Sat Dec 8 '18 Announcement
over 5 years ago
– Sat, Dec 08, 2018 at 01:35:49 AM
SHIPPING AND VESSEL TRACKING NUMBERS WILL BE AVAILABLE BEFORE THE END OF DECEMBER, DELIVERY IN JANUARY!
Dear Swytchers,
We want to give you a comprehensive update to cover the needs of all of our customer and backers.
It is taking some time getting your orders into the shipping phase of the order journey and we want to be as transparent as possible and give you clear direction on when you can expect your order to arrive.
ALL ORDERS ARE NOW LOCKED.
All orders are now locked in, we are therefore not able to make any further adjustments to existing orders as we cannot allow anything to delay the shipment of your order. If you require any changes to your order once it's been delivered, you can contact us at [email protected] and our support desk will do everything in their power to support your request.
WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG?
The sheer diversity and volume of orders we are managing has been a significant factor in the time it has taken to manufacture, test, obtain certification and pack your orders. We had to perform some last minute order changes which needed to be accommodated before we can start sending the packages to the port to be loaded onto the container ships to commence shipping.
Most of you will know that we carry out our shipment in batches. As a start-up, this enables us to be as resourceful as possible when it comes to cost and resource management. Currently, our CEO Oliver is on a flight to China to support our factory team in finalising all outstanding orders, ensuring the quality and accuracy that is required is being met and with his presence we will have more valuable resource in place to speed up the process.
USA / UK / EU
There are newly imposed government regulations over battery shipments. We've only just received the government authorisation for the shipment, which means we have now been able to book containers. There is a lead time of 15-21 days to book a container, they are being booked now so all UK, EU and USA orders will be on the water before end of the month
CANADA / AUSTRALIA
All Canada and all Australia orders from all batches are being shipped. It wasn't possible to ship sooner as we have been in the process of setting up distribution and a process for importation to Canada and Australia which has been very difficult due to the quantities involved. We had several set backs and let downs from potential shipping forwarders since the beginning of Batch 1 dispatch. The good news is now we have an official Distribution company in both Canada and Australia who will hold stock and spares in the future to ensure a high level of customer service.
We couldn't deliver sooner without the distribution company in place without causing an additional, cost to you of at least $100 in customs and duties and as promised, the price you paid included duties and customs so we didn't want to do that.
This way, our distribution company helps us pay the extra customs and taxes so you, our customers, won't have to pay anything extra. This is a major factor is how we have been able to offer you all such low price on your kit!
A further delay occurred because of new, stricter regulations on shipping products with batteries. We have been waiting for a permit from our battery company (to be issued by the government) for the safe transport of the goods. We have now received this and so all the CANADA and AUSTRALIA goods have been booked onto a ship leaving in December.
Due to the busy time of year for shipping the earliest ships we could book were 21 days after booking - which is between 20-30 December.
WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR ORDER
Below is a detailed summary of the key dates between now and when you will receive your order. We have broken this down into continent specific shipments. The orders/batches that are about to be shipped are:
- US: Batch 2 & 3
- UK/EU: Batch 2 & 3
- Canada: All outstanding orders
- Australia: All outstanding orders
- ROW: All outstanding orders
PLEASE LOOK BELOW FOR THE DATES AND IMAGES OF EACH CARTON BEING SHIPPED OUT IN EACH CATEGORY.
UPCOMING CHANGES
As our business grows, so does our plan to support our customers and sell our own stock in the new year. We are in the process of removing the pre-order option from swytchbike.com and preparing for stock of Kits and Accessories and spare parts to arrive at the same time as your Kits arrive to your door. Those few kits on our website now are available are in low numbers for limited wheel sizes and available to purchase a the full RRP. If we had any stock available matching the specifications of customers waiting we would fulfil customer orders. We are awaiting the dates below as much as you to be able to offer the swytch kits to new customers.
SUPPORT
We currently have a few communication channels in place which gives our customers choice in how they communicate with us. In the new year we will be installing a range of new methods of communication including a phone switchboard, video consultancy and much improved support ticketing procedure. Thank you for your patience, we know it has been tough at times to understand our process and we are sorry for any confusion or lack of transparency. We are still a few small team right but with your support hope to grow to accommodate all that is required of us and all of what we hope to achieve.
