shoes bought online from Germany

Your rights are what ever the German version of our rights are, buying abroad, even in the EU has it's downside as you are bound by their laws, not ours.

annagib99 wrote: »

Hi,
I bought some Birkenstock's from an online shop based in Germany. After wearing them 2 or 3 times I noticed the leather was coming away from the sole. I'd owned them for 1 week and worn them 2 or 3 times.
I emailed the shop with photos. Their response was that I could either take them to a local shoe repairs and have it re-glued and they'd give me 10 Euros or post back to them, they send off to Birkenstock to be re-glued.
I replied that I wasn't happy with this due to the shoes being brand new and in my opinion faulty. I said I want a new pair.
They've replied "We are sorry, but the producer has the right to repair the pair three times. So we can only send them to Birkenstock for a repair."
This really doesn't sound right to me. I'm sure if I'd bought them in a UK store I would get a new pair.
What are my rights?

You will be governed by the consumer laws of Germany.

I am not a lawyer, but my understanding of such law is that consumers are covered against faults at point of purchase for a period of 2 years from point of sale.
A fault developing within 6 months is assumed to have been present at point of purchase unless the seller can prove otherwise. After 6 months, it is for the consumer to prove the fault was there at point of sale.

You obviously reported this fault within 6 months and the seller does not appear to be disputing the item was faulty at point of sale. Your rights are to have the item conform to the original sales contract. There are various ways this can be achieved. The seller may offer to repair the item or reduce the original cost by an appropriate agreed amount. Alternatively, the seller may offer to replace the item or offer to rescind the contract entirely - in these cases the goods will usually need to be returned.

It appears to me the seller has complied with the appropriate regulations in that they have offered either to have the item repaired or alternatively have offered to reduce the original contract price by way of a 10€ refund.

I do not think you are entitled automatically to a full refund, However, normal procedure is to refund if, after 3 attempts at repair by the seller, the item still fails due to the same fault.

(The seller may make their own claim to the producer as per their business relationship, but the seller is liable in law to the consumer)

Guarantees/warranties provided by either the producer or seller cannot over-ride the consumer laws, but may offer further additional cover for the consumer.