Many customers of the US Bike Container in Hemelingen feel cheated. The managing directors admit mistakes, but reject the allegations. (Christina Kuhaupt)
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Dozens of customers of a Bremen motorcycle dealer are still waiting for their money – and some have been for many months. Specifically, it is about the US bike container in Hemelingen, against which several customers are raising serious allegations and taking legal action.
The WESER-KURIER had already reported on the company’s problems last November. In numerous cases, the managing directors are said to have taken motorcycles in payment – as a down payment for a new vehicle. The customers waited in vain for this, however, and the dealer did not return the copy given on commission. In several cases, it is said to have already been resold, report those affected. They do not believe that these are isolated cases. All the greater is their lack of understanding that the US bike container can continue to do business. Because the courts have long been dealing with the allegations.
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When asked, the Bremen Regional Court confirmed that there were 32 civil proceedings in the matter last year; this year four more have been added. The plaintiffs hope that they will still get the motorcycle they have bought or at least receive the money from the sale of their old motorcycle. In several cases, default judgments have already been issued, which should make a garnishment possible. However, this is not the only legal arena: the Bremen public prosecutor’s office confirms that several preliminary investigations are ongoing into the offense of fraud. They too were strained by former customers of the motorcycle dealership.
The three managing directors of the company reject the allegations in an interview with the WESER-KURIER. “If we had wanted to cheat our customers, we would have taken the money and closed the shop,” they say. Instead, they are still on site and “accessible at any time”.
“It’s really tight”
They don’t deny that there are problems. This would have started last year: At the end of 2019, according to the managing directors, the US bike container lost its license as an official Harley-Davidson sales point – after more than 40 years. “As a result, we had to realign our business inevitably,” they say. The corona pandemic and lockdowns would have exacerbated the situation again. The virus should not be an excuse for everything: “Many things did not go as they should have.”
However, the managing directors are irritated by the fact that many customers have called on a lawyer. After all, they say, one has always tried to offer the affected customers solutions. Many of them have had a very good, almost friendly relationship for several years. According to the operator, solutions were found in numerous cases without a lawyer; The customers would have got their money or their motorcycles back.
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But by no means all customers would have wanted to embark on this path. “In the past few years we have always ironed everything out smoothly. But suddenly our word should no longer be worth anything, ”they say. Instead, they received demands and letters from lawyers. “Of course we understand and know that it’s about money,” say the entrepreneurs. At the same time they find: “A Harley is just a hobby and not essential.”
According to their own statements, the US Bike Container is now hoping that the lockdown will end soon. Currently only repairs are possible, but not a sale in the store. Like many other companies, they applied for corona aid. “It’s really tight, but we don’t have any payment problems,” say the managing directors, although many customers are still waiting for their money. “We’re here to sort things out. We will meet the demands by continuing to earn money, ”say the motorcycle dealers. Bankruptcy is therefore not an issue.
Long wait
Many former customers no longer believe in such statements by the operators. You are disappointed – also on a human level. Like the managing directors, they appreciated the almost friendly relationship that had existed for a long time. Therefore, they would have relied on the promises of the managing directors and trusted for a long time that a solution could be found even without legal disputes.
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Hans-Joachim Weck also confirms this. The lawyer represents several customers of the US Bike Container. “Many creditors have waited a long time,” he says of the cases. Therefore, in many cases it takes so long before there is a decision in the proceedings at the regional court.
In addition, the work of the court is restricted by the corona pandemic. Many plaintiffs will therefore have to wait even longer for their money. By the time you have an enforcement order, says Weck, “a year will quickly pass”.
Down to business
From motorcycles to “Easy Rider”
In 1903, the foundation stone for what is now probably the world’s best-known motorcycle brand was laid in a small shed in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). At the time, it was hardly clear to them that the four founders would create a cult with it: William, Walter and Arthur Davidson as well as William Harley founded the Harley-Davidson company. The first motorcycles from back then had little in common with today’s companions, but were more like bicycles with an auxiliary motor. The target group was also different. Instead of hobby drivers, the first jobs came from the police and the Bell Telephone Company. Private customers came later.
The brand achieved cult status with the film “Easy Rider” from 1969. In the 1960s, however, Harley-Davidson also had sales problems and serious wrong decisions by management. The company now has around 5,000 employees and an annual turnover of around five billion dollars. In addition to the plants in the USA, there are production facilities in Brazil and India.
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-Better go home the first time you shiver on the motorcycle
