CRC/Wiggle Customer Service issues Vitus specific - please post up problems you have had here

[LAWHITEY]

This forum is full of doom and gloom stories about moto failures, half the reason people become members is when they have an issue. Just go into the Specilized section if you want misery and despair!

In the real world amongst people I ride with regularly, I am the only one I know who has had a Shimano motor failure, whereas all my mates with Specialised have had multiple motor or stymie problems.

I would say the Shimano is probably the most reliable of all the sytems, but like anything you are going to get issues with some units. The good news is the Warranty with them thought Madison, the UK distributor, is well run, and accessible via most LBS's.

Plenty of tips on here on good ways to protect the motor, remember whatever you do dont jet wash it, and be sensible with your maintenance.

Cheers pal, I'll go over to Specialized and have laugh, hope to be an active member on here rather just come on if I have a problem..

 

[R120]

Well we are here all day every day to help, offer advice, take the piss when you colour coding of components goes wrong, and talk crap about EMTB's like they are the most important things in the world, and generally argue about what running 1 psi less in your fork will turn your bike into an evil machine that wants to kill you

 

[davosaurusrex]

Well then, my bike started up with the W013 and then E010 codes, fortunately at about month 22 of warranty. First I contacted CRC and asked if I could have Wildside cycles deal with it, as they had not long ago for my mate's E-Sommet. "No", they said, "we need to have the bike sent back to us". I know they have historically been inconsistent on this matter and I can't see the logic but the thought did come into my head that the shop might be forced to shut under lockdown and then I'd be stuck.
"Can I send it without the wheels, they're not original and make it harder to pack"
"We need the wheels too".
OK, fine, so I took a 20 mile drive and got a box from about the only LBS open and giving them away. Packed it up and off it went. Packed it really well and took photos. Now I knew that it would likely take a while with lockdown, self isolations etc but I emailed weekly and always got the same response - "we have a lot of staff self-isolating, backlog of warranty, no update". Unprecedented times and all but I think this could have been foreseen, bike could have been put in a queue and collection arranged later so I could have kept riding it, it doesn't always cut out and usually resets (for now) after a bit of buggering around. Wishful thinking I know, this is modern CRC.
3 and a half weeks later after enquiring I got told it hadn't been looked at yet, massive backlog, been escalated to line manager but no resolution in sight. So it looked like this would potentially be months and months given that they were quoting six weeks before lockdown from other posts on here, I thought summer will be over before I get it back so thought "screw that" and asked for it to be sent back and I'd get Wildside to sort it. In fairness I'll just say here that the warranty guy I've been dealing with, Clifford, has always at least been honest and replied to my emails really quickly.

At this point I asked if CRC would reimburse Wildside charges
"No, we don't pay 3rd party costs"
"You do, you've just done so for my mate and from the forums plenty of others. Have you changed your policy?"
"No, no policy change"
"So why won't you cover costs when you've done so for others for the exact same thing, I've spent 10s of thousands with you over the years (sadly probably not an exaggeration) and this is my 3rd ever warranty claim?"
"On this occasion only, as a goodwill gesture, we'll refund up to £30 towards costs"

What a crock of shit, I've not argued further as I wanted my bike back first. It turned up yesterday, box had been opened but clearly nothing had been taken out. When I did I found that the one ride old N/W chainring had a tooth snapped off and more teeth bent so trashed. Burgtec headset top cap scuffed someone but only cosmetic so meh. Battery key missing and it's the only one I've got but they've since found it and sent it apparently.
Overall I guess it could be worse, new chainring is only a tenner but I've been without my bike for over a month and it's in worse condition than when I started. Wildside are bloody busy like most bike shops at the mo but guess what, it's now booked in for a few weeks time so I can ride it in the meantime. They have also said that if I do want to bring it in beforehand they will likely find an hour to strip the motor and sent it to Madison. They dealt with my mate's bike faultlessly so a big thumbs up for them at least.

Would I have bought this bike knowing how useless and disinterested CRC are these days? Yes, it's awesome to ride and still nothing touches it for value, I love it. However, if considering one I would look at it like this;

Where is your nearest Shimano Service Centre? Within reasonable striking distance? Check they will process a Madison warranty claim. Shouldn't be an issue.

