Absolutely disgusting experience. Be careful, hidden and unexpected charges!
Absolutely disgusting experience. I was excited to enrol in the bike rental with Swapfiets via Cycle to Work scheme. When I finally received my voucher and got to request my subscription, the summary page informed me there is NO upfront cost and it’s £59.90 per month (which should be fully covered by my voucher for 6 months). I applied my voucher successfully and received a confirmation notification saying: “you'll get your first month free and save the remaining £329.50 next month.”. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Swapfiets decided to charge me additional £59.90 upfront ON MY CREDIT CARD without ever disclosing what the charge is. It’s not mentioned on my Cycle to Work certificate, it wasn’t mention on Swapfiets summary page when subscribing, it’s not mentioned in ToS. And it actually goes against Department for Transport who clearly states that the entire value must be included in my certificate and adding funds is not possible. I decided I should call Swapfiets and rectify it. My first attempt was on Friday at 5.30PM. I was greeted with an automatic message saying: “we are currently closed. Please call us during our opening hours Monday to Friday 8AM till 6.30PM and Saturdays [don’t remember the time]”. This was already weird since it was meant to be still open, I thought I misheard something so I checked the support website, which states the opening hours are Mon-Fri 8AM to 9PM- again very different times. I was already worried at this point. The next day comes, I tried calling again, only to be left on hold for 15mins TWICE with call automatically hanging up with no response. Finally on the third attempt and one hour later I managed to get in touch with a representative. When I asked why was this charged on my credit card and not the voucher and what am I actually being charged for, the response I received was just beyond rude. I was told: “This is how it is” and that I was charged for the month of May (bear in mind it’s already 18th May and I didn’t even get the bicycle yet). I tried rectifying it, but the representative was absolutely not interested in helping me, therefore, I asked for my subscription to be cancelled, within one second I was informed my subscription is cancelled and my account is deleted with the rude tone of voice. I am now left with unusable Cycle to Work voucher, no bicycle, I did not receive any confirmation email if I will receive the refund of my £59.90. Overall, I am happy that my experience with Swapfiets was so short, and cannot wait to move forward to and hire a bike from another company. I can’t believe this is how you treat your new customer and try to scam people. I can’t even imagine how bad it must be if you are already locked in the contract. I’m genuinely glad and relieved that this company showed it’s true value at the very beginning when I still had a chance to escape it. And just a couple of words that Swapfiets should get familiar with: TRANSPARENCY and KINDNESS
May 18, 2024
Unprompted review