Premium Protection Terms

1. What Premium Protection is, and what it is not

When you ship a bike, the carrier already provides a standard level of liability. For international road transport in Europe under the CMR Convention, that liability is limited to roughly EUR 10 per kilogram of the gross weight of the shipment, no matter what the bike is actually worth. For shipments within the United States, the carrier's terms of carriage limit it to USD 100 per package, again regardless of the bike's value. For a high-value bike, either limit covers only a small fraction of its real value.

Premium Protection closes that gap. It tops up the carrier's standard liability so that, if your bike is lost or physically damaged in transit, it is covered up to the value you declare when you add Premium Protection, subject to these terms.

Premium Protection is a discretionary goodwill service that buycycle provides directly to you. It is not a regulated financial product, and it does not create a regulated provider-and-customer relationship of that kind. buycycle provides Premium Protection itself, as a service of its own, not as a third-party financial product.

If your claim is valid under these terms, we look at it fairly and on its own merits, and we put things right up to your declared value, either by paying for repairs or by refunding the declared value, as set out below. You are made whole up to your declared value regardless of what the carrier itself eventually pays.

2. Who is eligible and how to activate Premium Protection

Premium Protection is available to the buycycle account holder who books and pays for the shipment. That account holder is the person who can make a claim, and any payout is made to that account holder. Premium Protection applies to the specific shipment it was bought for, including box-only and international shipments booked through buycycle.

Premium Protection must be selected and paid for in full during booking, before your shipping label is generated. The fee is a percentage of your declared value, and the exact rate and total are shown at checkout before you confirm. Business customers may be offered different rates and terms, which are also shown at checkout.

Coverage applies to your shipment only if both of these are true before the shipping label is generated: Premium Protection has been paid for in full, and all seven required photos have been uploaded, each showing what its slot requires as set out in the numbered list of the seven photos below. The version of that list in force when you booked applies. These are conditions for coverage to exist at all (conditions precedent). If either is not met, coverage never attaches to that shipment, whatever happens to it later. Meeting the photo condition is your responsibility alone. The upload flow counts files; it does not check what they show. An unlocked label is therefore not confirmation that the condition is met. Where a voluntary review before collection shows that the bike is not packed as required or that the packaging is not a rigid bike box, buycycle may withdraw Premium Protection before collection, as set out in the section on the seven required photos. Withdrawal is never the route for the photo condition: if a photo does not show what its slot requires, coverage never attached and there is nothing to withdraw.

Premium Protection does not cover loss or damage caused by packing that does not follow the packing guidance, or occurring outside the carrier's recorded custody, as set out in the sections on proper packing and handover below. This keeps the rules clear: payment and photos before the label decide whether you have coverage, and correct packing and proper handover decide what that coverage pays for.

• Select and pay for Premium Protection in full during booking, before the label is generated.
• Declare an accurate value that reflects the genuine current market value of your used bike. Coverage is capped at the value you declare, up to a maximum of EUR 6,000 (USD 6,000 for shipments within the United States), and there is a minimum declared value of EUR 250 (USD 250 in the United States).
• Pack the bike correctly in the approved buycycle box or your own suitable rigid bike box, and follow the packing guidance.
• Upload all seven required pre-shipment photos before the shipping label is generated, each showing what its slot requires.

Removing Premium Protection from a shipment

Because the seven photos are a condition for coverage, you may find that you cannot provide them. You can therefore remove Premium Protection from a shipment yourself, in your dashboard, at any time before you view or download your shipping label. We refund the full Premium Protection fee for that shipment to your original payment method, and the requirement to upload the seven photos falls away.

Removing Premium Protection means coverage never attaches to that shipment. From that point the shipment is covered only by the carrier's standard liability, which is limited and is usually far below the value of a bike. Any claim you might otherwise have had under these terms does not arise, including for loss or damage discovered later in transit.