Accept that you are likely to need a new motor within the first two years, factor in an extra £100 on the purchase price for this

When this happens notify CRC but even if they say they need the bike back, ignore them, go straight to your Shimano SC LBS. Ask them nicely to request a 2 year extended warranty from Madison as others have done. If you don't ask you don't get, I'll be asking.

Once you have your bike back get onto CRC, email them a copy of the LBS receipt and ask them to refund. If they do happy days. If not you've already factored in as above and are still miles ahead for value compared to most brands for one of the best riding bikes on the market.

Be joyful and triumphant that you haven't had to deal with CRC warranty department more than the bare minimum. Ride your bike and be happy!

I'm off to the garage now to install a 200mm Reverb. Hurrah!

The End.

 

[R120]

I have to say my view is that I am buying the bike off CRC, and that's the last I will have to do with them unless its a frame breaking. I use them a lot for parts purchases and always good, but after trying to warranty my motor with them last year, and then taking it to my LBS who had the motor off, replaced and back in the bike in less time than it took for CRC to respond to my original warranty form submission, I wouldn't go near them for a shimano issue.

Sounds like you have a good LBS who will hopefully sort it

 

[davosaurusrex]

They're not even my LBS, the one round the corner from me unfortunately shut it's doors a few months back. Wildside are 40 miles away and I don't know them, fortunately I have a work site round the corner and they've been great to deal with so far. I'll probably find an excuse to buy something from them when I collect the bike. Christ knows where the next nearest Shimano service centre is, I can see the appeal of Specialized for a lot of people even though you're clearly paying for the CS in the purchase price

 

[R120]

Pretty much every decent LBS with a Madison account can warranty the motor - however some may not have the tools to remove the motor/bits

 

[davosaurusrex]

I thought you had to be an authorised Shimano service centre? Other than the spider lockring tool I don't think there are any specialist tools or am I wrong?

 

[R120]

When I spoke to Madison they said the shop just needs to have an account with them to create a job number - their policy might be different to the official shimano line. Plus I think most LBS's are official service centres anyway, I think its the same computer tech the shop need to have for DI2 that qualifies them. Dont take that as gosple though, but I know my 3 local LBS can all warranty the motor.

My LBS had to order in the locking tool, as they didn't have one

 

[Gary]

Plus I think most LBS's are official service centres anyway

Yeah, any shop with a madison account is able to begin a warranty claim with them on Shimano parts

 

[davosaurusrex]

My tale of woe continues - asked Wildside if I could just drop the motor as I was installing a new dropper anyway and they said OK, two weeks later I had a call to say Madison want them to run diagnostics so another 100 mile round trip to collect it then rebuild, another 100 miles. Two weeks later they told me they have updated the firmware and all seems OK, I knew this wouldn't solve it but had little choice but to do another 100 miles and collect. Next ride fine, one after that it faulted in mid air, which was a new one, and then multiple times all the way home. Booked back into Wildside for 6th July, guess it will still take weeks from there so at best mid July. Raised the warranty claim late March so getting on for 4 months. I have emailed Madison to ask if I can send the motor to them direct, nope. Got onto the Shimano ebike rep on FB to ask if the can help speed it up, they said I've done everything right but not much they can do.....

I know there's a pandemic in but this is getting beyond a joke. I'm not really interested in the Specialized ebikes but yet find myself contemplating one just for the CS (which I know you pay for). Properly pissed off with it now, for a company the size of Shimano it's pathetic that they haven't got a more streamlined system in place

 

[R120]

Have you checked the magnet alignment? What I thought was a motor failure recently turned out to be that when the bike was put together (E-Sentier, not E-Sommet) they hadn't spaced the speed sensor close enough to the wheel - this meant that since my wheel had gone slightly out of true I get getting power loss, specifically when putting the bike under load/stress etc etc. Luckily my local mechanic had seen a similar issue as since adding the washer behind the sensor no issues.

