Sprockets Opiniões 

Ordered a full Campagnolo Veloce groupset on Thursday evening and received it early on Tuesday morning. there were a lot of options (silver or black, this size or that on many of the components) and it all came exactly as requested. Top marks.

I'm only docking a point because multiple calls to the telephone number in advance to check stock, went unanswered.

Bought a pair of MTB cycle shorts from them online. The shorts delivered were not the ones I placed an order for. So I though ok maybe it was mistake. I returned them and re-ordered the ones I wanted. They don't answer or return phone calls so I sent an email. I was told that the money has been refunded and that if I am willing to wait for a few weeks they will fulfil my second order. I checked my bank account and no refund from them, so I requested to send me a bank confirmation from them showing that the refund was processed but it is like talking to the wall. To date I have not received my money back for the wrong order nor have I received the new order. Terrible experience.

Stupidly I did not read the other reviews before ordering! Sprockets did not deliver the product ordered, did not acknowledge or pay for the return, and did not make a refund (as promised numerous times by Paul Hudson). Thankfully I used PayPal, which protects against dodgy websites such as this one, although too much time and effort was wasted resolving this. Life is too short and there are plenty of reputable on-line retailers out there instead...Wiggle, Chain Reaction, Merlin Cycles, etc.

Firstly, I'll make no bones about it. I've given Sprockets 1 star because TrustPilot won't allow me to give a zero star review.

Secondly, if the owner of the shop decides to reply to this review, as he is entitled to do, I would disregard any comments he has to make. He will be attempting to defend and justify unacceptable levels of customer service, and if he takes a long look at the transaction history and our email conversations, he will have to admit to himself he let us down with no comeback whatsoever.

The product in question is a pair of Lake cycling shoes. The original order was placed on the 11th June 2016. At the time of order, the Sprockets website stated that the shoe was not in stock and to "Please phone for availability" - which seems to be a common message on the website.

These shoes were to be a gift from my wife for my 40th, which is the 4th July. We enquired at the time if the shoes would be with us in time for me to try them on, and if they didn't fit, send them back to a different size. We were assured, on multiple occasions, that this would be the case.

Over the next few weeks my wife emailed Paul at Sprockets on a few occasions to check the progress of the order. Sometimes the emails would go unanswered, sometimes the would be answered after a couple of days. At every stage we were told the shoes would arrive in plenty of time for me to try on and return if they were wrong. My wife's exact words to Paul:

"We need to check for fit and re-order a new size and I must have a pair of shoes to give to my husband on 4th July for his birthday."

The shoes were finally dispatched on the 29th June - the Wednesday. My birthday was 4th July - the following Monday. The shoes arrived on the Friday. If they didn't fit, then my wife's big plan of me having new shoes on my 40th was ruined. Sure enough, they didn't fit (although that's not Sprocket's fault). So we spent Saturday rushing around the bike shops in the area trying to find a pair of shoes that a) I liked and b) fitted, because we'd been left high and dry by Sprockets.

In a situation like this, a shop has a responsibility to manage the expectations of the client. I'd would rather be told, "Look sorry it's not going to arrive in time" and be given the option to cancel or wait, than be strung along falsely. This really upset my wife who wanted what is a very special shoe to be there on a big birthday.

As if this wasn't enough of a hassle, this was only the beginning. We arrange a return (which I had to pay for!!!) and then wait for a refund. And wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

The tracking on the parcel stated that the parcel had been signed for on the 14th July. Credit card companies can take up to 30 days to process a refund but by 20th August we were still without our refund. We chased, and we were told that the refund was definitely processed but that the refund would be reissued at the bank - which working in e-commerce and understanding how payment gateways interact with e-commerce software and merchant accounts I know this is nonsense. You refund against an order and confirmations are sent out to at least the merchant if not the customer as well - but Sprockets could not provide written confirmation.

I emailed Paul direct with a strongly worded email, and he chose to once again completely ignore that.

Finally, on September 1st, we have our £300 refunded into our account from an order placed on the 11th June.

Contrast that to Rapha. I ordered a £300 pair of Climber's Shoes. They arrived next day. They didn't fit. I contacted Rapha, they dispatched the next size up THAT DAY, and WITHOUT my returned shoes. They issued me with a FREEPORT return note to send mine back. The larger shoes arrived BEFORE I even had a chance to get the old ones dropped off at the parcel shop.

Ultimately, when you're paying £300 for footwear, you expect exemplary service from start to finish. False delivery estimates, unanswered emails, slow responses, insufficient information in emails, paying for returns, and waiting nearly 2 months for a refund is simply unacceptable.

Looking at the Sprockets website, their "Latest News" story is, on the 1st September 2016, a post from 2014 about Knog lights. The website isn't even responsive or adaptive.

In general, this stinks of a bricks and mortar business trying desperately and failing miserably to operate in the digital space. Ultimately, when stores such as Wiggle, CRC, ProBikeKit and Evans do such a good job, then places like this need to not only match them but excel them. The only reason we looked here was because finding Lake shoes in the UK was so difficult.

I would strongly recommend to not use this company. They have let us down and messed us around big time, partly spoiled my 40th, caused my wife a load of stress with the credit card, and demonstrated on every level how not to run an e-commerce business. If you must have Lake shoes, get them direct from Lake.

Avoid like the plague.

Bought these a couple of weeks ago from Sprockets and they are very good! I have since bought from Sprockets again and am very pleased with their customer service :)

Bought what was listed as an "unbranded" FSA chainring - turns out it's not an "unbranded" FSA ring at all, it's just a copy of a genuine FSA product, should have read other comments about these before buying by the looks as I not the first to have been cheated by these crooks!