Another ELF electric trike review, before EBR deletes them:
I took delivery of my ELF electric bicycle in January 2016, from Organic Transit.
I really like the idea for the ELF but most of the time the bike really does not operate due to electrical issues. The bike is really attractive looking. I think of that it looks like a little miniature Volkswagen Beetle. I can pedal it, however most of the time the electric motor does not work due to not receiving power for some reason. In the almost year that I have on the ELF electric bike I have only been able to drive it maybe 15 or 20 times. Sometimes that would work for a day or two or a week, other times it would break down in 10 minutes. Most of the year of 2016 I couldn't even use the vehicle other than peddling it and I asked the company to extend their warranty due to the many problems. The company did apologize to me for all the problems but refused to extend the warranty. Organic Transit has offered to put me on the phone with a technician, but I haven't yet done this as I do not understand electrical issues. I will probably have to try this as I don't seem to be getting help any other way.
My Elf is really neat looking. I have had a number of people come up to me and tell me they admire it. I even won at a car show with my Elf. That is all nice and everything but if I can't even drive it under electrical power what does it do for me? In addition the company says that they do not pay for labor even during the warranty period. I paid approximately $7,000 for the bike plus around $1000 to ship it but have not gotten much use out of it at all. At this point conscientiously speaking I would not be able to recommend it as a purchase based on my experiences. As I elucidated, I really do like the idea for the bike and I think there is some tremendous technology there, but if a product has quality and reliability issues it is a big problem. I have contacted the company about these issues probably 50 or 75 times. I have call logs email records and text messages. If an appropriate person wants to see records I am able to show my contacts with Organic Transit.
I honestly want no harm for Organic Transit. I wish them great success, but they do need to improve customer service and fix the reliability issues that I have experienced with the bike. The workers that I spoke with at Organic Transit were always very polite, that was not an issue. My concern was getting Organic Transit to fix the bike and as I stated to other venues, this has been very very frustrating for me. I have complained to the Better Business Bureau 2 times (Apr., Dec. 2016) but the BBB was unable to get Organic Transit to satisfactorily resolve the issue. At the moment I am also trying to get consumer help from some other sources such as NBC News for consumers or any other organization that may be able to render help to me.
Frankreview, Jan 7, 2017
Mar 2017. There are a couple concerns I would like to bring up regarding Maureen's response to my concern. Maureen works at Organic Transit which manufacturers the Elf electric bicycle.
Maureen said they sent me a new battery and a charger. That is partially correct and partially incorrect. Organic Transit did send me a new battery charger, but the battery as far as I know was never an issue. I was never sent a battery.
Maureen said that I was unwilling to attach the loose wire. That is partially true, as I am not an electrician. However the bigger issue may have been much larger than a loose wire. I am not sure about this. I do not feel that it is appropriate for an untrained person who is not an electrician to delve into electrical matters. If I were to do so and something got broken, burned, or damaged, Organic Transit could have turned around and said that I was somehow responsible for breaking the electric systems or the Elf, thereby denying me any further assistance. I did not want to experience this. I had previously elucidated all this information to Organic Transit by phone, by text, and by email. Communication was never an issue. On another note, if a customer were to get hurt when they were directed by Organic Transit to fix the vehicle what would happen? This could possibly said OT up to legal jeopardy. I personally don't think it is wise of Organic Transit to suggest that a customer try to repair something that is beyond their field of expertise.
On another issue, Maureen says that Organic Transit sent out a technician all the way from North Carolina. This is partially true, but partially inaccurate. The technician came from Kentucky or Tennessee, not NC. His first name starts with the letter M. He didn't exactly come out all the way but rather from midway across the United States, not North Carolina as Maureen in her statement claimed. M--- actually was the truck driver who made deliveries of the Elfs. He said that he had some kind of training in electrical or electronics, perhaps as an engineer, or similar. So that part Maureen neglected to mention. M--- was already out here in the area anyway, making deliveries of Elfs. However I do concede that Organic Transit did at least make the attempt to fix my Elf even if the vehicle ended up not working again which it did several times. In fact, again my Elf did work...for a couple weeks until it broke down again.
Maureen said that I did not send pictures of the supposed loose wire. In fact I can show that I sent a number of photos by text as requested. I still possess them on my smart phone. I have them stored in my device's memory. Organic Transit previously acknowledged that they had received those photos from me. Sometimes I would send them and then Maureen would ask me to send more photos, which I did. Organic Transit wanted me to get up inside the vehicle and take pictures of the electronic systems which I did take probably maybe 10 or 20 photos, or maybe more. Maureen expresses that I never sent the photos. Again she is inaccurate. Once again I can show on my device that I sent them and even received acknowledgement that Organic Transit had in fact received the photos sent by text. I do not understand why Maureen says I didn't send the photos that I did send.
Finally, try to put yourself in my shoes. I am not angry. I am just very frustrated. I am not rich, but I spent approximately $8,000 including shipment to buy a product that has not lived up to its expectations. I understand there are people out there who have an emotional attachment to electric bicycles. I am fully cognizant of this. However understand that when you buy a product you have an expectation that the product will live up to its claims. Unfortunately mostly this is not my case in this situation.
I am not out for blood. I am not out for revenge. But am I not allowed to express my frustration with the product that I had a number of problems and issues with? If you were in my shoes would you do the same thing? I have tried and tried and tried to get the Elf fixed.
Someone at Organic Transit had earlier communicated to me that at least some other people had similar issues such as I have had.
I do have some suggestions for Organic Transit. I suggest that they find ways to have wire harnesses preassembled that are completely reliable. I also suggest that they bring in some electric or electronic experts or engineers to help them troubleshoot the issues. Many people believe in Organic Transit's idea and I remain one of them. I just want to, in a friendly but firm way, encourage Organic Transit to be open to corrective ideas and to suggestions to ameliorate areas on the Elf that need to be fixed. There might be rich people or celebrities who support the environment or alternative transportation, or volunteers or electronic technicians or engineers, or similar who might be willing to volunteer to come in to enhance the Elf to make it a very reliable vehicle. The idea for the Elf fantastic. Now the reliability needs to be ameliorated.
It is my hope that those who are reasonable-minded who are reading this can see between the lines and infer from my text that I do not have ill will toward Organic Transit. I was just a customer who was frustrated venting feelings of disappointment, and trying to get what appeared to me to be a defective product, to be fixed.
I thank everyone, including Organic Transit who has responded to me. Some may agree, some may disagree. Look at the evidence, and I think you will see that I do make points that are truthful and needed to be expressed. Again, I can provide extensive documentation of contacts, letters, emails, photos, and some communication logs, if needed, that my motivation was just to get my vehicle fixed. Thank you.