 

[davosaurusrex]

Really don't think it's that R120 but will double check. Still riding it but it's faulting more and more, however it often does first half of a ride no problem but once it's faulted the first time it's game over and it keeps doing it so have to limp home. Also lying it on it's side with weight on the cranks seems to set it off so stopped doing that! Think I might have to give up on it until it's fixed, becoming more of a ball ache than it's worth

 

[Tonytank]

So ended up with w013/e010 error just before lockdown, managed to get another 4 rides out of it before it became permanent errors. Initially my LBS said they could deal with it but after 2 weeks asked me to pick it up as Madison had stopped operations.
So contacted CRC and initially had quick replies, they eventually sent out a box and bike was returned to them on 11th may.
Really it's just gone downhill from there. Emailed them about once every 10 days asking for update and basically got 'not been looked at yet we're very busy etc'
After posting on their Facebook page week before last,
They replied to my emails stating
' we have new motors arriving in the next 48hrs and you bike is top of the list and will be sent back to you next week.'
Unsurprisingly no bike arrived last week.
Posted again on their Facebook.
And got the standard PM 'can you send us your details so we can look into this'
So I have posted again on Facebook.
I am expecting the same nonsense reply or a promise but I doubt anything will change.
Having read some of the experiences on here I was think they cant be THAT bad can they?
Well if your in any doubt about their poor customer service it is absolutely true. Never have I had to deal with the likes of this before.
While I thought the bike was a great bit of kit, I absolutely regret having bought it.
£3800 is not a bargain when you have only used it for 9months and 1500 miles and no sign of a working bike being back in your possession.

 

[Ian]

After only 440km my third motor gave up the ghost. After a few false starts the bike was eventually picked up by the courier on 20thApril. last 3 weeks no replies to my emails.
Incredibly frustrating especially as it doesn’t have to be this way. Swapping a motor over is 30 minute job. If these things were turned around and rectified quickly we’d be saying how good the service is but as it is the service is beyond poor. The fact there is no phone contact anymore not only inconvenient but sinister. Great bike when it goes and a bargain but only if you can ride it.

 

[Ian]

After only 440km my third motor gave up the ghost. After a few false starts the bike was eventually picked up by the courier on 20thApril. last 3 weeks no replies to my emails.
Incredibly frustrating especially as it doesn’t have to be this way. Swapping a motor over is 30 minute job. If these things were turned around and rectified quickly we’d be saying how good the service is but as it is the service is beyond poor. The fact there is no phone contact anymore not only inconvenient but sinister. Great bike when it goes and a bargain but only if you can ride it.

Update one more exasperated email later and CRC offered me a refund. I’ll miss the bike.

 

[Tonytank]

So ended up with w013/e010 error just before lockdown, managed to get another 4 rides out of it before it became permanent errors. Initially my LBS said they could deal with it but after 2 weeks asked me to pick it up as Madison had stopped operations.
So contacted CRC and initially had quick replies, they eventually sent out a box and bike was returned to them on 11th may.
Really it's just gone downhill from there. Emailed them about once every 10 days asking for update and basically got 'not been looked at yet we're very busy etc'
After posting on their Facebook page week before last,
They replied to my emails stating
' we have new motors arriving in the next 48hrs and you bike is top of the list and will be sent back to you next week.'
Unsurprisingly no bike arrived last week.
Posted again on their Facebook.
And got the standard PM 'can you send us your details so we can look into this'
So I have posted again on Facebook.
I am expecting the same nonsense reply or a promise but I doubt anything will change.
Having read some of the experiences on here I was think they cant be THAT bad can they?
Well if your in any doubt about their poor customer service it is absolutely true. Never have I had to deal with the likes of this before.
While I thought the bike was a great bit of kit, I absolutely regret having bought it.
£3800 is not a bargain when you have only used it for 9months and 1500 miles and no sign of a working bike being back in your possession.

Finally got the bike back about 2weeks ago, new motor fitted. Courier service was much better but even tho CRC sent me an email saying it was on it's way and a link to track it, i had to contact courier and arrange delivery slot. The bike arrived in a much more solid box and undamaged.

