Dutch cargo bike company Babboe was “well-aware” of its sale of faulty frames, finds investigation

An investigation into the Dutch cargo bike company Babboe has revealed that the company knew about its sale of defective frames and that the staff were forced to “make up stories” to hide the issues from customers.

On Thursday, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) ordered the company to stop selling its bikes due to safety risks. The organisation further stated that Babboe had received hundreds of reports about broken frames, but had failed to report them to the regulator despite being required to do so by law.

Babboe, which makes pedal and electric cargo bikes and is owned by Netherlands-based Accell Group, also the owner of the British bike industry’s stalwart Raleigh, has been ordered to recall eight of its bike models.

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RTL Nieuws, which undertook the investigation, spoke to 12 Babboe employees, both current and former. They found that the company directors were “well aware” of the defects and that the staff were often instructed to “lie” to customers to keep the issues under wraps.

“We always had to lie,” a staff member employed by Babboe BV told RTL Nieuws. “I made a story to the customer: ‘this never happens’, and gave them a free cargo bike rain cover and a free cushion.” 

Another employee said: “A new boy came to work with us. He told a customer: ‘This happens every day.’ Then they said, ‘You really should never say that.’”

Eleven of the 12 employees interviewed, all of whom wished to stay anonymous, claimed management was aware of the frames breaking, and that the problem seemed to be “the most normal thing in the world”. In fact, the issue was so widespread it was reported that an ironmonger would come weekly to collect the broken frames.

Several current and former employees said they’ve delivered flowers to customers who got hurt on a Babboe cargo bike. A former employee told the broadcaster: “In my role, I had access to files and have seen that an employee has been reporting this for years.”

Another former employee added: “No, no, I didn’t say anything. Your income depends on it, and your rent, your children have to eat. I felt like I was lying because I wasn’t allowed to say what happened. Then you have someone standing in front of you with their entire face damaged, tears on their face, but it is your job.”

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The NVWA said that it had been receiving “hundreds of reports” on frame breakage from customers, and launched its own investigation last December when it found out that Babboe had failed to lodge any formal issue with the body. 

The regulating body has also announced that it will assess if the apparent improper and unlawful approach to the problem by Babboe’s management deems a proper criminal investigation. Although, it is unclear why the NVWA decided to order Babboe to halt the sales after the investigation by RTL Nieuws was made public.

Babboe has declined to offer a comment on the investigation to RTL Nieuws, but said: “We take the situation very seriously and all aspects are part of our ongoing research.” road.cc has also contacted Babboe for a comment.

Recent times have proven to be quite turbulent for Babboe's parent organisation Accell Group. Earlier this month, the company, which owns brands such as Raleigh, Lapierre and Ghost announced its plans to “simplify operations and enhance efficiency” by merging facilities and relocating production across Europe, as well as cutting up to 150 Netherlands-based jobs.

The news came just weeks after redundancies at Raleigh were also confirmed as part of a restructuring process at the iconic British bike brand's Nottingham headquarters. The firm’s parts and accessories business was also announced to be facing closure, with responsibility for warehousing and logistics transferred to a third party.