We recently (about 6 months or so ago) purchased an iCandy grape pushchair and extra accessories (footmuff etc) for our youngest child.
The pushchair looks great and seems very sturdy – oval metal frame rather than the generic skinny round tubes that grace most other pushchairs.
I am having a few serious issues with the pushchair now:
* The hubs of both front wheels are separating which makes the pushchair dangerous to use – I do not want to risk the wheels breaking apart while I am pushing the pushchair or even worse while pushing the pushchair across a road
* The seat attaches to the pushchair using two metal plates with sliding catches which are in turn screwed to the pushchair. Over time the metal plates have loosened and one screw has completely come out making the likelihood that other screws will come out very high indeed which I can only conclude will make the plate fall off with the very likely outcome of the chair becoming dangerously unattached to the pushchair.
Both of these flaws are clearly design issues and they need immediate and urgent rectification before a child or adult is injured or worse.
Images shown below, higher resolution images are available on request.
Missing screw in seat holding plate:
Front wheel showing where they are separating:
The manufacturer has been contacted and informed about these issues as well as the existence of this blog.
Hi there iam having the same problem as you i got a icandy cherry which was a carrycot now its turned into a stroller i got all the extras umbrella, bag and cup holder i spent over £800 on my pram and only had it 10 months my wheels have buckle and my brakes dont work my bag is all ripped where the material is bad and as come away from the edge my under basket ripped when i first got it i went back to my stockist and the email and contacted icandy to be told i will have to pay for new wheels and brakes and they havent got them in stock for a few weeks and if i want it looked at i will have to send it away which means i well have no prams and will have to pay £33.45 plus vat just for them to look at it and extra for the parts plus VAT i think this is disgusting the way ive been treated i think its bad our we have all been treated this is meant to be a very well known pram makers and meant to take care of us as mother and be safe for our children iam very sad about this and will be taking the matter further and will not be coming back as a customer.
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Having been in the same predicament as you I refuse to purchase another of their products ever again, and I have successfully steered quite a few of my friends (and even a number of strangers pram shopping!) away from iCandy products.
For the money they are charging I expect quality – after all these are not £30 mothercare throwaway ones.
I am glad that this post features high up in the google rankings – I can only assume that I have also helped other people that have not taken the time to reply, and I appreciate them visiting too.
The scrap man has mine, and it is the best thing I ever did with it.
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Hi Greg,
We have had similar I-Candy issues too, our cherry pushchair we bought from a retailer who shut down soon after, another retailer took over the guarantee etc and as problems arose, rear wheels buckled, chassis twisted, brakes locked, seat unit stuck and was unable to remedy, I -Candy eventually agreed to look at it, after speaking numerously to the director who talks and does nothing, we did get a complete new pushchair as they condemned the original (less than 6 months old), within a month it started again, same issues, although the director insisted that the chassis was a new style as they had “issues” with the old one! What a load of cobblers! the complete range is sub-standard and they just do not want to know. They blame misuse and told me to get an independent test done and they would see what the outcome would be. These death traps need to be remedied. My daughter was very nearly seriously hurt whilst in the cherry and all I-Candy wanted to know about was, were there any witnesses and was medical treatment required as “people say things for compensation”, our retailer takes sides with I-Candy, but on the last count we insisted that we had a pushchair whilst they took their time looking at our pushchair, they gave us a peach pushchair, this even had similar issues and we refused to use it! I have given up until now with I-Candy, and have just bought a 3 wheeler for less than £100 which is twice the quality and no issues. my advise to anyone else is fight I-Candy or go to the local scrap yard! Has anyone managed to get a refund from I-Candy?
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The customer services team at iCandy are appalling. I have the exact same problems with the wheels and the seat keeps on tipping back – certainly not safe, and I was hoping to use it for my newborn. iCandy have quoted £50 to collect/return the pram, the seat may cost £100 but they can’t tell me, and the wheels they are also unable to quote me on. The best they can do is for me to fork out £50 (non returnable) and then they will give me an exact quote. When I said I didn’t want to be left with £250 worth of repairs, they suggested I buy another cherry, and quoted me £340!
I loved the pram initially but I expected it to last longer than 8 months, and the aftercare is shocking. A definite NO from me!
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Hi Louise
You are yet another of the very large number of people that have contacted me to complain about their iCandy pushchairs.
I am sorry about your issues, but I fear you will not be the last one.
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We bought the iCandy cherry 3 years ago for our fist child….after about a year and a half of use the back wheel came free- ‘luckily’ around the time we moved him into a cheaper pushchair. Seeing as we weren’t using the iCandy (but kind of ‘planning to’ sometime in the future) instead of calling iCandy to try to get a repair or quote for a repair, we buried the thing in the shed and got on with things. I suppose we thought that come the time for it to be used again we’d be able to go back to the shop and arrange some kind of repair quote. Unfortunately the shop we bought it from now no longer exists and though we haven’t yet tried to seek a repair quote (2nd child due Feb, need to get a move on…) reading so of these reviews regarding customer service it does worry me a little! We’ll try to call them and see what the deal is with this. Will report back!
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Here’s hoping that iCandy customer service has improved (although from nonexistant to even answering the phone is technically an improvement).
Please let us know how you get on
Greg
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Will do, Greg. My other half found the problem. The small ‘attachment’ on the end of the rear axle that goes into the wheel has broken off…I guess either it needs soldering on or we just need the axle rod…getting through to iCandy to ask for one of these might be the tricky part! Looks like we might have to buy a whole new rear axle set…unless anyone knows where we can get a replacement axle rod for the iCandy Cherry!! :)
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Hi,
Just to let you know, we had the same problem with our Cherry, we ordered a new brake system from ebay for £35 plus p&p, but after about a month the axle snapped again.
I am now trying to get a replacement by quoting the UK sale of goods act.
we will see what happens but apparently iCandy have told him to tell me to buy a new one!!!!
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The exact same thing has happened to one of wheels on the icandy cherry. Have ordered a replacement for £25 and i’m not even sure we will be able to put it on!
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Hi Rebekah
The very fact that this post is still getting replies almost 9 months after I made the original post shows there is still clear systemic failure with iCandy products.
Rest assured that this page is not going away and will hopefully help the people who need it most and who should be enjoying the time with their small children, not trying to chase round after companies that see them as nothing more than pound signs.
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I am getting the impression as iCandy find product failures they building up a library of pictures to clay its customer misuse.
We have an ICandy peach which we bought in jan but only used since July . Main seat unit clips on the arm fail so you can’t lock it into the chassis. Got to retailer and he has an email detail peach failures telling the retailer it’s misuse. My retailer showed me this which iCandy are not happy about as its retailer only info. Anyway they claim it’s misuse so I told them I had contacted watchdog and so magically when they got it in they repaired both sides free. however they did no package it properly and it got damaged in transit. iCandy said they would send out a part for the retailer to fit but it’s not turned up. Now iCandy won’t speak to me and the retailer being a bit dopey isnt much help.
It’s a week tomorrow so I am going to ask him to set a date when it will be repaired. If he doesnt meet the data eye must offer a full refund or replacement unit.
I will let you know how I get on.
I won’t be buying this over priced junk again as its not even well made for £800 buggy!