So ended up with w013/e010 error just before lockdown, managed to get another 4 rides out of it before it became permanent errors. Initially my LBS said they could deal with it but after 2 weeks asked me to pick it up as Madison had stopped operations.
So contacted CRC and initially had quick replies, they eventually sent out a box and bike was returned to them on 11th may.
Really it's just gone downhill from there. Emailed them about once every 10 days asking for update and basically got 'not been looked at yet we're very busy etc'
After posting on their Facebook page week before last,
They replied to my emails stating
' we have new motors arriving in the next 48hrs and you bike is top of the list and will be sent back to you next week.'
Unsurprisingly no bike arrived last week.
Posted again on their Facebook.
And got the standard PM 'can you send us your details so we can look into this'
So I have posted again on Facebook.
I am expecting the same nonsense reply or a promise but I doubt anything will change.
Having read some of the experiences on here I was think they cant be THAT bad can they?
Well if your in any doubt about their poor customer service it is absolutely true. Never have I had to deal with the likes of this before.
While I thought the bike was a great bit of kit, I absolutely regret having bought it.
£3800 is not a bargain when you have only used it for 9months and 1500 miles and no sign of a working bike being back in your possession.

So bike arrived back just over 2 weeks ago. New motor fitted and all ok much better courier service. I've put 200 miles on it and it's running fine. However I have lost that sense of Reliability I had when it was new. The range seems much improved but that could be because I put in 800miles on the clockwork bike!

 

[Olliecurlywurly]

Chain reaction have had my bike 2 months

sent it back after a month use from new with a noise under load that sounded like a worn bb on a normal bike (e7000 e sommet vr)

they eventually got round to looking at it, told me it was the seat post, and sent it back to me, sadly they didn’t tell me they had sent it and I missed the arrow XL delivery, who didn’t leave a card but my HIVE captured

for the last 2 weeks my bike has been in limbo with arrow xl refusing to deal with me and chain reaction staff incompetent to chase / sort

I even emailed the CEO of the company who own chain / wiggle which got me a phone call from a helpful member of staff who sadly is now on holiday

so all in all I’ve had my vitus for 3 months, used it for 1 and waited for 2 months to be fobbed off about a seat post noise. And still no bike. You couldn’t write this level of crappy service.

To top this all off I’ve just been told arrow xl are sending the bike back to chain which could take until 25th August add that to chain reactions 14-21 day turn around to process it and I’ll be well over 3 months with out a bike.

great bike terrible company gutting

 

[Tonytank]

Chain reaction have had my bike 2 months

sent it back after a month use from new with a noise under load that sounded like a worn bb on a normal bike (e7000 e sommet vr)

they eventually got round to looking at it, told me it was the seat post, and sent it back to me, sadly they didn’t tell me they had sent it and I missed the arrow XL delivery, who didn’t leave a card but my HIVE captured

for the last 2 weeks my bike has been in limbo with arrow xl refusing to deal with me and chain reaction staff incompetent to chase / sort

I even emailed the CEO of the company who own chain / wiggle which got me a phone call from a helpful member of staff who sadly is now on holiday

so all in all I’ve had my vitus for 3 months, used it for 1 and waited for 2 months to be fobbed off about a seat post noise. And still no bike. You couldn’t write this level of crappy service.

To top this all off I’ve just been told arrow xl are sending the bike back to chain which could take until 25th August add that to chain reactions 14-21 day turn around to process it and I’ll be well over 3 months with out a bike.

great bike terrible company gutting

Hi ollie, I had an email saying it's been shipped with a tracking link. Waited 5 days checking the link. Then I contact arrow xl via live chat with tracking number and we arranged delivery and was on time as well.
It feels like a CRC communication issue again. But arrow xl were fine for me once on live chat.

 

[Olliecurlywurly]

I’ve tried the live chat but they said that the parcel was not at the local depot so couldn’t book a delivery slot, and asked for my phone number so they could call me, but haven’t ?

 

[Olliecurlywurly]

Update on this, I eventually got the bike back with the exact same noise / problem, it’s now boxed up and being re-collected today

 

[davosaurusrex]

I had a call from the shop on Tuesday to say that Madison have just got motors back in stock so hopefully I'll have it back next week. Been in the shop since July 6th, started the warranty claim late March.....

Would I buy another ebike from CRC now? Nope! Very much avoiding using them at all to be honest.

Would I buy another Shimano ebike? Jury is still out on that one.....

