Timberland boots faulty!

Airframe

Hello all! I purchased some new Timberland 'Earthkeeper' boots and after only a months light wear (i.e. weekends) the sole on one of the boots has begun to separate. I purchased timberland because I expected high quality and certainly paid for the privilege. My wife took them back to the retailer today (Originals designer Clothing store in Preston) and despite having a receipt dated 31st December 2008, they refused to give her a refund and insisted they returned the boots to Timberland for inspection in case of misuse! I am so angry!! Would you consider strolling into Cafe Nero for a double-espresso with the family misuse! Is this normal practice for a clothing/shoe retailer? I have checked the consumer advice website but all i could find was a statement that for faulty clothing or shoes a consumer 'could' be entitled to a refund. Please can anyone advise?

RHemmings

You can write, phone, or email the manager of the store and restate your complaint. You can also take the boots and the receipt to trading standards and see what they advise. If I were you, I would do both at once, telling the manager (I'm assuming it isn't a chain) that I was going to be taking advice from trading standards.

As often stated in this forum, your contract is with the shop where you bought the boots, and they cannot legally insist that you deal with a third party.

Airframe

Thanks for your reply, yes I will contact trading standards, however 'they' as in the retailers retained the boots, so iam left with no boots and no refund, only a promise that they will get in touch once they have sent them off and reveived the verdict from timberland (indicating minimum 2 weeks). They (the retailer) state it is their policy not to refund until the product has been investigated for signs of malicious damage! My query is, is this normal or acceptable practice because it doesnt seem right to me?

3under3

I work for a shoe manufacturer (not Timberland) and we sometimes have retailers send shoes / boots back to us if they are unsure whether the fault is a manufacturing fault or not. If a retailer refunds you they will generally obtain a credit back from the manufacturer so this retailer may just be checking they will be entitled to this. Unless you've seriously misused the boots I would expect Timberland to agree a manufacturing fault.

RHemmings

Hmmmm..... I'm not sure if the two weeks time period is reasonable or not. It's sort of on the border for me, long, but not incredibly long. But it's not my opinion that matters, but that of Trading Standards. I had a quick look at their FAQ, but couldn't see anything obvious that matched your situation. But I couldn't see anything. http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/callist.cgi

I'm not a lawyer and cannot give reliable legal advice. But, it could be that the shop phones you in two weeks, and says that Timberland have claimed that the fault is due to misuse. Some shops will try to pretend that their word is final concerning whether goods are faulty or not. I've been in a shop seeing such a discussion. But this is not true, and you don't necessarily have to accept the word of Timberland as relayed to you by the shop.

One thing, did they give you a receipt when they took the boots off you? I.e. do you have evidence that they currently hold them? If so, I personally wouldn't get too shirty until they return the boots. I suppose it's unlikely that the boots would disappear and they'd deny that you ever bought them back. But even so ...... I'd probably be polite until the boots are back in my hands, then escalate the dispute.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

Do you have something to hide?

Don't see anything wrong with a company wanting to ensure the legitimacy of someones claim first.

Airframe

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

Do you have something to hide?

Don't see anything wrong with a company wanting to ensure the legitimacy of someones claim first.

I have nothing to hide:mad: , I am angry that I spent in region of £100 on a pair of boots that fell apart after 4 weeks of very light wear, and then my honesty is questioned!!! Thanks to those members who posted constructive comments, I guess I will wait for them to get back in touch. Furtunately yes my wife insisted on a written statment from the shop that they have taken posession of the boots.

Takoda

Airframe wrote: »

I have nothing to hide:mad: , I am angry that I spent in region of £100 on a pair of boots that fell apart after 4 weeks of very light wear, and then my honesty is questioned!!! Thanks to those members who posted constructive comments, I guess I will wait for them to get back in touch. Furtunately yes my wife insisted on a written statment from the shop that they have taken posession of the boots.

Ignore him Airframe. Somewhere in his chosen user name is the word 'bait' and that's a clue as to his purpose on the boards!

HTH

Thanks for the heads up re Timberland and that particular retailer. I think some companies trade on their previous good name and cut corners with quality to save bucks! Berghaus might just be another of those. I have a rucksack I bought more than 20 years ago to take to Australia on holiday. Ones I have bought since do not seem to be of the same quality. Both Berghaus and Timberland are well represented in discount retail outlets and I'm not convinced that is ever a good thing!