You confirm the removal in the dashboard by ticking the stated confirmations and typing your name, and we record that confirmation. Once you have viewed or downloaded your label, you can no longer remove Premium Protection yourself and the fee is not refunded on request. This does not affect the refund of the fee where coverage never attached because the photo condition was not met, as set out in the section on the seven required photos.

If you are shipping to someone else

Premium Protection belongs to the account holder who booked and paid for the shipment. That is the person we deal with, and the only person we can pay. If your bike is going to someone else, for example a buyer, a bike shop, or a family member, they are not part of this agreement: they cannot make a claim, they cannot instruct us about the shipment, and we cannot discuss a claim or its outcome with them. We may send them pickup, tracking, and delivery notifications so they know when the courier is coming, and that is all those notifications do.

This means anything we need has to come through you. Where the bike is with someone else, it is your job to get the photos, the measurements, the photos of the damage and the packaging, and the repair quote and invoice from them, and to send them to us yourself. Evidence that reaches us from someone else may not count unless you send it or confirm it in writing.

The deadlines do not move because you heard late. Transit damage must reach us within 48 hours of the carrier's recorded delivery even when the bike was delivered to someone else, so please arrange for them to unpack, inspect, and tell you straight away. A recipient telling you after the window has closed does not extend, pause, or reset it.

3. Your declared value

The declared value, also shown as your coverage amount, is the figure you enter when you add Premium Protection. It must reflect the genuine current fair market value of the used bike you are shipping, not its original purchase price or the cost of a brand new replacement.

Coverage and any payout are capped at your declared value, up to a maximum of EUR 6,000 (USD 6,000 for shipments within the United States). There is a minimum declared value of EUR 250 (USD 250 in the United States). If you declare less than that minimum, the shipment is treated as having the minimum declared value for both the fee and any payout.

Your declared value is set in the currency you are charged in: Euro for a shipment booked under our European terms, and US dollars for a shipment within the United States. The maximum and the minimum above apply in that same currency, and any payout is made in that same currency, to the payment method you paid with. We do not convert your declared value into another currency. Payouts are based on the repair cost or the declared value as set out in these terms, and any applicable tax is handled in line with the invoice and your payment.

An accurate declared value protects you, because it sets the amount we can pay if something goes wrong. A materially inaccurate, false, or inflated declared value can reduce a payout or void coverage for that shipment.

4. Your responsibility: the seven required photos

Coverage depends on you uploading all seven required pre-shipment photos before the shipping label is generated, each clearly showing what its slot requires. Each photo has its own numbered slot in the upload flow, and the list below says what each slot must show. In the product, the label is locked until seven photos have been uploaded. The lock counts uploads only; it does not check what the photos show. An unlocked label is not confirmation that the photo condition is met. It is your responsibility alone to make sure each photo shows what its slot asks for. A photo uploaded into a slot that does not show what that slot requires counts as not provided. For example, a photo of the closed box in the slot for the wrapped bike inside the open box counts as not provided.

The seven required photos are:

• 1. The unwrapped bike, left (drive) side, with the full bike visible.
• 2. The unwrapped bike, right (non-drive) side, showing the overall condition before packing.
• 3. The disassembled and wrapped bike placed in front of the open shipping box.
• 4. The wrapped bike placed inside the box before sealing.
• 5. The fully sealed and taped box, photographed from the front, with all seams taped.
• 6. The sealed box photographed from the side, showing it is properly closed and secured.
• 7. The order ID clearly written on the outside of the sealed box.

Photos must be clear, genuine, taken at the time of packing for this specific shipment, and they must accurately show the true condition of the bike. Photos reused from another shipment, or that do not match the bike or box being shipped, do not count.

Whether a photo shows what its slot requires is judged objectively against slot descriptions 1 to 7 above. buycycle may check this when a claim is made. buycycle's view is not a binding determination, and a court may review it in full. Photos that are missing, incomplete, unclear, reused, or that do not show what their slot requires are treated as not provided. Because the seven photos are a condition for coverage to apply, this means coverage never attached to that shipment and a claim on it cannot succeed.