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I have had problems with our iCandy Peach double pushchair – about 3 months after using it as a double the back wheel just sheered off completely out of the blue – luckily at the time my husband was using it with just the bottom seat and my daughters top seat was not on it – he was going down a curb into the road so she would have toppled into it. iCandy agreed to replace the chassis because it was a fault of theirs but they said they had had absolutely no issues with the buggy before. On its return I am still not happy with it, we have had three seperate incidences where the buggy has toppled dangerously forward and I have had to come to it’s rescue to stop my daughter plunging to the floor, this has happened because the wheel locks if it hits a tiny bump going down hill. We are now scared to push it down hill and I have spoken to iCandy who have dismissed my fears and when I insisted they tested it again they found no problems and are sending it back – interestingly though they have started to charge for any testing where no fault has been found, do we think this could be because they are getting so many returned? How on earth are they getting away with this being that this is all to do with child safety, I have also written to Watchdog so hopefully if enough of us complain to them they will do a feature.
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Hi Hazel
Yet another case of iCandy showing their contempt for the people that they should be serving.
It’s not like the intended occupants of pushchairs are fragile or anything..
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Hi all I’ve had my heart set on an icandy cherry and have been looking online for one etc and then stumbled across this page, I’m now absolutely gutted and torn as whether I bother purchasing one now >:/ I honestly thought that a pram/pushchair of such value would of been the best kind to have now again not so sure :( does anyone know if these faults have been sorted by icandy as of yet? I really do not want to pay out £800+ for something that may possibly end up at the scrap yard within months!!! Can anybody recommend me a buggy similar to the cherry in the fudge colour that is sturdy and will not break on me?? I’d be ever so grateful for any suggestions. And I’d just like to thank you for this page as if I’d have not seen this I could well of ended up with a heap of junk, pramless and an empty pocket
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Hi Cheryl :)
I can only speak from my personal experience but the fact that this page is still being replied to with people having problems cannot in my opinion be a good thing as far as reliability goes.
I know that iCandy themselves regularly visit this page from my site IP logs but apart from one person pretending not to be from iCandy to give a favourable review of their own product (biased much?) which I called them out for I have had no contact from iCandy to ask for more information or to ask if they can contact the individuals that have taken the time to reply to this post.
I would definitely not recommend iCandy products and would not consider their products for my next child.
One of the sites I host is a forum for expectant and new mothers (my wife is a member and administrator on the site) and I have asked her to ask on that forum for any recommendations as the site has a large number of members that are contemplating buying, have just bought or have used pretty much every variety of stroller available in the UK.
Please give me a (very little amount of) time to collate the replies and I will get back to you, or you could even join the site yourself and ask the question there – the site is very friendly and is a great resource for parenting tips and information.
The site is http://looneylounge.co.uk if you wish to peruse it (I am admin_greg on there but I don’t actually use it myself as it is a site ran for and my females)
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Hi there Greg,
Many thanks for your reply. Sounds very frustrating with iCandy and it’s staff I think I will definately steer clear from this buggy now. I have fortunately found a travel system that is similiar in style to the iCandy cherry but it’s a Babystyle Oyster so I plan to purchase this as the reviews are good for this compared to what I’ve seen for the iCandy. I can’t thank you enough for this blog making us aware to such faults. I will definately take a look at your (wifes) website I am a mum of 4 but expecting baby number 5 so it’s always nice to meet new mummies :)
Thank you very much again and also thank you for asking your members on your other page for buggy recommendations :)
Many Thanks Cheryl
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Hi Cheryl
I am glad (you don’t know how glad!) that I have helped you out.
Enjoy baby number five – and your choice of pushchair appears to be a great one.
Feel free to let me know how you get on with the Oyster, maybe you could even write a review for me telling your experiences with it after a while of real world use?
Have a great day.
Got any weird cravings?
Greg
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I have a peach and have been having problems with th handle bar. Icandy have told me I need to pay to replace it even though it’s still under warranty I tried explaining this to them but they are ignoring me now :( my pram cost a lot and the care is disgraceful.
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Hi Kristina
The lack of customer support at iCandy never fails to astonish me. We are nothing more than cash cows to them, and their standard reply to all things is pretty much “not my problem mate. You should have left it in the box, anything after that is down to the customer being an idiot and incapable of looking after the equipment”.
Another day, another complaint from an angry user. I truly hope that one day it changes.
Best regards
Greg
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Hi. Had the same issue with the reclining seat pitch. The latch which holds it in the various positions now longer works and it defaults to fully declined. I live in Kent – anyone know of a repairer who can fix this? Other than iCandy presumably – judging by the comments above…! Not I impressed…
Thanks
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Hi Tim I have an icandy cherry which is about 2 years old and I had the same problem with the seat latch, it just suddenly stopped catching and went into permanent recline. I wasn’t impressed as I was some distance from home with my daughter in the buggy when it happened. Icandy didn’t want to know and I got the same blurb about owner misuse. There is no repair that they will do and just tell you to buy a new seat frame. This is what I eventually had to do and it cost me £80 as the retailer did me a small discount. She was also angry with them as their display model has gone exactly the same way and icandy wanted them to buy a new seat too.
A few of the shopping basket poppers don’t catch any more on mine either and the wheels are a bit dodgy now too, I can’t use them in swivel mode and the left front one is constantly sticking. I also have an issue with the seat covers, the fleece is coming away at the seams around the slits for the straps to go through and the bit of the zip that says icandy on it keep falling off when I’m zipping up the footmuff! I loved loved this pushchair but have been very disappointed in the durability and performance. I wouldn’t buy it again.
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Oh dear. Not impressive all round. No 2 is now on the way and were looking for a 2 seater. Phil & teds or baby jogger seem like the way forwards. Not iCandy (not even looked to see if they do one!)
Regards
Tim
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The really annoying thing is we have sung the praises of iCandy and the Cherry pushchair system, and overall we are very impressed with build quality, we had an issue with the adjustable foot part of the pushchair attachment, we took it back in warranty and they replaced it immediately.
Since then its all gone pear shaped and actually they don’t seem very good at all.
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As much as I appreciate everyone here has had issues, I wouldn’t dismiss or tarnish the brand and then completely dissuade others from choosing iCandy – particularly when I’d imagine the vast majority, like myself have been over the moon with ours from day one!
I’ve had my cherry for just over 2 years now and have just encountered my first problem with one of the rear wheels, which is how I came across this site. Before mucking around with it myself I made my husband take it back to the shop we bought it in and the sales assistant got in contact with iCandy for us and organised a replacement wheel straight away.
All in all, it’s an inconvenience but everything suffers from wear and tear eventually and requires upkeep – considering it’s put to use near-every day. I couldn’t praise the stockist or iCandy enough for how they dealt with us as customers.
Again, I don’t mean to bat away other people’s issues, but i’m merely offering another side to the story of those who have had their iCandy for a long time and are now complaining.
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Hi Carol
You are entirely right to voice your opinion on this matter, and I thank you for taking the time to make the post.
In my particular case the problems started within six months, well within the period I expect an item I purchase to be of sound quality, especially as it is not a throwaway “budget” pushchair but rather a supposedly sturdy piece of equipment designed to last.
