By: Iamkab
So, I went to Canadian tire a week or 2 ago and bought this bike
It was on sale for $199.99. Everything seemed alright on it so I paid for it and started heading back home(on the bike). I made it about 10 minutes away from the store and the pedal literally just fell right off, no “hardcore” riding or anything was done, just riding down the sidewalk.
I walk the bike back to the store in hopes to just get the same bike that would hopefully stay together, I get there and talk to customer service who tell me there is no bikes in the store that are built(I was there the first day of the sale, early. Really, 1 bike in the store?) and was told that I can either get my money back, or wait until their bicycle guy comes in on Monday to build a bike and try to fix mine. I tell her I’d like my money back and just come in on Monday and see if they have one. Well she gives me a return voucher anyway(I thought it was just something saying I got my money back for it). Got home and checked my bank account, no money back.
Oh well, I just wanted a bike anyway so I wait till Monday and the guy doesn’t show up that day and hes in the next day. Tuesday I walk back to Canadian Tire after I had called in and was told he is there and the bike I wanted was in stock so he would build them, well when I get there the guy working in bicycles tells me they have none and are waiting to have more shipped in, guess I was lied to on the phone. Luckily though they did “fix” my bike and I took that one back.
All was fine on my way home, nothing seemed wrong. The next day I go on a bike ride and get 10 minutes away, again, from my house and the pedal falls off, again. Not only that but the back breaks on the bike were locking up because the cord was coming out of the holder thing.
So I try and take the thing back to Canadian Tire but I am told they “Don’t do returns on bikes” even though my receipt was a return receipt, not a normal one. And my options are to just keep the bike or have their “professionals” fix it. I obviously take the fix option after telling her its the bike and it is broken, they cant fix it, and have her reply “but they will fix it”, having no clue what she is talking about.
There is now a review on the Canadian tire website for the bike saying the exact same problem I had, I told them this but they still didn’t even care, some unprofessional looking manager even came up for about 30 seconds to say “nop, we dont do that.”
Well, now I am home again with nothing to show for my 200$ and the bike is supposed to be “fixed” on Monday when the guy comes in. I expect the exact same problem to occur again and then be told the exact same bullshit by customer service when I return it.
I am honestly really surprised by this BS, these are 2 very serious problems on the bike that could have seriously injured or even killed me if I were going down a hill or near a busy road and wiped out, but they don’t give 2 shits. I wonder if they would act the same if I had died from it.
This is the Canadian Tire in Brantford for anyone wondering.
Is this seriously legal even? How can they sell me a broken bike, fail to repair it and then basically tell me “too bad”?
rob says...
wow- Canadian tire is crap - they ripped me off when fixing my car - 2 times. I never buy there - contact the better business buraue or take them to small claims court(say your scared to ride a bike and you need $100000.00 to get over it).
never buy anything from canadian tire.
nora says...
i hear so much about canadain tire thanks for sharing im shopping around for a bike for my daughter,, canadain tire is off my list for sure…..
Michele Russell says...
Same thing here. We bought a bike that was labelled a youth BMX called “fracture”. Ya it fractured alright, only after 2 weeks of my 11 year old using it rather occasionally. My son is a tiny slip of a boy, so if this bike could break in 2 weeks imagine a larger, older child using it. It would break on the first ride. He was riding around the neighbourhood and the tire popped. Apparently it cannot be fixed as the tube is paper thin and attached to the actual tire????!!! I already spent $180 and now I have to spend that much again to fix it. No more bikes from Crappy Tire!
Mart. says...
Is this real? Its like hearing another verion of what happened to me a few years ago with CT! My story is similar (but worse IMO), got a bike, no support, no returns on used, struggled to get it to the store (EACH TIME) they had to fix it, they wont accept its garbage and wont accept return, are not repeatedly able to fix it…. They also give you some of their opinions on how we could have damaged it and we need to get a $1000 bike if we want it to work right always… These stories have CBC Marketplace written all over it… Too bad CT only took 2nd place for worst customer service (I was rooting for them)
Longtime Cyclist says...
Your problem is two-fold. First: do NOT buy bicycles from Canadian Tire. Go to a good local bicycle store that understands the product and cares about its customers. Second, and more important: do NOT NOT NOT buy rock-bottom cheapo bicycles. There is simply no such thing as a $200 bicycle that’s worth owning. Figure on spending $300+ for a kids’ bike, $700+ for an adult size. A physical item costs a certain amount to make, and there’s no way to get around that. A bicycle is a complex machine that has to take a physical pounding day after day. A good bike is well worth what you pay for it. It will work smoothly and bring you joy every time you ride it. A cheap bike is not pleasant to ride, even if it doesn’t immediately break down. Trust me, I’ve tried both approaches. Life is too short to wrestle with cheap junk. Unclench your wallet and do it right.
ilovegratis says...
Same thing happened to someone I know and every time they said they fixed it, something was wrong with it again. She took it to a professional bike repair shop and the problem was that it was not put together right. As well as, using the same part to repair a problem that needed a new part. Sometimes you are better off buying a bike from a bicycle store.
Vaughn Parfitt says...
I read your letter and am dealing with the same problem.It is my grandsons bicycle its a supercycle 18 speed mountain bike he bought at cdn tire in hamilton.Taking it home the peddle fell off 10 minuets from the store.He hasnt rode it since because he lost the nut that holds the peddle on.I am trying to find a parts dealer to try to get the parts myself and fix it for him.Cant even get cdn tire to send me an address to try to get a part.What a joke this company ios.