Babboe recall in shambles: Only 6,000 of 22,000 recalled cargo bikes colllected

Babboe’s cargo bike recall is going extremely slowly. Since April, only 6,000 of the over 22,000 recalled cargo bikes have been collected and only 500 affected owners have received a new bike. Tens of thousands are still waiting for their potentially unsafe cargo bike to be inspected, the cargo bike manufacturer confirmed to AD.

In February, some Babboe cargo bikes turned out to be unsafe - the frame could break in two without warning. The NVWA instructed Babboe to recall the over 22,000 unsafe bikes - about a third of the total number of Babboe bikes on the streets. The recall started in April. So far, Babboe has collected 6,000 recalled bikes, including 3,500 in the Netherlands, and replaced 500, including 300 in our country.

Owners receive either a new bike or, if their bike is older than five years, a voucher based on its current value. The NVWA also instructed Babboe to inspect tens of thousands of other cargo bikes before they can be used on the road again. So far, there has not been a single inspection in the Netherlands, but there have been around 1,000 abroad.

Natalie Rijneveen from Zoetermeer used her Babboe cargo bike for everything, but it has been idle in the shed for months. “My children are 9, 7, and 3 years old, and one is 5 months old, so I always had a few in the cargo bike. Now, I haven’t been able to ride it since February.” She’s made many attempts to get Babboe to help her, she told AD. “The frame number of our cargo bike is not recognized, and phone calls yield no results. Customer service is inaccessible, or you get people on the line who know nothing about it.”

AD found similar complaints on a Facebook group with over 2,000 victims. Numerous owners say their frame numbers are not recognized, even though they bought their bikes in Babboe’s webshop. “They’ve been able to reach me for years with their marketing emails, but they do not recognize my frame number,” Nellie Voss told the newspaper.

Those who have been able to log their recall have to wait at least four weeks before Babboe collects the bike and an uncertain amount of time for a replacement. “At least a month, and the times have recently increased significantly,” the newspaper wrote.

There is just as much annoyance among the owners not covered by the recall, whose bikes have to be inspected before they can use them again. Not a single inspection has been carried out in the Netherlands yet, though there have been inspections in Belgium, Denmark, and the U.K. There is also dissatisfaction about the voucher for victims with older cargo bikes. The voucher allows them to buy an e-bike at a discount on Babboe’s website. But according to victims, Babboe’s shop is much more expensive than other online stores.

Babboe blamed the slow replacement action on the size of the recall - its stock of cargo bikes was far too small for such a large exchange operation. The lack of inspections is the NVWA’s fault, the bike manufacturer told AD. “The approach is still under discussion with the NVWA. We hope to get clarity about this soon so that we can limit further delays.” And vouchers and Babboe’s shop prices are based on the consumer recommended price, the company said.

Babboe expects the recall to take at least until the end of the year but promises that things will go faster. The company has scaled up its customer service department and technicians considerably. “We understand the frustration of our customers and are doing everything we can to get everyone back on the road safely as quickly as possible.”