Avoid Westside Joe's - Scamming People!
So many horror stories.
Story 1: "decided to drive down to Alameda to support my hometown biz who was a Lectric and Veloric dealer. Ok cool. I pay Zelle because she wanted to save on credit card fees, which I understand. Weird, but not uncommon mainly with nail salons and some food places.
It's almost been 2 months and nothing. Since it's Zelle, I can't file a charge back.
I've tried contacting Westside Joe's from time to time and their responses are really spotty. I've even had to go back in person to ask where my bike is at. I was told:
- Tariffs are affecting shipments.
NOTE: Veloric has a warehouse in the USA, in
California. A direct to consumer would be 4-6 weeks if stock was low or not available, but typically takes 5-10 business days.
I'm ordering a pallet.
I haven't been able to get a hold of my rep at Veloric.
I was told that the Vivee did an order and waiting on a pallet. It looks like that there never was the order placed since March 16 according to Veloric."
Story 2: "I had a similar issue with Westside Joe's last summer when I ordered a bike and three months later, I still didn't have it - and there had been a myriad of excuses from shipping delays, to back order, to sickness. I even called the company she had purportedly ordered the bike from and they had no record of her ever putting in an order (so it couldn't have been back ordered because the order was never put in) . Luckily, I had resisted when she asked me to pay with Zelle and put it on my credit card (mileage points) so I was able to get my money back, but this seems to be an ongoing problem with the business. If anybody is curious - yes, I have documentation to back the entire struggle up as well as documentation from my credit card company."
Story 3: "Got my flat tire fixed there and paid for the front tire to have flat protection as well,Got flat on the first day riding the bike.Went back and asked about the flat tire protection and nothing. She charged me again.Never going back. Did not sit well with me, since the tire did not last one day."
Story 4: "If she wanted me to prepay, then she needs to include the vendor venmo or use credit card, because it protects both of us. If she wants me to pay after with zelle etc, happy to once my bike was returned. She had my bike as collateral so it's not like I was going to skip out on it! It felt weird and my spidey sense said don't do it. And when I got my bike back, she had adjusted the seat and handle bars...no reason for it. I didn't ask for this and I'd spent a while perfecting my setup. I was not pleased."
Story 5: "I went there because my son's bike was having trouble changing gears. They said a tuneup was $165 (on a $300 bike), but I asked them to look at the bike first and let me know what the problem is before I confirmed that I wanted a full tuneup When I went to pick up the bike, it turns out they had finished the tuneup without asking me if I wanted."
Story 6: "Went there to fix a shift cable and never going back. They said they would call me with an estimate before doing work, but they never did. Called multiple times throughout the week with no answer. Finally get someone on the phone over a week later, and they say my bike will be done later that night and ask if I can pick up. I said no, I'd get it the next day. Show up at the agreed upon time and my bike isn't done and everyone is clueless. End up waiting another 30min for them to actually finish. Utter BS. They also tried to severely up-charge the guy in line ahead of me for new parts - recommended all the high-end brands. Should have taken a hint."
Story 7: "I bought a bike there as it was the certified dealer for the type of bike I wanted. That was fine, and as it was a special order she asked for money up front. No prob. Then when the bike, less than a year later, needed some minor work, she charged me for a brake job and "tune-up" in advance. Seemed weird. Then, when a family member needed an e-bike repaired, we went to WJ's as it was the certified repair for the brand. Got two different prices for tune-ups, both higher than the manufacturer's prices in Berkeley. I Needed to be paid in advance?!? Got the bike back. It was dead. Took it back, kept it days, then it had no brakes in back."