We would like to ask our customers that require anything account related, such as a change to an order, a refund request, or anything which involves us handling personal information, to be raised solely over email. We CANNOT support these type of requests over social media, they need to be clearly directed to us over email so that we can track your request and action accordingly and effectively at the same time as protecting your personal data.
Join us and get instant responses to your questions..
Some of you have requested a forum where you can share information about shipping, orders and have our team post more regular information about Swytch and the Shipping progress. We have made it easier for our team to get back to your comments and questions and so please join us so we can stay connected.
Thanks again for all your orders and interest in swytch and please keep an eye out for future newsletters and status updates so we can keep you informed and up to date at all times!
Best Wishes,
The Swytch Team
Mon Oct 8 '18 Announcement
over 5 years ago
– Mon, Oct 08, 2018 at 07:50:01 AM
Dearest Backers!
Thank you for your tremendous patience and support over the recent weeks. Here is a quick update to give you more information regarding the Batch 1 USA Orders. We will be updating all other backers soon with future information and status updates via the update platform here and via email to ensure no one misses any news.
Batch 1 USA Orders
As you know the container arrived at the end of September into Longbeach Port in the USA. Clearing of the goods took a week longer than expected because of the new Anti-Dumping charges from the Trump administration, unfortunately for us, Swytch have been hit with up to 25% duties and fees on some parts of the consignment . The original price paid by customers did not include duties or customs charges (because at the time of sale the category of goods only attracted a 2.6% duty) however we will of course NOT be on-charging any of these duties to you, as a thank-you for your patience and for your tremendous support for the product.
The goods are now with our USA distribution partner warehouse awaiting collection by our shipper of choice, FedEx.
Shipping goods with Lithium batteries is a much more complex procedure in the USA than in the EU, and so every carton is subject to significant paperwork and scrutiny. We are expecting to be able to distribute 100x cartons per week so please be prepared for up to another 3-4 weeks delay (maximum) getting ALL the kits from the warehouse to your door.
If you have any complaints about this please direct them to your Department Of Transportation (DOT) who are responsible for the very poorly designed rules and regs for lithium battery shipping (which are very in-cohesive with each other and often contradictory) that we are busy complying with to make sure none of the kits get quarantined on their way to you.
Strangely, the complete eBikes are the easiest cartons to ship, followed by the 25 mile kits. So these kits will be arriving first. Followed on by the 50 mile kits which each require a large number of documents to be completed for each shipment because the battery capacity [360Wh] is larger than a DOT threshold of 300Wh for batteries packed in equipment. We are still in discussion with the DoT with a view to being allowed to classify the product as a complete eBike in which case shipping the 360Wh battery becomes no problem at all and this will hopefully speed up the process.
In Summary:
The Complete eBikes and 25 mile kits are arriving first, some as soon as this week - Friday 12th October.
To complete the delivery of each and every kit please allow up to a total of 3-4 weeks from today. This is due to complex and costly DoT shipping requirements for 360Wh eBike kits.
Thank you so much for your patience. As always we are trying to improve our systems and processes and so thank you for your feedback again over the recent weeks and continued support.
Best Wishes,
The Swytch Team
Wed Sep 26 '18 Announcement
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 09:27:45 AM
Dear Backers!
Thank you for all your comments and messages over the last few weeks. We are so grateful for the positive sharing and constructive feedback to improve our process and support!
We are still pushing 'full electric ahead' to get all the shipments unpacked and delivered and following up with any delivery and fitting issues that may arise as fast as possible.
We want to let you know and confirm some Batch 1 information for those of you still waiting for you kits or tracking numbers.
UK & EU Complete eBike Shipping Status
The complete eBikes are nearly here. Those of you who are aware that you are in Batch 1 and awaiting tracking numbers, if you have a complete eBike on order, we were unable to send all the eBikes in the same container with the very first shipment. They have been sent in the very next UK shipment and here is the tracking number to see when they will arrive in the UK for clearance and dispatch across the UK and EU.
http://www.vesseltracking.net/ship/maersk-horsburgh-9784269
MAERSK HORSBURGH
Container Ship
Next port MYTPP>EGSUC
ETA Oct 06, 21:00
IMO 9784269
Speed 17.7 kn
Canada Batch 1 Shipment Status
Everyone who has been patiently waiting for an update RE the Canada shipping container - thank you so much for your patience! We are really pleased to say that we have a Shipping Company that can ship the Canadian Orders. We are so sorry for the delay and it has been frustrating have the orders ready and waiting for collection only to be let down by our original shipping forwarder. We expect collection within the next 10-14 days now that we have made an agreement and will then announce the exact delivery date the moment the shipping paperwork has been completed.