These photos are the only record of your bike's condition and packing before transit. Without them buycycle cannot tell transit damage from packing damage or from damage that existed before shipping, which is why they are a condition of coverage and not a formality. Whether the condition is met is decided by your photos alone. It makes no difference whether buycycle reviewed the photos before collection, whether anyone told you about a problem, or whether the label was released and the shipment collected. None of these, and no silence on our part, is acceptance of your photos or a waiver of this condition.

Where coverage did not attach because the photo condition was not met, buycycle refunds the Premium Protection fee for that shipment to your original payment method automatically once this is established, for example when a claim is declined on this ground. You do not have to ask. We do not keep a fee for coverage that never attached. That refund is the only amount payable: the shipment travelled with the carrier's standard liability only, and no claim under these terms arises.

Voluntary photo review before collection

buycycle may, but is not obliged to, review your photos before your shipment is collected, and may hold your label while it does so. This review is a voluntary service to catch problems while you can still fix them. It is not a promise to review every set, it creates no duty on buycycle to find or report a problem, and it does not move the responsibility for the photos from you to buycycle. If a review does show that the bike is not packed in line with the packing guidance, that the packaging is not a rigid bike box, or that the photos are unclear, reused, or do not show what their slot requires, we tell you what the problem is and give you the chance to repack, retake the photos, and upload them again. Anything we tell you is limited to the point we raise. It is not confirmation that your other photos meet the condition. If you upload replacement photos that show what their slots require before collection, the photo condition is met from that moment and coverage attaches.

If we have told you about a problem and it is not fixed before collection, buycycle may withdraw Premium Protection from that shipment. In that case we tell you the reason and give you the choice between two options:

• Cancel the shipment. We refund the full amount you paid for it, including the Premium Protection fee. Any packaging material you have already received is yours to keep.
• Continue the shipment without Premium Protection. We refund the Premium Protection fee in full, and the shipment travels covered only by the carrier's standard liability, which is limited and is usually far below the value of a bike.

If we do not hear from you before the scheduled collection, the shipment does not travel and we treat it as cancelled on the first option. Where buycycle itself withdraws Premium Protection before collection, it always gives you the reason and this choice, and never keeps the Premium Protection fee for that shipment. These steps apply only to a withdrawal by buycycle. They do not apply where coverage never attached because the photo condition was not met: that follows from your photos alone, whether or not we noticed it before collection, and is governed by the paragraphs above.

5. Proper packing

Correct packing is what allows your bike to travel safely, and it is a condition of a valid claim. You can use the approved buycycle box or your own box, as long as your own box is a strong, rigid bike box and the bike is properly disassembled, protected, and packed in line with the buycycle packing guidance.

• Use either the approved buycycle box or your own sturdy, rigid cardboard bike box. A bike bag, soft case, suitcase, or any flexible or non-bike packaging is not accepted.
• Disassemble, wrap, and protect the bike as described in the packing guidance, including the frame, fork, and any vulnerable parts.
• Keep the wheels from touching or resting against the frame. Separate and protect them so they cannot rub, press, or knock against the frame in transit.
• Use enough padding and packing material to fully cushion the bike, fill any empty space, and stop anything from shifting inside the box.
• Seal and tape the box securely, with all seams taped, before handover.

Damage that results from improper packing, from using a bike bag or any unsuitable or non-rigid packaging, or from ignoring the packing guidance is not covered.

6. Handover and chain of custody: never leave the bike unattended

Coverage depends on an unbroken chain of custody with proof of handover at every step. The bike must be handed directly to the carrier's driver or staff, and a scan or signed proof of collection must be obtained at pickup. At the other end, it must be received through a proper, attended, person-to-person handover at delivery, with a delivery scan.

