Dillenger electric screwed me over, don't buy from them.

So Dillenger electric refused to replace a broken part under warranty, not only that but they offered to sell me the broken part for $50, which to me was a slap in the face. This is when I decided to buy out several domain names, www.dillengerelectric.com www.dillengerelectricbicycles.com and document my experience so that other consumers don't fall for their bogus boisterous warranty claims that they have the best warranty in the business and that it's unlimited...etc.

I've set this post to notify me when a reply is posted and I will answer any and all questions that you have. In the meantime please check out my website and feel free to share any negative experiences that you've had with dillenger yourselves, I doubt I'm the only one that got totally screwed by them, the website again is:

www.dillengerelectric.com

We get a fair number of people that come here *only* to complain about one vendor or another, and few give any details, so there's no way to know whether or not to fully believe them (sometimes one vendor will do this to another to smear their name).

I would recommend posting all of the details of your entire history with them, so that people understand exactly what's been going on, and can have faith that you are an actual unsatisfied customer.

Just be sure you don't say things in your posts that break any of the rules, like those here:
http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=152
and we'll appreciate your forthrightness.

Yeah I seen some stories that looked like a reasonable reason to be unhappy (with other sellers) then I had to back track and work out they bought a v48 kit and placed over 100v of lipo onto it and was riding up hills all day in 45c degree heat, not such an unfair argument after all.

True, so far I only posted the one support ticket that has the damning evidence where they screwed me over. In what form would you like the details?

There are 3 support tickets where i call them and they don't respond (when I Call the support ticket gets registered but goes nowhere). So dead support tickets.

There is 1 support ticket where I call them and they responded via the web interface. Boring conversation about the flaws of the rack, and they don't screw me over.

There is 1 more support ticket when the first incident of the rack broke, but they went ahead and replaced it that time.

This is why I decided to only post the last two support tickets, but if you like I can post all the other support tickets. I can assure you that the electric kit was in no way modified and was installed correctly as was specified by the manual, I even took pictures and video to show that the kit was installed properly (all bolts tightened...etc) should i post my proof of correct installation too? I rode it uphill a total of two times to test exactly how much power it has going uphill, most of the rest of the time it's ridden on flat or near flat ground. The temperature does not get too hot in California at this time of year.

I also didn't do anything crazy with it like bmx'ing or off-roading or anything like that, it was ridden 100% of the time on paved streets, so the kit was never abused. This is why I say that it broke due to normal wear and tear. I should specify that I ride my bike A LOT. I've logged 200 miles since I bought it 3 months ago... half of that time my bike was down for repair (waiting for the new part to arrive, dealing with customer support to get them to send me the new part.... repairing the rack the 2nd time it broke...etc). So I do ride it more than other people normally do.

I do like the idea of posting more history but I'm unsure exactly what you wanted me to do (post the rest of the customer support tickets? or just simply state what I did in this post just now? Or something else?)

Edit i've went ahead and posted the confirmation email that dillenger sent me as well as the one that ebay sent me, i took out all identifying information (at least i think I did, let me know if I missed something).

Edit 2: I found the paypal receipt too, posted that.

Did you use the supplied support brackets with the rack?
Do you have any photos of it installed?

KINNINVIEKID said:

Did you use the supplied support brackets with the rack?
Do you have any photos of it installed?

Click to expand...

Yes I did, I only used what they supplied me and I did not use any parts that were not recommended or included in the kit. I also do have pictures of it installed, it was done correctly as I took some time to look up pictures of how it was supposed to be installed. I also had a friend come over that bought one of their kits from before for himself, he helped me install my kit (his kit was a totally different kit with the battery mounted on the drink holder part of the bike, but none the less, he was experienced with electric bikes and I was not).

Why don't you just tell us what went wrong with your bike? So far, I got that the rack broke and they gave you another one. We don't need to know about confirmation of your ebay order.

d8veh said:

Why don't you just tell us what went wrong with your bike? So far, I got that the rack broke and they gave you another one. We don't need to know about confirmation of your ebay order.