I am glad that things have gone well for you, maybe iCandy is finally getting their act together.
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hi there i’m really gutted my icandy apple seat reclined all the way back with my little one in it luckily i decided on that day to have her facing the world otherwise she could of got hurt, i emailed icandy and they didn’t respond so i decided to call them, they told me i had to go through the shop of which i purchased my apple from (even though they don’t sell icandy products anymore) so they can deal with my issue in the correct manner. i was gobsmacked!! you pay a high price and dont get a decent service. im unable to get through to the shop so i’m going to try icandy again. i have to say though i do love my apple and out of all my friends prams its the sturdiest. i guess everything has its flaws. wish me luck
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This Happened with my iCandy Apple I was out shopping when the seat unit fell back and wouldnt click back into place. I had to set my child on the floor turn the unit round and walk home with my shopping while using one hand to hold the seat up!
I wasn’t pleased looked like a right …! The shop I got it from no longer sells them and won’t have any dealings with me! I didn’t even get the full year out of it and over £800 wasted!
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Hi
Try using http://www.icandyuk.com/contact.php and tell them of the issue, the place you bought the product from, and that they refuse to deal with you. Please let me know the outcome (whether they offer to fix the issue under warranty or whether they ask for you to pay).
I would also contact your local Trading Standards (it is a department of the local Council) informing them of the reseller breaching the Sale of Goods Act by refusing to help.
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Hi Good to find your blog, I hope it has some effect. A very similar story for us too, i like the pushchair and the rear facing feature is especially good, but after less than a year our buggy was falling apart, wheels splitting and wobbling brake dropping and locking wheels on one occasion when i was crossing a busy road! We took it back to john lewis who were very helpful but basically i candy refused to accept any fualt and wanted us to pay £180 for new wheels and chassis, eventually john lewis met most of the cost when i refused to pay we bought wheels still £80! That said 7 months on we’ve been very careful with pushchair not loading with shopping etc and it’s looking like we’re getting the old problems back. basically these things are not built for people who walk or use them on a day to day basis. Not relsihing the thought of going back for another battle though….
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Almost exactly a mirror of our own experience.
I love this blog because it constantly reaffirms my own opinion.
2 people have been positive about iCandy – one worked for iCandy (no bias there!), one was someone saying their experience was completely different to mine and other people’s, which I welcomed and was happy about.
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Im having a different challenge with i-Candy, We moved to the USA due to relocation by my company. We bought a Peach version about 1.5 years ago, 2 weeks ago the button that allows you to adjust and fold the I-Candy down just went all floppy.
I took this apart to see what the issue was and one of the cables had snapped that operates the mech.
In addition to this interestingly the aluminum handle had stress fractures eminating away from the holes where the button goes.
So a call to I-candy to see about repairs, they said as we moved overseas we voided all warranties!!! – Scumbags, they take nearly 800 pounds of my money and cant even back up their warranty.
Anyone know if they can legally do this? – Ive continued to search on this subject and willing to take tem to court (After all I am in the US now!)
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Oh no! I’ve just purchased a second hand iCandy Cherry off of eBay and then stumbled across this website while looking for replacement wheels (in case they were too worn out)
Now I am really, really upset to learn that it will probably fall apart the minute it arrives :(
I’m really worried, especially because it’s the last pushchair that I’ll be buying (my husband made me promise not to buy another one ever again.)
*sigh* Guess I’ll be back here in a few weeks with news about wheels falling off and a baby being tipped out of its seat :(
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I purchased an iCandy apple jogger pushchair in November 2011 and have had niggly problems with the front wheel jamming and bits breaking here and there, but my big gripe is that the bumper bar is dangerous. Beware! I had my baby facing me fortunately so I saw him choking, he had bitten a large chunk of the foam off the bumper bar. I informed iCandy about this hazzard (stupidly I thought they’d be interested) and they told me that it is not a manufacturing defect and the pushchair meets all the safety standards! I am appalled by their attitude towards safety and reading this blog makes me wish I had never bought an iCandy. Well I’m not leaving it there, I shall go to trading standards and do whatever is necessary. I’ve got a health & safety consultant on to this now, so we’ll see where it goes. I will keep posting updates.
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As an Independent Nursery Retailer established 15 years ago we feel we have quite a lot of experience with nursery products. We made the decision to stop stocking iCandy products 4 years ago now. We could not carry on selling their products in good faith. We experienced a 100% return rate on the iCandy Cherry. Faults such as front wheel failure, brake issues etc. We experienced a 70% return rate on the Apple, again problems such as the folding mechanism jamming and more commonly the seat unit suddenly dropping backwards. Whilst we accept that there isn’t a wheeled product on the market that will not, at one point or another, have a fault, we felt that the return rate on icandy products was completely unacceptable. Sadly what we found even more appalling was the attitude of the company. Their blatant disregard for is customers and safety of their children was nothing short of shocking. Sadly years later blogs like this are still around and customers are still more than happy to hand over obscene amounts of money for a product that offers no additional features to those on the market that can be purchased for less. My advise would be, if you were thinking of purchasing iCandy look around first. Look at Silver Cross, Babystyle, Britax, Bugaboo, Jane and so many other fabulous products from manufacturers that value their customers and will go the extra mile.
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Thank goodness I’ve found this website, i was going to purchase the i candy peach but after reading about all the problems and the poor customer service, i cannot possibly afford to risk my baby or paying out more money to fix any potential problems.
I’m shocked with how popular it is still with all these issues.
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Jae
I am truly happy that I have helped.
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I am really disgusted with my Icandy peach as the handle has been over tighted and doesnt sit level.I have sent pictures to Icandy and they are trying to tell me I have to pay for it to be fixed,I am not going to do this as you dont pay this kind of money and then have to pay for there mistakes.Also what really ticks me off is I took the pram into youngers world and showed them and they told me it was normal so the retailer is as bad as Icandy.I have left two voice mails and will be foning again 2morz.I will never buy another one again.never had any of these problems with any other high end prams.
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Good luck with their customer service department Melanie. I would be happy to report that you are successful. Unfortunately I have not had one instance of someone telling me that they got the issue resolved.
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Unfortunately I didn’t come across this website until 1 year after purchasing the iCandy cherry. On ourpushchair the back wheels have been coming loose and the brake constantly falls down which worries me when crossing a road/tram line. We went back to babynest in Croydon where we purchased it at the weekend and with our “guarantee”. We were very rudely told that it was our fault for not cleaning the wheels! Our issue wasn’t really with the wheels but the brakes.
Babynest took photos and said they would send to iCandy. They rang my husband today and said iCandy think it looks like “wear & tear” but will take a look at it and if it is our fault they charge us £35! So as someone said previously obviously not a buggy if you like to go for a walk every day, as I did – perhaps more suitable as an ornament – if anyone would like to fork out £800 to look at a buggy.
I am so sorry I came across Babynest (lovely staff until we had a problem and they just did not want to know) and sorry I came across iCandy – From now on I will direct anyone considering iCandy to this website.
Will update if we have any sucess with them!