If at any point the bike is left unattended without a confirmed handover, it is not covered. This applies at both pickup and at delivery or drop-off. Leaving the box in any of the following situations breaks the chain of custody and voids coverage for that shipment:

• On a doorstep, porch, hallway, lobby, or reception area without a confirmed handover scan.
• In a garden, driveway, garage, or any outdoor location.
• With a neighbour, concierge, or any third party who is not the named recipient or an authorised representative.
• In a parcel locker or pickup point with no scan, or by treating any spot as a so-called safe place without a recorded handover.
• Outside a closed or unstaffed depot or drop-off point.
• Anywhere it is out of the direct control of you or the carrier without a recorded proof of handover.

Where buycycle routes a shipment through an approved carrier pickup point or drop-off location, the carrier's own collection or delivery scan at that approved location counts as proof of handover. The rule is about having a recorded handover, not about a particular method. What is never covered is the box being left somewhere with no scan and no recorded handover at all.

Why does this matter so much? Without a recorded handover, there is no proof that the bike was ever in the carrier's custody. The chain of custody is broken, and neither the carrier nor buycycle can verify what happened to the bike, where it went, or who had it. That is why a recorded handover is required at both ends.

Please always wait for the driver and get the collection scan at pickup, and make sure someone is present to receive and inspect the bike at delivery, or that an approved pickup point scans it in. A few minutes of waiting is what keeps your coverage active.

7. If your bike is lost

If your shipment stops moving in the carrier's tracker for 10 calendar days, buycycle treats it as potentially lost, opens a claim with the carrier on your behalf, and works to trace the bike. The carrier investigation can take up to 30 days, counted from the date buycycle opens the carrier claim.

If the bike has not been recovered and the carrier has not confirmed delivery within 30 days of buycycle opening the carrier claim, whether because the carrier has denied the loss or because the investigation is still inconclusive, you may choose what happens next:

• Continue waiting for the carrier investigation to conclude, in case the bike is found and recovered.
• Or request a full refund of the declared value of the bike from buycycle.

You can switch from waiting to a refund at any time up to six months after the expected delivery date. After six months, if you have not requested a refund and the bike has not been recovered, buycycle will settle the claim by refunding the declared value and close it. Any refund is capped at your declared value, up to a maximum of EUR 6,000 (USD 6,000 for shipments within the United States), and all conditions in these terms must be met, including the photo, packing, and handover requirements.

If your bike is found after you have been refunded

Once buycycle has refunded the declared value of a lost bike, that bike is treated as a total loss and ownership of it passes to buycycle. This prevents a double recovery, where you would keep both the full refund and the bike, and it allows buycycle to recover the bike from the carrier or from anyone holding it.

If the bike is recovered after you have been paid, buycycle will let you know and tell you the condition it was found in. You then have 30 days from that notice to ask for the bike back by repaying the amount buycycle paid you for it. If you repay that amount, ownership returns to you and buycycle arranges the return, with you covering the return shipping cost. If you do not want the bike back, or you do not respond within those 30 days, ownership stays with buycycle, which may keep, sell, or otherwise deal with the bike to recover what it paid you.

8. If your bike is damaged in transit

If your bike is physically damaged in transit, buycycle pays for the repairs, up to your declared value, subject to these terms.

Start by getting an itemised repair quote from a professional, qualified bike shop and sending it to us before any work is done. The quote should clearly list the parts and labour involved. We will confirm in writing whether we will fund the repairs or treat the bike as a total loss, so you are never left out of pocket for work we have not agreed.

Once repairs are approved and completed, send us the final itemised invoice from the bike shop. buycycle may contact the bike shop directly to validate the quote and invoice, to confirm the work carried out, and to confirm that the damage is consistent with transit damage.

When a bike is treated as a total loss

buycycle decides whether a bike is repaired or treated as a total loss, based on the validated quote. A bike is treated as a total loss when the validated repair cost reaches or exceeds the full declared value, or when the bike cannot be safely or economically repaired. In that case the claim is settled as a refund of the full declared value, in the same way as a lost bike, rather than payment for repairs.

