"Had ordered a few times in the past from Harbor Country Bike with no problems. They have good prices and reasonably fast shipping times.
Unfortunately HCB's customer service is virtually non-existent. When they sent a wrong-sized part in my last order, I was unable to contact them by phone to get a return authorization number (required by their return policy). Nobody answered their phone, and their voicemail box was always full, and they didn't respond to repeated emails. When their "online help" was tried, I got a live person, but was informed they were at an offshore call center and only handled questions about ordering, not customer service.
Long story short, the only way I finally got the problem resolved was by writing this review. Then I was finally contacted by THE OWNER of Harbor Country Bike. And even then, after I'd returned the part and waited weeks for a refund, he had to be repeatedly pestered, and finally threatened (with being reported to the BBB, his state's Attorney General, etc.) before he issued a refund.
So you'll probably be okay if you don't need to return anything, otherwise..."
"My husband ordered me a bicycle from this site 3 months ago. They had no trouble taking payment immediately, but weeks later, no bike. After numerous phone calls, faxes, emails, there has been virtually no communication from this dealer. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS PLACE! We are working on getting a refund with our bank. Please look at Harbor Country's "feedback" on the Better Business Bureau site - they are not a BBB certified company and the comments are very negative. I wish I'd done my research before ordering from such a thoroughly disreputable company. "
"Please DO NOT Order from HARBOR COUNTRY BIKE.
Never received the products ordered from Harbor Country Bike. Sent numerous emails and phone messages -- can not locate a live voice nor any response from them. In the meantime, they charged my credit card and I have the credit card company investigating this. By far, the worst service. Never order from Harbor Country Bike!!!"
"I ordered some bike parts from this company on Sept. 16, 2010. I ordered from them before and had no problem which was awesome because they have really low prices and I work on bikes for a living which really helped me out with my expenses.
But this time it was completely different. No confirmation email. No shipping email. No follow up email. No nothing. They are not responding to any emails and all calls goes straight to voicemail. I noticed that their sister website: bikebully.com has been taken down, now I know that their main site: harborcountybikes.com will be taken down soon.
I'm only out $57 so I feel sorry for those who are out for so much more. If you just order from them, you should go ahead and file a fraud claim with your credit card company like I just did. They are going out of business soon and are now trying to collect any funds they can from unsuspecting buyers until they disappear into the abyss."
"I purchased a replacement Campy rim over 30 days ago. Qualified for free shipping 5-7 days. Received a shipping confirmation after 20 days with no tracking information. I'll be calling my credit card company to flag them as fraudulent and I will report them to the state better business bureau. Harbor Country Bike is a fraud! "
"I should have read other reviews before ordering anything from this company. DO NOT buy anything from Harbor Country Bike. Thank goodness I did not order anything more than some clothing. It has been a month since my order was placed. My credit card was charged a few days later. I heard nothing for over 2 weeks regarding my order. I e-mailed several time, left messages, threatened to do what I am doing now writing a review. Two weeks ago I received an e-mail that my order was shipped; no information how it was shipped, no tracking number. I have again e-mailed and called with no response. Harbor Country is in Michigan and I am in Minnesota; even by snail mail it would take no more than 3 days to receive the item I ordered. Today I had to call the bank that issues my credit card and dispute the charge. Tomorrow I will be calling the better business bureau in Michigan and the State Attorney General's Office there. It isn't so much the $50 I may have lost, its that this organization continues to sell on the web to unsuspecting customers like me.
"
"Do NOT buy from these guys. After I placed my order and noticed a couple of weird things going on: no email replies, no way of contacting company, generic automated email responses only, etc. I called them and left a message (yes, nobody ever answers a phone call over there) saying that I wanted to cancel the order and get a refund. A week later... NOTHING. I sent an email to electra bikes directly telling them what had happened with this seller. Not only did they tell me that electra bikes CAN'T be shipped for warranty issues, they said that HCB had filed for bankruptcy. They also told me that the bike was out of stock, so I was never going to get my bike. I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company and finally I got my refund. WORST WORST WORST online experience EVER!"
"I ordered my son's bike on June 7th. My card was charged the next day. It has been 22 days, and I have not received a shipping notification, I have not received the bike, and all attempts at contacting Harbor Country Bike (email, phone, chat) during normal business hours or otherwise have failed. This company exhibits the WORST customer service I have ever encountered in my life. I plan on reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and AAFES immediately following this post. I hope that no one ever attempts to do business with them again."
"You could hardy imagine that such a rotten mail order business could function in the USA. Terrible in every way, no answers to my inquiries, slow shipping, some bearings were missing their boxes(looked different than the ones from boxes, maybe refurbished)) and they charged me for more bearings than I received. Never had a worse internet experience. "
"Horrible. First only sent part of my order and part of what I received was damaged. Promised to send replacement right away. 40 days later still nothing ignored numerous emails and phone messages. Had to have my credit card company refund my money and let them contact Mark Ehlers the sales manager who promised send my can of chain lube. All this over a 18.00 can of lube. Wow has to be the worst online transaction ever."
"Terrible customer service. This merchant refuses to respond to any form of contact requesting return authorization. Contact has been attempted via the on-line merchant's e-mail, and also phone. There is no reply at all. Anyone contemplating a purchase for bike parts should steer well clear of this merchant."
"I found this company from AAFES online and assumed they were reputable. I was wrong. I ordered a Townie Electra at the end of May 2010. The purchase fee of $408.49 was processed by my credit card company on 1 June 2010. The shipping fee of $100 was to be charged when the bike was shipped. On 9 June I inquired via email the status of my order. I received a reply on 10 June stating the bike would ship the next day, I would be charged the shipping fee at that time and a status update would be emailed to me also at that time. I never received a status update, the shipping fee was never charged and the bike was never shipped. I emailed them several times with no response. I called several times leaving messages with no reply. Every time I asked "What is the status of my order?" Finally after contacting AAFES and requesting my information be forwarded to whoever at AAFES handles vendor contracts Harbor Country Bike & Hobby sent an email simply stating a refund was issued. About 10 days later it posted to my account. Harbor Country Bike and Hobby's lack of communication and lack of service is appalling. I wish I had known about this company's terrible rating before ordering a bike from them. Please do yourself a favor, do not order from them. I wonder how many customers they have taken money from and not delivered what was ordered? They are not good for customers!
Sincerely,
"
"Beware of this online store. It is a scam! I ordered a GT GTR bike from them and received nothing. They still owe me $3,413.01 for merchandise that was never sent. I have disputed the transaction with my credit card company and I am still waiting. Don't fall in to the same trap I did. Stay away from this site."
"Don't order from these guys. I ordered some parts from BikeBully in April (a site which Harbor Country Bike set up probably to disassociate themselves from all of the negative reviews they've gotten). A part which cost $147 was missing, yet they charged me the full amount. I emailed them multiple times until they finally responded, saying they'd send it right out; it's July and I haven't received it. I've called and emailed repeatedly and gotten no responses. I'm now filing a dispute with my CC to try and get my money back."
"I had a great experience with Harbor county bikes, sales staff was very proffesional and quick to respond to my questions. They got me hooked up with a great bike and offer a nice military discount. Woud reccomend this store to anyone around. "