Click to expand...

They gave me another one, then the rack broke again. When it broke again they refused to send me another one. Their reasoning was that it wasn't covered under the warranty because they already had sent me a rack once before, so they won't sent another one.

you might not need to know about my confirmation or ebay order, but clearly others do... they wanted proof that I am an actual customer of dillenger electric and that I'm not just some different vendor trying to trash them.

I'm assuming you're talking about stuff you've posted on your site(s).

What you need to do is post it *here* in this thread, step by step, from your original purchase, thru your use of the bike, thru the failure, thru the contacts with the company, etc.

I recommend using one post per section of the story so it's not a single long post (like many of mine can be), so those with shorter attention spans can handle it.

amberwolf said:

I'm assuming you're talking about stuff you've posted on your site(s).

What you need to do is post it *here* in this thread, step by step, from your original purchase, thru your use of the bike, thru the failure, thru the contacts with the company, etc.

I recommend using one post per section of the story so it's not a single long post (like many of mine can be), so those with shorter attention spans can handle it.

Click to expand...

I'll do that right now, it might take me a day or two since I'm doing this all in my free time, but I'll post the full timeline. I won't do it on this forum since I want wider exposure to the BS that Dillenger pulled with me and it would be much easier for me to repost my story on other message boards if I'm able to link it to a site instead of another competing message board...etc.

I'll create a whole seperate page on my website and post the full story there, then come back and link to it here once I'm all done. I do thank you for the suggestion, it's a good one.

Not much point if you don't post it *on the forum*.

You'll just be one more poster that refuses to put the details onto the forum itself when asked.

That's what seems to happen when we ask posters suspected to be vendors attacking other vendors. Those usually get removed.

I put my Dillenger rack on my full suspension MTB so no rear supports and it worked perfectly for 500 miles including lots of forest stuff.
I then swapped it to a hardtail bike and added the rear struts.
2 weeks later the rack snapped just behind those struts so I got a new rack and fitted it without those struts and its going strong now!

So your problem is that a rear rack broke?

+ 1 dogman, my thought's exactly.

amberwolf said:

Not much point if you don't post it *on the forum*.

You'll just be one more poster that refuses to put the details onto the forum itself when asked.

That's what seems to happen when we ask posters suspected to be vendors attacking other vendors. Those usually get removed.

Click to expand...

Here you go, i updated my website and copied and pasted the information here:

October 13th 2014 I purchase the dillinger 1000w rear wheel motor 10ah battery 48v kit 29er.
- October 20th 2014 the package is delivered to my door.
- November 9th 2014 I finally get around to installing the kit, as of this day, it's fully installed.
- November 10th 2014 the battery rack breaks the 1st time. I open a support ticket with Dillenger. I mention that there is room between the battery and rack causing the battery to viberate while in the rack possibly causing the rack to fail,
- November 11thth 2014 Dillenger says they sent the replacement rack. Support ticket closed.
- November 19th 2014 Replacement rack arrives, it has 4 small felt pads glued to the rack so as to take up the space between the battery and the rack. This does stop the vibration but makes the battery nearly impossible to slide on the rack. I literally have to use my body weight to push the battery on, but I'm happy because I figure at least the rack won't break again.
- January 6th 2015 The rack on the bicycle breaks again, I start another support ticket with Dillenger. The rack broke after approximately 200 miles total as recorded by my trip odometer. To see this support ticket, click here.
- January 8th 2015 (Notice this time it took 2 days for dillenger to respond to me, this was not because of a weekend) Dillenger responds to the support ticket by basically saying something to the effect of: We replaced it before, we're not going to replace it again. I ask for my support ticket to be escalated and to speak with someone on the phone. I am told that Dillenger won't take support phone calls outside of Austrlia and that the issue can be escalated but the answer will be the same. To see this support ticket, click here.
- January 11th 2015 Dillenger closes ticket, despite my request to escalate the issue. To see this support ticket, click here.
- January 13th 2015 I reopen a support ticket with Dillinger, demanding the full text of their warranty terms and the specific paragraph that is preventing Dillinger from sending me a replacement rack. To see this support ticket, click here.
- January 18th 2014 Over two weeks since the last support ticket I opened without a response. I get fed up and buy the domains http://www.dillengerelectric.com and http://www.dillengerelectricbicycles.com and launch this website so that nobody has to deal with Dillenger's bad treatment of it's customers.
- TODAY Dillenger has YET to contact me regarding the previous support ticket. I will update this section as soon as they do contact me.

