brand new cica trainers broken - what should clarks do?

ruthyjo

I got my son some cica trainers at meadowhall on Sunday as his current pair (bought in July) have holes in. They were £10 in the sale and were one of two pairs they had in his size. He hadn't worn them at all until tonight when he got them out to show my dad. As he put them on the ring through which the velcro pulls snapped - he hadn't used any undue force and in fact it's quite hard to persuade him to do his shoes tightly at all.

Obviously I can return them as they are not fit for purpose. This will be to a smaller local clarks shop. I'm already getting myself mad at the thought that I'll probably have to pay full price for a replacement pair if they have no sale stock left - would it be reasonable to expect clarks to supply me with a replacement pair at the same cost even if they have no sale stock left?

I have three kids and spend a fortune in there on shoes, trainers, slippers, wellies etc and if we'd bought the other pair in his size on Sunday, they were very similar to his last pair and I doubt we'd have had any problems. So it's through them selling me rubbish trainers that I've missed a genuine bargain.

Sorry this is a bit lengthy. It's a complicated situation and I'm not sure if I'm unreasonable in feeling I should be able to leave the shop with a pair of undamaged trainers at no extra cost. My OH says I am.

DaisyNelson

I doubt very much that the store manager will offer you anything more than a refund. They probably wouldn't be allowed to. You could try appealing at a higher level. How about finding out the name and email address of the managing director. You could appeal to their better nature! Might be worth a try.

Oscar

Clarks are excellent at exchanging faulty kids shoes and trainers even a few months after purchase but I doubt very much if you will get anything other than a refund and an apology on this one...sorry!!

ruthyjo

Perhaps I should take the July pair in too and complain that they have worn out too quickly then! Refund on both pairs should cover me for a new season pair. Only joking but I'm still going to try for a decent replacement pair.

madbat

i was in a similar position wiv a pair of scewl shoes n al i got was a refund

froggergirl

Our DD had wrongly fitted trainers from Clarks a couple of months ago, when we went back a couple of weeks later they couldnt have been more helpful and exchanged them straight away with no quibble about having to pay any difference in value

hellofreebies

why not ring head office and confirm to them your disappointment having bought footwear for you and your family for x amont of years without any problems and get them to locate an identical pair for you and when they cant, see what they suggest or i would try my luck and ring clarks village to see if they have any stock/size of the identical trainer (if no stock available locally)and reserve a pair, in the mean while persuade local store/head office to have them delivered locally as a gesture im sure it would be more cost effective for them then a repair bill for the trainers...

in my personal opinion those cica trainers are so ugly and low quality...guess its the lights novelty thing and the clarks brand that gets them off the shelf, i just think clarks could offer us something a bit more stylish, better quality and on par with the shoes...you get better quality from woolworths.

alyssa_mae

Try asking for them to be repaired if they can't replace them. They may not be happy about it but they should do it.

dawny10

I believe that under the Sale of Goods Act you can request a refund, replacement or repair.

Stompa

It's probably not very ethical, but you could go to your local store and buy a new identical pair at full price (and retain the receipt). Sometime later you return the faulty pair to the same store along with the full price receipt and ask for a full refund.

Stompa

ruthyjo

I went to my local Clarks tonight and this was the outcome. They had no sale stock left and fitted my son with a pair of trainers from the new season range. They were really busy and we had to wait for ages. When I got to the till and they asked me for the twelve pounds difference I stated that I didn't feel I should have to pay the difference - citing the two trips to different shoe shops, car parking, time wasted etc and the fact that they had fitted my son with faulty shoes at a point when we could have had other sale shoes and that this was no longer an option. The sales assistant spoke to the manager and came back with the response that there was nothing they could do. After some discussion in which I was really calm and polite I asked to speak to the manager. After my restating the case to her she still refused to budge. I asked her to meet me half way and she agreed to do this, I think largely because they were so busy and I was holding up other people, so I paid an extra six pounds. I found it all quite stressful - not sure if it was worth the six pound saving.

Like an earlier poster I don't even think cica trainers are that fantastic - I'm just really lacking in confidence about fitting my kids' shoes correctly and they all three have g width feet so I worry I'll buy something too narrow. Lights don't do anything for my son now that he's nine - I expect every pair from clarks for him to be the last as his ten year old brother has refused to wear anything so uncool as clarks trainers for about three years now!