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I bought my iCandy Cherry from ebay almost two years ago (1 previous owner had it 18 months, so it’s had a reasonable innings) and the left rear wheel just fell off mid-outing. Very annoying and could have been dangerous. It will cost £85 to replace whole rear axle and wheels as iCandy have apparently now changed them to make them more robust. I think I’m going to buy a cheaper stroller instead as my son now almost two and mostly walking. Would have liked to have used this again though as otherwise loved it. However, I wouldn’t ever pay full price for a new one having read the comments here.
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My iCandy experience started over 4 years ago when we bought the Apple. The carrycot hood never stayed up – as a first time mum I didn’t realise it should’ve been held up til I saw another one in a shopping mall! (4 years ago it wasn’t a popular pram.) We returned to the retailer, (Jan Stewart, East Jilbride) who accused us of breaking it! I was shocked. It had NEVER worked, and had hardly been used.
A few further niggles occurred with it, but we persisted for 2 years until our daughter outgrew it. We are now expecting our second child and for financial reasons have to reuse the iCandy. The right side chassis no longer holds together, there is a screw missing.
To avoid dealing with the dreadful retailer, i contacted a local pram shop who service most brands, and they apologised but said they’re ‘not allowed to touch iCandys.’ So I called iCandy, who seemed familiar with the problem, and put me in touch with a retailer within an hours drive who could ‘deal with’ the problem. I expected that they would look at it, order missing screw, and job done.
But they inform me that they need to courier it to iCandy for it to be checked, they make a report, and will advise what needs done. TWO courier trips? For a 4 yr old pram missing a screw? Neither iCandy nor the retailer told me the costs involved, so I’m going to have to call back to suss it out. Not impressed!
Despite not having experienced some of the more serious issues detailed on this blog, my ongoing frustration with this pram and the poor customer service from retailer and manufacturer means that I too have directed many people away from this brand. Any time I ever contacted iCandy I was told to contact the (awful) retailer, which I wasn’t prepared to do, effectively leaving me without customer service.
It’s curious that they guard their distribution so closely, implying that this is for reasons of quality (or to justify the inflated price?), yet wherever you go on the internet, their customer service reputation is disappointing. Given the lead times on their prams, and the long history of technical faults, (pre 2008!) I suspect there’s a problem at the root of their manufacturing that has never been resolved. They may have the glossy catalogue and website, and a show stopping first impression, but with shoddy products and service, it’s a sham.
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Hi greg
Firstly I would like to say how disappointed I am with the product
I brought my iCandy peach blossom in sweetpea back in Sept 2010 from John Lewis. Within the first few months of using it I noticed that it pulled to the left but to be honest I thought it was j use me so dismissed it… After about 6 months of usage I noticed that the black foam handle bar had dropped slightly on the right hand side creating a small gap which is a little annoying but it didn’t bother me that much either as it wasn’t effecting the performance of the item itself…
It wasn’t initialy until early this year things started to go seriously wrong with it… Firstly as I was connecting the main seat to the chassis the plastic clips on the seat snapped off so made the seat unusable so I took it back to John Lewis (MK) who sent it off to iCandy and iCandy sent me a brand new seat out which I was very appreciative for as didn’t think it warranties such a huge gesture but was very thankful none the less…
In the beginning of june I noticed that the front wheel was no longer touching the ground so decided it needed to be fixed so again drove over to John Lewis and they sent it back to iCandy to be fixed.. I will add at this point that they were sending it to Sandy Bedfordshire and as I live in Bedford it would have been easier and cheaper in fuel for me to have taken it directly to them
Regardless of this fact I received a phonecall from John Lewis about 2 weeks after I had dropped it off to tell me that iCandy had said that my chassis was twisted which had been caused by the buggy board being used on the back and yes they also agreed that the front left wheel did not touch the ground…. Now I agree yes there were 2 straps attached to the chassis for a buggy board but I can categorically also agree that the buggy board had never once been attached to this pushchair as to be quite honest I couldn’t be bothered with also the hassle of it… Now regardless of this detail they told John Lewis because the straps were on the chassis that my warranty was now invalid so in order for the pushchair to be fixed it would now need to be paid for and as a goodwill gesture on John Lewis’s behalf they said that they would get it fixed and swallow any charges made by iCandy…
Another 2 weeks goes by when I receive a phonecall from John Lewis to say that my pushchair has been fixed and that iCandy have also carried out a service on it as well to make sure I have o more problems now I was indeed very happy and as both my children were at nursery I went along to John Lewis to collect it.. John Lewis were a little slow to locate it as they were in the middle of a refit but a male member of the nursery dept did eventually locate it and hand it back to me with a copy of the iCandy report… He then went off thus leaving me on the shop floor so I took the chassis off home with me. Once home I took my chassis out of the car (which I shall note was absolutely filthy and was also now missing its iCandy parasol adaptor) Once I connected the seat unit and started to walk up to collect my children I noticed at once it was still pulling to the left and the front left wheel was still spinning in the air….
At this moment in time I really don’t believe anything as done to my pushchair and John Lewis have had to pay out for a fix that in my mind has never been carried out.. I am not one for moaning at all but in this case I am really disappointed.. Now I cannot prove or disprove that the buggy board clips were to blame the fact of the matter is, is that iCandy were given the go ahead by John Lewis to fix the issues and bill them and yet nothing has been fixed whatsoever plus I had to go out and spend another £5 or buying a parasol clip that never came back!
Now to me over a £1000 for a puschair is a hell of a lot of money but I thought it fitted every criteria I needed and I never thought for one minute I would have had the amount of problems I have… I have never mistreated it once and wouldn’t ever as it cost me that much money but yet I also have a Maclaren XT stroller which cost me £200 and goes cross county walks with us, abroad so mis treated by airport staff and yet that has never once broken nor has ever ceased to stop working…
Now I’m stuck as I don’t know what to do and I am quite frankly a little peed off so to speak as I feel like ive been fobbed off and told that the problem has been fixed. When in fact there engineer has agreed that yes there are problems with it but nobody has bothered it fix it
I have emailed customer support but I think I am going to need to also send the complaint into watchdog as I don’t think they’ll bother to reply
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Hi Gemma
Hopefully people will read your detailed message and make a clear informed decision regarding buying a new pushchair.
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Like one of those who left a comment previously, I too had my heart set on the iCandy Cherry. I signed up to Which? and it’s one of their Best Buy’s and I’d read an overwhelming number of positive reviews but every now and again one that was quite disturbing.
I was prepared to overlook the odd complaint as this whole pushchair buying business seems like a gamble no matter what you look at. But the comments above have made me put thoughts of buying this firmly to one side.
Pushchairs all seem to be very expensive for what they are. The Cherry seemed one of the more reasonably priced but even that cost almost twice what our car did. That seems absurd to me. But I digress.
Thanks to Greg and everyone who has contributed a comment to this blog and potentially saved me a lot of hassle. I’ll now take the advice of the lady retailer above and explore what Silver Cross, Babystyle, Britax, Bugaboo and Jane have to offer.
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Similar experience with the reclining sit on Cherry. For those annoyed with it and not willing to pay iCandy additional hundreds of pounds for a fix or part replacement a very easy fix. A canvas belt of neutral colour. Just put it behind the seat so it leans on it. This will cost you around 5 quid. Just be careful when unfolding the pram as from now on you’ll have to remember to check if it’s in the right position before letting your baby to sit in it. Other than that works perfectly.