KINNINVIEKID said:

I put my Dillenger rack on my full suspension MTB so no rear supports and it worked perfectly for 500 miles including lots of forest stuff.
I then swapped it to a hardtail bike and added the rear struts.
2 weeks later the rack snapped just behind those struts so I got a new rack and fitted it without those struts and its going strong now!

Click to expand...

That's interesting, was it the same kit that I bought? was it the same rack? Because if it was, then I've caught Dillenger in a lie, they told me that they've never had the rack that they sent me break before on ANYONE else. I didn't really believe this but if it was the same rack as I had then I think Dillenger outright lied to me.

dogman dan said:

So your problem is that a rear rack broke?

Click to expand...

Nope, that's not my problem. Matter of fact, I don't have a problem. I've completely repaired the rack myself. I'm no longer complaining, the complaints were happening when I was submitting the support tickets. At this point all I'm doing is telling everyone how crappy dillenger is with their warranty so that other people can make an informed decision prior to choosing to do business with them.

The issue was that not only did it break.... it broke twice.... and on top of that Dillenger did not replace it under warranty as it should the second time... despite the fact that I paid 200-300 more dollars than I would have paid for a kit that was shipped to me directly from china, or from a cheaper manufacturer....etc.

This is the first time I've seen a moderator attempt to troll a user on a public forum. The only reason you'd post that image is to attempt to provoke a reaction out of me, it literally ads absolutely nothing to this conversation at all whatsoever.

If you post a pic of your rack I can tell you if its the same.
I did not contact Dillenger as I got a similar rack off ebay for £6 so it was not worth the hassle.
I did have a pedelec sensor fail and they sent me a new one AND a new controller in case that was the problem as they did not want me to be off the road to long.

I find the timing of these post's suspicious as dillenger has a kickstarter campaign going on. Possibly a attempt to derail momentum. I have read many good reviews of dillenger. Would like to hear dillenger's side of story. good day to all. 8)

As I said they even sent a new controller which they didnt have to.
I got great service from them as soon as I contacted Sam.

Contact Sam (Dillenger-Australia on ES, AIR), who resolved my problem, then report on your experience.

blackjackel said:

... don't fall for their bogus boisterous warranty claims that they have the best warranty in the business and that it's unlimited...etc.

Click to expand...

Childish petty whining.

All this vengeful fuss over a $50 part that they probably don't even manufacture. This is but one component of an inexpensive kit of what appear to be unremarkable Chinese parts.

A link from their home page shows their warranty
The following clauses relate directly to your Tale of Woe:

• The Dillenger Warranty said:

  Terms of Limited Warranty
  
  This warranty becomes effective on the date of original purchase. This warranty is not meant to suggest or imply that the products cannot be broken or will last forever.
  
  Shipping costs are additional.
  
  The original Purchaser is responsible for the return of the product, undamaged in transit, to DILLENGER for warranty work and for the costs associated with shipping and insuring the product and component(s) when returning them.
  
  If DILLENGER’ authorized qualified technicians determine a warranty claim is valid and conforms with this warranty, DILLENGER will repair or replace component(s) or replace the entire product...

  Click to expand...

• Basically - they're indicating that they will look at the issue - at your shipping expense, but promise nothing.
  So much for your 'unlimited warranty' and shipping cost claims. :lol:
  
  They are selling you Chinese parts and trying to support you, but they reserve the right to flip you off.
  You agreed to this Warranty when you purchased the kit.

