premium for Havebike because I didn't have the time to get to a local bike shop. However, my experience was far from convenient.

One week after pickup I had heard nothing about the bike's return, so I queried this and was told that they were waiting for parts to be delivered, but that I'd have my bike back on Friday. Friday came and no sign of the bike, but instead I got a call to apologise to say they'd let me down and that the mechanics didn't get chance to service my bike yet due to staff sickness. I accepted the apology but my request for a small discount was refused.

I only asked for a discount because I realised the price Havebike charge for parts is well above what they are sold for on the high street - plus they charge premium rates for labour, so in effect they're profiting twice on each part, which sticks in the craw. I ended up getting my bike back on Tuesday, two weeks after it was picked up.

I won't be using Havebike again.

UPDATE: Your response below is not meaningful engagement - if you'd understood the review above you would not have added your stock response about returning the bike for total satisfaction. My issue was not with the quality of the service/parts, but with the cost and the delays and the poor communication.

The last thing I want is for you to take my bike again - who knows how long you'd keep it this time!

"Good Service ... albeit a bit slow ;)"

After some initial issues with the bike HaveBike were very quick to offer additional servicing.

Quite a long lead time owing to part availability but a good service nonetheless

Thanks guys

"Simple service turned into a nightmare"

I hate giving poor reviews, simple no communication at all. Very quick to take money, but no updates to any delay on parts needed to complete service.
They suggest emails, web chat and none are used.
To that end I was left to look at reviews and was horrified at what I was reading, got emails to say returning ( finally ) only to find that I received another same day to say parts arrived and would complete service accordingly?!
Got bike back 10 days later, only to find that both of my wheels needed adjustments and simply not carried out.?
Finally got through on the phone as if making a new booking, Matt answered and agreed with issues & his job to resolve.
Couldn’t answer why my bike was returned with out having wheels addresses despite having my card payment thereof.
The answer is I guess, use a local company that’s been around some time - I wish I had.

"After they received my bike they told…"

After they received my bike they told me that it there were a couple of parts that needed replacing which would have made the bike more functional, even if wasn't essential. I asked them to go ahead with it expecting the delivery date to be the same I had requested when booked the service. When the day of the delivery comes and I receive no notification of the delivery in the morning as promised. I called them and found out that they weren't going to delivery it on that day because the parts had not arrived. This would have been fine, but they never let me know about it. I had booked a day off work so that I can be at home waiting for the bike. Communication is very poor and often impossible to speak to them over the phone. They are still using the Covid excuse that they are busy and there aren't enough people available, which is unacceptable after 2 years of pandemic. If you are a company that cares about customer service then you make sure you hire new people to deal with the shortage. If you want to save yourself the headache then go and get your bike serviced elsewhere. Just a friendly advice.

"Brilliant service"

Brilliant service - great way of commutating regularly on where everything was at and good visibility given on all potential costs. Would definitely recommend

"Some explaining..."

There's a response below that confirms Havebike has now been sold to Halfords. That may be good news for the cycling community. It is very startling news for many of the investors in Havebike! Nicholas J. Brown, the CEO and majority shareholder, recently wrote to them telling them that their company had gone into administration. No other details. This was not long after raising half a million ££ from them. Just so you know.
Potential customers may want to ask themselves, "If this is how they treat their investors, how on earth will they treat my bike?"