Bike stolen from bike shop!

[yellowjack]

Exactly what Raven Flyer says.

Neither the insurance company, nor the shop, can force a settlement on you. Sure, they can offer one that you accept, but in the end, should they fail to offer a satisfactory solution then you can take the case to a court. In it's simplest form this is a small claim in a county court civil action where one member of the judiciary sits and considers the evidence presented by both parties and applies the "fair and reasonable" test.

If it would likely be the opinion of any "fair and reasonable" layman that you got put back on a bike of similar specification and quality to that which was stolen, then that is what the bike shop will be told to supply you with (it'd be for them to argue over settlement of any claim they have against their insurer, not your job). It seems to me to be entirely reasonable to expect a bicycle shop to take proper care of a machine left in their care. They are, after all, supposedly 'professionals' with expert knowledge of the care and repair of bicycles. They sell locks and other security devices, and should, therefore have a sound knowledge of when and how to use them to ensure bicycles entrusted to them are safe and secure. It might be a different story, if you'd left your bike for repair at the local butcher shop.

I'd hope that the bike shop would be looking to replace as 'new for old' at the very minimum here. Unless they're lucky and spot a second-hand model, in the correct size, that they can buy in and service fully, it's the only way they can realistically put you back on an equivalent bike in an acceptably short period of time.

Good luck with this one OP. I hope your LBS do the right thing. They have to really, as any negative publicity could cost them far more in lost trade than the price of a new bike...

[Kell]

First of all, sorry to hear that.

It's a pretty ste state of affairs to be left out of pocket or inconvenienced by someone else's stupidity.

But it does happen.

IMHO the shop would be foolish to play hard ball with you. It's not like in the good old days before the web where things like this would only be passed on by word of mouth. Review sites, forums etc could all hurt their business far more than stumping up now and being the good guys.

If I was the shop owner, I'd feel-duty bound to help you out. Whether that's replacing with like for like, and offering free servicing for your ownership of the bike, or 'upgrading' you to something newer.

I hope you come out of this with a decent outcome.

[battered]

The bike shop are obliged to give you the means of replacing your bike with a like for like replacement, or doing it for you, to your satisfaction. That's the law. Whether they go through their shop insurance or just take it on the chin is up to them.

I suspect the shop will look after you. It's easy enough for them, if they play it well you will get a new bike for a knockdown price and they will cover their costs. Hopefully.

[WinstonWolf]

yellowjack said:

Exactly what Raven Flyer says.

Neither the insurance company, nor the shop, can force a settlement on you. Sure, they can offer one that you accept, but in the end, should they fail to offer a satisfactory solution then you can take the case to a court. In it's simplest form this is a small claim in a county court civil action where one member of the judiciary sits and considers the evidence presented by both parties and applies the "fair and reasonable" test.

If it would likely be the opinion of any "fair and reasonable" layman that you got put back on a bike of similar specification and quality to that which was stolen, then that is what the bike shop will be told to supply you with (it'd be for them to argue over settlement of any claim they have against their insurer, not your job). It seems to me to be entirely reasonable to expect a bicycle shop to take proper care of a machine left in their care. They are, after all, supposedly 'professionals' with expert knowledge of the care and repair of bicycles. They sell locks and other security devices, and should, therefore have a sound knowledge of when and how to use them to ensure bicycles entrusted to them are safe and secure. It might be a different story, if you'd left your bike for repair at the local butcher shop.

I'd hope that the bike shop would be looking to replace as 'new for old' at the very minimum here. Unless they're lucky and spot a second-hand model, in the correct size, that they can buy in and service fully, it's the only way they can realistically put you back on an equivalent bike in an acceptably short period of time.

Good luck with this one OP. I hope your LBS do the right thing. They have to really, as any negative publicity could cost them far more in lost trade than the price of a new bike...

New for old and fully serviced? That would put you in a better position than before the theft.
I'm sure the OP will end up no worse off if the shop is in anyway decent...

[Disastrous]

It's all panned out pretty reasonably as it happens.

The shop have been very good and phoned yesterday to offer me a new bike (that I didn't fancy so much) or a much better bike if I wanted to put a few quid towards it. As I was intending to pay for a service and new brakes anyway, I took that option so am looking forward to collecting a GT Avalanche Comp tomorrow...

Good effort from the shop and no complaints or difficulties at all.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[yellowjack]

Disastrous said:

It's all panned out pretty reasonably as it happens.

The shop have been very good and phoned yesterday to offer me a new bike (that I didn't fancy so much) or a much better bike if I wanted to put a few quid towards it. As I was intending to pay for a service and new brakes anyway, I took that option so am looking forward to collecting a GT Avalanche Comp tomorrow...

Good effort from the shop and no complaints or difficulties at all.

Thanks for the advice everyone.