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Thank you for taking the time to post to my site.
I have my reservations when it comes to quick fixes where my children are concerned, and I cannot condone any end user modifications – even though it may well fix an issue.
iCandy need to resolve their issues instead of trying to wring every last penny out of their customers to put the inherent faults right.
I hope your post helps others in the same position as you.
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So sorry to hear of all these stories and the dreadful service that people are receiving? I think we were lucky as we bought an iCandy apple five years ago, used it for both our children, and didn’t really have many problems until recently when it has started to become impossible to put up and down. It has always been a bit tricky, I think there is definitely a ‘knack’ to it, but it is now pretty much stuck. Just wondered if anyone has had any similar issues with the apple frames that they have managed to fix?
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Oh wow, it’s really not just us then!! We’re appalled by their customer service (or complete lack of!) Our cherry has always had problems with its wheels, and every time we’ve sent it back they have kicked up fuss about fixing it, though eventually did. Now on last time before warrantee up (third time in 2 years), so after that it’ll be a waste of money. Not good at all. Thanks for writing this, and I hope it makes them think about their service and products. I’m going to write something on my blog too at some point. Maybe with more than one of us creating adverse publicity they’ll actually do something about it!
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Hi, similar problems with an iCandy cherry. Bought 11 months ago, usual usage. By June, the wheels and axle were warped. I returned it to the shop I bought it from and after some negotiation (and them telling me they won’t stock this model anymore, precisely for this reason), they supplied a new axle and I paid for two new wheels (the old ones wouldn’t fit the new axle). Roll on two months and the new wheels just fall off the new axle, so much so that I can’t use the pram. I am so disappointed. We spent the best part of £1000 on this and related accessories, carrycot, foot muff, carry bag etc. and hoped it would last for more than one baby. As it is I have an 11 month old and am now using an £80 Maclaren as I can’t afford to replace it. Have rung iCandy and left messages as cant get through to anyone and no reply.
Has anyone gone down the small claims route? Am very tempted!
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First of all congratulations Greg on such an informative and helpful blog
I was seriously considering purchasing an iCandy travel system, I was, (I’m sorry to say) seduced by the good looks and assumed that the price reflected unequalled quality, design and longevity…..it appears I was very wrong, 100% return rate! as quoted by one of your bloggers who works in a nursery. A classic case of (very expensive) style over substance
I am shocked at the number of disgruntled customers featured here and equally, if not more shocked at the attitude of iCandy to their customers. How can they possible dismiss the importance of safety with regards to babies and small children on this scale.
As we do not have a large budget and because I ‘just had to have’ an iCandy for my precious first born I was planning on buying second hand from ebay :-/ my husband, (wise beyond his years) felt uneasy about iCandy’s business model i.e. no direct purchasing from the company or the option to buy online which turns out to be an effective way of keeping customers at arms length leaving the middle-man to deal with complaints AND the difficulties people have requesting the company to honour warranties, something I never thought a mulitnational and trusted company would ever try to pull.
keep squeezing the bottom dollar iCandy, I fear your time will come!
keep up the good work Greg, lets get them on Watchdog
(so glad we bought a different model of pram)
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Hi Jules
I am sorry that you had your heart set on an iCandy pram and I (and many in my position) have put you off.
I am however glad that you will not have to go through the same problems that I went through.
Your husband is indeed wise (but don’t tell him that!), is he the reason you found my blog?
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Pingback: mixed bag of all sorts » These wheels weren’t made for rolling: iCandy Cherry travel system
Hi there,
We bought our Icandy cherry 16 months ago month before our son was born, from John Lewis Bluewater, was assured that its great light number of functions bought they whole lot carrycot etc etc, for the last few weeks we have noticed the right hand side wheel at the back has started to buckle every time we were pushing it, either with baby in or not, out or inside, so last week I was in Bluewater with the push chair and the left side wheel started to move looked like its going to fall off ay time, so
Decided to go to the kids section as we were in store, and after 15min wait a young staff member come up, we explain whats the issues and he just laughed and said its not you its Icandy push chairs he then went on to have a look at the wheel and said it looks fine but we can send it to Icandy at a cost to me, but they will just say it’s wear and tear, as that’s what they tend to say he was happy to place any ordered for me of the wheels as he said there are reports of being stock storages of the wheels so he said he recommended I ordered now, no chance I wanted to look in to this as, as he was talking he said what I candy will say is that this has happened because either wear and tear , or that we have put to much weight on the handle as we had a small baby bag on it he said that would be what Icandy will say is the problem he also went on to saying that the store had a rep come in from Icandy to talk to them but they where no help he said as he said Icandy don’t seem to take no responsibility for any thing from what he has seen, most annoying thing is even john Lewis wont do anything but they happy to tell me other brands that they sells charge parts for free, how nice,,,, looks like I wont be using or telling people to buy Icandy, let alone for John Lewis after care,
Think I need to write to the store head office too, as well as contact watchdog.
After spending £800+ on this I wish I never had done so, so anyone thinking of buying one, well doesn’t,
If I have any feedback I will repost
B
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Glad to see the comments are still coming in here! Not because I want people to be having the same issues that we did, but because I live in the hope that one day iCandy might actually listen if this many people are dissatisfied. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking though. I’ve also blogged about our awful experience…. http://blog.cumming.me.uk/?p=2096
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I wish I’d found this blog a few weeks ago. We have an iCandy Peach bought from JL Bluewater – shame the young man who served B Singh above didn’t bother to inform us how poor their customer service was – they were quite happy to take out £800+! Very early days as yet, but I hope we don’t have any problems. My experience with iCandy customer services so far is that they just don’t reply to emails. I asked them if they were sending out any Peaches in black as none of the shops seem to have any firm delivery dates. Clearly business is good enough for them to ignore potential customers…
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Further to my previous post and after reading subsequent posts from other readers I would like to add that the buckling wheel problem on the icandy Cherry is a very common fault. They have started production from a new factory however these so far have presented with a further problem of the rear wheel jamming and the holding clip fracturing caused the wheel to fall off, usually after very little or no use. The icandy Peach Blossom handle problem is also a common fault as is the fault with the pushchair seat unit jamming or suddenly dropping rearwards. It seems that iCandy offer little or no aftersales still. They do appear to give preferential treatment to John Lewis customers whilst mostly ignoring the independant retailers. However even with this in mind I would not expect an acceptable level of aftersales. The fact that they can not produce spare parts fast enough tells a tale!
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Hello
I am the Facebook and Twitter administrator for iCandy and have come across your blog from Ruth and her Tweets.
It’s clear from the feedback you are receiving that there are a number of very passionate parents out there who have responded to your post. Here at iCandy we take all feedback very seriously and also are very interested to hear about customer experiences.
We have a very dedicated and experienced customer services team who provide a wonderful service and work closely with our technical and engineering dept. to handle all customer service requests. All cases are handled as quickly as possible and parts permitting are usually turned round in at least 7-10 days , a full report is produced with photographs taken which is made available to the stockists and regardless of if the fault is found to be customer damage or miss use we will still ensure we offer a fix to customers (all be it chargeable) and will resolve each and every issue.
