Beryl User Reviews

SMIDSY LTD

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Consistent problems unlocking bikes

When the app works, it works like a dream. So easy and convenient to hop on and hop off the bikes. Unfortunately I’ve had problems unlocking bikes and I find the price far too expensive.

UNLOCKING BIKES

9 out of 10 times I’ve used the app, I’ve had problems unlocking bikes. It usually takes up to 3 or 4 attempts to unlock, although the other day it took me 7 attempts and going to a different bike stand to actually get a bike.

Severely disappointing as I can’t rely on the bikes being available to me. I was planning to take a bike this morning, but the only one in the stand wouldn’t unlock. I ended up taking alternative transport (the bus) which where I’m writing this review.

BIKE RATES

I had a deal where I got 60 free minutes of riding and I’ve never used the bikes so much. When they work, they’re very convenient in a city with patchy bus service.

Before I got the free minutes, I found myself grumbling at the price because it cost me £3 to ride a bike for 13 minutes (including unlock fee). This is more expensive than a bus fare so is not very appealing as an alternative.

The passes available simply do not justify the number of times I use it (infrequently).

I think the bikes are SUCH a good concept but ultimately poor execution discourages me from using them.

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beanie561

a month ago

So many problems getting it started and stopped.

We did not know you needed to download an app so it took ages for us to download the app and work out how to unlock all of our bikes(as we’re on holiday with iffy data in the area) , not to mention it charges per minute so if you have a rest or have problems- you’ll get charged for it.

Additionally, my bike unlocked and then locked randomly so I had reactivate it. And the. Both me a my partners bikes rides would not end on the app so we’re continuously being charged while trying to sort it out. Not to mention we did indeed lock our bikes. And some of the bikes are in terrible condition.

Although, the charge was relatively cheap and for a 50 minute ride is about 10 pounds. It is useful although we couldn’t ride on the promenade and most places we couldn’t go on and it’s very frustrating as you have to go on all roads and out of your way to get anywhere costing you more.

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Orca_7

4 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you for your feedback. Our aim is to provide an affordable and convenient alternative to other forms of transport, and we regret that this was not reflected in your experience. We are continuously reviewing our pricing structure to ensure it offers the best value for our users and your feedback is invaluable in this process. We do offer a range of packages designed to suit multiple riders' needs. Whether you're a daily commuter, a weekend adventurer, or somewhere in between, we've got you covered with options that provide flexibility, affordability, and convenience. You can pause your ride for up to 15 minutes without getting charged an out-of-bay or out-of-zone fee whilst going to the shop or stopping for a break. Pay as you ride: Pausing your ride is charged at the same per-minute cost as riding. Minute Bundle: Each minute paused will deduct a minute from your minute balance. Day Pass: Pausing your ride is included in the cost of a Day Pass. So you've plenty of time for a snack! We strive to maintain reliable bikes and regret falling short of your expectations. We are reviewing our procedures and adding quality checks.

Bring back Voi

In my city, we used to have voi scooters. they were amazing. Pick up and drop off in almost any location as long as it fit between the guidelines. they were plenty of scooters in every location and you were only ever a short walk away from the nearest available scooter. for some reason our city council decided to let the contract with Voi lapse and now we are with Beryl. Firstly, the frequency of scooter is shocking. The restriction on parking scooter at the end of your journey is so limited that it defeats the purpose of a scooter hire service.

I don’t know who got the bong to allow this contract to replace the previous one, but it is a huge step backwards and a massive incentive to just book a taxi.

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Joe8506

4 months ago

Response from developer

Thank you for your feedback. We're sorry to hear about your disappointing experience with our service. We understand the importance of scooter availability and convenient parking options. Your comments have been noted, and we are actively working on expanding our fleet and improving parking flexibility. We hope to provide a better experience for all our users and appreciate your patience as we make these improvements.

انهاء الرحلة

سيء جداً في انهاء الرحلة

بدلييبللذذطي

5 months ago

Poor gears and heavy - made accident worse

I was introducing my wife to using Beryl Bikes. She used to cycle a lot years ago but has not ridden for a couple of years and then not very regularly.

The manual bikes are robust and heavy and the gear changing is clunky. I find sometimes it seems to take 10s of seconds or longer to change gear. NOT what you want when going uphill. This is very strange behaviour.

My wife wasn’t confident from the start of the ride, finding it uncomfortable and awkward. She tried adjusting the saddle to help.

Near a gentle upward slope, she decided to get off. She was finding it hard and slow to cycle up. I am not sure what gear she was actually in. She tried to stop and get off. She struggled. The bike fell on top of her. Fortunately no head injury, a graze and bruises to the knee and leg.

After the shock, she managed to cycle on briefly. Being older, we are worried about the recovery time.

This is a very poor introduction to Beryl Bikes. I doubt she will use them again. It is making me more cautious.

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Mark_SoundsSimple

7 months ago

Charged £10 fee and YOU CANT EVEN USE THE BIKES

Beryl bike in Manchester is the worst. The bikes are always either unavailable or the locks don’t work properly. Even when the bikes are available, the issues with the locks are irritating. Beryl has 2 locks, a front tag lock and a wheel lock at the back. The front tag lock doesn’t release even when you’ve “unlocked the bike”. Because of this, you can’t take bike out of the stand, but the Beryl app still charges you anyway. Moreover, since the Beryl app can’t even tell that the lock is broken, it thinks you didn’t lock it properly and then they charge you £10 for it! What’s worse is that they can’t refund you immediately if you’re using the bike out of office hours.

I usually don’t post reviews, but Beryl is just infuriating now! Using Beryl bike is basically just giving the app £10 for NOTHING!

