Swapfiets UK Reviews 398

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

Saddened to leave such a bad review for what I believe to be a great transport innovation for cities.

The chain lock of my securely locked (with both locks) Power 1 bike was cut through with bolt cutters and both bike and battery were stolen from my property.

They have a separate theft insurance on top of an already expensive subscription fee which they failed to disclose at the time of enrolment. Without this cover the cost to replace bike and battery is £500+, despite it being Swapfiet's locking system that failed. They reject any liability for this.

I enrolled onto what I believed to be a fair and genuinely genius subscription service that offered everything I needed without an upfront cost of a new bike – I am now left with a £500+ bill and nothing to show for it. The average cost of a basic new electric bike is £500.

The Power bikes have GPS tracking on them but sadly stopped working the instant the bike was stolen...

Their terms and conditions are misleading and unfairly penalise its users through disproportionate fees. I am now out of pocket and they did not even replace the bike for the remainder of my subscription.

Customer service is responsive and informative.

Until they re-evaluate their insurance policy or enforce compulsory disclosing of theft insurance for staff at the time of enrolment, my advice would be to avoid for now and just buy a basic E-bike with proper locks.

You have to pay the costs for a stolen bike, it's not reasonable. I had the bike for 1 day, I fastened it properly with 2 locks, it was stolen from me from work, I immediately reported the keys and gave them back, I have to pay over PLN 500 for the bike and batteries, is this normal? The company should be insured!

Very good service

Great swap service - thanks Slava 👍

I Highly recommended swapfiets. I have a wonderful experience with them in comparison with Zoomo. Top quality customer services. In particular, Tony & his two work mates at East London shop. They were super professional, fast & supportive in dealing with my issue.

Their service is excellent. Its just great to have your request honoured within 24 hours, at your own house.

I used the service for one year. What I liked is the idea of a subscription model, that they delivered the bike to my home/workplace and when there were issues resolved them swiftly.

What could be improved is:
- have more bike options/sizes (e.g. the L bike should be a bit bigger)
- inconsistencies in bike quality. They operate as a circular economy model but I have noticed significant differences between bikes (from flawless new bike to worn out with a lot of scratches).
- customer service is a bit inconsistent in response time but overall are reasonable to deal with and understand nuanced situation

I've been a Swapper for 2 years now and it never fails to surprise me how Swapfiets staff always go above and beyond. This time, when I went for a routine check, I was serviced by Andy in the London Store, who replaced my bike in a matter of minutes and also gave me and my partner some Swapfiets goodies. Thanks Andy!

When I came to get the bike they told me I also had to pay theft insurance. My previous rental from Swapfiets included this. It pushed the cost to near £90 a month. That's too much. Lime bikes are cheaper and I don't have to insure it. Swapfiets should just include this.

Everything was dealt with nice and quickly. The staff member who helped me was very helpful. I was early to my appointment but still was not waiting around.

Quite a long wait but it's understandable as each enquiry may take longer than others. The engineers were great and friendly so was happy in the end.

The bikes are great but the customer service is really painful. The app crashes constantly, making it impossible to book an appointment. When contacting customer service directly they have a bit of an attitude and aren't very accommodating.

Their appointment times are really not suitable for working professionals, as a result I often have to wait 2-3 weeks for a suitable appointment and have to adjust my work schedule around it. The customer service team also have limited sympathy or understanding with this.

Best customer service in the whole of London. Amazing!