Buying new e-bikes from the former flagship manufacturer Vanmoof has not been possible for a long time. Even before bankruptcy, the company struggled with delivery problems and kept putting off dates for new bikes. At the end of July, Vanmoof gave up: the money ran out and bankruptcy was declared.
The bankruptcy was accompanied by some unpleasant immediate measures: “To protect the employees”, as it was called at the time, Vanmoof no longer opened most of the branches and workshops. As a result, many customer vehicles that were at the manufacturer’s for repairs were locked away. There were occasional appointments to get the bikes, repaired or not, but in the meantime all deadlines have passed – and Vanmoof is still sitting on the customers’ e-bikes.
In addition, the dates apparently only applied to the Dutch shops. In the Google reviews of German branches, such as the base in Hamburg, there are numerous complaints that the manufacturer has let them down and that the bikes are currently out of reach. We are talking about complaints and lawsuits in order to somehow get hold of the currently lost property.
The appointed insolvency administrator seems to be only slowly taking care of these extremely annoying cases – and in a way that comes as a surprise to many customers – because the “rescue” of one’s own bike, even if the repair has already been paid for or was carried out under guarantee, costs up to 300 euros. This emerges from an e-mail from the Dutch law firm HVG Law to those affected with the sender address “insolventie.amsterdam@hvergleichaw.nl”. Fraud is unlikely, as Vanmoof also names this exact address as a contact in the insolvency FAQ. However, an attempt to contact them has so far gone unanswered.
The firm writes: “According to our records, you still have a bike under repair at the Vanmoof Service warehouse in Utrecht, The Netherlands. You may have received a notification that your bike is with UPS. In the meantime, your bike has been taken to the service warehouse. In cooperation with UPS, we are pleased to announce that a solution has been found to deliver your bike against payment of a reduced shipping fee of EUR 300.”
The following is a description of how to proceed to initiate shipping of the e-bike – should you be willing to pay 300 euros. The law firm is completely open about what happens if you don’t accept the offer. Probably nothing for now. Against the background that a Vanmoof e-bike was once priced at several thousand euros, the disappointment of the customers is understandable.
Affected customers on “Reddit” ask themselves whether this is a joke – but unfortunately it is not. Apparently the manufacturer has completely withdrawn from the business for legal reasons and left the field to the insolvency administrator.
When asked by one of the remaining employees, who will be paid until the end of August, they said: “I am not familiar with all the customer communications that are being sent, but this appears to be a genuine email from the trustees to the drivers.”
With the Vanmoof app, however, there is also a farewell mood. As “Mobiflip” reports, Vanmoof says goodbye with the latest update of the e-bike app and writes: “Thanks for the ride so far! It was an honor and a pleasure for us to develop this app for such a great community. Now it’s time to wait and see what the future holds. With love – your VanMoof App team”. After all: Even if the app no longer works one day, there are now alternatives.
Meanwhile, Vanmoof is apparently still looking for investors who want to take over the business. Although there were apparently many interested parties, no concrete offer has yet been made.
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