Dont ever shop at Office!

kudra23

I bought a pair of boots from Office at the start of December. They were quite expensive at £105 but I thought they looked sturdy and durable for the coming winter months. However.. a few weeks later I noticed the glue that joined the sole and upper shoe seemed to be coming apart. I promptly took them back with receipt and box and enquired if they might be a faulty pair. I was assured by the (not very friendly) manager that it wasn't a manufacturers fault and that the heavy stitch on them would keep the boots together. I left not completely satisfied but with no other choice but to go on his word. A couple of weeks after that - when these boots were just over one month old, I wore them out in the rain - and guess what? My feet got all wet.
So back to the store where the female assistant was very glad to offer me an exchange. She confirmed it with the manager(who was on his break in the back of the shop) and I was waiting for my new pair when the manager came out, saw me and for whatever reason decided to go back on his decision to exchange them.

"Nothing in this shop is sold as water-proof I'm afraid" was his explanation as he handed me back my leaky boots . I tried to keep my cool but wasn't very successful in that. I live in Scotland and it rains a lot here! If you're buying a pair of boots, expensive ones at that, you at least expect them to be water resistant.. Besides I hadn't been wading through streams or jumping in puddles - all it took for soggy socks was just a quick walk to the train station on a typical Scottish January morning. The manager was having none of it though, and I just got more and more frustrated with him. Looking back on it now, I didn't handle it very well but surely you can't be selling boots at that price which let water in? I'd have bought a pair of sandals if I wasn't fussed for having dry feet!

Finally I got him to agree to send the boots away to the Office HQ in England so they can make a decision but in the meantime I have been without boots for the last week and don't have much faith that the upper management are going to do anything other than back up their staff. :embarasse

Do I have any legal right to a refund or exchange? I've since heard from a lot of friends that Office are especially bad in giving any kind of refund so Im not holding my hopes up for much.

Any advice greatly appreciated, cheers

savemoney

Yes Sale of goods Act

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

• Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.

• Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.

kims_here

Its awful whats happened, I hope you do persue continue to persue the matter and good luck

Zara77

The boots are not fit for the purpose for which they were sold. I would get in touch with trading standards. I had a simliar experience with Ravel and had to go long route to get back my refund. Dont give up-pursue them!

thatsfabulous

Thats awful, I agree with the others dont give up if they come back saying they wont give you refund.
If they do, could you not go to another store and try there instead?

pinkgem

what are the boots made from? leather, sheepskin?

BargainGalore

For £150 I would expect boots to last years if used a couple of times a week and be water proof.If they dont play ball print the SOGA and show them if worse fails take them to small claims court

oojeyboojey

I bought a pair of flat shoes from office in the sale, and after wearing them twice it became clear that the sole didn't go back far enough to cover the edge of the heel - the bottom of the heel was almost rubbed through from coming into contact with the ground while I was walking.

I tried to get a refund, and the store assistant said he couldn't do that himself, but I could fill out a form and get them sent off for "analysis" at head office. The idea was that they would inspect the shoes and refund me if they were found to be faulty.

The store assistant also asked the manager for advice, and she said "well these are a really popular shoe, and nobody else has come in with this problem" and got really defensive and rude, and made out that I was the one with the problem!

Eventually, the shoes got sent back to me (special delivery) and they included a letter saying that there wasn't anything wrong with the shoes, but it looked like I'd bought the wrong size! This wasn't correct, but I gave up at that point. The stupid thing is, I spent £9 on the shoes in the first place, and Office spent about the same on shipping and admin costs just to reject my application for a refund!

beanhead

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

used to have a cannily appropriate ad on radio "of course they won't - they're faaashion shoes madam"

Phone number for free practical advice shown on their page.

What is the point of non-waterproof boots?!!!!!!

Good luck

Fire_Fox

kudra23 wrote: »

I bought a pair of boots from Office at the start of December. They were quite expensive at £105 but I thought they looked sturdy and durable for the coming winter months. However.. a few weeks later I noticed the glue that joined the sole and upper shoe seemed to be coming apart. I promptly took them back with receipt and box and enquired if they might be a faulty pair. I was assured by the (not very friendly) manager that it wasn't a manufacturers fault and that the heavy stitch on them would keep the boots together. I left not completely satisfied but with no other choice but to go on his word. A couple of weeks after that - when these boots were just over one month old, I wore them out in the rain - and guess what? My feet got all wet.
So back to the store where the female assistant was very glad to offer me an exchange. She confirmed it with the manager(who was on his break in the back of the shop) and I was waiting for my new pair when the manager came out, saw me and for whatever reason decided to go back on his decision to exchange them.

"Nothing in this shop is sold as water-proof I'm afraid" was his explanation as he handed me back my leaky boots . I tried to keep my cool but wasn't very successful in that. I live in Scotland and it rains a lot here! If you're buying a pair of boots, expensive ones at that, you at least expect them to be water resistant.. Besides I hadn't been wading through streams or jumping in puddles - all it took for soggy socks was just a quick walk to the train station on a typical Scottish January morning. The manager was having none of it though, and I just got more and more frustrated with him. Looking back on it now, I didn't handle it very well but surely you can't be selling boots at that price which let water in? I'd have bought a pair of sandals if I wasn't fussed for having dry feet!

Finally I got him to agree to send the boots away to the Office HQ in England so they can make a decision but in the meantime I have been without boots for the last week and don't have much faith that the upper management are going to do anything other than back up their staff. :embarasse

Do I have any legal right to a refund or exchange? I've since heard from a lot of friends that Office are especially bad in giving any kind of refund so Im not holding my hopes up for much.

Any advice greatly appreciated, cheers

Just wanted to add my support and say that, if you write a letter that states the case as clearly as you have here, you should get a full refund from Office. If not definitely go to Trading Standards. Good first post.
:beer:

roses

I remember Office being on Watchdog years ago and the spokeswoman openly saying they don't expect their shoes to last more than three months as they are "fashion shoes" and not "comfort shoes"!