I am so angry.....faulty goods returned!

carebear1976

I'll apologise in advance for the length of this message.....

I'm looking for some advice on a pair of shoes I bought recently. Some of you may have heard of Fit Flops - they look like flip flops and they are designed to make your legs work harder when you're walking.

I bought them from a company called Foot-Well (incidentally it took nearly six weeks from accepting my order to receiving the goods). When I tried them on in the house, they seemed fine, so I decided I would try them out on a walk up to the park (round trip of no more than 20 minutes).

By the time I got home, the shoes had stripped the skin off of both my feet and they were bleeding. Obviously, I wasn't too pleased given that these shoes were supposed to be designed for walking reasonable distances and had cost me £45.

I consulted the leaflet which had come with the shoes and read the following:
"Upon receipt of returned products and subject to the shoes being in perfect condition we will be happy to exchange your goods within 4-5 working days or to refund within 10 working days. Please note shoes should NOT we worn outside, you should not remove any labels and the shoes must be returned in the original bag or box they were sent out in. Worn shoes, not meeting these criteria will be returned to sender, with a £5 charge added to the card used for payment to cover delivery/admin expenses."

As I considered the shoes faulty (I don't have a high instep and have never had this issue with any other shoes), I made sure I had noted this clearly on the return form. I also called the customer services number on my confirmation email and explained the situation. The advisor stated that this would be fine and just to return the shoes in the prepaid returns envelope.

This morning the shoes have arrived back, with a note stating "We are sorry that our Fit Flops have taken the skin off your feet but the condition which they were sent back in were not suitable for reale otherwise we would have been happy to refund you." I should point out that apart from one or two very small marks on the soles, there is no evidence that the shoes have been worn. I also did not expect them to resell them to another unfortunate soul as I had clearly stated that they were not "fit for purpose".

Anyway, I was about to call them up to complain, but I just thought I'd check whether anyone else had had a similar experience or could offer me any advice on my rights in this situation?

Thanks!

pinkshoes

I would presume all shoes are made for walking, and I have yet to come across a pair of shoes that have not given me blisters and ripped skin off my feet!!

Today I'm wearing my old leather flipflops to work. Why? Because yesterday I wore my new shoes for the first time, after wearing them round the house for a week, and you guessed it, they ripped my feet to shreds!

I'd say persevere with them! When the cuts and blisters heal, I'll be back in my new shoes, and my feet will get used to them!

Leave it a week and give them another try.

paulsm

eat less walk more (in normal shoes) and dont expact fast fixes otherwise normal shoes would be made like fat flops , oh and dont be so gullable. If any cases have worked its because people beleive in them and walk more anyway because they are suckered in,

hollydays

Think it's standard practice for shoe shops to expect you to try out the shoes indoors.Sounds like you didn't try them for long enough inside.Isn't it fairly common for new shoes to rub,in varying degrees?

carebear1976

Hmmm, sounds like my expectations have been too high, but I have never had two bleeding feet after twenty minutes with any shoes before (even the 4 or 5 inch strappies I've worn on nights out) let alone ones designed for exercise.

Guess I'll just have to put up and shut up.....

pinkshoes

carebear1976 wrote: »

Hmmm, sounds like my expectations have been too high, but I have never had two bleeding feet after twenty minutes with any shoes before (even the 4 or 5 inch strappies I've worn on nights out) let alone ones designed for exercise.

Guess I'll just have to put up and shut up.....

I think you're lucky!! I even get blisters from super "comfy" trainers when new!!

I've always put it down to being female and one of those things in life you have to put up with! :rolleyes:

Try staring at people's feet more often and noting how blistered their heels are! :rotfl:

mookie

carebear1976 wrote: »

Guess I'll just have to put up and shut up.....

I worked in shoe shops for a few years, and you dont have to put up and shut up. Some shoes are genuinely faulty and can cause discomfort due to poor finish inside of the shoe.

You need to establish if the shoes are just not comfortable for your feet or if they have a fault.

I have just looked at a pic of Fitflops, are yours leather all over or leather and canvas? It looks like full leather ones are likely to be more comfortable, due to leather moulding a lot more easily than canvas would. If the canvas area is rubbing, then its not a fault, they may just need to be worn in. You could try giving them a massage to soften them up a bit.

If the cuts are from inside the lining then the area is inside the upper where they are stitched could be faulty. Some stitching inside shoes is burnt to stop it fraying, this can be uncomfortable, or if the stitching is thick in places for example the machine has left loops in the cotton. Or if the lining is creased in any way.

If there is a fault anywhere in the lining then this would warrant a reasonable reason for refund or exchange.

Check the shoes over, if the lining and stitching is ok and both shoes look the same then you will have to accept that and try and soften them up a bit, if you can see there is a fault then contact the manufacturers directly and see if they can arrange an inspection.

HTH

carebear1976

Thanks Mookie

They are the Fit-Flop Electra so the upper seems to be a patent plastic. To be honest the whole shoe looks pretty cheap (wish I'd gone with the MBTs now!)

I've tried them again in the house this morning for ten minutes and there are already lines cut into my feet in the shape of the top of the shoe and obviously this is pretty painful.

Do you think I'd be better trying the manufacturer as I can already tell from the tone of their response that their customer service is poor.

bitsandpieces

pinkshoes wrote: »

I think you're lucky!! I even get blisters from super "comfy" trainers when new!!

I've always put it down to being female and one of those things in life you have to put up with! :rolleyes:

Try staring at people's feet more often and noting how blistered their heels are! :rotfl:

Might be worth trying an independent running shop, and ask them to fit you for some trainers? They often have a wider range of shapes, sizes etc. and staff who can help find a good fit... In my case, made the difference from needing to walk in trainers a fair bit to wear them in (and still getting the odd sore patch on my foot) to being able to run in them right away with no problem

paulsm

Bitsandpieces the o/p is not interested in trainers training or effort they just want to be able to wear fat flops and become a size 8 overnight while eating mc donalds

hollydays

you're not funny..go back to playing your x box