Where a total loss is settled by refunding the declared value, ownership and any salvage value of the damaged bike pass to buycycle (or to the carrier, where buycycle directs). buycycle may also choose to repair, replace, or refund, at its discretion, up to your declared value.

9. What is covered

Where coverage has attached and all conditions in these terms have been met, the following is covered, up to your declared value and up to a maximum of EUR 6,000 (USD 6,000 for shipments within the United States):

• Loss of the shipment in transit, handled as set out in the section on lost bikes.
• Physical damage to the bike caused in transit, handled as set out in the section on damaged bikes.

Premium Protection tops up the carrier's standard liability so that the total coverage available reaches your declared value. It does not pay on top of the declared value. buycycle pays you up to your declared value directly and then handles any carrier recovery itself.

10. What is not covered

Premium Protection does not cover the following:

• Any shipment where the bike was left unattended at pickup or delivery without a confirmed handover and scan, as described in the handover section.
• Any shipment where the photo condition was not met: missing, incomplete, unclear, reused, or mismatched pre-shipment photos, including a photo uploaded into a slot that does not show what that slot requires, or the seven photos not uploaded before the label was generated. This applies whether or not buycycle flagged the problem before collection.
• Improper packing, using a bike bag or other unsuitable or non-rigid packaging, or ignoring the packing guidance.
• An inaccurate, false, or inflated declared value.
• Pre-existing damage, cosmetic wear, or defects present before shipping.
• Normal wear and tear, minor scuffs, or the settling of components that does not affect function.
• Prohibited, restricted, or undeclared items, and anything shipped against buycycle guidance.
• Consequential, indirect, or economic losses, for example lost income, a lost sale, or inconvenience, and the shipping fee or the Premium Protection fee itself.
• Delays in transit. Premium Protection covers loss and physical damage, not late delivery. A delay does not change your obligation to inspect the bike and report any transit damage within 48 hours of delivery.
• Customs seizure or confiscation, and losses caused by incorrect or incomplete customs paperwork that you provided.

11. How to make a claim

Claims are made through your buycycle dashboard or with buycycle customer support. After you report a problem, please send us all supporting evidence (photos, the repair quote, and any invoice) within 48 hours of your report so we can assess and settle the claim. Total liability for any one shipment is capped at your declared value, and at most EUR 6,000 (USD 6,000 for shipments within the United States), no matter how many issues are reported for that shipment.

Visible transit damage

For damage that is visible at delivery, you must report it within 48 hours of delivery. The carrier's recorded delivery timestamp is decisive for when the 48 hour window starts. Keep all packaging, and take photos of both the damage and the packaging as soon as the bike arrives. This evidence is needed to assess the claim. The 48 hour window matters because it lets us tie any damage to the shipping process itself. It rules out loss or damage that happens after delivery, for example during later use, riding, storage, or handling, which is not related to shipping and is not covered.

Hidden damage found after unpacking

Some damage, such as an internal frame crack or fork or derailleur damage, is not obvious at a glance. That is why you should unpack and inspect the bike thoroughly as soon as it is delivered. Any transit damage, whether or not it was immediately visible, must still be reported within 48 hours of the carrier's recorded delivery scan, with photos, and before the bike is ridden or any repair is started. Please keep the packaging as well.

Non-delivery or a lost shipment

For a non-delivery or a lost shipment, contact buycycle as soon as tracking shows a problem or the expected delivery date has passed. The sooner we know, the sooner we can open a claim with the carrier and start tracing the bike.

Delays, missed collections, and rescheduled deliveries

The 48 hour window always runs from the delivery that actually happened. If your shipment was collected late, a pickup or delivery attempt was missed, the bike was held or delayed in transit, or it arrived after the estimated delivery date, you must still inspect the bike and report any transit damage within 48 hours of the carrier's recorded delivery scan. A delay, a missed collection, a failed or rescheduled delivery attempt, or any other service problem at any point in the journey does not pause, extend, or reset this window. If you cannot be there when the bike arrives, please arrange for someone to unpack and inspect it on your behalf, because the window starts at delivery and not when you first get to the bike. Raising a complaint or asking for a refund because of a delay is a separate matter and is not a damage report: to keep your coverage, the damage itself must be reported within 48 hours.

