Canyon couldn't organise a pxxx-up in a brewery.

I feel the need to share my recent frustrating experience of dealing with Canyon, partly as a warning to those of you who may be thinking of giving them some business and partly to try and shame them into getting a grip.

In early December last year I bought two pairs of glasses in the Canyon pre-Christmas sale. They arrived safely, and having tried them on I immediately returned one pair (at my expense and after obtaining a Canyon returns number) as they were too darkly tinted for my needs. I forwarded Canyon details of the return and was assured of a refund as soon as they arrived.

Several days later in the sale I managed to buy a pair of Cosmic SLE wheels and a spare cassette. The package arrived just before Christmas, but only contained a single front wheel and the cassette. Canyon didn’t volunteer any explanation regarding the missing wheel; I had to contact them after Christmas to find out what had happened. Evidently they had failed to keep a proper stock inventory and didn’t actually have enough rear wheels to fulfill my order. It hadn’t crossed their minds that having ordered a PAIR of wheels I might not actually want just a single front wheel. So I then had to facilitate the safe return of the wheel and cassette. Again, I was assured of a refund as soon as the items were returned. (They had been generous enough not to try and charge me for the rear wheel.)

Fast-forward several weeks and despite several emails to Canyon UK there was still no sign of either of my refunds.

When my credit card bill arrived this week it was apparent that Canyon had failed to take payment for the two pairs of glasses, and failed to refund me for the pair I returned. The result of which was that I owed them £117.95 .

They had taken payment for the front wheel and cassette, but then failed to refund me when I returned these items. The result being that they owed me £278.89 .

The net result of this mess is that Canyon owes me £160.94, which Canyon UK has agreed is correct. If that were the end of the matter I would not have troubled anyone else with my tale, but it isn’t.

The jokers at Canyon UK are asking me to pay them £117.95 + £6.98 delivery charge for the pair of glasses I kept, before they will refund me £278.89 for the front wheel and cassette they stupidly sent out and I had to return! Their explanation is: “we need the funds in the manner suggested as we have been audited for them and the funds need to properly relate and be attributed to each of the separate orders involved. If they had of been on the same order then there would be/have been no issue with us automatically refunding the difference.”

Given the obvious shortcomings they have demonstrated in dealing with my two orders and subsequent returns, I am certainly not going to give them a single additional penny. I have told them that, at this stage in view of the trouble they have caused me, the fact that they want to (try to) keep their accounts straight is not my concern. They should simply issue me with a net refund of £160 and then try and resolve the obvious chaos in their organization at their leisure. I have given them until the end of this week before I see if my credit card company would like to take the case on, failing that I’m going to issue a European Payment Order.

This experience has been a real eye-opener for me. I’d read other peoples experience of being on the receiving end of crappy customer service from Canyon but always brushed it aside and thought that I would probably order my next bike from them. Well there’s no danger of that now.

If anyone from Canyon is reading this; you know what to do!