A cool head and a willingness to compromise will generally result in an equitable resolution where both parties give something up when original expectations cannot be met. Your demand to be sent replacements for the rest of your life is patently absurd and is unsupported by their published Warranty. Some other resolution is clearly required but you are resolute in your ridiculous demand.

• I expect that you could easily have managed a refund for the $50 part that didn't meet your needs - which would have allowed both parties to walk away with a closed issue. Instead you persist in your demand that gives them no closure - so they exercised the Warranty to get the closure you would not provide. Perfectly reasonable.

Needless to say - you clearly are not handling this with a cool head.

Your continued misstatement of the warranty and disproportionate response by attempting to damage their business in retribution speaks more about you than it does about them.

...at once both sad and hilarious...

Threads like this amuse me no end.

Usually they end up with the vendor proving themselves more than reasonable and the complainant looking like a self-entitled fool.

This one will be even more interesting though, as having used their logo and their trademarks in a site that appears to be cybersquatting, we could see him suddenly go silent and the site vanish as he's served with a cease and desist that would be pretty easy to get enforcement on.

Get out the popcorn. We're in for an amusing ride.

KINNINVIEKID said:

If you post a pic of your rack I can tell you if its the same.
I did not contact Dillenger as I got a similar rack off ebay for £6 so it was not worth the hassle.
I did have a pedelec sensor fail and they sent me a new one AND a new controller in case that was the problem as they did not want me to be off the road to long.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll post a pic of my rack at some point.

slacker said:

I find the timing of these post's suspicious as dillenger has a kickstarter campaign going on. Possibly a attempt to derail momentum. I have read many good reviews of dillenger. Would like to hear dillenger's side of story. good day to all. 8)

Click to expand...

I didn't even know about the kickstarter campaign, I would like to hear dillenger's side of the story too, but they are ignoring me completely. They are no longer responding to my support ticket.

KINNINVIEKID said:

As I said they even sent a new controller which they didnt have to.
I got great service from them as soon as I contacted Sam.

Click to expand...

I guess then someone needs to get fired because the person I spoke with said he'd escalate my issue, it's been 14 days without an answer.

teklektik said:

blackjackel said:

... don't fall for their bogus boisterous warranty claims that they have the best warranty in the business and that it's unlimited...etc.

Click to expand...

Childish petty whining.

All this vengeful fuss over a $50 part that they probably don't even manufacture. This is but one component of an inexpensive kit of what appear to be unremarkable Chinese parts.

A link from their home page shows their warranty
The following clauses relate directly to your Tale of Woe:

• The Dillenger Warranty said:

  Terms of Limited Warranty
  
  This warranty becomes effective on the date of original purchase. This warranty is not meant to suggest or imply that the products cannot be broken or will last forever.
  
  Shipping costs are additional.
  
  The original Purchaser is responsible for the return of the product, undamaged in transit, to DILLENGER for warranty work and for the costs associated with shipping and insuring the product and component(s) when returning them.
  
  If DILLENGER’ authorized qualified technicians determine a warranty claim is valid and conforms with this warranty, DILLENGER will repair or replace component(s) or replace the entire product...

  Click to expand...

• Basically - they're indicating that they will look at the issue - at your shipping expense, but promise nothing.
  So much for your 'unlimited warranty' and shipping cost claims. :lol:
  
  They are selling you Chinese parts and trying to support you, but they reserve the right to flip you off.
  You agreed to this Warranty when you purchased the kit.

A cool head and a willingness to compromise will generally result in an equitable resolution where both parties give something up when original expectations cannot be met. Your demand to be sent replacements for the rest of your life is patently absurd and is unsupported by their published Warranty. Some other resolution is clearly required but you are resolute in your ridiculous demand.

• I expect that you could easily have managed a refund for the $50 part that didn't meet your needs - which would have allowed both parties to walk away with a closed issue. Instead you persist in your demand that gives them no closure - so they exercised the Warranty to get the closure you would not provide. Perfectly reasonable.