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AnitaRianda

7 months ago

Response from developer

We apologise for the frustrating experience you've had with our bikes in Manchester. Ensuring bikes are available and locks function properly is a top priority, and we're actively addressing these issues. We understand the frustration caused by incorrect charges, and we're working to improve our system to prevent these errors. Please contact our support team with your account details for assistance and a refund if necessary. Your feedback is valuable, and we're committed to providing a better experience for our users. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Should be cheaper

How can you encourage people to cycle over taking the bus if borrowing a bike is likely to end up pricier? A bus ride, no matter how long, is £2. For my commute (around 5km) it takes about 35 mins by bus. By regular bike it took me about 20 minutes (+walking 5mins) = 1.50, by e-bike 13 minutes (+walking 5mins) = 2.30. So going further on bike is discouraging due to being more expensive on the bus (and not saving that much time anyway) I don’t understand why there’s an “unlock fee” (50p for a regular bike, £1 for the ebike), if you were just charged per minute alone it would be more affordable. That being said, being charged by the minute makes the whole experience stressful!!

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Gean1E

8 months ago

Response from developer

We appreciate your feedback regarding our pricing structure and its impact on encouraging cycling as a transportation option. We understand your concerns about the comparative cost and convenience of biking versus taking the bus. We're continuously evaluating our pricing to ensure fairness and affordability. Your suggestions regarding pricing are valuable, and we'll take them into consideration as we strive to improve our service. We apologise for any stress caused by our current pricing model and assure you that we're working to create a more seamless and affordable experience for our users. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

Rubbish app dedicated to steal ur money

Cant believe the frequency of accidents every time i use the bike. First time, tire broke, took several minutes to figure out and changed a bike, but still asked me to pay until I told them ill give a one star. Yesterday, locked the bike but the app implied i didnt. Just now, thought locked the bike well and the app seemed okay with it until i saw a ten pound fee indicating that i didnt lock the front bike welll. Lol why not notify the unlocked front lock the way you notify the unlocked back lock on the app but took my money directly instead? Hire a it worker and fix your fricking app before showering all the complaints to the customer service section!

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FUlbc

a year ago

Response from developer

Hi there! We would like to apologise for the service you experienced with us. Our main goal is to take good care of our e-scooters so that everyone can enjoy a smooth ride. If you come across a broken vehicle, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via the in-app chat, website chat, email, or phone. You can easily access the in-app chat by clicking on the chat 💬 icon, or by clicking on the 🔧 icon. You can also send us an email at support@beryl.cc or give us a call at 020 3003 5044 from 7am to 9pm, Monday to Sunday. We highly recommend that you consistently check the Beryl app upon completion of your journeys to verify that the trip has officially ended. In the event that you encounter any complications with ending your ride, please inform us promptly so that we may promptly address your concern and ensure that you are not erroneously charged. Feel free to let us know if you have any other questions. Ana at Beryl

App and bikes have a lot of issues

Had many issues with the app and the bikes. From the brakes sticking and not letting the wheels turn, the bike stand hitting the pedals when riding, seat slipping down, gear lever keeps slipping into 3rd etc. the app has some frustrations, like I have only successfully scanned 1 bike over my many trips, I always end up having to enter the unlock number. Sometimes when I have come from a train journey, the app will say I am ‘out of zone’ even though it shows me in the correct location on the app map, I have to quit the app to get it to see I am in the zone. When you try to give feedback, you can’t see what you are typing (at least on my iPhone XS) and when you open the app, the unlock button scrolls up from the bottom of the sceen which sometimes makes you tap the wrong button. It would also be good that if you have to change bikes during a journey, you are not charged for a whole new journey. As they are in continuation (perhaps within a few minutes of each other), it would be great if the app would know you are carrying on. I have had problems with one bike and have to change when I pass a Beryl bay, but I think it’s unfair I am charged for a new hire when it was a bike malfunction that caused me to have to switch.

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RastaM0use

a year ago

Response from developer

Hi- We're so sorry for the frustration this has caused. Thank you for taking the time to help us improve Beryl! Our main goal is to take good care of our e-scooters so that everyone can enjoy a smooth ride. If you come across a broken vehicle, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via the in-app chat, website chat, email, or phone. You can easily access the in-app chat by clicking on the chat 💬 icon, or by clicking on the 🔧 icon. You can also send us an email at support@beryl.cc or give us a call at 020 3003 5044 from 7am to 9pm, Monday to Sunday. We are always happy to assist you! In Regard the app issues could you please contact us directly at support@beryl.cc and send screenshots of the bugs you referred to. We'd love to get to the bottom of this so that we can get it right for you. Ana at Beryl

Poorly maintained bikes & awful customer service

Poorly maintained bikes & awful customer service. The bikes can be downright dangerous. Often have bits hanging off them. When you complain or raise a concern you just get fobbed off by Beryl. They claim the bikes are checked daily but there’s no way this is true. Some of them clearly haven’t been inspected since August last year when they were rolled out in Manchester.
Also, due to GPS issues, they constantly mis-read where the bike has been parked and charge you £10, even when you’ve parked in a bay. This happens to me about once a week. They always refund it,…but it doesn’t make it any less annoying. Avoid.

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Steontoast

a year ago

Response from developer

We're truly sorry for the negative experience you've had with our bikes and customer service. Ensuring safe and well-maintained bikes is a priority, and we take your concerns seriously. We're actively addressing maintenance issues and improving our customer service procedures to provide better assistance. Regarding GPS inaccuracies, we're working to minimise these errors and ensure fair billing. Your feedback helps us improve, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to make necessary improvements.