Always come to us first, not the carrier

Bring every problem to buycycle first. We hold the contract with the carrier, we open and run the carrier claim, and we carry the risk of what the carrier does or does not pay. Please do not open a claim with UPS, FedEx, or any other carrier yourself, and do not settle, accept a payment for, withdraw, or agree the outcome of a carrier claim about your shipment without asking us first. If a carrier contacts you directly, tell us and send us what they sent you.

If you go to the carrier first and it costs us the ability to recover, we may reduce or decline your claim, but only to the extent of the actual harm that causes. For example, where the carrier closes or rejects the claim because you filed it yourself, where the damaged bike, its parts, or its packaging are released or disposed of, or where a carrier deadline passes, we can only recover what is left, and your claim is affected by that much and no more. Contacting a carrier in a way that costs us no recovery does not cost you anything.

Anything you receive from a carrier for the same loss is deducted from what we pay, so you are made whole once and not twice. Where we pay you, your right to recover the carrier's standard liability for that loss passes to us, as set out in the section on lost bikes, and we ask you not to pursue the carrier separately for it.

None of this removes any right you have by law that cannot be excluded or limited by agreement.

12. Payouts, limits, and time to pay

Coverage and any payout are capped at your declared value, up to an overall maximum of EUR 6,000 (USD 6,000 for shipments within the United States). Premium Protection tops up the carrier's standard liability to reach the declared value, and does not pay in addition to it. Total liability for any single shipment is limited to the declared value regardless of the number of issues reported.

• Damage: paid as the cost of approved repairs against a valid itemised bike-shop invoice, up to the declared value.
• Loss or total loss: paid as a refund of the declared value.

Where a claim is approved and all required evidence has been received and validated, payment is made to your original payment method, or as otherwise agreed with buycycle, within 14 days of approval.

13. Honest and accurate claims

Premium Protection relies on honesty. We assess every claim in good faith, and we ask the same of you.

False, exaggerated, or fraudulent claims, staged damage, and falsified photos or invoices will void coverage for that shipment. They may also result in the loss of access to the Premium Protection service and may be reported to the relevant authorities.

14. If you disagree with a decision

If you do not agree with how a claim has been assessed, contact buycycle customer support through your dashboard and ask for the decision to be reviewed. We will look at it again and explain our reasoning.

Any claim for transit damage must be raised within 48 hours of delivery, as set out above, and that deadline still applies where the shipment was delayed, collected late, or delivered later than planned. For a lost shipment, contact us as soon as tracking shows a problem or the expected delivery date has passed. A report made after the applicable window may be too late for us to verify and assess.

15. Changes to these terms and relationship to the main Terms

These Premium Protection Terms supplement and form part of the main buycycle Terms and Conditions. The main Terms and Conditions apply to your use of buycycle and to any shipment you book. To the extent these Premium Protection Terms cover the Premium Protection service specifically, they set out the full agreement for that service between you and buycycle.

buycycle may update these Premium Protection Terms from time to time. The version that applied when a shipment was booked governs that shipment.

If any part of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the terms continue to apply in full.

16. Governing law and contact

These Premium Protection Terms follow the same law that applies to your buycycle contract, and they are meant to be read alongside the main buycycle Terms and Conditions.

If you have any questions about Premium Protection, or you need to report a problem with a shipment, please contact buycycle customer support through your dashboard. We are here to help.

Questions about Premium Protection? Reach buycycle customer support through your dashboard, where you can also make a claim. For the full terms that govern your use of buycycle, please see the main buycycle Terms and Conditions, which these Premium Protection Terms supplement and form part of.

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