I do completely understand that where these instances are found to be due to customer damage or miss use that many owners are very unhappy with this. and feel disappointed. They often make reference to the fact they would like the repair handled free of charge and at iCandys expense, and when we refuse, will take to many forms of social media to vent their frustrations, as is their right and we allow this on our own Facebook page in the interests of fairness and a balanced viewpoint, Although saying that we do remove blanket posting of the same issue on non-related posts, but I do confirm this when actioned.
Now I am not saying that every single person who has posted on this page has done so because of this, as that would not be true, but I’m sure you can accept and agree that a number will have done so because of this. Regardless of the fact our dedicated stockist has acted professionally and with utmost ethics, iCandy have carried out a thorough and complete review and assessment of the issue and responded and handled everything in a fair and prompt manor , The posts will show iCandy are at fault and have done something wrong, This is the right of the consumer and we do not wish to curtail this, but it does show a very unbalanced viewpoint. Our Facebook page is a good example of this as parents will post to say they are unhappy with something or feel aggrieved and we have many parents who will post in defence to say how much they love our products, how they feel they are the best and often quote our outstanding safety record. This medium works well for a balanced view point and also some of the blogs, but we do find many aggrieved owners will seek out ways to post negative experiences or search for others to share their experience , as is their right, but that our thousands and thousands of happy parents who order, receive and love their products, do just that receive them and use them and in most cases don’t go online to extol the virtues of the products , as I myself wouldn’t , you just think this is great, exactly as I wanted I’m happy. I completely understand that is the nature of social media and that it’s a way to highlight and add weight to issues of concern.
However for your blog to be a balanced and fair reflection of the iCandy products and service it would need to show both sides of the coin, Are we able to post a response to your blog, for example some of the details provided are inaccurate or incorrect, details of warranty are not shown in full, It gives an impression that many of our stockists and retailers echo the customers view points, this is also far from correct, Many of our stockists and retailers are experiencing record sales of iCandy products, have increased floor space given to iCandy, attend our university days so they have a full understanding of how our products work and the after sales services and processes. They work closely with our customer services team and are giving us continued positive feedback and reports.
All manufactured parts have a tolerance on them, a scale which allows for very slight differences in manufacture. These tolerances can apply to dimensions, hardness, weight etc. and are essential to our manufacturing processes.
The wheels and tyres are essentially a consumable part and are liable to wear as tyres on a car would be. The degree of wear can vary dependent on the use, any additional weight attached such as bags etc., even road or path conditions can make a difference.
All of our products go through a process of strict safety testing and adhere to all standards and regulations. We take this very seriously and pride ourselves on our safety record and history.
We have to strike a balance with our handling of customer service issues, iCandy products are of such a high standard and quality (and that is not meant to irritate or annoy by saying that ) that we experience a massive resale market in our Pushchairs etc., Many models are sold and resold again and again and used by many happy parents, all of our products are serialised so we can tell when a product was first purchased and when someone tries to re-register the product and each subsequent time, the fact that this recycling or passing forward is happening reflects the quality and durability of our products. We provide a comprehensive warranty http://icandyuk.com/warranty.php as you can see at that link, but for a business to function we have to draw the line of support at our expense at some point, and I think we reflect fairly the general offering from manufacturers, The popular example given in the online community is, if you buy a car you would not expect the manufacturer to replace the tyres whenever they wear , if you sell the car, you would not expect the manufacturer to replace the exhaust when its worn, if the owner puts a caravan on the back and damages the car you would not expect the manufacturer to put it right. For iCandy to continue to produce, design innovate and support our customer’s we have to ensure the balance is correct.
This post is not meant to enrage or undemine any ones viewpoints, but purely to show we take our responsibility very seriously, we act with utmost ethics and although on limited occasions the decision we provide is not popular, I hope you can see that it is reached in a fair way and with a full case to back up and confirm our findings and how we reached this decision.
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Thank you Graham for acknowledging the presence of this blog, and not just trying to sweep it under the carpet as the ravings of a lunatic as has happened in the past with your company.
With my personal experience of iCandy as the only benchmark I can measure your product on I am unapologetic with regard to the fact that I found the product lacking and when the tiny retaining screws that held the seat in place fell out unbeknownst to myself physically dangerous to use, something which you and your company have never made a comment on.
The images are there for the world to see, and if my blog has potentially prevented one injury to a child I stand behind it 100%.
There was one commenter on this website that was 100% satisfied with the iCandy and I published his comments in full. I removed them when I checked his IP address and it turned out he was posting from the iCandy head office, no small conflict of interest there.
I have done the same with you to confirm that you are indeed an iCandy representative, you are posting from the iCandy mail server IP which confirms your authority to post on behalf of iCandy.
I can see that you have broken the web address of iCandy when you made this post, I shall correct it for you.
Again I thank you for the time taken to post this reply.
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Excellent blog please do keep going! Unfortunately I read this 6 months too late and bought Icandy cherry travel system, foot muff, parasol, car seat adaptors and rain cover in February 2012. Picked it up in April and started using it in July after baby born. Loved the look and feel of the product and couldn’t wait to get the baby in it. Within two weeks of using it (may I add I would not use the product every day) noticed front wheel not touching the ground. Took it back to the seller who replaced it eventually (1.5 weeks with no pram) but poor customer service resulted in an email to Icandy via their “contact us” section of their website. Email sent in August and still waiting on ANY reply.
Then last week the right rivet holding the chassis together sheared while baby in it causing him to veer to the side and I promptly took him out. A rivet should not shear! Took back to the seller again and getting it back tomorrow (another 4 days without a pram). Even with not using this regularly this product is not durable. 5 months of usage I have had the Icandy cherry in the workshop twice so far and my heart is broken. If I had seen the feedback above I would not have spent my hard earned cash on a product that cannot be used on normal pavements on normal streets in normal towns in the UK. The faults on this product are not down to normal wear and tear as I can’t get using it for long enough to start it ‘wearing’!
I read Graham Boyles feedback on the endless complaints of their innovative product and my example to you Graham is if you purchased a lovely shiny BMW and within 2weeks of driving it notice a wheel not touching the ground you would take it back and demand it to be fixed without you paying for it as it is not fit for purpose (ie you can’t drive it) then the driver door falling off you would start to question the quality of the product. These examples and many more above are why the Sale of Goods Act 1979 were created to protect the consumer but Icandy seem to accuse the customer of not using the product right or the fault is wear and tear. Please stop defending the product and start listening to the customers.
Ultimately it’s my fault for not checking all feedback on the Internet, especially this page. My next step will be to collect the chassis tomorrow and pack it away in the garage. Then go buy a better branded product with good customer feedback both on product and after sales service as I won’t spend any more of my time trying to use a product that is not durable or reliable.
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I am sorry that you found my site too late and I have to agree with your interpretation of the iCandy post.
Thanks for stopping by, and please let us know what you decide to go for, as well as your opinion of it once you have used it for a while.