Needless to say - you clearly are not handling this with a cool head.

Your continued misstatement of the warranty and disproportionate response by attempting to damage their business in retribution speaks more about you than it does about them.

...at once both sad and hilarious...

Click to expand...

Oh, you've got links, cool! I've got links too, check this out: https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/repair-replace-refund#replacements-and-refunds Looks pretty different from the link you provided. Also check out the attachment to this post... this was their webpage for the part I purchased at the time, they've since changed it of course, but that's what it looked like when I bought the part.

I found a CURRENT copy of their ebay listing with the exact wording, I went ahead and saved the webpage in case they decide to change the wording there too, check out this link:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-DIY-Electric-Bike-Conversion-Kit-1000W-Motor-Rear-Wheel-700C-28-29er-/151452647108?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item234347fec4

I did keep a cool head, and I was willing to compromise. You can check for yourself in the "support discussion" section of my website. They simply started ignoring me completely. I NEVER demanded to be sent replacements for the rest of my life, you're right, that would be absurd. I do however demand to be sent replacements as long as the warranty is under effect and as long as the part is defective due to manufacturing or design, which is a very reasonable request.

You say I could have gotten a refund for $50.... did you READ the support page? Did you read how they responded to me? They flat out refused to send me another part and demanded I pay them $50 for it.... How would you expect me to counter that? "Sorry, I don't want to pay you $50, how about you refund me $50" ?

I have taken screenshots of their boisterous claims (which they've since changed) and posted them here. Please check the attachment to this post, specifically the section circled in red.

Sunder said:

Threads like this amuse me no end.

Usually they end up with the vendor proving themselves more than reasonable and the complainant looking like a self-entitled fool.

This one will be even more interesting though, as having used their logo and their trademarks in a site that appears to be cybersquatting, we could see him suddenly go silent and the site vanish as he's served with a cease and desist that would be pretty easy to get enforcement on.

Get out the popcorn. We're in for an amusing ride.

Click to expand...

I like that you used the word "Usually". I would like to hear dillenger's end of this too, I doubt they will say something that I didn't or discount what I said, unless they are liars. I have everything documented.

You'r probably right, I thought I had the right to use their logo under the fair use clause however since the domain name I am using may confuse a consumer that fair use may go out the window. I took their logo down and I have a meeting with my lawyer within the following days for an unrelated matter, I'll ask about my use of the logo then.

If they serve me with a cease and desist I'll hand it to my lawyer and see what he recommends I do, since everything I've said on my website is the truth I don't think they have ground to sue me, and if they do I will likely win and will demand court costs plus punitive damages, so I'll probably end up making money off this in the end.

Besides, it would be an AMAZING way for them to open up a big ass can of that Streisand Effect... Right now my site is tiny and unknown, I just launched it and its slowly going to develope a viewership... but if they sue me then the media might send this message around the world and soon enough there will be more people that know about my problems with Dilenger than I could ever hope to achieve through my website alone.

I kinda hope they do send me a cease and desist, so indeed folks, take out the popcorn, this is going to be fun.

all this over a bike rack. You sir are good comedy and thanks for the entertainment. good day.

slacker said:

all this over a bike rack. You sir are good comedy and thanks for the entertainment. good day.

Click to expand...

You're welcome, I'm having great fun doing this too! I wouldn't be doing it for any other reason! A $50 bike rack ain't worth all this time for me, but all this entertainment sure is!

I'm torn on this one.

One, I find it hilarious that this guy is going through this much trouble to complain and "inform" people about a companies bad service.

Two, that the "bad service" is that the company won't replace his cheap Chinese rack....... twice. :wink:

Three, if I was in his position I might feel the same way.

I do however know FOR A FACT though that I would not spend this much time and energy bad mouthing the company that sold it to me. I would either just fix the rack better than it was originally (most likely) or never do business with that company again. Either way, problem solved.

It must be silly season, because I have seen more people get ALL bent out of shape over the littlest things this week everywhere I look on the internet.