I'm also posting this on the Touring forum, and I hope that isn't a breech of the rules.

I recently ordered two Works Performance Steel Trackers and received them two weeks ago. Before unpacking them I read the instructions included in the package, and therein was a blurb about a requirement to return the shocks to the factory in CA for a nitrogen charge, oil change, and seal replacement periodically. There was no interval mentioned. I put high mileage on my bikes and don't like the idea of having to remove them periodically for service in CA, so I called and talked with a CS rep who could not give me a service interval, but said the service cost $85. I asked if I could return them for a refund and she said "yes," and that they didn't require an RMA.

Today I received a voicemail message from Works that they had received the shocks and were charging me a 20% restocking fee. I called and calmly protested the fee, but they said it was not negotiable. My complaint is that nowhere in there promotional material, including the website, do they mention periodic service. And nowhere on the site is there a mention of a 20% restocking fee on shocks that had never even been unpacked, much less installed.

They said my argument was unreasonable because any shock would wear out in 50k miles. I told him my '96 RK went 106k miles on the stock shocks, and he replied, "Yeah, but you were riding on springs the last 50k miles of that time." That's baloney, because I would feel it if I was riding on springs with no shock functionality. I also mentioned having factory Bilstein gas shocks on my last two cars, one of which had 124k and this present car 100k, and in no way were/are either of these cars riding on spent shock absorbers. He told me I was talking to a "shock expert" and implied that my 40+ years of driving sports cars and motorcycles was irrelevant.

To be fair, they did say that the shocks were "custom made" and implied they were worthless to them after the sale. I really think that a 185-lb. Harley FLH rider is hardly a fit they won't easily fill in the short run. I countered with the point that nowhere did they mention the service interval or the restocking fee.

I plan on copying this message to other forums and protest the charge to my CC company. I would like opinions on whether or not I'm being unreasonable. My complaints are basically that the service interval was never mentioned in their pre-sales literature, or if so I never found it and they didn't deny it, and I was never advised of a restocking fee if I returned them. This fee translates into almost $100.

Caveat emptor! Please be advised to think twice before ordering Works Performance shocks, and make sure you are certain you want to keep them if you do!

 

I think your best recourse is through your CC company. They have helped many a person out with a dispute such as yours, especially if the funds were not transferred as yet. Those facts should be mentioned either when ordering or on the site itself in plain view, have you checked the web site?

 

I've made my protest and my CC company was sympathetic, saying I would probably get a refund pending a review by a higher tier. She took my info and asked for a tracking number of the returned package.

It was mentioned in the Touring forum than there indeed is a blurb about a service interval (30-40k miles) in their FAQ. This is a point in their favor, but the CS rep should've told me at the time of our phone conversation. She simply said to ship them back for a "refund," and that I didn't need an RMA number.

 

Money must be tight at Works these days...
What a joke to refuse you a full refund.

 

Very poor business practice on Works is part! When they agreed to take them back, they should have indeed said they were going to charge you a restock fee, and also noted it in writing somewhere either on the receipt, or on the web. If not, your CC company should be able to straighten this out easily. You did everything text book style, you kept cool, calm and collective, now it's time for the CC company to earn their interest rate

 

The CC company came through and applied my $97.92 credit, but guess what? Works hasn't credited their portion of the refund yet. After I sent them links to five threads I started on various forums, inviting them to tell their side of the story, they sent me a reply saying they'd have someone from the "proper department" contact me to resolve the issue. I told them to refund my 80% and the issue would be closed, citing the fact that the CC company already refunded the inappropriate "restocking fee."