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Yet another dissatisfied customer. Sorry you’ve had similar experience to me with the cherry. Great example of car to throw back at Graham! Indeed they should stop defending and start listening – that’s exactly what I’ve been saying. I too sent email via website at start of October; it’s only when I blogged and tweeted about it that Graham picked it up and said iCandy would get back to me (they still haven’t though) – he said he couldn’t understand why there was no response, but from what you’ve now said, mine is not the only email to have mysteriously disappeared! I also contacted the retailer (a big high st name), and they have told me that they are looking into whether to continue stocking iCandy products. We also cut our losses and bought a new buggy recently as we decided it was too dangerous to carry on with cherry.
Ruth recently posted..These wheels weren’t made for rolling: iCandy Cherry travel system
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I’d just like to say that after reading icandy’s response to everybody’s issues with icandy’s products I’d like to defend myself in the fact that I emailed icandy’s customer service 4 times back in June this year and here we are nearing December and I’m still waiting for them to reply…
The customer service or the aftercare in general is shocking and I’ve never experienced anything like it.. I agree very much with the example of the BMW and not being fit for purpose…
Out of all the pushchairs I have purchased this was the most expensive (over the £1k mark) but I’m sorry from my point of view icandy are only interested in the pound signs and clearly do not give a **** about there customers after the product has been bought and if it starts to go wrong..
I was ignored as are many other equally annoyed customers yet they are allowed to get away with it…
The head office is only 10 miles up the road from me instead of sending emails it may have been quicker for me to have got a response if I’d gone in person!!! Oh no that’s right they don’t deal with customers directly they like to hide behind the stockists….
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Admin note: again I corrected the URL from iCandyworld to iCandyworld.com. Everything else is left intact.
Hello,
I would just like to add again, Further to my post, by commenting on this blog, It was in no way meant to infuriate or disregard any of the comments made on here by customers. All feedback is appreciated and I have passed on all of the comments. I echo my earlier comment, that we have shipped thousands and thousands of the iCandy Cherry and the number of issues we experience are extremely small in comparison , it does not mean in any way that we do not take these seriously as we absolutely do, iCandy pride ourselves on our safety record, we adhere to all safety standards and safety testing required and follow all guidelines, We will also ensure every single customer is offered a repair or replacement , be it under warranty or chargeable dependent on the particular customer case.
Just to add to this also and clarify the position of iCandy and our warranty and the Sale of Goods act that is referenced heavily on this blog,
Under the Sale of Goods Act the contract of sale is between the customer and the place of purchase. The customer’s rights under the Sale of Goods Act are specifically related to this contract of sale, making the retailer the primary point of contact. Under the Act, the customer has a number of options and rights to redress when a product is deemed not to meet the contract of sale. The iCandy warranty is an additional feature, put in place to help those customers who either move away from their place of purchase so that is not practical for them to return their goods, or for those customers whose stockist has closed, but the warranty contains different options to the Sale of Goods Act.
Under the iCandy warranty, we will repair or replace any part which is deemed faulty and is caused by a manufacturing fault. Where this is not possible, we would replace the product itself. The iCandy warranty is our additional warranty to the customer and should not be used by the stockist in order to fulfil their obligations under the Act itself.
The purchasing contract between ourselves and retailers is not covered by the Sale of Goods Act and as such the agreement with them on whether to repair or replace parts will differ from any warranty we offer the customer directly and from the service they offer the customer under the Sale of Goods Act.
If an item returned by the stockist is deemed to be affected by a manufacturing fault we will repair or replace parts or if unable to repair, we will replace the product.
If an item is outside the warranty period or has a fault which is a non-manufacturing fault, we will make the retailer aware that the inspection of the product, the parts or repair and any applicable carriage costs would be chargeable to the retailer. The retailer can then choose whether to accept these costs or to pass these charges on to their customer.
The Sale of Goods Act gives examples of reasonable redress in relation to customer.
I would stress again that the iCandy warranty is offered in addition to, is independent of and does not affect the customer’s statutory rights which are provided under the Sale of Goods Act. I would also stress that a retailer should not use the iCandy warranty in order to service their customer, this is not the intent of the warranty.
The responsibilities of your retailer under the Act do not include using the manufacturer’s warranty to service their customers. The customer has up to 6 years to return complaint product to them under the Act,
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Graham,
You last post totally sums up iCandy as a business that is totally out of Sync with reality.
What you and iCandy have totally missed is the opportunity of creating a net promoter from a detractor. If a member of the public posts openly on a blog that means there is a serious issue, just spurting T&C,s is only going to fuel greater detractors.
Such a shame, iCandy hasn’t used this as an opportunity to solve these issues with great customer support – such a loss.
David Bennett
Vice President of a consumer company
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Thanks David for taking the time to read my blog, and more so for taking the time to reply to it.
Coming from an industry leader such as yourself I would hope that your opinion on good customer relations would have an effect on a company.
Any chance I can have a copy of your software for Android (Galaxy Nexus) to review? :D
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Greg,
Let me know your Email address and I will sort.
Thanks
David
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Hi David
greg@labby.co.uk :)
It is amazing what being cheeky can do :)
Attn iCandy:
This is how you get brand and customer loyalty :)
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The popular example given in the online community is, if you buy a car you would not expect the manufacturer to replace the tyres whenever they wear , if you sell the car, you would not expect the manufacturer to replace the exhaust when its worn, if the owner puts a caravan on the back and damages the car you would not expect the manufacturer to put it right. For iCandy to continue to produce, design innovate and support our customer’s we have to ensure the balance is correct.
You would however expect the exhaust to have a “reasonable” service life – in the same way that if a TV goes pop just outside the 1 year warranty, you are still entitled to a replacement under the SOGA as 1 year is not considered a reasonable life. Tyres are a poor comparison, partly because they wear as a consequence of how they work (friction with the road surface providing grip – poor gripping tyres last much longer but rather defeat the point!), and partly because they are manufactured by a third party who would be responsible for any premature failures. Wheels and tyres on iCandys are, as far as I am aware, manufactured by iCandy, and repeated failures would appear to be down to poor design rather than as a consequence of how they work – grip and cornering forces not really being a core feature in their design! I would suggest it is clear that they will be subject to quite a lot of stress in day to day use, and as such should be overengineered to reduce potential problems. Claiming the wheels are “service items” certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. What other parts of my pram are “service items”?
The point about caravans is also poorly made: car designers are well aware that many owners will want to tow, and so the cars are engineered in order to deal with this. Likewise, it is clear that many pram owners will hang their changing bags on the handle (some manufactures even provide hooks for this!). What a shame that iCandy missed the opportunity to design this in.
Unfortunately I think the official iCandy reply is something of a missed opportunity – as somebody said, it was a wonderful opportunity to create a positive spin: apologies to those having difficulties, assurances that quality control would be increased and customer service improved, and offers to look into individual cases. It might have cost a bit, but if satisfied customers had then posted back it might have turned a minus into a plus. Instead, a post full of excuses! A wise man once said “Judge a company by how it deals with things when they go wrong”.
