Returning new shoes

Scarlett

Your opinions please:

I bought some shoes on Friday. When I was wearing them on Saturday, I noticed that the embroidery detailing on the front of the shoes was noticeably crooked on one shoe, which makes them look rather strange.

I took them back to the shop to exchange for a non-crooked pair, but the shop didn’t have any more like that in my size... I asked for a refund, but the assistant told me to come back when his manager was around later.

My question is: if they can’t exchange them, am I entitled to a refund in this case?

My view is that the crooked detailing is a fault, although I realise that it doesn’t make the shoe “not fit for purpose”… or does it make them not fit for purpose if they’re dressy shoes, and now I won’t wear them for dressy as they’re wonky?

I would think that if I paid £40 for a pair of shoes, some of that should be going towards quality control…

djb215

You are right they're not "not fit for purpose", they aren't of satisfactory quality. If they couldn't exchange them then they should have refunded you. If the assistant said "come back when the manager's in" then you should have asked why she should wait for a manager, then ask (politely) for the assistant to give you a telephone number to the store directly so you could speak to the manager without an unnecessary second journey back to the store.
Don't let them fob you off! Doesn't matter if it's a "detail fault".