If a store can take full payment through an approved Bike to Work scheme, never deliver, and still trade online — something is badly wrong with consumer protection in Ireland.
Has this happened to you?
I paid €1,750 for a Bike to Work bike over a year ago.
The bike never arrived.
The shop won’t respond.
The scheme provider says “not our problem.”
And no one in Ireland will help me get my money back.
Here’s my story 👇#Ireland#Cycling#Commuting#BikeToWork#ConsumerRights
Without the bike, my commute:
starts 20 mins earlier in the morning
ends 1–2 hrs later at night
costs €12 extra per day (Luas + taxi)
It means I often miss my son before bed.
The shop closed its physical location but seems to still trade online.
I’ve lost €1,750.
I can’t use the Bike to Work scheme again for 3 years — even though I never got a bike.
Every time I chased them:
new excuse (supplier issue, weather, you name it)
new promise: “next week”
Then they stopped replying altogether.
HubEx said: “We’ve paid them, not our responsibility.”
On 27 Sept 2024, payments complete.
https://t.co/hDQkRRNjIu confirmed by email + phone:
“We have all payments” ✅
“Bike will be delivered in 2 weeks” 🚲
It never arrived.
Last year, I joined the #BikeToWork scheme via my employer’s provider, HubEx.
Picked a bike from approved store https://t.co/hDQkRRMLSW.
Bike cost more than scheme limit — I paid €250 extra directly to the store.
I live in Portlaoise, work in Dublin 3 days/week.
For 1.5 years, I used an e-scooter to connect to the train — meant I was home by 18:20 and could see my 9-year-old before bed.