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Hi Greg, quick update on what’s happened since my last comment on 25 November. The seller replaced the rivet that sheared on the chassis and we got this back after 5 days with no pram. After repeatedly telling the seller we wanted it replaced it was repaired again because they said it was less than six months old which was precisely my point. A product that has been in the workshop twice to be repaired within six months should have been replaced but SOGA is at the sellers discretion to repair or replace and obviously the cheaper option will be chosen. Rant over. It is working again, and i cant stress enough how i love my icandy cherry, but have lost all confidence with the product and it is now in the garage gathering dust. My husband and I conducted research into a new pushchair that would meet our needs, received good customer feedback plus had straight forward warranty terms. We purchased a Babyjogger city mini last week. What an excellent product. Lightweight, quick and easy to unfold and fold into the car, suspension on the front wheel for a smoother ride for babby, light to manoeuvre and stylish plus any mums i have met out and about who also owned one stated how good it was. Oh did I mention it also comes with lifetime warranty on the frame!!! So I feel my story has a happy ending, less money in the bank, but a happy ending nevertheless :)
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I just thought I’d share this link with you. I stumbled across it today. i am in no way connected to the author but thought it made interesting, if not very familiar, reading.
http://blog.cumming.me.uk/?p=2096
With regards to the last post. Baby Jogger – great product, excellent quality and a ‘real’ warranty.
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Thanks for linking my blog, Dawn. Hope the more people who see it the better! I don’t want others to go through what we did.
Ruth recently posted..A starry role
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Hello, Further to my previous updates , I wanted to post the following feedback from my head of QC and Safety , as I think it shows our continued commitment and how seriously we take these issues.
We had received some reports of customers experiencing issues with iCandy Cherry rear wheels such as the wheels wobbling and when inspected it was clear that this was due to a number of reasons.
The Cherry rear wheels have, from beginning production, featured a plastic sleeve within the wheel which allowed the wheel to be fitted to the axle using a quick release mechanism. If additional mass is placed on the stroller such as bags on the handle, a buggy board type of device fitted to the rear of the chassis or items over 5kg of mass placed in the basket, this can cause accelerated wear to the rear wheels and more importantly additional wear to the moulded plastic sleeve. Evidence of this accelerated wear was visible in the form of indentations & wear to the handle from bag clips & similar products, marks on the lower chassis from the attachment devices of buggy board style items and also damage to the rear wheels and tyres in the form of crushing marks to the tyres themselves where the EVA material had been squashed by additional weight in the stroller.
Each complaint was considered on an individual basis with many units inspected here and by our stockists with many wheels seen being damaged by impact or improper use as well as some reports of unexpected wear.
Although the returns rates were low when considered the number of units sold, we made the decision to make a change to the Cherry rear wheels in order to improve durability. We decided to fit a set of bearings into the cherry rear wheels but found that in order to do this we also had to make a change to the axle itself to enable a good fit.
In March 2011 we announced to our stockists that the new wheels had arrived and the following information was sent to them “The new wheels will have a metal bearing instead of a plastic one and will not fit onto the existing rear axles. To make sure the wheels will fit onto your customer’s pushchair, we will be sending out the new axle FOC. The new rear axle is easily identified as it will have black side rivets instead of silver coloured ones.”
The reason we sent out the axle as a free of charge part was because the wheels could not be used without it and we felt it unfair to charge the customer for a part that was additional. Similarly, where a customer had a damaged axle we sent the wheels out as a free of charge replacement as their existing wheels would not be able to be used.
Only where the damage was found to be a manufacturing fault to either wheel or axle was both the new wheels and corresponding new axles sent out free of charge.
To confirm, where damage to the customers old wheels or old axles were considered to be as a result of a manufacturing fault these parts were replaced free of charge. Where the customer had experienced a manufacturing fault on their wheels we sent our free of charge replacement wheels and a new axle as their old axle was not compatible with the new wheels and visa versa.
The returns rates that were calculated at the time we made a change to the parts themselves was quite low. Sales figures from January to September 2011 on all Cherry chassis and IC lists provided from Jan – October 2011 showed the following returns rates:
Axles & Brakes – 0.7%
Rear wheels – 2.1%
Unfortunately we continued to receive a few customer queries on these new ‘bearing’ wheels but this is believed to be mostly due to the fit of the wheels themselves. The wheel bearings were wearing unevenly which happens when the central button is not pushed inwards as the wheel is fitted on the axle. When the button is not depressed, the axle cannot fully enter the wheel and as a result this moulding is pushed outwards. If the button is depressed, this allows the wheel to be fitted fully and securely.
We have carried out an additional modification to prevent the wheels being fitted incorrectly. Attachment of the wheel is not affected. This should rapidly reduce the number of complaints that we are experiencing with Cherry although it should still be understood that customer mis-use can still cause damage to their product.
I hope this will continue to show our commitment to customer service and to addressing any potential issues which arise.
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I’ve got an iCandy apple and the chair has gone into permeate recline. The clip on one side of the attachment is jammed & won’t budge. From reading a few comments on here (there’s just so many!) it looks like I’ll have to buy another seat? Not sure if I want to though incase it happens again. I’m expecting another baby and not sure how much the attachment costs to make it double as iCandy don’t show prices online… Think I’m going to have to buy a new double buggy altogether…
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I bought the iCandy Cherry in May 2010 and was happy enough with the product. Granted I had to return the carry cot as I had a problem with the hood not staying up…. (which i see someone else had also) John lewis replaced this for as they could see i was still heavily pregnant at the time and the product had clearly not been used!!
I got plenty of mileage out of the pram, but on my way to nursery one day in Jan 2012 (still within the 2 yr warranty) the back wheel fell off. I contact iCandy directly via email who advised me that I needed to buy a new rear wheel axle. I replied to this email, asking for this to replaced free of charge as this was still covered by the 2 year warranty, however the email was ignored. I forwarded the email on again and cc’d in the curstomer support email address and still to this day i have heard nothing back.
After reading the response from Graham iCandy facebook guy, that has been reposted by the HQ, it mentioned that they were replacing the rear wheel axle from March 2011 FOC as they were aware this was a problem, however when I emailed in Jan 2012 regarding my rear wheel axle and requesting that this is replaced, I was faced with a blank and ended up buying a maclaren as it was more suitable for that age group!
I personally feel their customer service is a shambles and I am now expecting my 2nd baby in 5 weeks and have dug out the iCandy to use again and I have the same problem as the first problem that started this blog, whereby i need to replace the screws that hold the little black things in place that the chasis fits onto and I not looking forward to the response I may get from iCandy. These screws are not exactly easy to come by and the no doubt I will be out a few quid to fix the pram (having had to buy the rear wheel axle for £70 just the other day)!! Shocking customer service…. and will not be buying any further products from iCandy having read this blog!!!
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Just in the interest of balance, I would like to say that we have been very happy with our Cherry, which we bought in 2007. One of the wheels did break (possibly after a bit of misuse from my husband…) after about 10 months, and we were given an entirely new chassis without even requesting it (we had just been hoping for a repair). Other than that, the buggy was used by baby number 1 for nearly three years, and in well into year 2 with baby number 2. The rear wheel fell off this morning (hence me seeing this blog), but after over 5 years of very heavy use I have no complaint whatsoever, and won’t hesitate to continue to recommend the Cherry.
I appreciate that other people have had different experiences, but I think that a blog like this collects together a minority who have had problems and perhaps make them appear as if they are the majority.
Good luck everyone in getting your issues sorted and moving on.
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