 

[PsyMan2000]

2019 E-Sommet VR - W013/E010 errors appeared right after I swapped out the cassette, chain and chainring due to 2000 miles wear. Thought it was something I did as I swapped for an XT Cassette but turns out to be a badly timed coincidence. I reported it to CRC CS and they eventually replied telling me to check through a PDF attachment (clean terminals check wires etc) and if that did not fix it they suggest taking it to a Shimano Service Centre and they would pay "up to £100". Luckily my LBS is not more than 30 mins drive away (Haiko Cycles in Portishead, Bristol), called them, they had the bike in the next morning and diagnosed in 2 days and have just informed me that a new motor should be with them in another 2 days from Shimano, bike should be back pretty soon, brilliant service. In the meantime I got another email from CRC to say they would now not pay for any fix and that they now wanted to collect the bike to look at it themselves. I have pointed out their previous email and that was a bit late and I am guessing that my bike will be back to me and hopefully fixed before they reply to the next email. LBS will rebuild and cover the remaining warranty themselves for £250. I guess if I can get CRC to stump up their token £100 of that bill its a good deal to not have to deal with CRC over this again by the sound of it. Don't regret buying the E-Sommet VR though, really love the bike. Now to see if LBS can offer an extended 2 year on it.

 

[Olliecurlywurly]

Update complete new bike enroute ?at last

only3 months with out a bike and an email or 2 to the ceoof the company who own the CRC WIGGLE group

 

[davosaurusrex]

I had the call from the LBS today to say my bike is ready collect with the new motor fitted. Finally! Props to Wildside in Tunbridge Wells, been a lot of grief over a bike I didn't buy from them and they are charging me a very fair price. Next will be the discussion with CRC over them paying for it.....

 

[Randy]

Another ridiculous customer service exchange with CRC. I've got a bent LF crank - it seems they are specific to the bike yet they refuse to sell me one. What to do... I like the 160mm crank, anyone know where you can buy them? Havre to say CRC are a complete joke for buying bikes.

 

[PsyMan2000]

Bikes home and running better than when I bought it.

I have to hand it to my LBS (Haiko Cycles, Portishead, Bristol), from the first phone call they had my Vitus E-Sommet VR 2019 in, stripped, diagnosed, brand new motor replaced under warranty and a basic service all within 10 days (They even apologised for taking so long citing Maddison hold ups too).

I did have to pay £250 for the warranty repair with a full diagnostic report to send to CRC, now will CRC honour the bill or not? We will soon find out. If they do then I am giving them a star back. Wouldnt like to have to ship my bike back and be clockwork for 4 months.

Even if I had to pay for the full motor and labour it would still be cheaper than some of the shop bikes with less specs so can't complain. Happy customer, they do need to improve their CS though.

 

[davosaurusrex]

Good luck with CRC. They offered me £30 as a goodwill gesture, when I got the final bill (45 for the pointless firmware update that Madison insisted on and then 75 for the subsequent work) I went them the receipts for 120, they offered 75 and I took it. At least I'm riding again, christ alive ebikes are fun though!

Must see if Madison will commit to a new 2 year warranty in writing, not convinced by the EP8 and am still loving the Vitus generally

 

[PsyMan2000]

CRC initially paid out £100 of the £250 but after complaining up the chain a bit they paid the remainder of the £250. All in all a 10 day turnaround by Haiko in Portishead, Bristol and a brand new motor is fine by me, still love the E-Sommet VR and faith in CRC restored.

 

[jpj. 92]

My bike arrived last week, upon inspection I found a small paint chip on the frame and a rub mark on the crown of the fork, emailed crc who I had prompt replies from and ended up with £100 voucher code. Pleased to say their customer service on this occasion was pretty good

 

[Randy]

To add to the constantly terrible customer service from CRC my bike has now been off the road for over a month and still waiting. The bluetooth stopped working, then the screen misted up and the led's started failing so I sent it back. How exactly does it take a month to look at a dead screen then send me another one? Such a shame as the bike is great. Like the issue I had with the cranks, you can't actually buy a replacement screen from CRC. If you buy one of these bikes I think the best thing to do is take the view that there is no warranty.