USA Batch 1 Delivery Status
As you may all be aware, the USA Container has arrived in port and we are pleased to say has cleared customs. We are waiting for final release to our dispatch company in America to announce the time frame for local deliveries of all Batch 1 USA Kits and Complete eBikes.
UK & EU Batch 1 DPD Tracking Numbers
Those of you who are not waiting for complete eBikes but are in Batch 1 we hope have all received your tracking numbers or your Kits by now. If you have not received a tracking number please contact us with your order email details and we will contact Horizon on your behalf and try to resolve the problem.
If DPD have made a mistake or missed delivery please contact them with your tracking number and re-arrange delivery at a convenient time. If you have moved or your address is incorrect and DPD are not able to help you, please contact us to help you resolve the problem.
UK & EU Spare Battery Shipment Status
To all of you who have ordered spare batteries, we are pleased to announce that the second UK Container will be arriving soon and you will then receive your DPD tracking number and deliveries.
ROW
Thank you to all of those who are waiting for delivery in other locations worldwide. We have found direct distributors / courier services to deliver those small quantity Kits to you and will release an update as soon as we can confirm the details of this.
Improvements
We are working hard to improve our customer service right now. We are aware that some of you have emailed directly as well as messaged us via facebook to get more information or specific help with your orders, and we will get back to everyone as soon as we can. We apologise for the delay and just want to assure you that you are in our system and we are doing everything we can to offer you support and assistance.
Thank you for your patience as always and for your comments and feedback. We value everything you have said and again could not have done any of this without you and remain grateful for your support of the team and the Swytch Kit product.
Best Wishes,
The Swytch Team
Thu Sep 20 '18 Announcement
over 5 years ago
– Thu, Sep 20, 2018 at 03:10:30 PM
Dear Backers!
Thank you for your patience as we have been organising ourselves this week with deliveries, packing and production scheduling.
Batch 2 & 3 Orders have now entered the packing process which means all the components such as batteries, motors, controllers etc. are now finished and in stock in the Chinese assembly factory.
In our first production run from our live campaign orders (Batch 1) we estimated that packing would take 1 week, actually it ended up taking 5 weeks because of the huge complexity in the number of orders, and our absolute obsession with quality and accuracy. With so many variations for each order we could only complete a total of 50 fully checked cartons per day. This means that 1,500 cartons take 30 days (4 weeks). In addition to this there was a week required for loading the containers and clearing customs.
Therefore, based on previous performance we expect it will take 4 weeks to complete packing all the batch 2 and 3 orders and so we hope to ship your order on the 15th October 2018.
Thank you again for your order and your patience and for many of you joining our facebook forum to share in the community and team information. We will post as much as we can to keep you up to date.
Best Wishes,
The Swytch Team
Wed Sep 12 '18 Announcement
over 5 years ago
– Wed, Sep 12, 2018 at 08:02:37 AM
Dear Backers,
Thank you so much for your patience with this update. We are pleased to announce that the USA Shipping Container was transported onto the MAERSK ESSEX and left the port earlier this week. It is currently in JAPAN and due to arrive in the USA on Thursday 20th of September.
Here is the Vessel Tracking Details so you can see its progress over the next 8 days:
URL: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:713512/mmsi:219031000/imo:9458092/vessel:MAERSK_ESSEX
Ship name is: MAERSK ESSEX
IMO: 9458092
MMSI: 219031000
Complete E-Bikes
We are also pleased to announce that the complete eBikes, and all Kits are included in the USA container which will be arriving on the 20th September.
Here is a picture of the bikes packaged before they were transported to the Port.
We will send an update as soon as the ship arrives and clears customs with more information about delivery to your door. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during the delays this week getting this information out to you.
Best Wishes,
The Swytch Team
